You may be wondering what the benefits of speech therapy for toddlers are and what it can do for your child’s language development.
Caregivers who have toddlers in their care wonder how they can help their children through their developmental stages without having to take costly medications that many medical doctors recommend for a child. Toddlers’ hearing and speech development are quite different than that of an adult, so it is important for parents to understand that speech therapy for toddlers cannot replace medical treatments.
Language Development
Toddlers’ language development is still very much in its infancy stage, and even if you are able to teach them how to communicate in the ways that they want to communicate, there is no guarantee that they will develop a healthy relationship with other children in their community.
Their communication with adults is still very limited.
Most of the time, it is just a one-way street that leads them to being lonely and frustrated. Some toddlers’ speech patterns have developed into full sentences into words that they do not recognize. While most toddlers will learn simple sentences by simply listening to others talk, when their speech patterns begin to resemble adult conversations, many parents feel like they are not giving their children the best chance possible.
Non-Verbal Communication
One of the biggest benefits of speech therapy for toddlers is that it gives children a sense of security and a sense of independence. When kids feel secure, it increases their self-esteem. When kids feel secure, it decreases their anxiety and their feelings of helplessness and despair. When kids feel safe and secure, their language and their communication skills are generally much more advanced.
Many children have been able to speak in complete sentences after receiving treatment for speech therapy for toddlers. Even a child who only begins to use a couple of basic words can usually make at least one complete sentence, and may even be able to say more than one sentence at a time! This demonstrates a tremendous amount of confidence for such young children, and it is clear that parents who give speech therapy for toddlers an opportunity to interact with other children in their community are helping their children to develop healthy relationships and self-esteem.
Social Skills
Toddlers often are very social and outgoing, and they do not usually feel that they are in control of their social environments unless they are given the opportunity to become involved in conversations. If your child is shy and does not open up to others, your child’s speech development is likely to suffer.
Additional Benefits
Another benefit of speech therapy for toddlers is that it will help your child to speak clearly, without any hesitations. Many of the times when children are afraid of talking they struggle to express themselves properly, and that is why they are unable to express their thoughts and feelings in a language that others can easily comprehend. If you give your child the opportunity to speak without hesitation or stammering, then you have given him or her the tools necessary to communicate effectively.
Lastly, your child will have a much stronger foundation in writing and talking than they did before the intervention. Children learn to use language in order to express their thoughts & feelings, and this means that they should be able to express themselves properly with words and sentences.
In addition to teaching your child to read, write, and speak properly, they will also be learning to communicate effectively with the world around them.