Speech and language milestones are important to track as children develop. Understanding the signs of a delay can identify potential issues early to ensure they have the opportunity to receive early treatment for a successful future.
What is a language delay vs a speech delay
A delay in a child’s language is when they don’t meet the milestones and progress as their peers. Typically identified by age 3, but can be observed as early as 18 months.
A speech delay is when a child has issues producing sounds of speech fluently or correctly.
A language delay is when a child has difficulty using and understanding spoken language.
A language delay can be seen in a variety of ways, remember all children are different. Common signs of a language delay include:
Not babbling by 15 months old
Babbling includes attempts made to imitate sounds and produce words. Usually, this is when a child says “dada” and “mama”.
Not talking by two years old
By age 2 most children can say an assortment of words. While some may be able to upwards of 50 to 100 words, some are saying single words and two word sentences.
Gestures use over words
At 18 months old a child should be using more words than gestures. While gestures such as waving and pointing can substitute for words, it shouldn’t replace it.
Not using short sentences by three
A child who is three years old should be able to say three words sentences. These are often brief descriptions of what they liked or saw.
Difficulty understanding simple directions spoken to them
By age 3, a child should understand simple questions and directions. This could be understanding words such as “go” and “stop”.
According to the American Speech Language Hearing Association, there are some options for addressing language delays and disorders.
Intervention for a delay may take on several forms:
Indirect treatment and monitoring
Provide activities for parents and caregivers to engage in with the child, such as book-sharing and parent-child interaction groups.
Check in with the family periodically to monitor language development.
Direct intervention, including techniques such as:
Expansions—repeating the child’s utterance and adding grammatical and semantic detail.
Recasts—changing the mode or voice of the child’s original utterance (for example, declarative to interrogative).
Build-ups and breakdowns—the child’s utterance is expanded (built up) and then broken down into grammatical components (break down) and then built up again into its expanded form.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we encourage you to contact Orlando’s First Words Therapy. We take a holistic approach to speech-language-therapy to help your child communicate more effectively. Our therapists have extensive clinical experience and training, ensuring your child receives the highest level of care.
