When your little one learns to speak, as parents, it is an exciting development milestone for you. However, if your child does not start to speak at your expected time, it can be a reason to worry. And, one reason your child is not speaking can be hearing inability. In such a situation, what you need to do is take your kid to an expert audiologist, get the issue diagnosed and opt for speech therapy for children.
Such therapy will help your child overcome the communication problems due to hearing loss and help live a healthy life. Here, in this post, we will discuss speech therapy for children and help your child with hearing loss issues. Continue reading to learn more.
How Does Hearing Loss Affect a Child’s Speech Development Abilities?
Being able to hear what other people speak is a big part of how your kid will express themselves. If your child is not able to hear adults talking, it can have an impact on their speech development skills. Sounds such as ‘th”, “s”, “sh”, and “t” can be more difficult to hear for children with hearing loss. However, these sounds are used frequently in the English language.
Thus, hearing loss prevents children from hearing syllables that these sounds are part of. There comes the vital need of opting for quality speech therapy for children offered by a qualified speech specialist.
h2>How Can Speech Therapy Help Children with Hearing Loss?
If your child is failing to develop speaking skills due to hearing loss, a qualified speech therapist can help him/her with effective therapy. The primary purpose of speech therapy for children with hearing loss include the following.
- Early diagnosis of hearing loss.
- Teaching kids to use hearing devices.
- Helping kids with hearing loss attain confidence and independence.
- Making parents or caregivers participate in the treatment process.
Here are the basic steps a speech therapist will introduce while offering speech therapy for children with hearing loss.
Decide Upon an Appropriate Sound Amplification Device
During speech therapy, a qualified therapist will help you decide upon the right type of sound amplification device for your kid. Such an expert will help you understand the difference between different types of hearing aids and help you choose the right product that will actually work for your child.
Decide Whether to Use Speech or Sign Language
When your child has hearing loss issues, whether to train him/her with sign language or speech becomes a personal choice that you would want to consider. Depending upon the speech therapy for children, your child will learn either to communicate through sign language or will learn to speak with special training. Families that are accustomed to using sign language may train their child to communicate through this language form. However, if you do not want to speak in sign language and want to train your child to speak, an expert professional speech therapy becomes imperative. A speech therapist will help you choose the best option according to your situation and treat your child accordingly.
Other Effective Speech Therapy Solutions
There have been different approaches, when it comes to offering speech therapy for children with hearing loss. These methods are usually considered combination approaches and applied collectively to bring the best results. This type of treatment processes primarily include aspects of both speech and visual cues such as sign language. Other kinds of treatment approaches include methods such as pictures and, if your child is old enough to write, written language. Above all, a reputable speech therapist will diagnose your child’s concern, find out the actual reason behind his/her inability to speak and then apply the most effective speech therapy that will help your child speak.
Conclusion
The ability to hear others and speak is essential to live a happy and fulfilling life. If your child is failing to develop speaking skills due to hearing loss, consider opting for speech therapy for children. Such a treatment will help your child hear other people speak and develop speaking abilities. If you are trying to find the best speech therapist in Kolkata, Happy Ears is the name to trust. Connect with us for any information or for an appointment.
