Forty million Americans have some form of communication disorder. We spoke with Kimberly Camba of Camba Speech & Language Therapy about childhood speech disorders. Camba is an American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA)–certified speech language pathologist who grew up in St. Louis, earned her bachelor’s degree from Saint Louis University, and received her master’s degree from the University of Redlands in California. She works with private clients and in schools with children ages 4–16.
What are some helpful parenting tips regarding how children develop language skills? One of the most important things you can do for your child at any age, especially if you have speech and language concerns, is putting them in a language-enriched environment. Singing, reading books, and telling stories are all great. I also tell parents to narrate during daily routines and talk about the world around them as much as possible, like at home, in the grocery store, at the park, and at the zoo.
What kinds of signs let a parent know their child might need to see a speech therapist? For infants, if they aren’t trying to make eye contact or if they aren’t making as many babbling noises as you’d expect—it might be a good time to call a speech therapist. For toddlers, make sure they’re trying to interact with adults and other kids. If they don’t have their first word by about 12–14 months, then consider a specialist. Kids develop at a faster rate when they’re in school, and usually teachers are good about noticing if a child is hard to understand in class or if they’re struggling with stories, reading, or understanding narrative. Those might be signs to call a speech therapist.
What can a child and parent expect when seeing a speech language pathologist, whether that’s for stuttering, lisping, or cognitive speech disorders? We emphasize, “You can do this; we just need to practice a little bit. You’re already successful at many things; we just need to work on a couple others.” I try to do activities that touch on a child’s interests. If I have a kid who loves superheroes, I’ll try to incorporate activities where he is a superhero who must talk through obstacles.
Why are trust and confidence so important? Self-esteem and speech go hand in hand. You can have the physical skills to produce a good “r” sound, but if you’re not confident, you might not be motivated to practice. Articulation is a lot of muscle memory.
What is the best way to correct speech in the moment? I always emphasize the child’s strengths. If I’m going to criticize, I sandwich the criticism in positives. Just letting a kid be a kid is important, too, and we shouldn’t comment every time the kid talks. Let them talk just to communicate their ideas with you. Praise them when they have smooth speech.
