It’s natural for parents to worry about their children, are they meeting their physical, social, speech, and language developmental milestones? In our busy lives, it can be difficult to tell if it’s just anxiety, maybe late development, or one of the many other situations.

The question many parents wonder if their child would benefit from speech/language therapy? 

Here are a few signs your child will benefit from a speech therapist
You or close friends and family have difficulty understanding your toddler

If your toddler is between the ages of between the ages of 18 months and 2 years old, those familiar and spend time with your child, should be able to understand them without difficulty. If you and other people are not able to understand your toddler at this stage, they may benefit from the quality evaluation from a speech therapist. 

Your toddler is having trouble combining a pair of words

Combining words together is the the first step to forming sentences. By 2 years old, a child should be able to put 2 words together. Typically these combination of words are associated with expressions of affection or something they want. For example, “my cup”,  “pick up’, ‘love cat’, If your toddler hasn’t accomplished this by their second birthday, a speech pathologist can help. 

You child is having difficulty saying certain sounds at 3 or 4 years old

By age 3 and 4, both hard and soft sounds should be able to be pronounced in a way that is understood. While they don’t have to be exact, they should be understood by others. If your child is having difficult time with this, they may benefit from seeing a speech therapist. 

While children develop at different rates, if you suspect your child has a speech or language disorder it is important to take action. Hoping they will outgrow the problem can negatively affect other aspects of your child’s life.

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.