Delayed speech and late walking in children

Delayed speech and late walking in children

Developmental delay is defined as children not being able to complete the expected developmental stages on time or completing them late. When talking about developmental delay, only the physical development of the child should not be considered. The degree of development in areas such as mental, emotional, social, motor and language should also be observed and evaluated.

Normal development process of children

The organs necessary for newborn babies speech are not yet developed enough to be controlled. Babies spend most of their days listening to their mothers voices. However, they still express their different wishes through different crying tones, laughter and expressions in their own language. Parents who closely follow their childrens development processes can detect possible problems such as late speech and late walking in a timely manner. Making meaningless sounds and laughing are babies first attempts to speak. Generally, babies begin to use meaningful words after they turn one year old, and the process of learning new words accelerates from the 18th month. During this period, babies vocabulary development is also observed. Before the age of 2, children use gestures along with words, but after the age of 2, they begin to use gestures less and express themselves with sentences. When children reach the age of 4-5, they can express their wishes and needs to adults in long and complex sentences without difficulty and can easily understand the events and narratives around them. Babies gross motor development may also vary. For example, some babies take their first steps when they are one year old, and some babies take their first steps when they are 15-16 months old. Babies usually start walking between 12 and 18 months.

When should late speech and late walking problems be suspected in children?

Children are expected to demonstrate their speaking and walking skills in the first 18-30 months. Children who may be behind their peers in some skills may have skills such as eating, walking and toileting, but their speech may be delayed. Generally, all children have common developmental stages. However, some children may have a unique developmental timing, so they may start speaking earlier or later than their peers. In studies conducted on late speech problems, it has been determined that children with language and speech disorders use fewer words. The earlier a childs language and speech problems are detected, the earlier their treatment can be. If the child develops more slowly than his peers between the ages of 24 and 30 months and cannot close the gap between himself and other children, his speech and language problems may worsen. This problem can become much more complex by combining with psychological and social problems. If children talk to their teachers more than their peers in kindergartens and kindergartens, avoid playing games with other children, and have difficulty expressing themselves, a specialist doctor should be consulted. Likewise, if a child who is 18 months old has not started walking, does not crawl, does not stand up by holding on to an object, or does not make a pushing movement with his legs while lying down, walking delay should be suspected and he should definitely see a specialist doctor.

Delayed speech and late walking in children may be symptoms of which disease?

Medical problems that occur before, during and after birth play an important role in baby development. Problems such as metabolic diseases, brain disorders, muscle diseases, infection and premature birth in the fetus affect not only the childs motor development but also his entire development. Developmental problems such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and muscular dystrophy may cause children to walk late. Difficulties in language and speech skills are observed in children with neurological problems such as hydrocephalus, stroke, seizures, cognitive disorders and diseases such as autism. Babies who reach 18 months of age and have difficulty playing with other children and cannot express themselves may be said to have speech and language problems, but these problems are also seen as symptoms of autism. Early recognition of walking and speaking difficulties and immediate intervention can help solve the problems more quickly.