Children learn to say sounds by listening to people talking to them and around them. Some children have difficulties acquiring one or more speech sounds and this makes their speech unclear to other people. It is important to remember that young children are not able to produce every sound. This is because speech is a complicated process and over 100 sets of muscles are used in the production of the vowels and consonants of English. It takes a lot of practise at coordinating these muscles before a child is able to produce intelligible speech. Furthermore, there is a process of speech sound acquisition which all children go through and each sound is acquired at a specific stage of development. Therefore, it is normal for children of certain ages to make errors in their speech.
Did you know that a child's vocabulary at age five is the strongest predictor of future academic success? Or that late talkers never really catch up completely with their peers? Early language skills are so important. They affect a child's ability to think, learn and be. Early language skills affect literacy ability and later academic achievements as well as a child's future prospects. The quality and quantity of language a child hears in their environment is the strongest predictor of their communication skills. Parents and carers have a huge impact on their child's ability to acquire language so it is important that they know the best way to achieve this.
Literacy is one of the most important skills humans can learn. According to the National Literacy Trust, 'Lacking vital literacy skills holds a person back at every stage of their life.' Without the ability to read and write, children will struggle at school and in the work place. As parents, they will struggle to facilitate their own children's learning. The National Literacy Trust has carried out a lot of research into literacy and a person's ability to read and write has been shown to affect life outcomes and even life expectancy! The National Literacy Trust found that life expectancy can be shortened by 26 years for those living in areas with poorest literacy skills. So, having good literacy skills is highly important for learning throughout life and improving life chances.
