Developmental language disorder can affect the cognitive, emotional and social development of children who have difficulty expressing themselves. — AFP
Learning to speak comes naturally to children.
But some find it difficult to communicate through language, despite there being no apparent reason to expect this kind of difficulty.
According to a new study published in the journal Science of Learning, music could help children with speech and language processing difficulties to find their voice.
Researchers at Western Sydney University in Australia and the Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre in France have investigated the benefits of music for language learning in very young children.
To do this, they conducted an experiment with 15 French-speaking children with developmental language disorder and 18 with no such difficulties, all aged between five and 13.
They had the children listen to regular or irregular rhythms for 30 seconds, followed by several series of six phrases.
The children were asked to repeat them back as accurately as possible while the research team recorded them.
These recordings showed that regular musical rhythms improved the children’s ability to repeat phrases accurately.
This was true whether or not they had difficulty expressing themselves orally.
“We found that across all of the children – including those with language problems – the sentences were better able to be repeated out loud after the children had heard the regular musical rhythms, compared to the irregular musical rhythms,” said study co-lead author and Western Sydney University cognitive psychologist Dr Anna Fiveash in a news release.
The research team claims that this discovery represents a breakthrough in understanding the acquisition of conversational skills in children.
Indeed, it is estimated that 3% to 7% of the world’s population suffers from a language disorder.
It is vital to detect these difficulties as early as possible, as a lack of verbal communication at an age when other children speak with ease can affect the cognitive, affective and social development of the child experiencing difficulties in expressing themselves.
But not all abnormalities in a child’s language development are necessarily serious; most correct themselves naturally as soon as children enter kindergarten.
The most persistent issues, however, may require referral to a specialist to prevent them from evolving over time and affecting the acquisition of written language.
For study co-author Dr Enikő Ladányi, these findings could help improve current speech therapy practices.
“Limitations in language processing in children with developmental language disorder can result in a struggle to understand their peers, teachers and parents, making it difficult to efficiently express thoughts, which can lead to lifelong consequences in individuals’ academic and social lives.
“Effective speech-language therapy is essential to mitigate these consequences to improve developmental outcomes for children, and our latest findings could help supplement and improve current speech therapy guidelines and practices,” the researcher said in a statement. – AFP Relaxnews
