By Kimberly A. Powell, Ph.D. Speech is a skill that children begin to develop with the first sounds they make as babies. For most children, their first words are made up of simple sounds such as Mama, Dada or bye-bye. Gradually children begin to use their speech skills, or sounds, to form language.
Language refers to the use of words and sentences to convey ideas.
As children begin to develop more complicated language, they produce longer words that require more fine motor control. By the time they are ready to go to school, most children have speech that is easily understood by an unfamiliar listener. However, some children take longer to develop their speech to a level where everything they say can be understood. These speech or language delays can occur for a variety of reasons. According to Elizabeth M. Prather, Ph.D, Finding the exact cause or causes of your child's speech problem can be difficult.