Late Talker
Children learn to talk in their own time. A ‘late talker’ might be considered a toddler between 18 to 30 months of age who understands spoken language very well but has limited vocabulary compared to other children. Late talkers are also known as ‘late language learners,’ who have late language emergence. This language delay is not associated with any other disability. Late talkers exhibit delayed articulation, vocabulary acquisition, and sentence structure. Although researchers agree that genetics or family history might play a role in late language emergence, there is no specific known cause of language delay.
Signs and Symptoms
•By 12 months, the child doesn’t use gestures, e.g., waving or pointing and makes only a few sounds or sound combinations
•By 18 months, the child says only a few words, usually less than 20 words
•By 24 months, the child doesn’t imitate words or use two-word phrases; doesn’t say certain sounds correctly, e.g., /b, m, h, p, w/, uses fewer than 50 words.
•By 36 months, the child doesn’t say certain sounds correctly, e.g., /d, n, k, t, g, f/, has trouble talking with other children and adults and might be difficult to understand.
How Can We Help?
iSpeax is an online speech therapy practice that offers services to children who need treatment for various speech and language disorders. We have a team of highly-skilled and experienced speech-language pathologists who will conduct careful screening to determine whether your child is at risk for a language disorder.
You should not ”wait-and-see” if your child catches up or not. Late talkers can benefit from language intervention to prevent future speech and language difficulties. If your child is a late talker, our speech therapists will use an individualized approach to develop a therapy plan based on your child’s specific needs.
