18 month old not talking or walking: My 18-month-old doesn’t talk yet. What should I do?

Опубликовано: February 28, 2023 в 12:26 pm

Автор: alexxlab

Категории: Miscellaneous

18 Month Old Not Talking? Here’s What Parents Need To Know

Is your 18 month old not talking making you worried?

It may simply mean that your child is developing at their own pace and hitting milestones at their own time—which is perfectly normal.

But it may also signal something serious. In this case, detecting and treating your child early allows you to prevent emotional, social, and cognitive deficits associated and improve their development.

Ahead, this article takes a closer look at speech delays and what it might mean if your 18-month-old is not talking.

If you’re worried your child may have a speech delay, there are some signs you can look for, and perhaps more importantly, there are things you can do to help them get over the hump.

What Is A Speech Delay?

A child has a speech delay when they do not develop their speech and language skills at an expected rate. When a child’s speech development is significantly below the norm for children of the same age, the child is considered to have a speech delay. The language skills they acquire typically follow the normal progression, but at a slower rate.

Difference between speech and language delay

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, speech delay and language delay are not the same.

Speech is the motor act of articulating the verbal expression of language. It is the verbal production of language. Speech delay is a condition in which a child has difficulty producing speech.

Language is the use of symbols to communicate interpersonally. It includes receptive language (understanding of language) and expressive language (conveying information). Language delay occurs when a child has difficulty understanding or expressing language. Language is not only spoken or heard. It can also include a visual form used in, for example, sign language¹.

Very active toddler not talking could be due to either or both of these conditions.

Here are some statistics for speech and language delay

Speech delays are a fairly common developmental problem. It affects anywhere from 3% to 10% of preschool children².
It is one to four times more common in boys than in girls³.
Children with all three of the following risk factors are 7.7 times more at risk of language delays than those who have none of them – low maternal education, male gender, and family history of developmental communication disorder⁴.
Behavioral issues may also accompany language disorders. 40-75% exhibit challenging behaviors^5,6. These children may become easily frustrated when they can’t express what they need or want.

Baby speech developmental milestones

As children start learning to talk, they progress from cooing to babbling, echolalia, jargon, words, and word combinations. Typical speech development patterns are as follows⁷:

Age	Language Development milestones
6 months	Coos reacting to a voice
9 months	Babble
11 months	Imitate sounds and say things like “Mama/Dada” without knowing the meaning
12 months	Say “Mama/Dada” and know their meanings. Imitate words with two or three syllables
15 months	Have a limited vocabulary of around 4 to 7 words
18 months	Have a vocabulary of around 10 words
21 months	Have a vocabulary of around 20 words
24 months	More than 50 words in vocabulary. Can make two-word phrases and most of the speech can be understood by strangers
2.5 years	Know more than 400 words. Can form phrases with 2 to 3 words. Most of the speech can be understood by strangers
3 years	Know how to use plurals and past tense, object counting words and can form sentences with up to 5 words.
4 years	Form long sentences with 3 to 6 words. Ask questions and tell stories. Speech can be easily understood.
5 years	Long sentences can contain up to 8 words. Can name colors, count money, etc.

If your 18-month-old is not talking, the following signs could indicate a speech delay⁸.

Your child does not babble, point, or gesture
They do not use at least three words, such as “mama” or “dada”
They cannot point to a few parts of the body when asked (like hands, head, feet)
They don’t understand simple commands (like “Roll the ball”)
They don’t respond to simple questions with words or gestures (like “Where’s your shoe?”)
They don’t enjoy simple stories, songs, or rhymes
They cannot use one or two-word questions (such as “Where mama?” or “Bye-bye”)
They have trouble putting two words together (like “More milk”)
They cannot imitate different speech sounds

What Causes speech delay in toddlers

Speech delays are caused by different factors in different children. There is no single underlying issue for everyone. However, there are some common conditions that could delay language skill development. Here’s a closer look at some of the more common causes.

Maturation delay

Many late-talking toddlers are often the result of developmental delays. It occurs when the central neurologic process required for producing speech is delayed. It is more common in boys and in families with late bloomers.

The majority of these children do not ultimately have language disorders⁹. These children usually have normal speech development by the time they enter school.

Hearing Loss

The ability to hear plays a significant role in our ability to speak. A child’s ability to speak, use language effectively, and understand others will be severely impacted if their hearing is impaired.

Hearing issues can be the result of congenital defects, but they can also be temporary due to, for example, an ear infection.

Auditory processing disorder can also cause some children to struggle with understanding speech in noisy environments¹⁰.

Intellectual Disability

According to one research, approximately 50% of children’s speech/language delays are caused by this condition².

Intellectual disability (also known as general learning disability and formerly called mental retardation) is a significant impairment of a child’s cognitive skills and adaptive functions¹¹. Speech delay is a common symptom of intellectual disabilities.

Neurological differences

A number of neurological disorders are associated with difficulties with speech, including Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and cerebral palsy.

Autism – Autism is a neurologically based developmental disorder. Among the symptoms of autism is difficulty with language development.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – Language disorders are more common in children with ADHD. Inattention and impulsivity can hinder opportunities to learn and practice spoken language skills.

Cerebral palsy – difficulty with coordination or spasticity of tongue muscles, hearing loss, coexisting intellectual disability, or a defect in the cerebral cortex can affect various aspects of language use.

Receptive aphasia

Receptive aphasia is characterized by difficulties comprehending spoken language, leading to speech delay. Despite their disability, receptive aphasic children respond normally to nonverbal auditory stimuli.

Expressive aphasia (Expressive language disorder)

Expressive language disorder, a less common disorder, can show symptoms of late language emergence. These children may have normal IQs, receptive language skills, emotional relationships, and articulation skills. Brain dysfunction appears to be the primary cause of the inability to translate ideas into speech.

Psychosocial deprivation

Deprivation, both physical (e.g., poverty, malnutrition) and social (e.g., child neglect) has an adverse effect on a baby’s speech development. Early childhood is the sensitive period for language development. Children living in abusive conditions are less likely to use verbal communication with their parents. They tend to develop speech/language disorders and lack any verbal communication skills in extreme cases¹².

Elective Mutism

Elective mutism occurs when children do not speak in specific environments, i.e., at school but not at home or only with familiar people. Speech/language issues often co-occur with selective mutism, which is conceptualized as an anxiety disorder¹³.

Bilingual environment

Children who live in bilingual households may experience temporary delays in learning both languages. However, bilingual toddlers have a normal understanding of both languages at their age, and they usually become proficient in both languages before their fifth birthday.

How Many Words Should A 18-Month Old Say?

Each child develops at their own pace, and every child is different. Therefore, there are no hard and fast rules regarding the number of words an 18-month-old should say.

Generally, 18-month-olds know at least 10 words in their vocabulary.

Interestingly, 18 months also marks a time of dramatic increase in the number of words acquired by some children¹⁴. It is not unusual for a child to have a “language explosion” and their vocabulary to grow from 10 words to 250 words overnight.

Do Late Talkers Catch Up?

Many late talkers do catch up on their own. By the time they are ready for school, approximately 70 to 80% of them will be on par with their peers¹⁵ while approximately 20 to 30% of them continue to struggle with reading, writing, and language¹⁶.

However, if a child’s speech delay is related to neurological differences, then intervention and treatment should be applied as soon as possible so that it will not develop into further language difficulties.

How Can Parents Help When Their 18-Month-Old Is Not Talking?

If your 18-month-old is not talking, there are some things you can do to help them with their speech delay.

Keep Talking

Talking to your baby during everyday activities not only helps them learn the language but also plays a key role in their brain development. The more your child is exposed to the language, the more words they’re likely to pick up¹⁷.

Caretakers naturally speak differently to children than to other adults. This type of “baby talk” has been found to play a critical role in language development.

More importantly, don’t just talk to your baby, talk with them, as if you are having a conversation with them.

Studies find that engaging in “conversational duets” can significantly help improve a child’s speech development¹⁸.

Encourage peer pretend play

Role-play or pretend play has been found to help language development in preschool children¹⁹.

You can invite other families with young children over or enroll your child in a daycare that offers plenty of free time for kids to engage in simple pretend play.

Encouraged imitation of sounds

A study suggests that children learn to speak by imitating others’ speech. Encourage your child to repeat after you to learn new words. Be sure to praise your child often to reinforce their effort.

Should You Worry If Your 18 Month Old Not Talking?

When it comes to developmental milestones, kids often learn at their own pace, whether it’s walking, talking, or potty-training.

It is normal that a toddler makes sounds not words. Some 18 month old screams instead of talking. A 16 month old not saying words is also not unusual.

But it can be worrisome if your 18-month-old is not talking at all.

Be sure to bring up this issue with your child’s doctor during their regular well-child checkup and get a referral to a speech-language pathologist for evaluation. It may also help to mention whether your 18 month old is not talking but understands your words.

A comprehensive evaluation is essential when a child does not meet expected speech and language milestones. Abnormal language development is often a secondary manifestation of other physical and developmental problems. The earlier the intervention, the better.

Will Speech Therapy Help An 18-Month-Old Who’s Not Talking?

Studies show that speech therapy can help kids with speech delays improve significantly, especially when given early.

However, before receiving speech therapy, be sure to check with your child’s pediatrician and a language therapist.

Depending on the reason why your 18 month old is not talking, the best type of therapy may vary. Once the cause and best type of therapy are identified, look for a speech therapist who specializes in it.

References

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McLaughlin M. Speech and language delay in children. Am Fam Physician. 2011;83(10):1183-1188. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21568252
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Leung A, Kao C. Evaluation and management of the child with speech delay. Am Fam Physician. 1999;59(11):3121-3128, 3135. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10392594
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Shriberg LD, Tomblin JB, McSweeny JL. Prevalence of Speech Delay in 6-Year-Old Children and Comorbidity With Language Impairment. J Speech Lang Hear Res. Published online December 1999:1461-1481. doi:10.1044/jslhr.4206.1461
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Campbell TF, Dollaghan CA, Rockette HE, et al. Risk Factors for Speech Delay of Unknown Origin in 3-Year-Old Children. Child Development. Published online March 2003:346-357. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.7402002
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Silva PA, Williams S, McGee R. A Longitudinal Study Of Children With Developmental Language Delay At Age Three: Later Intelligence, Reading And Behaviour Problems. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. Published online November 12, 2008:630-640. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.1987.tb08505.x
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Stevenson J, Richman N. Behavior, language, and development in three-year-old children. J Autism Dev Disord. Published online September 1978:299-313. doi:10.1007/bf01539633
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Schwartz ER. Speech and language disorders. In: Schwartz MW, Ed. Pediatric Primary Care: A Problem Oriented Approach. Mosby; 1990:696–700.
8.

.. Speech and Language Developmental Milestones. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/speech-and-language
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Rescorla L. Late Talkers: Do Good Predictors of Outcome Exist? Dev Disabil Res Rev. Published online November 2011:141-150. doi:10.1002/ddrr.1108
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Dawes P, Bishop DVM, Sirimanna T, Bamiou DE. Profile and aetiology of children diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (APD). International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. Published online April 2008:483-489. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2007.12.007
11.

Battaglia A, Carey JC. Diagnostic evaluation of developmental delay/mental retardation: An overview. Am J Med Genet. Published online January 30, 2003:3-14. doi:10.1002/ajmg.c.10015
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Allen R, Wasserman GA. Origins of language delay in abused infants. Child Abuse & Neglect. Published online January 1985:335-340. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(85)90029-8
13.

STEINHAUSEN HC, JUZI C. Elective Mutism: An Analysis of 100 Cases. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Published online May 1996:606-614. doi:10.1097/00004583-199605000-00015
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McMurray B. Defusing the Childhood Vocabulary Explosion. Science. Published online August 3, 2007:631-631. doi:10.1126/science.1144073
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Ellis EM, Thal DJ. Early Language Delay and Risk for Language Impairment. Perspect Lang Learn Educ. Published online October 2008:93-100. doi:10.1044/lle15.3.93
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Sharma M, Purdy SC, Kelly AS. Comorbidity of Auditory Processing, Language, and Reading Disorders. J Speech Lang Hear Res. Published online June 2009:706-722. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2008/07-0226)
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Romeo RR, Leonard JA, Robinson ST, et al. Beyond the 30-Million-Word Gap: Children’s Conversational Exposure Is Associated With Language-Related Brain Function. Psychol Sci. Published online February 14, 2018:700-710. doi:10.1177/0956797617742725
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Hirsh-Pasek K, Adamson LB, Bakeman R, et al. The Contribution of Early Communication Quality to Low-Income Children’s Language Success. Psychol Sci. Published online June 5, 2015:1071-1083. doi:10.1177/0956797615581493
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Andresen H. Role Play and Language Development in the Preschool Years. Culture & Psychology. Published online December 2005:387-414. doi:10.1177/1354067×05058577

About Pamela Li

Pamela Li is a bestselling author. She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Parenting For Brain. Her educational background is in Electrical Engineering (MS, Stanford University) and Business Management (MBA, Harvard University).

View all posts by Pamela Li | Website

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90,000 A child does not speak per year. Well, say: “Ma-ma” – November 25, 2011

Lifestyle

November 25, 2011, 17:05

discuss

There is a myth that the great scientist of the twentieth century Albert Einstein began to speak only at 4 of the year. However, this does not reassure modern parents. Each children’s forum has several topics with similar names: “My child does not speak. What to do?” About what is really considered the norm, when to run to the doctor, and when to just wait patiently, we talked with Olesya Zhukova, General Director of the Center for the Development and Habilitation of the Child “Speech Therapist-Profi”.

– According to Yandex statistics, more than two thousand people a month search for answers to the query “A child does not speak in a year.” Olesya Stanislavovna, is it really necessary to start worrying at this time?

– Fears that a one-year-old child develops speech with a delay are justified only if the baby has a general delay in psychomotor development (for example, with early organic brain damage) or there are suspicions of hearing loss, visual impairment. That is, when there is indirect evidence that delayed speech development may be pathological. If the child hears and sees well, and there are no diseases or causes in the anamnesis that could cause speech development disorders, then there is nothing wrong with the fact that by the year the child does not speak. Linguists of children’s speech say that, on average, the starting point for the formation of active verbal speech lies approximately at the age of 1 to 1.6 years. For all children, these terms are individual, someone can start talking a little earlier than a year, someone – a little later than a year and a half.

– What should a child be able to do and say at one, two, three?

– The answer to this question is ambiguous… Doctors (neuropathologists, pediatricians) and teachers (speech therapists, defectologists) use the so-called diagnostic tables to assess the development of a child. Speech is never considered in isolation. An experienced specialist always evaluates the maturation of all areas of the child’s development: socialization and self-service skills, the development of large and small motor skills, the child’s cognitive skills, pre-speech (up to a year) and speech skills.

In our country, the data currently differ, because there is no single scale of standards for the development of a child, unlike, for example, European countries. Many domestic experts use the translation of well-known tests – Gesell, the Denver screening test. The St. Petersburg Institute for Early Intervention has been doing a great job for many years, trying to determine the average statistical parameters of development for residents of the North-West region. In order to derive such average figures, it is necessary to analyze a sample of studies of one and a half to two thousand people. We use averaged, accepted in domestic pediatrics and neurology, data on the development of the child and the criteria for risk factors for developmental disorders. The absence of at least a small set of babbling or full forms of words at 2 years and the absence of simple phrasal speech after 3 years can be considered a serious cause for concern.

– Does the beginning of the child’s speech activity depend on gender, heredity, activities with the child or his personal characteristics?

– Everything plays its part. Even genetics. In families in which there is a predisposition to delayed speech development, it is often inherited. At least one of the first questions of a speech therapist when parents come to him with a child who does not speak is whether there were similar cases in the family? There is also gender dependence. Oddly enough, there are more speech delays in boys than in girls. And according to research, speech in some boys also begins to form a little later than in girls, but this is not a reason to think that “he does not speak because he is a boy.”

Now about the role of parents. Studies by ontolinguists have been carried out, which have shown: the child will start speaking faster with the so-called “advanced” mother. Such a mother talks a lot with the baby, highlighting the words that the child should pay attention to in her voice and intonation. Toddlers respond better to the slow pace of an adult’s speech, a change in the intonational coloring of the voice, and emotional encouragement of the response of the baby himself. On the contrary, in families in which there is deprivation – infringement of the conditions for the development of the child – there is often a delay in his speech development. The cognitive abilities of the child, intelligence also play a role in the development of speech. Therefore, in a child with mental retardation, of course, speech development will also be delayed.

– Do children learn by imitation by repeating the sounds of adults?

– Not only – children listen carefully to the speech and look at the lips of the speaker. Those children who have well-developed visual and auditory control, as well as the ability to repeat these articulatory movements, are usually more successful in mastering speech.

– This means that the speech of the parents significantly affects the speech of the child. But many adults with children lisp. This is right?

– There is the concept of “language of nannies”, or “babble language”. When we say, for example, “look what a bibika has gone” or “af-af-af is running down the street” – there is nothing wrong with that. Parents use these babbling words consciously, ensuring that the child begins to use them faster in his speech, and therefore, to speak. All children acquire these words when they learn to speak. Therefore, when children with delayed speech development come to us, we also first of all stimulate their attempts to repeat the onomatopoeia of animals and birds, other sound combinations (for example, tuk-tuk, ale, bang).

And another thing is lisping, when parents consciously begin, for example, to say softly: “Oochi-ti, my little one”, that is, they make faces, distort the sound pronunciation. These are different things. And this should not be done, we should be the standard for the child. Although, in fact, lisping is the hundred and fiftieth reason why a child’s speech can be impaired.

– Is it worth scolding a child if he points his finger at something, not wanting to speak? Or is this a normal stage of development?

– It depends on what age. There are, for example, natural gestures – pointing – all children older than 6-8 months of age have them. Gestures appear first, and then, after them, verbal speech. And in this sense, gestures are natural in the sense of “give me”, “show me” or “what is this?”. But gradually, by one and a half to two years, you need to begin to strive to ensure that gestures are replaced by words. Parents themselves should provoke the formation of verbal (verbal) speech in the child. Therefore, I always tell adults: if a child does not have the motivation to use speech, it will not be formed. If a child simply points a finger at an object or a toy, and the parents immediately give it to the child, he does not seem to need to learn to call this word.

– Is that why many children begin to speak phrases well only when they go to kindergarten?

– Yes, this is the influence of the social environment – the child has to use speech. Peers need to explain what he wants – you need to ask for a toy, enter into a dialogue, and so on. Therefore, the environment itself pushes the child to the active use of speech and the accumulation of vocabulary. Motivation appears, therefore, the speech of the child is activated.

– It is often seen that many children walk with a pacifier at two or three years. Does this affect speech development in any way?

– Prolonged sucking on the nipple can cause malocclusion and cause the baby’s tongue to protrude between the teeth. And this will entail a violation of pronunciation, for example, whistling sounds. Therefore, one of the first questions of the speech therapist during the examination, if the child has pronunciation disorders, is how long he sucked on the pacifier.

– How do you know if a child has something wrong with his hearing?

– You need to carefully monitor the child’s reaction to the sounds of household appliances, the environment, people’s voices. If you notice that the child does not have a reaction to your speech when he does not see your lips (you cover them with a piece of paper or stand behind him), that he does not understand the speech addressed to him, then this should be paid special attention. Additional hearing examinations by an audiologist are required. There are special examination methods, such as gaming or computer audiograms. To date, a regulation has been approved by order of the Ministry of Health, according to which all children with a delay in psychomotor and speech development should have their hearing checked. Sometimes a slight hearing loss is detected, which is not diagnosed by parents in everyday life, but it can significantly complicate the formation of speech in a baby. Therefore, if parents have any doubts about this, or if the child’s speech formation is delayed, it is better to undergo research and exclude hearing loss in the child as a differential diagnosis. Today, most maternity hospitals in St. Petersburg are equipped with devices for determining hearing problems in newborns, and a planned examination of the hearing of babies is also carried out in polyclinics in order to identify these problems as early as possible.

– If it turns out that a child needs surgery, cochlear implantation, what are the prognosis for such children? How soon after the operation do they catch up with their peers in speech development, can problems arise in the future?

– Early surgery predetermines excellent prognosis, but this is on condition that after the operation, specialists and parents work with the baby, developing his hearing and speech. Recently, at a conference for specialists, it was said that they had performed a cochlear implantation operation on a seven-month-old child. Of course, you need to understand that such an operation is performed for children with severe hearing loss (fourth degree hearing loss and deafness) and only after a certain experience in wearing hearing aids, when specialists and parents note that these hearing aids do not help the child. We have a little student with whom we started training after the operation at 1.3 years old. Nine months later (now Sonia is 2 years and 2 months old) she has a wonderful detailed phrasal speech, a detailed dictionary. Sonya attends an ordinary kindergarten, although she continues to study with specialists. On her example, we were convinced that the earlier the operation was performed, the better the prognosis for such a child – he quickly catches up with his peers, he can go to study in a good, strong school.

– How do speech problems affect schooling?

– These things are connected directly. Children who had speech impairments (for example, pronunciation) at preschool age are at risk for writing and reading disorders – dysgraphia and dyslexia. Therefore, speech disorders must be eliminated in the preschool period, otherwise they will definitely switch to writing and reading the child.

– Is it normal for a child who speaks poorly to not be able to read before school? Is it better to teach?

– Methodology for the development of speech in children with speech disorders, especially with speech development delays, with the so-called alalia, includes early learning to read as a measure to prevent possible reading and writing disorders at school.

– For many mothers, the understanding of how to talk to a child is purely intuitive. How to work with a child at home?

– It depends on what parents want to achieve. After all, many want their child to get into a gymnasium with a strong program, with in-depth study of a foreign language. So, the emphasis should be on the development of coherent speech. After all, all further education at school will be built on the principle of “remember-retell”, explain, justify your point of view. And this requires a rich, detailed phrasal speech, so getting to know new words, learning to tell is important here in the first place. If a child has problems with learning foreign languages, which is directly related to the development of the so-called phonemic hearing, as the ability to distinguish sounds, phonemes of a language (which, by the way, is also necessary for literate writing), then we develop auditory and phonemic perception. Depending on the different directions and tasks that parents set for the child, the set of exercises and recommendations will be different. But, in any case, even if the child does not have any special problems with speech, his parents can come to a speech therapist as a speech development specialist to give individual recommendations on the direction of development of certain aspects of the child’s speech.

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The Hermitage Theater invites you to the premiere performance of the cycle “Triumphant Petersburg”, which will take place on 12 November. By bringing together the best forces of the imperial theaters of St. Petersburg, the Triumph art project will launch a theatrical and musical time machine and take the audience to the era of the founding of St. Petersburg. The “Route” will pass through the great milestones in the history of the Russian Empire and its northern capital, accompanied by grandiose personalities who influenced the course of history, as well as musical works by great composers. The musical component of the journey…

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Company news

The child does not speak: when to start worrying

Today’s children start talking later. You can often meet a three-year-old who can hardly pronounce “mom”, “dad”. Our new blogger Irina Mukovozova tells how to distinguish serious developmental problems from a normal variant.

Are you a speech therapist? My child does not pronounce several letters.

– Actually, I’m not exactly a speech therapist, neuropsychologist, but share your problems. What letters does he not pronounce?

– “A”, for example, or “y”.

– This is already interesting. Tell everything from the very beginning.

Interesting dialogue? More and more children start talking rather late. The child is almost three years old, and he still does not speak, and the parents begin to sound the alarm. Doctors diagnose a child with STD, because normally, by the age of three, he should already have good phrasal speech. Then everything develops according to several scenarios:

Someone spits on this diagnosis and waits for the child to speak;
Someone begins to get very worried and take various measures;
The rest are derivatives of the first two.

Let’s try to figure out when it is necessary to focus on one or another scenario of behavior.

First, when you shouldn’t be especially worried

We look at the child and see:

He is less than three years old, he is healthy, agile, developed according to the schedule and did not get sick in the first year of life.
He enjoys mastering a balance bike, a scooter and a bicycle, he likes to swing on a swing.
Understands well the speech addressed to him, can fulfill a two-level request (“go there, bring that” or “take not blue”).
He tries to say something himself, and he has his own language: “Chu cha” – “I want tea.”
Examines and shows pictures in a book.
The main thing: communicates with pleasure and actively. At least with you. Communication is not necessarily verbal, gestures are also speech. The main thing is that the child should have a desire to communicate and he should have something to say.

All these points are very important from the point of view of diagnosing a child’s speech development. If at least one of these is not available, with the possible exception of a balance bike and a scooter with a bicycle, you should contact a specialist.

There are many reasons for delayed speech development, and believe me, your delay will continue to be a delay if certain measures are not taken in time.

Now the second scenario, when you should worry

You should be very worried if your mother was sick in the first trimester of pregnancy and at the same time the child is unsociable, does not look into your eyes and does not seem to notice you at all. He is quite “independent”, and one gets the impression that he does not need you at all. If the child behaves like this, you need to run to the specialists, even if the mother was not sick at the beginning of pregnancy and did not take medicine: this can signal serious problems in the development of the child, and the sooner you start doing something, the easier the consequences.

Recall how a child developed in its first year. Did he react to your voice, did he babble, was there babble (“agu-uh-hu”, “ta-ta”, “ba-ba” and the like, what happens), did he try to catch the movements of the lips and imitate them, already saying something something similar to the syllables “pa-pa-pa”, “ma-ma-ma”, “tya-tya-tya”, did he catch the intonation.

If something is wrong, you have cause for concern. These are the stages of speech development that every child must go through before pronouncing their first children’s words. You need to start with doctors, check your hearing and vision.

Next, you need to pay attention to motor awkwardness. Perhaps the child is clumsy, walks on tiptoe, often falls, or simply his “arms by themselves, legs by themselves.” Speech muscles are also muscles, and it may be difficult for a child to coordinate not only the work of the legs and arms, but also the lips, cheeks and tongue. This can be tracked by a neurologist.

If the child seems to be both active and sociable, but does not speak at all, even simple words (“mom”, “dad”, “give”, “bi-bi”), especially if he is already over three years old, or his the speech is more like soft babble, and the neurologist has already diagnosed IDD, you need to look for a neuropsychologist, and not wait for the weather by the sea.