All the parents wait for the moment their children grow up before their eyes which behold them with intimacy and love through their stages starting with having the first tooth, starting to crawl and felling while learning to walking; but the first words utter by their children are indescribable joy and happiness.
However, many parents in Syria have been denied this joy because of many cases of speech delay of children. The normal age to start uttering words and phrases of children is one year old saying some letters and simple words, where at the age of two years old children become able to utter short sentences to be able at the age of three years to say long sentences and narrate childish stories.
Speech delay issues of children can be caused by several reasons such as organic, psychological and social environmental. Besides there are several factors can be linked to the organic aspect such as the tongue being tied with tissue girdle to the bottom of the mouth, impairment is caused by a physical disruption in the mouth such as a deformed frenulum, lips, or palate and many other problems considering the mouth and teeth. These cases can be medically treated after being checked by a specialist in order to identify the kind of the problem and the way to treat it.
Probably the psychological factors, disorder and nervousness are the most important reasons considering speech issues of children in Syria particularly to those who are living in areas held by rebellion factions due to missing safety and the continual brutal and random bombardment carried out against civilians the thing negatively affect the fragile psychology of the children and their attitudes in life.
Om-Obada from Idlib city narrated to us her experience with her child after doctors failed to find a treatment for his case of speech delay:” After our city become liberated from regime forces by Alfateh Army, intensive raids started to target the civilians in the city where one of them hit at night the building my family and I used to live in; my son Obada was sleeping then to be woken up by bombardment screaming for being terribly terrified. Although he was not harmed thanks Allah, he has never utter one letter while before he could say some unclear words just like the other children. Now he is three years old and unable to express any word. I feel oppressed and unable once seeing other children speak while my child is the victim of regime crimes”.
Offensive and panic which children in syria only are living have led to that problem to children; the story of the child “Sarah” aged 4 years who was forbidden from her parents when she was two years is an example of what those children are going through who war has taken their parents away from them to live orphans alone at an too early age forced to grow up away from the parents’ love and care.
“Ranya”, Sarah’s uncle told us about her:” I have decided to be a supporter for her compensating her loss of her parents. I have noticed changes in her attitudes where she would like to sit alone; in the beginning I thought she was suffering autism for she is silent all the time and that is why I took to the doctor who informed me she had no organic issues but suffer from psychological disorders and in need for time to heal”.
Innocent children are deprived from their simple rights in a war they have nothing to do with but that they were born in a country missing the minim level of humanity.. someday their lips will reveal the crimes and violence that have befallen them.
By Samah Alkhaled
Translated by Sabah Najem
#Syrian_press_center
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