Proper speech development is fundamental to a child’s growth and ability to thrive in life. Parents often wonder what they can do to best support their child’s speech development. I asked certified pediatric speech-language pathologist Kassie Hanson for her advice. Here’s what she said. The Epoch Times: Why is it important for parents to monitor their children’s speech development? Kassie Hanson: Monitoring a child’s speech and language development is so important because speech and language is the primary way we interact with other people and how we learn. As young children, the power of speech and language allows children to get what they want and need. Relationships grow as we are able to talk back and forth with other people. As children enter school, they learn new words and new ideas through speech and language. If a child gets behind, even at a young age, it can have life-long impacts …