Speech Delays

Summary

Ask the Mediatrician – "Speech Delays"

Podcast: Ask the Mediatrician
Host: Dr. Michael Rich (The Mediatrician), with Christelle Lavallee
Air Date: January 28, 2020

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the relationship between children's media consumption—specifically television—and speech or language development, in response to a question from a pediatric speech therapist. Dr. Michael Rich and Christelle Lavallee break down scientific research, discuss practical parental and professional guidance, and offer actionable advice for families and specialists concerned about speech delays linked to TV exposure.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Question: TV and Speech Delays ([01:22])

• Submitted by Stacy in Atlanta, Georgia:
  Stacy, a speech therapist, asks whether studies show a link between TV watching and speech communication delays in preschoolers, noting that many of her patients "graze" on TV all day.
• Clarifying "grazing":
  • Christelle notes the term implies constant, passive TV consumption, likening TV to "electronic wallpaper" in many households.
  • Dr. Rich explains this includes both active watching and passive exposure, where the TV distracts from play and interaction.

    “I think that Stacy is saying that her patients are coming from environments where the TV is on all day, like electronic wallpaper.” (Dr. Michael Rich, 01:55)

2. Research on TV Exposure and Language Development ([02:37])

• Research findings:
  • Children who consume a lot of TV show delayed development of meaningful language.
  • There’s a distinction: Most studies focus on language (the system of communication) rather than speech (the physical act of speaking).
• Live human interaction is critical:
  • Dr. Rich references a study where American infants exposed to native Chinese speakers in person, versus on video:
    • Only those with in-person exposure developed the ability to recognize and respond to new language sounds (phonemes).

    “Human interaction appears to be critical in the complex process of language development.” (Dr. Michael Rich, 03:31)

3. Environmental Effects: TV as "Wallpaper" ([03:50])

• How TV affects parent-child communication:
  • With the TV on, parents talk less to their children—not just distraction, but reduced utterances, which are key for language and speech growth.

  “When the television is on, parents don't speak as much to their children as they do when the TV is off.” (Dr. Michael Rich, 04:08)

• Not just real people on TV:
  • Often, TV is cartoons, which are even less effective for language learning than human actors, because babies must also learn the physical act of speaking by observing real mouths and faces.

    “Speech is not only understanding language, but learning to form the words with your lips and your tongue and your vocal cords.” (Dr. Michael Rich, 04:57)

4. Reading and Live Interaction are Key ([05:30])

• Impact of reading:
  • Research shows that the number of hours a baby is read to is the strongest predictor for word learning, not hours spent on baby videos.

    “What these kids need is laps, not apps... to enjoy the beauty of language and... communication with their parent.” (Dr. Michael Rich, 06:25)

• Specialists' role when not with the child:
  • Speech therapists and clinicians should empower parents with guidance to continue language-rich activities at home.
  • Recommendations include reducing TV, increasing reading, and maximizing parent-child verbal interaction.

5. Practical Guidance for Parents & Specialists ([05:51])

• Actionable steps for parents:
  • Decrease or eliminate background TV.
  • Read to and interact with children daily.
  • If TV is watched, co-view and use as a conversation starter, not a passive activity.

    “Give them activities that include speaking to, reading with, and interacting with their child.” (Dr. Michael Rich, 07:43)

• For therapists like Stacy:
  • Offer concrete guidance for parents to continue speech and language development at home.
  • Encourage mindful consumption and active engagement.

    “Your recommendations may actually help parents turn those TV grazers into mindful TV consumers and also help out with that language development...” (Christelle Lavallee, 07:59)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On media's limits:

  “Babies learn language from live people, particularly their parents and live people in the same environment with them, not just pictorial representations of real people.”
  (Dr. Michael Rich, 04:22)

• Catchiest advice:

  “What these kids need is laps, not apps. I love that!”
  (Dr. Michael Rich, 06:25)

• Reframing TV time:

  “Look to the TV program for new topics to talk about and discuss with their kids... use it as a springboard for conversation rather than as a substitute for it.”
  (Dr. Michael Rich, 07:11)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• Question introduction: 01:22
• Grazing/TV as wallpaper: 01:55
• Research on language development and screens: 02:37
• Parent-child conversation decreases with TV: 04:08
• Importance of reading (“laps not apps”): 05:30, 06:25
• Advice to therapists and parents: 05:51 - 07:59
• Episode wrap-up: 07:59

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Conclusion

This episode provides evidence-based, practical advice for parents and specialists concerned with speech delays in the age of omnipresent media. The core message: Live, engaged interactions—especially reading and conversation—are vital for language development, while passive or background TV exposure hinders it. Empowering parents with knowledge and strategies is key to transforming “TV grazers” into active learners and communicators.

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Transcript

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[Dr. Michael Rich]

Hey, I'm Dr. Michael Rich, the mediatrician. I'm a practicing pediatrician and child health researcher who sees kids and their families every day. And I specialize on the effects of media on children. I do this because I, as a former filmmaker, I understand the power of media to engage us and change our hearts and minds and can bring to it the science of child health and development to really understand how we can best raise children in this digital environment. I'm here with mediatrix educator Christelle Lavallee.

[Christelle Lavallee]

Hey there.

[Dr. Michael Rich]

Hi. What question comes to us today?

[Christelle Lavallee]

All right, so this question comes to us from Stacy in Atlanta, Georgia, who says, I am a speech therapist and a large percentage of the children with speech speech delays whom I treat are allowed to graze on TV all day. Are there any studies showing a relationship between TV watching and speech communication delays in the preschool population? Well, first, Stacey grazing is an interesting word to apply to her patients for consuming tv. I'm not sure I'd want to be likened to farm animals that way. What do you think she means by that?

[Dr. Michael Rich]

I think that Stacy is saying that her patients are coming from environments where the TV is on all day, like electronic, like electronic wallpaper. And research shows that in many, many households that's the case. So they can engage with it by actively watching or passively watching, hearing it in the background, in fact, being distracted from other primary activities like play or interacting with each other.

[Christelle Lavallee]

Okay, so slightly different from eating grass in a field. What do we say to Stacy when it comes to TV watching and children's speech development specifically?

[Dr. Michael Rich]

Well, there is some good research in this area, including a study that found that children who are frequent television consumers did show delayed development of meaningful language. However, most of the media effects literature does not make a distinction between language delays and speech delays. So if we look at the research that refers to language development but not specifically to speech, we can find more information that Might also be related. For example, babies seem to develop language far more effectively from people in real life than from people on screen. In one study, American children between the ages of 6 and 12 months were exposed to native Chinese speakers in person and to the same native Chinese speakers on video. The infants who had real people interacting with them recognized and responded to specific phonemes to those sounds that were forming the words, and those who were exposed to video cues were not. So what this seems to show is that human interaction appears to be critical in the complex process of language development.

[Christelle Lavallee]

Okay, so what does all that mean for Stacey's Grazers or those kids who are in the environment where the TV is on nearly all the time? I really like the idea of TV wallpaper. Does that affect whether or not people talk to them and in turn affect their language development?

[Dr. Michael Rich]

Well, the short answer to that is yes. Interestingly, when the television is on, parents don't speak as much to their children as they do when the TV is off.

[Christelle Lavallee]

Oh, interesting.

[Dr. Michael Rich]

It is the utterances between parents and kids that really develop language, and particularly speech. Given that babies learn language from live people, particularly their parents and live people in the same environment with them, not just pictorial representations of real people.

[Christelle Lavallee]

TV characters.

[Dr. Michael Rich]

Exactly. Having a TV on could be detrimental to that process, both because it's not as powerful a stimulus, but because it also distracts from the actual utterances of language from parents. And interestingly, a lot of times when that TV is on, it's not even of real people, it's of cartoons. Right. And if you think about it, speech is not only understanding language, but learning to form the words with your lips and your tongue and your vocal cords. So although some research has found no difference in word learning between babies who did and did not watch baby videos, it is also found that the strongest predictor of the number of words learned was the number of hours a baby was read to.

[Christelle Lavallee]

So we gotta break out those books, it sounds like. But I wanna. You know, we get a lot of questions from parents, but Stacy isn't the parent of these kids. She's a specialist who's just trying to help them out with their speech. What advice can we give her specifically, given her role? You know, she's not with these kids 24, 7.

[Dr. Michael Rich]

Well, the parents are with these kids 24, 7. And I think part of our role as a clinician of any kind, whether it's as a doctor or a speech therapist, is to give them guidance on what they can do at home. We can only do so much in a single visit. Of half an hour or an hour. But more potently, we can give the parents the tools to continue that process, to nurture and support it during the rest of the time until they're seen again. So she gives those parents specific guidelines about how to help their children at home. And though the media effects research specifically on speech is not a rich area with a lot of research, adding media recommendations could be very helpful for her patients and their families because of what it shows is helpful to these kids. And what is helpful to these kids is reading to them. What these kids need is laps, not apps. I love that what they really need is to be cuddled and held and to enjoy the beauty of language and enjoy the connection and communication with their parent. So Stacy can recommend that her parents decrease or eliminate TV watching, increase interactions around books and see the child's language develop to see if that helps with this kid. Stacy can also suggest that when kids do watch TV that parents watch with them, look to the TV program for new topics to talk about and discuss with their kids and help their kids process and understand what they're seeing and then use it as a springboard for conversation rather than as a substitute for it.

[Christelle Lavallee]

Oh that's great.

[Dr. Michael Rich]

So giving them activities that include speaking to, reading with and interacting with their child, Stacy can help those families experience and learn for themselves rather than being lectured to the difference between learning from a person and learning from a screen.

[Christelle Lavallee]

So Stacy, your recommendations may actually help parents turn those TV grazers into mindful TV consumers and also help out with that language development that you're so keyed in on. So I hope that helps you Stacy, and for everyone else out there. You can find out more on this and many other topics related to healthy media habits. All the science based information is at askthemediatrician.org and you can also follow Dr. Rich and tweet us on Twitterdiatrician or submit your own [e-mail] and finally, make sure you subscribe and share this podcast

[Dr. Michael Rich]

and enjoy your media and use them wisely. But most importantly, enjoy your kids and raise them wisely.

[Podcast Producer]

Ask the Mediatrician is hosted by Dr. Michael Rich, joined by Mediatrix educator Christelle Lavallee. Jill R. Kavanagh is our Chief Knowledge Officer. Original music composed by Christopher Cerf Podcast and music recorded, mixed and edited at Saturn Sound Studios Executive Producer Alicia heywood

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