. 

SOME PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN ALALIA 
PROLONGATA" : 
te 

MYRA CAREL, B. A. Log. ( RAND.) . 

The cardinal principal in speech acquisition is the desire 
to express thought or reaction notivated when pantomime or 
allied grunts and groans are to the child no longer an 
adequate medium. 
For so long as a child has no need or reason to implement 
gestures and sounds with properly constructed words, there is 
no incentive to acquire normal and progressive speech, and thus 
the lack of such incentive may well develop into a case of 
delayed speech. 
In addition to the psychological causes of Alalia Prolongata 
there are numerous other causes which either alone or together 
with a disturbed psychological history must be considered. 
Illnesses affecting the brain, injuries to the speech centre, 
and/or speech organs or to the nerves innervating them, con-
genital factors and mental deficiency are examples by no means 
comprehensive. To be considered also is the effect of total 
or severe hearing loss. 
Alalia may be a resultant of severe shock - a functional 
hysterical reaction. 
An imagined or real inability to obtain satisfaction through 
oral expression may cause the subject to sever contact with 
his environment and to lapse into silent despair or sullen 
resentment. Generally the naturad inability of an infant to 
express emotional disturbances may give rise to a reluctance 
to develop speech with a refuge being later taken in planned 
silence. 
A neglected child will often persist in baby speech, a common 
condition where the adults do not trouble to conduct normal 
speech with the child. Similarly with a spoilt child whose 
defective speech is considered quaint and amusing, or one to 
whom things are given or help rendered at a mere gesture or 
sound. Twins, as between themselves, may establish a rudimen-
tary vocabulary of their own invention, sufficient for their 
purpeses. 
These illustrations serve to demonstrate the effect of a lack 
of incentive leading to articulative laziness and maladjust-ment . 
Where there is delayed speech inxa subject of under 6 years, 
the speech correctionist will as a prime cause look for lack 

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25 

J?.ihe ? s e n c e o f necessity and without 
realising the utility of speech, a child will frequently 
not learn to talk. The general principal here is the 

o^practisL'11110'1011 ^ i S l 0 S t ° Γ ^ ^ o p e d 

tSS^SS^i1?11 m U S t b e g i V e n t o over-protection and solici-tude which in many cases can not only delay, but often prevent speech acquisition entirely. 
ofmotivation i s closely linked with poor speech standards in the home. F 

Emotional conflict often causes delayed speech or speech 
tn^h^v, 1 i c t 7 a r l e s fr°m an unhappy home life to too high a standard set for the child., The wide practise 
his°S?l? iSf t 0 r e c i t e o t h e ™ i s e vertom against eJL Ζh j o e o n a confession, and other per-

t d ® m a n d s o n t h e may result in a refusal to talk which becomes chronic. 
The therapist is well aware of the numerous factors to be 
considered. What may effect one child, in a similar 
situation may well have no reaction on another. The wide 
range of emotions and degrees of frustration tolerance 
level in each child present vast fields of study 

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