When is being “late to talk” an issue?
While there is a range of average when we consider developmental milestones and ages of acquisition, being safe rather than sorry when it comes to early speech and language development can be crucial. From birth to age 3, a child’s brain develops faster than it will at any other point in their lifetime. Countless studies have shown that providing speech and language intervention earlier in a child’s lifetime will result in better outcomes.
Major Milestones:
- Birth to 1 year: A child at this age recognize voices, smile when others talk, giggles and laughs, pays attention to music, babbles and coos, makes sounds when happy or upset, begins responding to simple words like “No,” and “Come here,” points to and shows objects, waves, reaches for “up,” and says 1-2 words.
- 1 year to 2 years: A child at this age follows 1-step directions, responds to simple questions like “Where’s your shoe?” points to pictures in a book when named, uses new words frequently, asks questions like “What’s that?,” and puts two words together like “Up mama,” or “More milk.”
- 2 years to 3 years: A child at this age understands opposites, follows 2-step directions, understands new words quickly, has a word for most things, uses 2-4 word phrases to ask for things or talk about them, uses words like “in,” or “under,” and can be understood by people that know them.
When to seek an evaluation and treatment
If your child is delayed in more than one of these milestones, it may be warranted to inquire with his or her doctor, or seek a professional evaluation with a speech-language pathologist.
How can Expressable help?
Expressable’s mission is to make high-quality speech therapy convenient and affordable. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s speech or language development, determining if they need ongoing therapy won’t cost a fortune. We believe in empowering families to support their child’s communication, and online therapy allows therapists to provide caregiver education and training while families participate in every step of the way.
Check in with Expressable for a free consultation to learn how we can help communication development in this crucial period of development.