The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-16
Child s Speech Important 7 ToWatch
Edited by Dr. Morris Fishbein of the editorial staf fof Hygeia and of the
 Journal of the American Medical As

editorial staf fof Hygeia and of the
 Journal of the American Medical As sociation.
 tCopyrisht. I92t. in U. s. and Canada by by The Age-Herald. All rights reservedO "A childs articulate speech says James Sonnett Greene, usually begins ! when he is about nine months old" but there is no need for parents to worry even if the speech is delayed to the age of two years, provided only that the delay is not due to trouble with the i child's hearing. If the child can hear
 properly, he will, no doubt, begin to speak in time.
 Many mothers wonder whether or not
 the infant has any conception ot what
 is going on about him. There is, ot
 course, a difference between percep-
 ton of what is going on and knowledge
 or intelligence of what such things
 mean. The normal child probably be-
 gins to hear and to respond to sounds ' about the fourth day at the end of it's first month it may recognize sounds and at the end of the third month 1t may begin to initiate sounds. Usually
 this babbling of sounds is taken by the fond parent to be q mark of unusual intelligence. However, such speech has seldom any real significance in defln- Fling the mental processes.
 During the third year the child be-
 ins to understand to some extent the
 hings that he hears and to bring to
 ise words correctly and with discriml-
 ,ation. As Dr. Greene puts it: At
 irst every man to him is dady; at
 .ength he learns the term applies only
 to one."
 During the third year the child begins to put words into phrases and sen tences. These expressions may be quite unusual and often poetical, since they are an attempt to utilize small vocab- Hilary for rather extentive meanings. \ Samples that are quoted include such phrases as noisy water" for the surf. and walking sky for scurrying clouds
 In the National hospital for Speech Disorders, of which pr. Greene is di rector, it has been the experience that Ichildren tend to follow the speech that Whey hear, not only as to grammar, but actually as to the form of expression and phraseology. Therefore the child should hear normal, straightforward, standard ''ech, expressed with proper Rhythm and intonation. Traii.inS in
 beech should begin as soon as the child
 Is able to talk The worst possible lining to talk to a baby is 'baby talk (which often becomes confirmed as a abit, remaining throughout adult years . certain types of personalities. Two children in every thousand, it I as been estimated, stutter. Suffering
 dependent on many preventable con Nditions. Stuttering children are usual
 Ny, the victims of sensitive or excitable X emperaments, the result perhaps of un-
 usual fright or shock or perhaps of
 some severe infectious disease. In other instances the child begins to stut- { ter through imitation. The first phrases of correction must be training in calmness and a thorough understanding 1 by the child as to why he shutters. It is desirable in every case to learn whether or not there are any diff culties in the structure of the mouth, nose and other tissues, which may oe responsible for various defects to speech.
 Speech defects are in the vast major \ ity of cases the result of habits ac- uuired in childhood, or of abnormal conditions. Cure consists of getting new habits adopted and of correcting the abnormal causes.