Show I KNOW YOUR 6 N CHILD I THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPEECH i I Our readers are cordially inVited in- in to address Dr Crane care tit Of f the Die McClUre Newspaper S Syndicate Syn n Fourth avenue N N. YC Y C C. on all problems arising either eith eith- er en in the home or 01 school concerning concerning con con- corning difficult or unusual children All letters will be ac acknowledged ac- ac j By DR ALBERT ALBER LOYAL LOYAL CRANE While perfectly normal children often show wide variations from the average in rate of ot speech de development development de- de it should nevertheless i iI prove of considerable interest to I tabulate tabulate- the tabulate the progressive developmental developmental develop develop- mental stages through which the average child passes in this mastery o of speech t I Following an analysis o of speech development by Wilhelm Stern we may divide the first fast six sK years of life into a preliminary period and four distinctively characteristic pe periods periods pe- pe nods of speech formation I The preliminary period is roughly I the first year of life during which speech as such does not rot occur I u inuring mis year me Ine gains a l limited control over his v vocal cal or organs or- or gans Articulate sounds commence t to o appear and later on toward the e end nd of the year the f first dim understanding un un- understanding I of the spoken word la is usually noticed The e first period period of actual speech I e extends roughly from the twelfth t to o the eighteenth month Single words of simple character are used I b by y the child In such a manner as asto to convey the meaning of an entire e sentence Thus bopple for or bottle may be used to mean I I 1 see my botI bottie bot- bot botI tie or I want my bottle etc Almost Al- Al Al 1 I most invariably however these thes simple one word sentences express I some Instinctive desire or need surging through the childs child's mind j at the moment The second period extends from I about the eighteenth month to the I second birthday and Is marked by a great increase in the childish voI vocabulary vo- vo I Evident interest is manifested manifested mani mani- tested Mn In ln the names of things and I many questions asked During this period also there first occurs the the tho combination o of two or more words into a simple sentence The third period period- extending from two to two and a half is essentially a period of mastery of grammatical form torm Simple sentences involving the use of the past tense begin to appear Adjectives and adverbs In Inthe Inthe inthe the comparative and superlative de degree degree degree de- de gree are correctly used and finally the fourth period of indefinite du duration duration du- du ration which is usually ushered in in by bv a tornado of questions Why I I i Why Why Why marks marks the final I acquisition o of speech habits The use of subordinate clauses The finer distinction lon between words the continuous increase of vocabulary nil all undergo a gradual and simultaneous simultaneous simul simul- growth culminating In the facile speech of adult man I I Dear Dr Crane I I 1 have a little girl four years old I who speaks but a few v words She understands everything I say to herand her herand herand and does everything she sees other children doing but no matter how much I try to teach her she does not make any advance ance towards speech but keeps repeating the same few tew words all the time I She he Is la well developed in every I way and sleeps and eats well Her I Ionly only Illness has been measles Her Her adenoids and tonsils have recently been removed I shall shaH be very grateful for your advice I r e READER I It Is of course very true that many childr children n o of perfectly normal mentality remal remal distressingly silent forlong m months after their brothers and sisters have talked and then breaks forth Into perfectly normal speech for their age However when a child who has I reached the age of four fails to e tJ press herself any better than yo ol have described there Is every reason to suspect that something ls is wron wrong The possible cause of your daugh ter's tens silence other than an unus unus' unus unusually prolonged shyness are Men tal deficiency deafness deaf mut ism tongue-tied tongue in serious senous deeres degre or undeveloped vocal co coI cordi cordi I 1 urge you to have the child examined ex I by both a physician and i I psychologist J Copyright 1924 by the McClur McClun Newspaper Syndicate |