Will my child grow out of their speech/language difficulties?

Will my child simply “grow out of” their speech/language difficulties?

Parents are often unsure whether their child will simply “grow out of” their speech or language difficulties as they get older. However, many children will not outgrow their speech difficulties without intervention! Research shows that 40-50% of typically developing children who are late to start talking do not catch up to other children without speech-language intervention.

When Should I Be Concerned?

It is suggested that you seek help from a speech-language pathologist if your child:

By 12 months

Doesn’t babble with a variety of sounds
Doesn’t use gestures
Doesn’t respond to their name

By 18 months

Isn’t using at least 20 single words
Doesn’t respond in some way (with a word or gesture) to questions such as “what’s that?” or “where’s daddy?”
Can’t point to 2-3 major body parts

By 2 years

Isn’t using 2 word phrases (e.g. “mommy go”)
Says less than 100 words
Doesn’t imitate actions or words
Doesn’t engage in pretend play

By 3 – 3 1/2 years

Doesn’t have one or more of the following sounds: h, m, n, w, p, b, t, d, f, k, g
Doesn’t ask questions
Isn’t using full sentences
Isn’t using “ing” endings, plurals, or regular past tense

Why Take A Proactive Approach?

Early difficulties with speech or language can leave your child at greater risk for a language delay, difficulty with reading and academics, and/or difficulty making friends! If your child is late to start talking, or has difficulty pronouncing certain sounds, this can negatively impact their later academic achievement. The later they start talking, the less experience and practice they have with formulating grammatical sentences and/or correctly pronouncing sounds before starting school. Difficulty with speech sound production can negatively impact the child’s ability to sound out words and may affect their reading skills. Children who are hard to understand or who do not talk much may also have difficulty making friends.

Early speech-language intervention can help! Best outcomes are achieved when identification and intervention is during children’s critical period for language learning. Speech-language pathologists at Achieve create treatment plans based on your child’s individual speech-language needs.

What Can you Do?

If you have concerns about your child’s speech and language development, it is always a good idea to take a proactive approach and get your child assessed. Please contact us at 877-5 -ACHIEVE to set up an assessment.