Cause or Effect?

So often, parents let me know that they think they may have caused their child’s speech or language delay. It can be subtle (or not so subtle). 

The mom might say, “her older sibling talks all the time, so she doesn’t have a reason to speak up.”

The dad might say, “we’re really quiet people, so he doesn’t have a lot of language input.”

The babysitter or nanny might say, “I pretty much know what they want most of the time, so they don’t have to tell me”.

And all that is probably true.

But none of that is causing a child not to talk.

All of that is actually the effect or result of what happens when a child’s speech and language isn’t developing the way we expect. We adults compensate. We adjust. We make things easier for our kids so that they don’t have to struggle quite so much. We talk less. Or we talk more.

It’s natural!

But here’s the thing: 

A speech or language delay is caused in the brain. It’s a brain wiring thing. Not a childrearing thing.

That’s not to say that the environment isn’t at play.

There are lots of things that we can do to help kids talk more. To help them communicate better.

And there are some things that we do that don’t help.

The trick is: find the things that help and do more of those. And find the things that don’t help, and do fewer of those. 

Sometimes finding the “things that help” is difficult. Sometimes you might need a little help seeing them. You might need some guidance to learn some new strategies.

One of the things we help families do when they come to us is help them figure out what helps their child communicate more and what doesn’t. 

If you’re confused about why your child isn’t communicating the way they should, we can help with that through our Screenless Coaching methodology. With a “coach in your ear”, we guide you through and teach you strategies that stimulate language growth, reduce “bad” behaviors and make play time more fun and meaningful for adults and kids.

To find out more about Screenless Coaching, just shoot us an email at info@speechkids.com. We’d love to hear your questions and to talk to you further!