The situation when a child began to speak, but suddenly stopped, is unfortunately familiar to many parents; it causes no less anxiety than a complete absence of speech. Such setbacks are often temporary, but do not always go away on their own, so under no circumstances should you delay visiting a specialist. In addition, you may make a mistake with the probable cause and waste time. To properly help a child, it is necessary to first establish the exact cause of the loss of speech. Let's look at the most common cases.
The child stopped speaking at the age of 1-1.5 years, although he already knows several babbling words.
Most often, the baby refuses to speak because the parents demand too much from him and force him to repeat words over and over again. Such small children are simply not ready for such stress, so they become silent due to extreme fatigue.
Solution: Leave the baby alone, do not put pressure on him. When he speaks again, don't repeat the same mistakes. The return of speech may take several days or a month. There is no need to panic, but be sure to show your child to a neurologist to rule out diseases of the central nervous system.
Disease
In some cases, speech disappears if the infection has affected the organs of the respiratory system and caused an increase in body temperature. This happens especially often in very young children who are just starting to speak. In more severe situations, the infection affects the speech centers of the brain and auditory receptors.
Solution: As a rule, speech is restored to its previous volume after recovery from colds, so special help is not required. If the child has suffered a severe infection, he should be immediately checked by a neurologist and otolaryngologist. The sooner treatment and correction are started, the more speech will return to the baby.
Baby becomes silent in front of strangers
Silence is a natural defensive reaction of the body when a child encounters a stranger, especially if he seems scary or simply somehow incomprehensible. Lack of speech may occur for several hours after the meeting.
Solution: If your baby fell silent immediately after your meeting with a stranger, then most likely he will speak before going to bed. Be sure to have a friendly conversation with him about the stranger, tell him that he is a good person who poses no danger, and that his parents like to communicate with him. The child should feel that you are completely safe with him, and next time he will worry less.
What to do
- If the reason is the increased demands of the baby’s mother and father, then your task is to leave the child alone. Do not interfere in the current situation. The little one will speak again when the time comes. And then there is no need to repeat the mistakes you have made and apply pressure again. Everything has its time. You should be prepared for the fact that this process of speech restoration may take a long time; no one knows whether it will take a week or a month. In such a situation, consultation with a specialist is still recommended. In addition, you may be wrong about the suspected cause.
- If a change of environment is to blame, wait a little; most likely, the child will adapt and the speech problems will disappear on their own.
- When speech loss is accompanied by an illness, this problem does not require special treatment. It is enough to carry out the basic procedures for healing from the disease, and speech function will be restored immediately.
- If the child remains silent after your conversation with a person unfamiliar to the baby, then do not be alarmed; most likely, the little one will speak before the end of the day. There is no need to use special methods. The only thing you can do is, after breaking up with the stranger, talk to your little one, tell him that this person is very good, he helps you, that his mother likes to be friends with him. The main thing is that the baby feels your positive attitude and understands that there is no danger for him or for his mother.
- If the cause of this condition is severe stress or fear, you cannot do without consulting a psychologist. The doctor will be able to conduct special sessions and tell you what exercises to do at home with your child. And soon everything will get better.
- If the child’s silence is provoked by increased guardianship on the part of the parents, then you should think about your behavior. In such a situation, a family visit to a psychologist would not be out of place, although initially only the mother can come to the session. Often, with our arrogant guardianship and love, we literally “cut off the child’s oxygen,” then in such a situation it is necessary to start solving the problem with the parents, and only then deal with the baby, if the need for this still remains.
- If the child’s silence is accompanied by additional symptoms, you suspect problems in the functioning of the brain, especially if the child hit his head the day before, then you must urgently call an ambulance and begin a course of medication and related procedures.
- We should not forget about the possibility that such a condition may be a symptom of a psychological disorder. That is why the most vigilant parents rush to show their baby to a specialist, especially if there are cases of mental illness in the family.
Knowing the probable causes, parents are able to prevent this condition. If a child stops speaking, do not immediately despair and think that this is a sign of a serious illness. Your task is to figure it all out, to think about what preceded this state. If necessary, seek advice from a pediatrician or psychologist, neurologist. Sometimes it is better to be safe than to waste time and not start specific treatment in time.
Severe stress
The death of a beloved relative, the departure of one of the parents, an accident, a natural disaster, a constant nervous situation in the family, severe fear - all this can lead not only to the disappearance of speech, but also to the fact that the child can withdraw into himself for a long time.
Solution: If the silence continues for more than several hours, then you need to contact a child psychologist as soon as possible, since there is a high risk of developing severe stuttering. A specialist will help the child cope with severe emotional shock and get out of the situation with minimal consequences for his development. Follow all the recommendations strictly, and soon everything will be sorted out.
Causes
At different stages of life, different factors can influence the loss of speech. If your little one suddenly stops talking, don’t rush to take him to a neurologist, first think about maybe there was a change of situation or another reason that doesn’t require a doctor.
- The one-year-old child stopped speaking after already having a small vocabulary. This condition may be caused by the mother’s arrogant desire to improve the baby’s speech skills. There are cases when parents want to speed things up and do everything so that the child speaks as quickly as possible and is able to express himself in whole sentences. They begin to teach the little one, ask him to repeat words, the child is not ready for such stress, he is very tired of the parents’ desire, which leads to the fact that he simply stops speaking.
- Adaptation period. The baby may suddenly become silent if he is transferred to a foreign, unknown environment. In fact, this is stress for the child’s body.
We had a similar incident in our old apartment. A neighbor boy of three years old, who had already talked quite a lot, who was used to being with his mother all the time, went to kindergarten and fell silent. Moreover, he began to remain silent, both in the garden and at home. The neighbor ran with the child to the neurologist when she saw that for the second day the baby was silent, as if he had taken water into his mouth. The doctor immediately asked if anything had preceded this situation. When I found out that the child had gone to preschool, he said that he needed to wait until the end of the week; most likely, during this time the child’s speech would return; the whole reason is the adaptation period, the baby needs to get used to new walls, new people, and children in particular. And so it happened, just two days after the consultation with a specialist, the child walked home from kindergarten, humming a song and enthusiastically telling his mother something.
- A consequence of the presence of an infectious disease in the body, especially for the respiratory system. So, for example, during laryngitis, a baby can easily lose his voice, which is why he will stop talking. A high temperature may also be accompanied by a lack of speech activity, especially in very young children.
- The child stopped speaking words in the presence of a stranger - this is a natural reaction of the body. And, if the stranger was too unpleasant or scary for the baby, then he may remain silent for several hours after parting with him.
- Severe stress, for example, the death of a close relative, an accident in which the baby had to be, frequent quarrels and conflicts in the family, often ending in divorce. Perhaps something scared him, for example, an angry dog or a car in front of you suddenly braked with a whistle. Such cases often lead to loss of speech, sometimes to complete withdrawal of the child. Parents must understand that in such a situation they cannot do without consulting a psychologist. There are cases that over time the little one begins to speak, but as a consequence of the experience, stuttering appears.
- Deviation of a neurological nature. Abrupt silence may be a symptom of mental pathology, such as schizophrenia or hysteria.
- Overprotection or misunderstanding of parents can also lead to the child stopping speaking, but more often this manifests itself specifically in relation to the parents, and, for example, in kindergarten the baby may behave as before.
- Brain damage due to injury, cerebrovascular accident, tumor development or encephalitis.
Overprotection or indifference on the part of parents
If parents go too far in matters of upbringing, show intolerance or misunderstanding, then the child instinctively tries to avoid any communication with them. With strangers and peers on the playground or in kindergarten, he often continues to behave as usual.
Solution: In this case, the help of a psychologist is needed, and it is advisable that both parents and the child come to the session. Mom and dad should reconsider their behavior and attitude towards the baby. Most likely, the reason is really too high demands or, conversely, complete disregard for the interests of the son or daughter. Excessive guardianship does not allow the child to express his opinion, and here silence should be considered as a sign of protest.
Can a child become silent due to vaccinations?
Many parents ask whether vaccinations can really lead to a sharp setback in psycho-speech and speech development. In fact, modern science does not know of a single reliable study proving that vaccines cause such harm to a child’s development. The disappearance of speech can be caused by failure to comply with the conditions of vaccination: only a healthy child with a strong immune system and no neurological pathologies can be vaccinated. At risk are children who have experienced oxygen starvation during pregnancy and childbirth, have organic defects of the central nervous system and heart, severe diseases of the respiratory system, suffer from atopic dermatitis, as well as children who often suffer from colds. Before each vaccination, be sure to have your child thoroughly examined by a doctor you trust.
In any case, when a child suddenly becomes silent, it is better to play it safe and at least show him to a pediatrician in order to rule out serious pathologies and not waste time. Before your visit, analyze what could have caused the loss of speech; this will help the doctor quickly make the correct diagnosis and provide the necessary assistance.
Publication date: 10/17/2019. Last modified: 08/30/2020.
After a year, the child stopped speaking and responding to his name
Rimma, hello!
What in the actions and condition of the child you need to pay attention to and be wary of:
1. Regression in development. Deterioration in behavior, speech, motor skills, attention, memory, etc.
2. Frequent and sudden mood changes.
3. A huge number of fears, increased anxiety
4. Tics, obsessive movements (stuttering, walking with crossed fingers, repeating the same action several times).
5. Loss of appetite for no apparent reason
6. Detachment, a sharp reluctance to do anything (compared to what was before)
7. Aggressive reactions and anxiety (which were not there before)
8. Headaches, stomach pains, etc.
If you observe these moments in your child systematically, over several weeks, you need to consult in person with a doctor.
Find a good child psychiatrist or neurologist (first of all you need to see a doctor). After that, he became a clinical psychologist. On our Portal you can find addresses and contacts of free psychological services in your city -.
A live examination is needed in order to collect a complete history and diagnose the child. Remotely, despite the fact that your description fits the situation of regression, it is very difficult to say something definitely.
The fact is that small setbacks sometimes occur in preschool age. Ideally, there shouldn't be any. However, stressful situations can trigger a return to earlier forms of behavior. Factors leading to this include, for example, relocation, injury (including physical), illness, and unstable family situation. In other words, everything that disturbs the baby's calm.
In this case, it is recommended to continue working with the child as before. Try to pacify your own anxiety and gradually regain lost skills.
However, there are situations when the causes of regression are organic pathologies and mental mechanisms that are activated at a certain moment.
In order to determine in time what exactly you are dealing with, it is worth consulting with a specialist. The sooner you detect the problem and take action, the more likely it is that the child will compensate.
I understand your concern.
It's natural. But it's better to face the truth and take action now. Based on reality, we can change a lot in the current circumstances than if we continue to dwell in our worries and fantasies. Liliya Seregina, Psychologist of the Portal “I am a Parent”
