As parents, we worry about our child’ s development and often wonder, “Is this normal?”
Some children develop speech and language skills earlier than others but how do you know if your child has a delay?
A language delay is simply when a child does not meet the language developmental milestones for their age. They may have trouble expressing themselves or understanding others.
How Do Speech and Language Differ?
Speech is the verbal expression of language and includes articulation or the way we form sounds and words.
A child with a speech delay may be hard to understand.
Language is giving and getting information. It includes expressive (giving information) and receptive (understanding information).
A child with a language delay may speak clearly but only use single words or string two words together.
Here are some milestones to watch for:
12 months: Imitate speech sounds, say a few words such as mama, recognize words for common objects.
18 months: Follow simple directions, say as many as 10 words
24 months: Use simple phrases such as “more milk”, ask one to two word questions such as “get shoe?”, speak 50 words or more.
Some sounds, specifically R and TH, tend to develop later.
How can parents help?
It is important to have your child assessed by a Speech and Language Pathologist if you have concerns about your child’s speech or language skills. An untreated speech or language disorder can limit educational achievement and interpersonal skills.
Here are a few ways to encourage speech and language development at home:
- Read to your child and encourage them to read along or look at the pictures as you read.
- Focus on communication. Have fun together, sing, make noises, make talking fun.
- Use simple language. Keep your sentences short.
- Build on what they say. If your child say “puppy”, say “yes, that’s a big puppy.”
- Don’t ask them to repeat something that they say wrong, instead show that you understand. If they say “look at the frod”, you say “Yes, it’s a frog”.
If you are worried about your child’s speech or language skills, or would like to schedule an assessment, call Synergy Speech and Language Therapy at 941-677-3101
