If a child has difficulty hearing, speech therapy can help
Only those who can hear can learn to speak. If a child’s hearing is impaired, speech therapy is especially important for young children—in addition to hearing aids—to support them in language acquisition and to advise parents from the very beginning.
The ability to learn to speak is innate in humans. However, a child can only learn to speak if they can hear. Good hearing is therefore essential for children to develop normally and healthily, both linguistically and cognitively. To support this development, children with hearing problems require more than just hearing aidsor medical treatment such as a cochlear implant or tubes for middle ear fluid buildup.
Speech-LanguageTherapyfor Healthy Language DevelopmentSpeech-language therapy supports children with hearing impairments and their families from the very beginning and contributes to healthy language development. Initially, it may take the form of early support for hearing and speech acquisition and counseling for parents. As therapy progresses, it focuses on specific areas of spoken language development. Among other things, articulation is refined, the development of grammatical structures is practiced, and phonological awareness is trained. The therapy employs both auditory-based methods and a combination of spoken language and sign language to support spoken language.
Since children between the ages of one and three are particularly receptive to language learning, speech-language therapy interventions during this phase prove to be very effective.
Parents Are Their Children’s Ears
In this regard, parents, child care providers, and early childhood educators in daycare centers are particularly called upon to ensure children’s healthy language development. This includes parents and all early caregivers actively listening to the little ones, talking, laughing, and singing with them. In doing so, they will automatically notice any abnormalities in the children’s language development, allowing them to work with a pediatrician or ENT specialist to quickly ensure comprehensive care.
Do you suspect that your child has trouble hearing? Find tips here on how to recognize hearing loss in your child. For information on speech-language therapy, please contact the German Federal Association for Speech-Language Pathology (Deutscher Bundesverband für Logopädie e. V.). You can obtain further information from the German Federal Association for Speech-Language Pathology (Deutscher Bundesverband für Logopädie e. V.).
