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Home › Articles › Guiding Baby's Development › Early Signs of Speech Delays

Early Signs of Speech Delays

Tips for Spotting Speech Problems in Older Babies and Toddlers

By Lisa A. Goldstein

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Susan Etlinger suspected her son, Isaac, had a speech delay at about 15 months. He wasn't using any words, nor was he babbling much. A couple of months later, his speech was evaluated and found to be significantly delayed.

"The speech pathologist pointed out that his sound production (i.e., the number and types of sounds he was able to make) was minimal and not at age level," says Etlinger, a San Francisco, Calif., resident.

What if you, too, suspect that your older baby or toddler has a speech delay? Sometimes the signs can present themselves early.

Speech Milestones

After a newborn manages to sleep through the night, one of the next big milestones parents often anxiously await is the appearance of their child's first words, says Denise Ruscio, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) in Hofstra University's Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. "Sometimes, though, those first words appear later than expected. There are many signs parents can look for while waiting to hear 'Mama' or 'Dada' that will help them determine whether or not their child's speech-language skills are developing 'on time.'"

The ability to communicate is comprised of many components, two of which are speech and language. Speech-language pathologists, the specialists who work with people who have communication disorders, often refer to speech as articulation. Language, on the other hand, refers to a child's vocabulary, their ability to combine words into phrases and sentences, and their ability to use words in conversation to get what they want. According to Ruscio, both speech and language skills begin to develop as early as birth, and continue to develop into adolescence.

A child's first words typically begin to emerge around 12 to 15 months of age, says Denise Boggs, a speech-language pathologist at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill. "However, it is important to understand that a child's foundation for language development and their ability to communicate in other ways begins to develop long before the time that a child begins using single words," she says. "It is important to monitor your child's development early on, to be sure they are on target with their communication skills."


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