12 Nov In 2021, Speech Pathology Week is 23-29 August.

Communication is a basic human right. More than 1.2 million Australians have a communication disability that impacts on their daily life and Speech Pathologists work to ensure everyone can communicate with confidence. Three in every 1,000 newborns have hearing loss, which without intervention can affect their speech, language and literacy. Around 13,000 Australians use electronic communication aids to get their message across, while 20 per cent of four year olds have difficulty understanding or using language.

Learning language is a very long process for infants. They have to go through a period of working out how to use their mouths to make sounds, such as blowing raspberries. Then there’s babbling. Then comes the first word. Finally, children are able to build sentences and, later, to hold conversations. Research has shown that before each of these language milestones, there is usually a change in gross motor skills. An example is babbling, where an infant repeats the same sound over and over again (“bababa”). In the few weeks before babbling starts, infants show a lot of arm movements, such as banging, shaking or waving. What is interesting is that after they start babbling, infants stop doing these movements as much. Research has also shown infants who are delayed in their gross motor skills tend to have delayed speech and language skills.

The development of Gross Motor Skills is closely linked to the development of Speech and Language Skills, when babies learn to roll, sit, crawl and walk, they also start to babble, and talk. Babies who move better, communicate better. Here at My Favourite Physio, we strongly support the work of Speech Pathologists and we often work with them to help babies and children learn to communicate better and with confidence. 

If you are concerned about your baby’s gross motor skills development, and you notice that they are not babbling or looking at you, reach out to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists at My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 for a FREE 15 minute Phone Consult today.