Speech and Language Delay in children and its homoeopathic management

Dr Farhatameen pachapuri¹ Dr Nahida M Mulla²  

ABSTRACT
Speech and language development in children is a dynamic process that is critical to their overall development and intellectual functioning. This article investigates the important relationship between speech and language development and different aspects of a child’s life, such as reading, writing, attention, and sociability. We discuss the significant influence that speech and language deficits can have on these areas, emphasizing the importance of early detection and intervention. Recognizing that speech and language development is an important predictor of a child’s overall development, this article emphasizes the importance of developing these skills from an early age to help children attain their maximum potential. Parents, educators, and caregivers can provide the required support by recognizing the varied nature of speech and language development.

Keywords: Speech and language delay, Homeopathic therapeutics

Definition

SPEECH:

• Refers to the mechanics of oral communication or the motor act of communicating through verbal expression.
• The verbal production of words is known as speech.
• Speech Delay, also referred to as Alalia, is a delay in the development or usage of the mechanism that produces speech.

LANGUAGE:

• Language is communication’s conceptual processing.
• Language delay is defined as a delay in the acquisition or application of language skills.
• Language consists of two parts: Receptive language (understanding) and Expressive language (the ability to communicate information, feelings, thoughts, and ideas).

PREVALANCE

• Boys are three to four times more likely than females to suffer from disorder.

RISK FACTOR

• Being born prematurely.
• Being born with a low birth weight.
• Having a history of speech or language problems in one’s family.
• Having parents with lesser education levels.

CAUSES

Speech and language delays can be caused by a variety of factors. Sometimes the same problem causes both speech and language issues.

• Learning difficulties: Many children have learning difficulties as a result of flaws in their brain’s functioning, which causes speech delay.
• Autism spectrum disorders: Autism is a spectrum disorder that is typically accompanied with speech delay.
• Hearing Impairment & Chronic Ear Infections: Children with hearing impairments are more likely to experience speech and language delays because they do not have the opportunity to hear and imitate a language. Chronic ear infections in some children might cause a delay in their speech and response due to a lack of input for imitation.
• Oral Abnormalities: Children with tongue or palate abnormalities have trouble articulating their oral cavities to generate meaningful sounds.
• Oral-Motor difficulties: Some children have problems coordinating the oral components of speech due to difficulties in the areas of the brain that govern this. When this coordination fails, youngsters experience speech delays.
• Neurological Issues: Some congenital disorders, such as cerebral palsy, brain damage, and muscular dystrophy, impact the muscles that are essential for speaking. In such cases, the child’s speech is harmed and therapeutic actions are required.
• Family History: The presence of a close family member with a speech delay can have an indirect impact on the child’s communication milestone.
• Mental Retardation: The most common reason of speech delay is mental retardation. A mentally retarded child exhibits global language delay, delayed auditory comprehension, and delayed use of gestures in more than half of the instances.
• Selective Mutism: Is a severe anxiety disease in which a person is unable to communicate in specific social situations, such as among classmates at school or distant relatives. It usually begins in childhood and, if untreated, can last until adulthood.
• Prematurity: Some premature babies who are born before reaching full term experience developmental delays.
• Several psychosocial issues: These can all contribute to language delay. For example, acute neglect, parental absence, and mental stress can all contribute to difficulties with language development.

TYPES

1. Primary

Delays include;

• Developmental speech and language delay.
• Expressive language disorder.
• Receptive language disorder.

2. Secondary

Delays includes;

• Hearing loss.
• Intellectual disability.
• Autism spectrum disorder.
• Physical speech problems.
• Selective mutism.
• Cerebral palsy.etc

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DISORDER:

Children with expressive language disorders do not develop speech at the expected age.These children have typical IQ, hearing, emotional interactions, and articulation skills.

Signs and symptoms of expressive language disorders:

• Children with expressive language disorders struggle to convey what they need or what they are thinking through language. These youngsters may struggle to connect words together to form a phrase, or their sentences may be simple and short, with words out of sequence.
• When speaking, they have difficulty finding the correct words and frequently utilize placeholder words such as “um.”
• Have a vocabulary that is lower than other youngsters of their age
• Repeat certain words and sections or all of questions several times.
• Incorrect usage of tenses (past, present, and future).
• When speaking, leave words out of phrases.

RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE DISORDER:

Speech is slow, sparse, agrammatic, and articulation is vague.

Signs and symptoms of receptive language disorders:

• Having difficulty in understanding what other people say.
• Directions are difficult to follow.
• They are having difficulty arranging their thoughts.

SPEECH DISORDERS:

Speech disorders can be caused by any deviation in the condition of the breathing and voice producing mechanisms, including the integrity of the mouth and oral cavity.

• Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
• Oro facial Myofunctional Disorders.
• Speech Sound Disorders.

LANGUAGE DISORDERS

Individuals with language impairments often struggle to process sentences and recall information from both short- and long-term memory.

• Preschool Language Disorders
• Learning Disabilities (Reading, Spelling, and Writing)
• Selective Mutism

SCREENING TESTS

• The early Language milestone scale.
• Peabody picture vocabulary test revised.
• Denver Developmental Screening test.

MANAGEMENT

• A child with a speech delay should be managed on an individual basis.
• A physician, a speech-language pathologist, an audiologist, a psychologist, an occupational therapist, and a social worker may be part of the health care team.
• Direct therapy or group therapy provided by a Physician, caretaker or teacher and family member to the child.
• Therapies include naming objects, modelling and prompting, individual or group play, reading and conversation
• Speech therapy.

Some Parenting Tips For Helping Their Child’s Speech And Language:

• Begin chatting to your child as soon as he or she is born. Hearing speech benefits even babies.
• Responds to coos and chattering from the infant.
• Play easy games with your child.
• Pay attention to your child. Take a look at them as they’re speaking.
• Allow them some time to answer.
• Describe to the youngster what they are doing, experiencing, and hearing throughout the day.
• Encourage storytelling and knowledge sharing.
• Don’t try to force child to speak.
• Never criticize your child’s articulation or speech patterns.
• Get your child’s attention. Face your child or sit down with them.
• Give them time to think.
• Use simple language.

HOMOEOPATHIC THERAPEUTICS FOR SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DELAY

CALCAREA CARB:

• Slow in learning to walk and have slow dentition.
• Very slow to respond commands.
• Children are sluggish, dull and lethargic.
• Timid, well-behaved children.
• Fearful and sensitive to rudeness and admonition.
• Voice is too soft to be heard.
• Very obstinate at home.

CALCAREA PHOS:

• Calcarea Phos is indicated for developmental delay.
• Feeble memory, inability to sustain mental effort.
• Sluggishness, slow comprehension.
• Difficulty in performing intellectual operations.
• Write wrong words or same word twice.
• These children are late in learning to walk and talk

BARYTA CARB

• Developmental delay due to Trauma, Vaccination.
• Children often appear dull minded and are slow learners where speech and walking are concerned.
• Slow in gaining weight.
• Lack of concentration, forgetfulness.
• Loss of self-confidence.
• Too dependent on parents.
• Excessively shy child, nervous of strangers.
• Scared of being left alone, night terrors, easily irritated.
• Don’t like interference-touch me not.

TUBERCULINUM:

• Developmental Delay Cases with Low Immunity, Autism.
• Children who are weak, emaciated and mentally deficient due to retarded development.
• Slow learning to talk but early dentition.
• Not interested in studies, bored easily always search new things.

NATRIUM MURIATICUM:

• Is one of the indicated remedy for under sized and underweight children.
• Child is slow in learning to speak.
• It may also have been slow in starting to walk.

AETHUSA CYNAPIUM:

• For Developmental Delay in Children with Peculiar Symptoms recommended in infants who are unable to hold their head.
• These children are highly restless and cry too much.
• Child is confused, idiotic and has inability to think.
• Great weakness of mind and body.

AGARICUS MUSCARIS:

• It is one of the indicated remedy for children with late in learning to talk and walk.
• Here is mental defect, a slow developing mind.
• Children, who cannot remember, make mistakes and are slow in learning.
• Nervous children who on going over their manuscripts find out their mistakes in writing and spelling. Slow to grasp ideas; wrong words.
• Children with twitching and early fainting, nervous girls prior to puberty who have convulsions from being scolded, from excitement and shock; late in mental development

SILICEA:

• Malnutrition due to imperfect assimilation.
• Delay in learning to talk and walk.
• Lack of stamina and very much afraid of failure.
• Image conscious, has to perform well. This pressure increasing stress and lowering of self confidence in presence of others.
• Child is headstrong and obstinate who cries when kindly spoken to.
• Wants to be magnetized.
• Wants of grit either moral or physical.
• Bad effects of vaccinations specially convulsions and suppuration.

References

1. Nelson’s paediatric Text book .
2. P.Ghai paediatric text book.
3. IAP paediatric text book.
4. https://www.healthline.com/health/language-delay
5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333567345_Speech_and_language_delay_in_children_Prevalence_and_risk_factors
6. https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/speech-and-language-delay-in-children-causes-and-tips-to-overcome/
7. https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/diagnoses/language-delay/
8. https://www.drhomeo.com/homeopathic-treatment/homeopathic-treatment-specch-delay/
9. Boericke W. Boericke’s New Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica with Repertory.

Dr Farhatameen pachapuri¹
1 PG Scholar, Department of Paediatrics,A.M. Shaikh Homoeopathic Medical college, Belagavi

Dr Nahida M Mulla² 
2 Professor, HOD & PG Guide, Department of Paediatrics, A.M. Shaikh Homoeopathic Medical college, Belagavi