Children learn to talk at different rates and because of this, watching for a child’s communication milestones can be a source of excitement and also one of anxiety for caregivers. If you are reading this, there is a good chance you may already be in this “anxiety” phase. 

When Covid-19 hit the world in early 2020, there was a sense that Malaysia would soon be on top of things and that the effects of the pandemic would not last long. But that wasn’t to be. In Malaysia, sixteen months on from the initial Covid-19 lockdown, we are still experiencing closures, re-openings, U-turns and broken promises. Many have been sustaining lives in a holding mode waiting for when Life can return to the pre-Covid norm we are used to. Many, working from home and juggling everything that comes along with it, have overcome anxieties and have adjusted living to accommodate on-going restrictions governing their lives.

credit: The Straits Times

In the process, however, things meant to be done have been postponed to be tackled later when the situation is safer and everything reverts to normality. Unfortunately, if your child has a speech-language delay, sixteen months down the line and counting, it is no longer viable to wait to secure help for your child as it is not known how long we have to wait for normality, as we knew it, to return.

If you are worried that your child in experiencing a speech-language delay, identifying and addressing the problem early is best as the problem will be easier to solve. The longer you wait, the longer it will take to solve the problem’. The human brain is built for improving this kind of developmental issue in early childhood and early language intervention is critically important to develop the necessary communication skills required for future success in their academic and personal lives. In short, the earlier support is received by a child, the better his/her language outcome will be.

So how does one achieve a speech and language consultation in the age of Covid-19, social distancing, multiple restrictions and lockdowns? The pandemic has taken its toll’. There are aspects of education that may never be the same again. However, the past year and a half has proven that some professions have the capacity for creativity, empathy and resilience. This is certainly true of Speech-Language Therapy.

When lockdowns occurred in March 2020, most speech therapists migrated their clients from in-person therapy sessions to tele-therapy sessions (and NO, it is not like online school, I promise!). Though there are a few Speech Therapists who continue to conduct in-person therapy sessions with full PPE, masks and shields, other speech-language therapists have developed comprehensive ways of conducting accurate language assessments and therapy sessions virtually via multiple channels where their facial expressions can be fully appreciated by the child while they are communicating.

Often, this involves observation of the child from recordings taken at home during normal routines, discussion with parents via video chats, questionnaires and interactive tasks either directly with the therapist, and/or with caregivers facilitating under the direction of the therapist. The two most common fears that parents have with tele-therapy is (1) the connection between the clinician and the child will somehow be lost, and (2) that they (parents) are not equipped to facilitate activities with their child. Both these fears are understandable but inaccurate. 

Even pre-covid, clinicians leveraged on parents during speech therapy sessions to generalise skills acquired in structured therapy as parents are usually the centre of their children’s lives. As speech therapy generally involves improving communication skills during play and daily routines, focusing on these targets at home is the best place to achieve this. As caregivers provide necessary language models to their children on a daily basis, during intervention parents are provided with strategies and tools they need to facilitate speech and language development across many everyday activities.

These activities provide opportunities for children to learn during play, reading books and during daily routines (preparing meals, mealtimes, bath times, family chores, bedtime etc.) Intervention also brings a greater understanding of their child’s needs and how to break learning down into small steps for their child. When children are successful at what they are doing, they have fun learning in almost any activity and this, results in them usually wanting to learn more.

The other added benefit is the fact that by becoming an effective communicator at home, your child will automatically be communicating with adults and peers in his/her immediate environment. This reduces the need to generalise skills from the therapy room to the home environment and this, in turn, results in decreased frustration and negative behaviours exhibited at home. Working together with a Speech-Language Therapist enables confidence in parents that they are facilitating their child’s communication development appropriately and in the best way possible.

Delaying intervention puts off important treatment that can make a big difference to a child in so many ways.

So, if your child is a late talker, has difficulty following directions or answering questions, has difficulty pronouncing certain speech sounds and if you are wondering whether your child might have delayed speech or language skills compared to other children his/her age, please contact a speech-language therapist.

Research shows that when children do not close the gap in their language skills, they may have persistent language difficulties, as well as, difficulty with reading and writing when they begin school. That is why the ‘wait and see approach’ is not recommended when it comes to language development.

Delaying intervention puts off important treatment that can make a big difference to a child in so many ways. The wonderful thing is, you are not limited to professionals within your immediate community and can consult with any professional you are comfortable with from the comfort of your home, incorporating intervention in your daily routines minus travel time.

Jennifer Peters is a Consultant Speech-Language Therapist who has made meaningful communication her life’s work. Please feel free to contact her at jennifer@carespeech.com