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Show Me the Bunny: Language Acquisition
Some children are really funny about experimenting with
speech. Nonetheless, the first intelligible words bring such a
feeling of elation to a parent. Come on, Sweetie. Show Mumma the
bunny. Without saying a word, my little girl points to a plush
rabbit.
Ever since I read in a parents' newsletter that kids my
younger daughter's age should have a vocabulary, I've been trying
to persuade her to speak words instead of relying on gesturing,
pointing, and high-pitched squealing to make her needs and wants
known. While a mild speech delay might be understandable for
bilingual babies who are trying to sort out the mechanics of two
languages, mine has only one language to learn. Apart from her
experiencing frequent ear infections at an early age, I have to
wonder, what's up?
Bear. Ball. Blocks. I repeat words to her over and over,
thinking that somehow, this might pass on whatever information
she needs to be able to form the words herself. Bee. Ba-by.
Ga-a-a? She asks, using the same intonation with which I recite
the alphabet to her. She spends the rest of the afternoon
touching my mouth while I'm talking to her.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, while
eighteen months is the age at which a toddler should be able to
say her own name, it isn't until early in the second year of life
that a toddler will seem to understand what's being said to her,
because this is the age at which kids develop language and
comprehension skills.
It's a huge leap in a child's development, and will probably
alter existing parent-child communication. Now would be a good
time to discontinue the kind of language I've grown accustomed to
conducting conversations in ("piggies" instead of "toes,"
"yummies" instead of each meal's correct name).
By the end of her second year, a toddler should have about
fifty spoken words, and should begin using two-word sentences. To
my dismay, mine only ventures to pronounce a word's second
syllable when it sounds exactly like the first; transposes some
sounds (cup becomes "pa;" rip becomes "pi"), and approximates
others (hello is "ha WOW"). Far from being on her way to
constructing two-word sentences, she doesn't try saying her name.
Duck. Ga-a. I place her hand on my cheek and try again. Duck. She
shortens her ga-a to match the abbreviated sound I'm making. Ga.
I'll bet she's a little perfectionist, refusing to say much until
she can speak correctly.
I'm afraid if she catches on to my disappointment with her
progress, she'll stop trying altogether. So I'm quietly making an
appointment for her to see an audiologist. As I wait on hold, I
tell myself that this is probably nothing.
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