Many years ago I was told by a speech therapist human beings weren’t formed for language. Instead, our vocal cords are more suited to making noises or sounds. This was how she responded when I asked her about my son’s communication delay. She backed up her opinion by sharing the theory of evolution and the formation of human vocal cords.
The benefits of speech therapy
I think she was simply stating her belief more than trying to console me. But under her tutelage, my son learned to communicate. Before he meet her, our conversations were limited to just babbles. I would talk and he would try to mimic the sounds I made. I loved the way he tried to emulate speech! He was always so animated! There were a lot of vocal fluctuations and hand gestures. Then when he was done, he would wait for my response. I would reply using words and wait for his response. We would go back and forth like this for a while. Those initial attempts at conversation are some of my favorite memories with my son.
Once he started getting speech therapy, he stopped babbling. He didn’t need that made-up language anymore. Instead, he learned to put sounds together to form words that I could understand. So, although the speech therapist was very good at what she did I’m not so sure I agree with her opinion that human beings aren’t meant to speak.
Communication
After all, communication is an important part of human culture. With it, we express our needs, wants, and emotions. It allows us to connect with each other. Interestingly enough, a lot of moms struggle with it.
Not in communicating general knowledge or how to do things. Because we’re good at planning, organizing and getting things done. We’re adept at mending, fixing, and restoring. Experts on multitasking and running our households effectively and efficiently.
We know the names of all our kid’s doctors. The types of medicines they take. The names of their teachers, their therapists, and what kind of therapies they receive. We know our kid’s birthdays, their favorite foods, their friends, and all the activities they participate in. We have no problems communicating any of this information.
Dangers of not communicating
We can even make dinner and help our kids with their homework at the same time. We are superheroes. Yet, underneath the mask sometimes there’s a scared little girl who’s afraid to admit when she’s overwhelmed and needs help because she’s terrified of letting everyone down.
It’s important to remember during those times, pushing aside our needs doesn’t make them go away. It just creates more stress until eventually we look in the mirror and don’t recognize the frenzied woman we’re seeing. The one who only sees unfinished tasks and mountains of laundry. The one who’s always yelling at her kids or her husband. Not because she’s angry at them, but because she’s overwhelmed and scared to admit it.
What I’m learning
The ability to use language to communicate our wants and needs is a fundamental part of our culture. Regardless if we were created with this ability or not. So we should never be hesitant to communicate our needs, whatever they may be.