Delayed Speech or Language Development (for Parents) (2024)

FAQs

Delayed Speech or Language Development (for Parents)? ›

Also call the doctor if your child's speech is harder to understand than expected for their age: Parents and regular caregivers should understand about 50% of a child's speech at 2 years and 75% of it at 3 years. By 4 years old, a child should be mostly understood, even by people who don't know the child.

Sometimes, helping children at home with speech therapy can aid their speech development. Exercises for speech delay in toddlers can motivate them to learn and use more words in their daily interactions.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), late talkers are toddlers (18 to 30 months old) who have a limited vocabulary for their age, but do not have any other developmental delays. Some late talkers may talk by three to five years of age. These toddlers are called late bloomers.

For the average parent doing their best, you can rest assured that your child's speech or language delay is definitely not your fault.

The programs are designed to help parents learn how to promote their young child's communication at home. Under the guidance of a Hanen Certified speech-language pathologist, parents learn to use specific language-building strategies with their child during everyday activities.

Many kids with speech delays have oral–motor problems. These happen when there's a problem in the areas of the brain responsible for speech. This makes it hard to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw to make speech sounds. These kids also might have other oral-motor problems, such as feeding problems.

It is well documented that B ₁₂ deficiency can cause developmental delay, hypotonia, tremor, seizures, failure to thrive, reduced IQ, and mental retardation. Children with B ₁₂ deficiency exhibit speech, language, and social delays, behavioral issues, and problems with fine and gross motor movement.

The research showed that greater amounts of screen time were associated with a higher likelihood of developmental delays in communication. Take a look at the numbers: With up to 2 hours of daily screen time at age 1, children were 61% more likely to have communication delays at age 2.

It's believed that a segment of children diagnosed as late-talkers outgrow this developmental delay and prove themselves to be gifted and exceptionally bright. These children would qualify as candidates for being said to have Einstein syndrome.

Speech delays are very common among children with autism, but they are also common in children without autism. While significant speech delays are always a cause for concern, they are not inherently an autism trait and may be due to other issues, such as hearing loss.

Can a child with speech delays catch up? ›

Some children with expressive language delay "catch up" during the preschool years ("late bloomers"), whereas others have persistent delay (see 'Natural history' below). Early evaluation can help to correctly identify late-talking children who will benefit from intervention and/or additional evaluation.

What Should You Do if Your Child Is a Late Talker? If a toddler has a limited vocabulary for their age, The Hanen Centre recommends that you consult a speech-language pathologist.

Simple speech delays are sometimes temporary. They may resolve on their own or with a little extra help from family. It's important to encourage your child to "talk" to you with gestures or sounds and for you to spend lots of time playing with, reading to, and talking with your infant or toddler.

What age is best for speech therapy? Speech therapy for children should begin as soon as the signs of speech and/or language delay are identified. The ideal age for speech therapy for children, especially toddlers is between the ages of 2 and 5 years.

Often, children will start speech therapy between the ages of one and three years old. The majority of speech issues develop when your child is between eighteen months and two years old, but it's always a good idea to contact a speech therapist sooner than that if you have any concerns.

While speech therapy at home is an excellent option for some families, it's important to remember that speech therapy should always be overseen by a speech-language pathologist (SLP). If you have concerns about your child's progress, speak to an SLP who can provide professional advice and guidance.

The most common causes of speech delay include: Hearing loss. Slow development. Intellectual disability.

Speech/Language Milestones

Boys tend to develop language skills a little later than girls, but in general, kids may be labeled "late-talking children" if they speak less than 10 words by the age of 18 to 20 months, or fewer than 50 words by 21 to 30 months of age.