The influence of a child’s environment on speech development and speech disorders

Abstract

The influence of a child’s environment on their speech development and selected forms of speech disorders resulting from improper impact of the child’s closest environment have been discussed in the article. It also provides hints for parents and guardians of young children referring to ways of speech development support. It is assumed that proper environmental influence is one of the necessary factors in developing language abilities. Interpersonal contact is the essence of speech. Such contact requires an active sender and receiver and a uniform code that both parties understand. If one party avoids an activity and uses an ‘incorrect’ code, the other party loses motivation to speak or adopts an incorrect speech pattern. The influence of the child’s closest environment is thus of a significant impact on proper speech development and the counteracting of speech disorders of environmental aetiology.