LANGUAGE

It is very important that language delays are recognized as early as possible. Between the age of 0-6 years old, children are most susceptible for language learning. The way a child learns language has a big impact on the further language development and problem solving abilities. If the base of the language isn’t correctly built, this affects the development of the rest of it.
Developmental language delay/disorder can cause learning disabilities and/or emotional difficulties. When the child has a hard time understanding or making itself understood, he/she can start showing different behaviors: becoming really silent or very angry, scared or aggressive. The delay can also have negative concequences for the reading and writing development.

Developmental language disorder can be connected to other “disorders”, such as a speech disorder, developmental disorder, neuropsychiatric disorder, sensory processing disorder, auditive processing disorder or hearing disorder. Other important factors are the possibilities of the child, psychological factors, social factors and the sort and amount of language that the child is surrounded with. 

Jessica assesses the child’s language. She will ask for as much information as possible, so that the treatment will be as effective and specific as possible. A first conversation with the parents and the child is the start. The needs of the child become clear, as well as the background of the child and what the parents and daycare center personnel/school teachers have done to stimulate the language development of the child. The assessment is done by standardised tests that test language comprehension, production (sentences and words), communicative and auditive skills. With their help the child’s language level is determined and compared to its peers. The results help with diagnosing.

In cooperation with the parents a plan is made to work on the language development in the most effective way. Jessica will be training language comprehension, increase the ability of the child to listen, work with vocabulary, constructing sentences and pronunciation. Children that do not speak yet will be challenged to start talking, by helping to develop the prelingual skills: how to use language in order to get something you want, imitating others, making eye contact, taking turns etc.
Parents are included as much as possible in the treatment and will get home work. The most effective is usually weekly sessions with the parents being present, so that they can see what is needed for their child. They will learn about the language level and the needs of their child and how to address it.