It can be confusing for parents to know when their child needs help when they are in their early language development stages. The "wait and see" approach is a typical response most parents receive when they voice their concerns. There are certain milestones that most children meet at specific ages. When these milestones are not met, it is cause for concern. Early intervention with a speech-language pathologist or similar professional is the best course of action. You know your child the best, trust your gut and seek help if you think you need support to help your child.

What are late talkers?
Late talkers are children between the ages of 18 to 30 months who have limited spoken vocabulary compared to their peers. They may demonstrate typical language comprehension, social skills, and cognition. Typically around 2 years of age is when most parents notice that their child may be a late talker.
Causes of Late Talking
There are several factors that can contribute to late talking. Some children may have a genetic predisposition to language delays, while others may have experienced environmental factors that have impacted their language development. Some of the most co-occurring conditions of late talking include:
Neurological disorders like Autism, Cerebral Palsy, or Down's Syndrome
Oral Motor challenges
Deaf, Hard of Hearing, hearing loss
Lack of stimulation
Intellectual disability
Characteristics of Late Talkers
At two years of age, a child should be using at least 50 to 100

words and understands more than they can verbalize. However, the amount of words a child at 24 months can verbalize can range from 50 to 400! Keep that in mind if you're comparing your child to their peers. It is also important to note that bilingual speakers are taking in vocabulary and grammar rules from different languages. Their total verbal word count should include BOTH languages. The word count doesn't double if there are two languages. Some characteristics to watch for include:
Little to no babbling
Little to no imitation of gestures, words, sounds
Limited number of consonant sounds.
History of ear infections
If they are speaking they use a limited vocabulary that mainly consists of nouns and verbs
A family history of communication, learning, and academic difficulties
Use made up words
Mildly decreased comprehension skills
Points or leads towards what they want
Uses few gestures
Speech Therapy for Late Talkers
Speech therapy can be an effective way to help late talkers develop their language skills. A speech-language pathologist (SLP) can work with your child to improve their ability to communicate and understand language. The earlier the intervention, the better the outcome.
Speech-language pathologists use formal and informal means to assess a child's language abilities and skills. This may include parent interviews, questionnaires, checklists, play-based observations, and standardized assessments.

What Can Parents Do?
There are several strategies and activities parents can use at home to help facilitate their child's language development. These include:
Model sounds, simple words, gestures
Read books that are colorful and have simple illustrations such as "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"
Turn-taking games and songs like playing catch or Peek-A-Boo
Say less. Do not ask a litany of questions or say long winded directions. This is overwhelming and challenging for any child to process.
Provide space and opportunity for a child to respond
Try your best to not get frustrated
Late talking can be worrisome for parents, but it's important to trust your intuition. If you're concerned about your child's language development, seek the advice of a professional. Reach out to Loud Mouth Speech Therapy for a free consultation to learn more about how we may be able to help.
Olswang, L.B., Rodriguez, B. & Timler, G. (1998). Recommending Intervention for Toddlers With Specific Language Learning Difficulties: We May Not Have All the Answers, But We Know a Lot. American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 7, 23 - 32.
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