Children develop the ability to communicate very rapidly in the first few years of their life. The pace at which they achieve it varies from one child to another. Some children speak much earlier, while some others take longer than usual. Identifying a delay in speech and language development becomes very tricky for parents as it is often brushed aside as a small roadblock. Here are some important facts about delayed speech in children and how you can help your child overcome it with right interventions.
The terms ‘speech delay’ and ‘language delay’ are often used interchangeably. However, they are two different types of communication delay and do not necessarily mean the same. A speech delay refers to a condition where a child is unable to speak or produce any sound of the language that is appropriate for his age. Language delay, on the other hand, largely means a delay in the verbal components of a language. A child is said to have language delay when he lacks the age-appropriate language skills, either in terms of understanding it or speaking it.
Children develop different aspects of communication continuously up to at least six years of age. Here is a simple chart that you can use to track your child’s speech and language development.
Age | Speech/language development |
Birth | Crying |
2-3 months | Shows variation in crying depending on the reason. Cooing. |
3-4 months | Random babbling, crying |
5-6 months | Rhythmic babbling, crying |
6-11 months | Trying to talk through babbling, sometimes with expression. |
12 months | Recognises and responds to name and simple instructions. Speaks one or two words, imitates sounds |
18 months | Vocabulary increases to 5-20 words |
Between 1 and 2 years | Vocabulary grows to speak 2-word sentences, can understand ‘no’, waves hi, bye and imitates familiar sounds. |
Between 2 and 3 years | Vocabulary drastically increases to include at least 450 words, speaks short sentences, and understands colours, body parts, big and small sizes, plurals. Identifies self as ‘me’, listens to the same story repeated many times. |
Between 3 and 4 years | Can narrate stories using 4-5 word sentences, a vocabulary of about 1000 words, aware of a lot of concepts and can recite several rhymes. |
Between 4 and 5 years | Vocabulary of over 1500 words used to make sentences that are 4-5 words long, frames a lot of questions with what? why? etc., aware of many concepts, uses past tense. |
Between 5 and 6 years | Can frame full sentences with 5-6 words using a strong vocabulary of 2000 words, understands relative spatial orientations like near, far, besides, away, etc., can describe objects, can count up to ten easily, understand left and right side |
Source: https://www.mottchildren.org/posts/your-child/speech-and-language-development
There are many causes for both speech and language delay. The same problem can sometimes cause both speech and language problems.
In the first three years of your child’s life, language skills develop rapidly. If you observe any following signs of delay, talk to your baby’s doctor about it.
Age | Signs of delay |
12 months | Does not respond to communication. Lack of cooing, babbling, imitation of talking, waving hands, shaking head or pointing fingers. |
18 months | Not uttered a single word, doesn’t point to even a single body part |
24 months | Has a vocabulary of only a few words and prefers to communicate through pointing or grunting, does not respond to simple commands, doesn’t imitate actions/words, Sudden loss of language skills or loss of vocabulary |
30 months | Vocabulary less than 50 words, uses single syllables compared to full words and pronounces words without final consonants |
36 months | speaks only two-word abrupt sentences/phrases, unclear pronunciation, lack of interaction with other children |
48 months | Confusion in using words like ‘me’ and ‘you’, lack of clarity in using single consonants |
With the right kind of awareness, parents can observe signs of delay in their children as early as two and half years. Speech delay in 3-year-old kids can be diagnosed with proper consultation. Under such circumstances, the child has to be evaluated by a speech-language pathologist to estimate the extent of delay and the underlying cause for it. The pathologist then recommends the appropriate speech therapy for the child.
Speech delay treatment in the form of speech therapy certainly helps the child greatly in overcoming the barrier of communication delay. However, in some cases, the medical conditions leading to the delay need correction before starting the therapy.
Children develop their language skills right from birth and providing an atmosphere that is conducive to their growth is very critical for meeting the appropriate milestones. Here are some ways by which you can help your child develop speech, at home.
Speech or language delay is one of the most common conditions found among children today. Early identification and intervention is the key to helping your child overcome the problem and successfully developing good communication skills.