Poverty has been identified as a risk factor for proper communication development in children. Youth from low-income families develop their vocabularies much slower than their peers from higher-income families. According to Minority News, the effects have been noted in children as young as 14 months, and if left untreated may influence every aspect of their lives.
Early language development problems are not automatically corrected when a child enters an academic environment. If a child has a limited vocabulary during her pre-school years, when she enters kindergarten she will not be as receptive to broadening her communication skills as other children. The lack of sufficient oral skills affect a child's literacy skills, which will in turn have an effect on her entire academic career.
Language development is essential because it is an important tool in the process of learning to think, according to Teachnology. Children need to develop proper oral communication skills to adequately organize perceptions and develop higher order cognitive processes. Poor language development, therefore, affects a person's ability to solve problems and think independently, which are fundamental life skills.
Minorities, such as African-Americans, Hispanics and immigrants, are groups that suffer from poor language development the most, according to the Encyclopedia of Language and Literacy Development. Low parental education and the use of different languages at home are noted as contributing factors.
Minorities also have the highest poverty rates. When these low-income families produce children with limited communication and cognitive skills, it creates a cycle of poverty.
Impoverished children already have elevated risks of experiencing a life of hardship. Minority News says research suggests that assessment and treatment by speech-language pathologists can be beneficial in helping children under six to overcome their language development problems.
Reducing parental stress and increasing low income families' access to material resources are solutions suggested by the Encyclopedia of Language and Literacy Development. This can be achieved through incentive programs that increase earnings, tax credits, and welfare benefits.