ankyloglossia

Children vary in their development of speech and language skills. Health care professionals have lists of milestones for what's normal. These milestones help figure out whether a child is on track or if he or she may need extra help. For example, a child usually has one or two words like "Hi," "dog," "Dada," or "Mama" by her first birthday.

Sometimes a delay may be caused by hearing loss. Other times it may be due to a speech or language disorder. Children who have speech disorders may have trouble making speech sounds correctly. They may hesitate or stutter when talking. Children with language disorders might have trouble understanding what others say or difficulty sharing their thoughts.

If you have concerns about your child's speech or language development, talk to your child's health care provider.

NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Your tongue helps you taste, swallow, and chew. You also use it to speak. Your tongue is made up of many muscles. The upper surface contains your taste buds.

Problems with the tongue include:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Changes in color or texture
• Abnormal movement or difficulty moving the tongue
• Taste problems

These problems can have many different causes. Treatment depends on the underlying problem.