Children between 2 to 5 years old typically experience the most crucial language development, setting the foundation for communication later in their lives. Specific developmental milestones occur during this time in physical, cognitive and speech and language areas. As children enter school, their communication skills are essential to their successful educational experience. This is the time for you, as parents, to carefully note your child's blossoming language development and discuss with her pediatrician any concerns about delays or problems in communication.
Types
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, known as ASHA, identify the two primary types of language development as receptive language, which encompasses both hearing and comprehending spoken words, and expressive language, which includes speaking, as well as using words in their proper context. A third, related area of language development, pragmatics, is the ability to express language appropriately in social settings. Another underlying component of language development incorporates discerning the suitable emotion or tone of words for any given situation.
Identification
Healthy brain development plays a vital role in language development. The National Literacy Trust states that Professor John Geake, a neurologist, has identified the contributing factors and distinguished the specific functions of each hemisphere of the brain during the process of language development. Based on his research, Dr. Geake discovered that the right hemisphere of the brain manages comprehension and implementation of the meanings and emotional content of words, while the left hemisphere handles the specific grammar and speech components of language development.
Features
Children with normal language development exhibit remarkable rates of speech acquisition and communication skills between the ages of 2 to 5 years old. The Child Development Institute and the University of Michigan Health System, or UMHS, emphasize that from a vocabulary of about 450 words and short sentences to well over 1,500 words and sentences of several words, children's language blossoms in the preschool years.
By the time children reach the age of 5, they typically know their full names, tell stories, understand the difference between past and present and begin comprehending concepts such as shapes, sizes and colors. Progressing from 5 to 8 years of age, children with normal language development typically maintain a vocabulary of over 2,000 words, speak intelligibly, articulate well, properly use complex and compound sentences and carry on conversations easily with adults.
Misconceptions
Parents should realize that each child develops at his own pace as he approaches and reaches developmental milestones. Regarding speech and language acquisition, ASHA and UMHS remind parents to note their child's communication skills but not become overly concerned if he appears slightly behind his peers. Boys, in particular, tend to exhibit delayed language development. Continue to read to your child, carry on conversations with him and observe his progress in speech and language development.
Considerations
Of course, if you become concerned at any time about your child's obvious lag in language development, consult with her pediatrician. UMHS states that up to 10 percent of children under 5 years old experience language delays or disorders of some form, attributed to either a physiological basis or other barriers to language development. If your child has no physical issues, such as a hearing loss, and no diagnosis of autism or other developmental disorder, she may need to receive speech therapy services to initiate and facilitate her speech and language development.
