What to do when you suspect your toddler has a speech delay
Watching a toddler develop is one of the most awesome things a parent can experience. We marvel at their first steps and anticipate their first words. Most parents anxiously await the development of their child’s vocabulary not only because it is cute, but because it gives the child the ability to express their wants and needs. It’s understandably concerning when your toddler appears to have a language delay. So the questions you should ask yourself are: Is my toddler experiencing a speech delay or just moving at his own pace? And if so, how do I help my child to progress at a pace that will support the stage of learning he currently needs to meet?
Experts believe that a child's development should ideally fall into these categories
* 12-15 months- child can say Mama-Dada
* 18-24 months-child is able to point to and name a few body parts as well as name pictures of animals and other items.
* 16-24 months- able to combine a couple of words together to form short sentences. If a child cannot do so by at least 24 month the parent should consult the doctor for direction.
* Usually a child 2 and over can say in the neighborhood of about 50 words.
If you are concerned, you should first schedule your child for a doctor’s visit to have a full physical done including, hearing/vision. A major oversight by many parents is that a child may be disobedient or not able to follow instruction due to rebellion or a learning disability. In some cases the child’s hearing or vision may be inadequate. It could be something such as a prolonged ear infection or various other hearing impaired issues. For this reason this is the first step to assessing possible speech delay.
If indeed your child’s is physically okay here are some other steps you should take:
* Begin to talk with your child more! As you are talking to him make sure to verbalize what you are doing. For example say. Mommy is doing the laundry, we need to get the clothes clean!
* Ask questions to encourage conversation. The more your child talks the more confident he will feel with his speech.
* Read to your child. It not only allows him to hear words, their pronunciation and usage, but it is also great quality time.
* Find a playgroup or daycare setting where your child can talk and socialize with other kids his age. Like with anything else repetition is key.
* Don’t criticize your child speech it will only discourage him from speaking. And if after doing everything you know to do and you see no improvement, seek outside help by getting a referral from your pediatrician.
Most importantly be patient, as you probably know every child develops at a different pace. Allow your child to grow and develop naturally while closely monitoring for possible special needs.
Experts believe that a child's development should ideally fall into these categories
* 12-15 months- child can say Mama-Dada
* 18-24 months-child is able to point to and name a few body parts as well as name pictures of animals and other items.
* 16-24 months- able to combine a couple of words together to form short sentences. If a child cannot do so by at least 24 month the parent should consult the doctor for direction.
* Usually a child 2 and over can say in the neighborhood of about 50 words.
If you are concerned, you should first schedule your child for a doctor’s visit to have a full physical done including, hearing/vision. A major oversight by many parents is that a child may be disobedient or not able to follow instruction due to rebellion or a learning disability. In some cases the child’s hearing or vision may be inadequate. It could be something such as a prolonged ear infection or various other hearing impaired issues. For this reason this is the first step to assessing possible speech delay.
If indeed your child’s is physically okay here are some other steps you should take:
* Begin to talk with your child more! As you are talking to him make sure to verbalize what you are doing. For example say. Mommy is doing the laundry, we need to get the clothes clean!
* Ask questions to encourage conversation. The more your child talks the more confident he will feel with his speech.
* Read to your child. It not only allows him to hear words, their pronunciation and usage, but it is also great quality time.
* Find a playgroup or daycare setting where your child can talk and socialize with other kids his age. Like with anything else repetition is key.
* Don’t criticize your child speech it will only discourage him from speaking. And if after doing everything you know to do and you see no improvement, seek outside help by getting a referral from your pediatrician.
Most importantly be patient, as you probably know every child develops at a different pace. Allow your child to grow and develop naturally while closely monitoring for possible special needs.
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It's funny what the actual variety of "normal" is. My first child began speaking at 8 months and could string words together at 12 months for very simple sentences. I know that sounds incredible, but it's true. My second child on the other hand did not speak until almost 12 months and did not string words until closer to 18 months.
Conversely, my first didn't walk until after 13 months and never did the typical crawl. My second began walking at 10 months and was definitely into fine and gross motor skills.
Both have developed well - it just took some time and patience to realize they each had their own pace.
Now that I have a child who truly does have developmental delays, I've learned that some children do, indeed, concentrate more on developing one area at a time. Josh, who has Down syndrome, seemed to work on speech separately from motor skills. While we worked heavily on his walking, his speech was in a holding pattern. Once he mastered walking, his speech seemed to bloom.
Just adding another perspective for what it's worth...
This is pretty good advice, but there are two points with which I'll take issue.
First, if your child has a speech delay or disorder, the professional of choice is not a doctor, but a speech-language pathologist (SLP). You may need a doctor's referral, in which case it's true that your first step is a visit to the doctor. However, physicians are not experts on language and speech development, so their role in the process should be limited to writing a referral. A lot of doctors advise parents not to worry about speech and language development, and to "wait and see", because they don't understand the importance of early detection and treatment of speech disorders. If your doctor tries to talk you out of an evaluation with an SLP, smile politely and explain that you really are concerned and you'd like to get the testing done so you can rule out a speech disorder.
My other point of contention is the advice to "Ask questions to encourage conversation." Questions are actually not conducive to conversation, and may have the opposite effect when used with children who have language or speech delays. Speech-language pathologists encourage parents instead to use short, simple comments and parallel talk ("Oh, you have a truck. It's red." rather than "What's that?").
Otherwise, great advice. And I agree, toddler development is about the most amazing natural phenomenon I can think of.