Listen closely to catch speech, language and hearing delays, says ASHA

One in four U.S. parents of children ages 0-8 have had concerns about their child’s ability to communicate, according to a new poll commissioned by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and conducted by YouGov. It’s important for parents to seek interventions early.

“Sometimes, they’ve been given advice by pediatricians or perhaps, teachers, not to worry about their child’s communication, that they might grow out of it,” said ASHA President of the Board of Directors Shari Robertson, PhD. “This is actually never good advice, because we know that communication disorders can affect a child’s, not only speaking and listening, but reading, writing as well as behavioral and eventually vocational success.”

More than 8 in 10 parents who had concerns and sought treatment said their children saw a good or great amount of
improvement.

“I don’t think parents always know exactly where to find that,” said Robertson. “That’s why ASHA has created the Identify The Signs campaign, which gives parents a place to go to find all of that information, as well as where to find help.”

You can visit www.IdentifyTheSigns.org, to learn more about the poll results and early detection.

“Parents who are paying attention to their children really can begin to identify that at an early age,” said Robertson. “If they’re seeing that their child’s not responding to their name when they are called, or their child is not using words by 12 months, not beginning to combine words to express their needs and thoughts by 18 months. Perhaps they’re having a very difficult time being understood even by the members of their family.”

If any of those signs are present, talk to your doctor about a referral and what you can do next.