Sheri and Brooks Hilton
c/o Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders
700–B NW Hill Street, Bend, Oregon 97701–2923

Hearing disorders, when corrected, often improve childhood speech.

Our daughter is crying again and pulling on her ears. It's another ear infection. Heather's ear infections started around six months of age and lasted until she was 18 months old, a critical time of hearing. We decided it was time to have tubes put in her tympanic membranes (eardrums). It was a simple operation and went smoothly.

A few days after the operation, we noticed an improvement in Heather's disposition and in her articulation of the few words she could say. This led us to believe that she had not been able to hear sounds very well due to her ear infections. At her two-year check-up, Heather's speech seemed to be a little behind other children her age. Her hearing was checked and was normal. We were told not to worry, "All children develop at different rates." However, we were still concerned. We wondered if there was something we could do to increase her language and what we could do to improve her speech clarity.

Six months later, Heather's speech still seemed far behind her peers. It made our hearts ache to watch her try to tell us something and then give up in frustration. We were very worried. We began looking for help and started to research the different speech clinics in our area. When we contacted the Scottish Rite Clinic in Bend, Oregon, they returned our call immediately and set up an evaluation. The evaluation showed that Heather was delayed in speech and language.

Fortunately, Heather was able to begin speech therapy immediately at the Scottish Rite Clinic with Speech-Language Pathologist, Stephanie Marz. Since starting with the clinic, we have seen steady progress in Heather's clarity of speech and complexity of her language. Heather's disposition is now happier thanks to her new ability to express herself more clearly. Heather still has difficulties articulating some sounds for her developmental age, and at times can still get frustrated when communicating. However, she continues to make progress and should be in the average range by the time she enters kindergarten. We would like to thank the Scottish Rite Clinic and Ms. Stephanie Marz for planting the seed while we water it and watch it grow.

Your one and a half year old hasn't spoken her first word, but is there need for concern? If you're considering delaying action, you may want to reconsider. Early identification of speech and language delays is critical in strengthening communication skills and enhancing school success.

Early identification means evaluating and treating children under 3 years of age who are at risk, such as those who received neonatal care after birth, have chronic ear infections, or those with developmental disorders. Early identification also means looking for signs of possible speech and language problems during early childhood. Some telltale signs that children may be having difficulty are: they have not spoken by age one, their speech is unclear, and their speech and language skills vary from other children's skills in the same age group.

If you are concerned, don't assume that your child will simply outgrow the problem. Although children with early speech and language problems may eventually develop normal speech and language skills, these problems often persist. Concerned parents should have their child evaluated by a licensed speech-language pathologist in a public school or private setting.

For additional information call the ASHA HELPLINE at 1–800–638–8255 or the Scottish Rite Clinics at 1–800–SRMASON. It has been estimated that for every $1 the Scottish Rite invests in a pre-school child, society will save $3 to $6 in later remedial education, welfare, and crime control costs.