Dysphasia: what is it and why does it occur in children?
Dysphasia in children is considered a neuropsychiatric disorder and the main causes are to be found in genetics. The phenomenon is complex and can have different degrees of severity, moreover it can manifest itself in very different forms in the various subjects. To better understand what it is we need to investigate the matter, but first we want to leave you an interesting video that addresses the thorny issue concerning "parents and feelings of guilt".
What is dysphasia?
If we wanted to give a specific definition to the term dysphasia, we could say that it is a serious and persistent disorder of linguistic development. In some cases, dysphasia can manifest itself in the child through attention deficit and even neurological damage. We speak of dysphasia when the child has a serious delay in all the normal linguistic stages: after the appearance of the first words, many children stop saying new ones for a long time before there is a significant increase in their vocabulary.
In children with dysphasia the language remains very basic, made up of single words and this can last up to 3 and a half years. This is the period in which children usually begin to pronounce short sentences, without the use of verbs and syntax. The most frequent omission concerns grammatical elements such as articles, prepositions, etc ...
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Dysphasia: what are the main causes?
As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, a triggering cause of dysphasia has not yet been identified, and it seems that it is all a matter of genetics. In rare cases, however, the pathology may depend on a lesion or dysfunction of the temporal lobe of the brain.
Precisely because almost all cases of dysphasia do not find objective findings, the onset of psychological or psychosomatic causes, in this case potentially reversible, has also been hypothesized.
If you notice that your child cannot express himself even with simple words, first avoid alarming yourself. At a later time it may be advisable to have it examined by the doctor and possibly by a specialist. Let's see how we can recognize dysphasia.
How does dysphasia manifest itself in children?
In most cases, the first signs of dysphasia occur already in the first year of the child: delays in language development, no curiosity towards communication, no attempt to repeat the words that parents teach him.
In reality, dysphasia should not be diagnosed before 3 or 4 years of age because every child has his or her own timing and not everyone starts speaking so early, without there being a suspicion of a problem.
The diagnosis of dysphasia usually coincides with the beginning of kindergarten, but it is good to know that only after the age of 3 can you suspect that you are facing this problem.
The main symptoms are closely related to language, expression and communication skills. Let's see them specifically. The dysphasic child is unable to:
- correctly pronounce phonemes and words
- being able to correlate terms and objects, sensations
- find the right words to identify concepts
Other collateral behaviors related to dysphasia are psychomotor type: difficulty in making lateral movements, a child is clumsy and not very agile, as if he is not sure of the movements he is making or does not feel master of his own balance.
Finally, in the most complex cases of dysphasia, particular and very typical behaviors of the disorder can be added: the child is repetitive and methodical, goes into crisis if the usual order of actions or events of his day is changed, does not like to communicate and interact with others and tends to isolate himself, as if the rest of the world interests him little.
Dysphasia: how to diagnose it
To diagnose a disorder such as dysphasia it is necessary to do specific tests. A first step could be a CT scan of the head, accompanied, if the doctor deems it necessary, by an electroencephalogram, to rule out any organic cause of the brain.
However, it is important to emphasize that it is very rare for dysphasia to depend on an actual brain injury.
As a second test, an audiometric examination will be carried out: in many cases, a suspected dysphasia could be due to a hearing deficit. Finally, it could be the case to subject the child to a pediatric neurological examination: the neurologist, placing everything in the form of a game, will evaluate the three main areas of interest related to this disorder.
- The sphere of spoken and understood language
Using small everyday objects, ask the child to perform simple actions to understand how many words the child masters and how much he is able to understand the words that are said to him.
- The psychomotor sphere
In this case, the doctor will ask you to perform precision movements to assess the degree of coordination.
- The psychological sphere
In this case the specialist's focus will be on behaviors, to understand if they depend on the discomfort of not understanding language or on affective deficiencies.
How to cure dysphasia in children
Dysphasia does not have a proper treatment protocol, in the sense that there are no medicines capable of making it disappear. What can be done is to provide the child with good speech therapy support, which will bring excellent results in almost all cases, allowing him to grow, interact with peers and attend school like everyone else.
For the success of the treatment process, timeliness is essential: the sooner we intervene and the sooner the child will begin to recover the gaps, aligning himself with the development of his peers. Dysphasic children followed since kindergarten have shown, in almost all cases, that they can get to primary school at the same level as their classmates and that they can tackle school without any particular difficulties.
It would be useful for the mother, the father, the teachers, the speech therapy expert and all the other figures involved, to develop a common project with general and specific lines for the rehabilitation of the child. It is good to focus on the success of the various communicative acts more than on the words or actions that he fails to perform, this to feed the joy, the pleasure of the company, and the well-being which is the fundamental push to continue the therapy path.
Even if the temptation is strong, it is better never to ask the child to repeat: it would be useless as well as harmful and further frustration for him.
Any "training" must be limited to speech therapy, making sure that there is absolute clarity about what you are doing.
The really important and useful aspect is to talk a lot with the child, possibly slowly without however taking away the spontaneity of communication.
As for writing, it is important to help the child analyze the sounds present in the word he has to write. Vice versa, in reading, he must be helped to make the progressive synthesis of the letters he reads, to compose the word.
Be careful not to propose activities aimed at reading correctness rather than comprehension: it is more meaningful and rewarding to read to understand what is written.
The dysphasic child needs to design the contents of the school work so that he can get to know the world, perhaps with interest and curiosity.
Frequently asked questions about dysphasia
How to calmly face your child's dysphasia?
We understand well how difficult it is, especially at the beginning, to have to manage the dysphasia of one's child, on the other hand we would like to say that with the right therapies the child can easily fill any gaps created with his peers at language levels, movements, actions etc ... In general, dysphasia is still a little known phenomenon, but in recent years the increase in cases has brought the problem into the spotlight and consequently the therapies are also becoming increasingly targeted.
Dysphasic child: how to deal with school?
The issue that grips many parents with their children with dysphasia is precisely the school. How to do? Will the child be able to keep up? We have seen that timely intervention can ensure that progress is immediate and therefore the child can easily follow school lessons just like his peers. Speech therapy is what helps the most, and you could also ask for specific support for your child from the teachers by inquiring with the school.
Dysphasia and dyslexia: are they the same thing?
While dysphasia focuses more on language disorder, dyslexia also involves learning. The two phenomena are closely linked to each other, but it should be emphasized that with the right therapies, speech therapy in the first place, the child can achieve enormous progress and overcome the problem.
