Early identification of communication difficulties is important to getting your child the help he/she needs. I welcome you to ask any questions about speech or language development, but here are the most frequently asked questions:
Does my child need help with his speech and language skills? Here are some signs:
Your child isn’t talking by 18 months.
Your child has experienced frequent ear infections.
Speech is difficult to understand after age 3.
Your child is leaving out the beginning sounds of words i.e “og ark” for “dog bark”
Your child is using mostly vowel sounds when speaking after age 3
Your child has difficulty with any speech sound after the age of 7
When should my child begin to talk?
Children learn to speak from the moment they are born. They will communicate by crying and learn to change pitch and volume from a small whimper to a loud cry. A newborn’s cry can mean differnt needs: hunger, pleasure, fatigue, or discomfort. As long as physical, mental, and social stimulation has taken place a child’s first word is aroung 12 to 18 months of age.
When should people outside the family be able to understand my child?
by 18 months - 25% of speech should be understood
24 monhs - 50% of speech should be understood
30 months - 65% of speech should be understood
36 months - 80% of speech should be understood
42 months- 92% of speech should be understood
48 months - 100% od speech should be understood