BETTER SPEECH FOR YOUR CHILD

Accessible, uncomplicated advice from two speech teachers who recognize speech as one aspect of development and emphasize the need for parental approval and encouragement rather than correction. Lattman and Seandle discuss the significance of successive milestones--responsive babbling, imitative sounds, three-word sentences--and indicate the value of simple supportive activities (""This little pig went to market"") during a child's first five years. Active listening and a good speech model are most important for fostering early speech efforts, and patience is critical during those periods of dysfluency that most children experience. Not surprisingly, the authors favor professional consultation over parental diagnosis because most speech problems have environmental origins. Although those of organic origin respond to early one-to-one intervention, functional speech defects require more complex treatment involving a modification of environmental pressures as well as individual attention. In sum: sensible, integrated recommendations concentrating on sequential development (within broad age ranges) and sensitive to those common worries over ""late"" or limited speech.