Speech Language Development
Speech language development begins during the earliest stages of a child's life. Babies who make noise when they are spoken to or emit sounds to express simple emotions, such as laughing when they are happy or crying when they are sad, are expressing the fundamental building blocks of speech language development.
Language itself consists of six different aspects, all of which contribute to a child's speech language development:
- Phonology: the sounds of speech
- Morphology: the formation of words
- Syntax: the ability to string words together in a coherent sentence
- Semantics: the understanding of what specific words mean
- Prosody: the subtleties of rhythm and tone, such as the ability to recognize anger in a person's voice
Pragmatics: the means of expressing oneself with clarity
An Alternate Path to Speech Language Development
Children with dyslexia and other learning disabilities may have difficulty in one or more speech aspects. Some do better at retaining written language than they do spoken language; others may jumble words in a sentence or confuse spatial concepts, such as which side is left and which is right. A thorough testing process can determine the source of the difficulty, and private teaching at a special-needs school can find alternate means of speech language development.
The Center School emphasizes special needs in its curriculum. Our
teaching philosophy stresses language use and exercises designed to help dyslexic children retain information far better than they might outside of a private teaching environment. That allows their speech language skills to develop concurrently with their peers and provides for healthy intellectual and emotional growth. To learn more, call (215) 657-2200, fax (215) 657-2646, or email
centerschool@centerschoolpa.org. Our street address is 2450 Hamilton Ave., Abington, PA 19001.
