Around your child's first birthday, he should begin to say his first word. Hearing your child's first word is often a very exciting and proud time in every parent's life. As your child grows, so does his vocabulary and he will begin putting two-words together around the age of 2. As his vocabulary continue to increase, his communication skills expand and he will begin to imitate what he hears and say new, phrases and simple sentences . This is not only exciting, it's humorous; your child's personality is beginning to show.
However, for many children, that first word does not come in as planned, or it comes and no one can understand it. When this happens, many people will offer kind words to parents, such as "He is fine, he's just a late talker", or "My nephew didn't talk until he was 3 years old, and now he's fine." While there are some cases where children are considered "late talkers" (although they did not begin talking within the time period expected, they began talking with no concerns present) it is not always the case. Many times, the child has a communication delay or disorder present. If a communication delay or disorder is present, it is important to get Early Intervention (EI) speech-language therapy services started. Early intervention services are provided to children under the age of 3 and are important for stimulating and facilitating communication in young children. The following is a list of signs to look for that may suggest a communication delay or disorder:
- By the age of 12 months, he or she does not recognize name, does not produce a variety of sounds, does not use gestures, does not initiate communication, OR does not share interests.
- By the age of 18 months, he or she has a vocabulary of LESS than 5 words OR struggles to understand simple phrases or follow simple, familiar directions.
- By the age of 24 months, he or she has a vocabulary of LESS than 50 words, does not combine 2 words to produce a phrase, OR cannot follow simple commands.
If your child is exhibiting any of the above difficulties in communication, please contact a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) for a consultation to determine if further assessment is necessary. Assessment and therapy services should be provided by a professional licensed by your state AND certified by the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
