Every parent wants their child to grow and develop properly and perfectly. Many parents are willing to sacrifice to buy all the needs of their children in order to provide the best for their little one’s growth and development. With good growth and development, a child will be able to carry out his role as a social being and as a child to the fullest. Reporting from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, growing means increasing body size and the number of cells and tissues between cells. Indicators to determine the presence of growth are: an increase in height, weight and head circumference. Also developing is the increase in the structure, function and abilities of children who are more complex, including: sensory abilities (ability to hear, see, touch, feel, smell), motor (consisting of gross, fine, and complex movements), communicate and interact (smile), crying, talking, etc.), cognitive (the ability to recognize, compare, remember, solve problems, and intelligence), socialize, independence, creativity, moral and spiritual (customary and cultural values ​​and religion). However, some parents have interests and other pressing needs that make them neglect their children’s growth. This can cause its own problems in the growth and development of children. Especially if the child is in the golden age of 0-5 years. One of the problems that occur in toddler is the problem of speech development.

According to Hurlock (1997), a child is said to be late in speech if the level of speech development is below the level of quality of speech development of children of the same age which can be seen from the accuracy of the use of words. If at the time their peers speak using words, while the child continues to use the baby’s gestures and speech style, then such a child is considered by others to be too young to be invited to play. While Papalia (2004) explains that children who are late in speaking are children who at the age of 2 years have a tendency to make mistakes in pronouncing words, then have poor vocabulary at the age of 3 years, or also have difficulty naming objects at the age of 5 years. And children like that, later have a tendency to be unable to read. According to Nelson (in Safitri, 2017), studies in the United States reported the number of speech and language delays in children aged 4.5 years, between 5% and 8%, and delays reported a prevalence of between 2.3% and 19%. In Indonesia, the prevalence of speech delay in preschool children is between 5%-10%. Speech delays that occur in children are increasing. Some reports also state that the incidence of speech and language disorders ranges from 2.3% -24%.

So it can be seen that speech delay in toddler is something that needs to be cured immediately because if it is left longer then the problem may become more fatal and serious proble. Therefore, there is a need for interventions aimed at children with speech delay problems so that these children can grow and develop optimally as they should.

 

Referensi:

Indrijati, H. (2017). Psikologi Perkembangan & Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, Sebuah Bunga Rampai. Jakarta: Kencana

Santrock, J. W. (2007a). Perkembangan anak. Edisi kesebelas, jilid 1. Jakarta: Erlangga

Santrock, J. W. (2011). Life – span development: Perkembangan masa hidup. Edisi ketigabelas jilid 1. Jakarta: Erlangga.

Wiyani, N. A. (2014). Psikologi Perkembangan Anak Usia Dini, Panduan bagi Orang Tua Pendidik PAUD dalam Memahami serta Mendidik Anak Usia Dini. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Gava Media.

Zusfinhana, inna Hamida. (2018). Penerapan Terapi Wicara Konsosnan B/P/M/W untuk Anak Lambat Bicara Usia 4 tahun. Helper. (Vol 35 No. 1 2018) 19-30.

Taseman, dkk (2020). Strategi Penangana Gangguan (Speech Delay) Terhadap Interaksi Sosial Anak Usia Dini di TK Negeri Pembina Surabaya. JECED. (Vol.2 No. 1) 13-26.