Covid-19 lockdowns left kids with speech disorders

A surge in cases of children having speech development problems and behavioural changes due to lockdowns in the past one-and-a-half-years has resulted in a spurt in special helplines with child psychologists, behavioural, occupational and speech therapists dealing with such problems.

Doctors are currently seeing children born around 2018-19 and aged between two years and two-and-a half-years, who are still unable to speak even a few words properly in the absence of peers to communicate with.

Instead, they sound like cartoon characters having been exposed only to gadgets instead of other children at daycare, nannies or grandparents.

Inability to interpret, understand sensory input through the use of their senses, or adapt and interact with their environment, are other problems.

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Generally, children begin to babble from around the age of six months and say their first words between 10 months and a year and three months. Most start speaking after their first birthday.

Dr Meghna Kashyap, child and rehabilitation psychologist, Aster Little Bluejays Child Development Centre, said perceptual development refers to how a child takes in inputs by using all five senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.

“We used to get at least four paediatric cases every day of children not having age-appropriate development. Now, we have 50 cases. Since the second wave’s lockdown, we have treated at least 100. With 0 to 5-year-old kids, we observed that there is a lack of expression by the child. All communication basics, verbal and non-verbal, are learnt in the first five years.

“But children have had only one-way input from phones, iPads, and laptops. They generally start picking up the language spoken at home but some, even though three years old, spoke only gibberish that cartoon characters do,” she said.

Doctors suggest allowing 30-minute screen time per day only for children aged six and above, and if not possible, show them real-world videos of animals and nature, instead of allowing them to fantasise about them in the cartoon world.

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Dr Supraja Chandrasekhar, Paediatric Intensivist, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur, said, “We’ve seen serious implications like sleep disturbance, irritability, and stubbornness because of increase in screen time. Toddlers grow with nature. Their lack of playtime under the sun, in the mud, in the park has negatively impacted their way of thinking and living.”

Dr Yogesh Kumar Gupta, Head of Paediatric Intensive Care, Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, said the hospital is seeing a lot of toddlers with speech regression due to lack of social contact and increased screen time.

Perceptual development is closely linked to physical development because children’s growing motor abilities allow them to explore their environments in new ways. “As they are locked in the house, this has been affected. An increase in fatigue, headaches and aggressive behaviour can also be attributed to absence of playtime and schools.”

“We are seeing gaming addiction, depression, arguments, and fights with parents. Sensory perceptual development has been especially affected in toddlers since there are no pre-schools. Physical interaction and socialisation are essential for a child’s sensory, speech and social development. Due to online classes, personal touch with teachers is also absent,” he added.