Sound-Object Associations: The Foundation For Language Perception and Fluency

What are Sound-Object Associations?

We make all sorts of associations in our head. They're the building blocks of memory. Our strongest sense of memory associates with our sense of smell. Like Mom's perfume that one year, until she found a new one. You went on family vacation with her at Jersey Shore, and she used half the bottle for every dinner gathering. Ten years later, if she puts on that perfume, you can't help but feel a strong sense of nostalgia for that vacation; it's so vivid it's as if it were yesterday. Tiny associations create memory. Speech and language development requires a strong memory. Sound-object associations are associations we make with sound. They're quite simple: we hear the noise an object makes more than once and this association becomes engrained in us, like animal sounds.

Children begin learning sound-object associations very young. And as they grow older and experience more of the world, they continue to create these. One of their first associations is the sound of their caregiver's voice (Kjesbo 1).

So Why Are Sound-Object Associations So Important

Sound-Object Associations Help a child learn the environment around him. They make sense of the world every day with them. "The ability to hear, recognize and attach meaning to environmental sounds is a first step toward phonological awareness (the ability to indentify, mix together, break apart, and change around the sounds in words) and literacy" (Kjebo 1). It also aids children in developing both their vocabulary skills and overall comprehension of language. 

As well, different types of sound-object associations help children in increasing their perceptual skills. In other words, the way they perceive the world around them. It can keep them safe, and we can impress these on them. For example, a child hear's a dog growl and is automatically careful around it. Hopefully he didn't find out the hard way, and his parents told him "be careful when a dog growls like that." They associate the sound of a dog growling with the behavior of carefulness. Perceptually-speaking, if they hear a dog on the TV growling, they know they're safe, and won't elicit this behavior. This is why sound-object associations are so important. They are the building blocks of language and properly perceiving the world around one's self. 

Resources

Kjesbo, Rynette R., M.S., CCC-SLP. Super Duper Handy Handouts © 2011: Sound-Object Associations - Knowing What We Hear!

Speech Development in the Early Ages

It's important for every parents to know the norm of speech development in infants. No infant will develop their speech-language skills at the same rate. It all depends on environmental and genetic factors. So, as it is important to know if your little one is on the right track when it comes to the earliest of speech and language development, use this post only as a guideline. And remember, you're their first and most important vocal teachers. These developments may naturally occur, or you may want to impress them by practicing speech with them as a daily routine.

Ages 1-6 months old...
At this point in an infant's life, he/she will only be able to communicate through gestures or crying. During these months, a child begins to understand receptive language (can perceive certain, simple language) and by the end of it should be able to learn and pronounce phonemes (the smallest parts of speech).

Crying is a way for infants to express what they may want or need. They may use varying pitches to distinguish their want/need. This is where motherly instincts kick in, I suppose. It might take a while, but eventually I think a lot of mothers acquire a feel for what their child needs by the way they cry.

Gesturing is another way for infants to express their wants and needs, non-verbally. An infant may throw up his/her arms, turn their head, smile, shake their hands to express excitement, etc. This is usually too cute to handle.

You should see your infant begin to understand receptive language during this period. A child should become familiar with the human voice, and understand how tone or pitch might be distinct with mood or emotion. An infant should be able to tell if someone is angry by the sound of their voice. So, if you feel the need to holler, try not to do it around them, even if they do it around you a decent amount.

During this stage, phoneme development begins. This usually occurs late in this stage. First, an infant might learn to make vowel sounds. You may begin to hear consonant sounds produced from the back of the mouth, such as "k" or "g". You might also begin to hear your infant combine vowel and consonant sounds.

Ages 7-12 months old...
There's a lot of development taking place during this stage. A baby's gestures become more meaningful, babbling increases, so does imitation. Crying is still a primary means of expressing needs, but at this age crying is usually coupled with a particular gesture (crying and throwing hands up and down, smiling and giggling).

Babbling becomes meaningful. Children will start to make sounds that seem like words and attach them to physical objects. It might make you laugh and wonder, but it's a step in the right direction.

Receptive language continues to develop, and strong. Children will attach sounds and gestures to objects. They'll rely heavily on tone or pitch of voice to understand cues and what people are trying to say to them. The child should start to understand his/her name and respond to it.

Phonemic development increases during this stage as well. You'll begin to hear your infant make more consonants, some that are produced with the front of the mouth (like "b" "p" "m" and "w") combined with vowel sounds. Children will also "vocal play", combining consonants and vowels in repetitive nature (Spielvogle, 1).

Ages 13-36 months
This is where speech and language development starts to rapidly grow. Their babbles become meaningful words, their phonemes continue to develop, and their receptive language development grows strong.

Babbling is mixed with meaningful words that the child is just beginning to learn. He/she may speak something, but include jargon. Not to worry. By the end of this stage, a child's vocabulary should expand by up to 200 words. They'll be able to pair few words together to construct meaningful phrases.

Receptive language continues to develop rapidly. In the beginning of this stage, a child should be able to attach common words to common objects when asked to. During this stage an infant's receptive language develops rapidly, but their expressive language (verbalizing meaning) develops slowly until they reach the ages of 3 or 4.

Phonemic development continues to develop at a rapid pace. A lot of children have trouble developing the "r" sound, and can't help but use a "w" sound instead. It's pretty common, so don't let it frustrate you unless it lasts well into development.

So, though this is only a guideline, it's a great piece to refer to while impressing language development on an infant. It's can be one of the most tedious, yet wonderful jobs to have as a parent. It's teaching your child to express itself, and one day it will all pay off.