A common concern we receive as pediatricians from parents of young children is whether or not their child’s speech and language are developing appropriately. Understanding a child who isn’t speaking clearly can be frustrating for not only the parent, but also the child. It can also be challenging when comparing children whose speech develops at different times. If the child is otherwise developing normally, many parents will hold off on seeking treatment. While unclear speech development can be a sign of hearing loss or other developmental delays, understanding language milestones can be a great help for parents in knowing when to seek early treatment.
By age one your child should:
By age two your child should:
By age three your child should:
It is important for parents to understand the difference between language and speech delays. A child with a speech delay may be able to understand what is being said, but has difficulty articulating a response, and vice versa.
If it is suspected that your child has a speech or language delay, the pediatrician will often recommend they see a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for an evaluation. The evaluation will include both indirect and direct testing. Indirect testing helps uncover how they communicate in real-life scenarios through informal conversation, whereas during direct testing, the child is asked a series of structured questions to measure how they respond.
Each well-child examination provides both parents and the pediatric provider an opportunity to understand how the child is developing physically, emotionally and mentally. If your child is due for their well-child examination, please call Rainbow Pediatrics to schedule their appointment today. For more parenting tips, visit the Rainbow Pediatrics blog.