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We Love To Grow Language!
Parents eagerly await their child's first words as they watch them grow and develop. It is a huge milestone! When that waiting period grows longer and longer, it naturally becomes a concern for parents. We pride ourselves in helping kids say those first words, and teaching families how to connect and engage with their children in ways that promote language.
So what can you do when you notice that you have a late talker? Below are answers to the most common questions about late talking or Late Language Emergence (LLE) to help you check for warning signs and find the best support for your child.
So what can you do when you notice that you have a late talker? Below are answers to the most common questions about late talking or Late Language Emergence (LLE) to help you check for warning signs and find the best support for your child.
Are There Red Flags for A Child Who May Be a Late Talker?
Children who are late talkers usually also have a delay in babbling (mamamama), which is a skill that emerges around 6 months. Babies that aren’t babbling by seven or eight months are showing a sign that something may not be developing typically.
Is My Child A Late Talker?
Late talkers are generally described as a child who is typically developing in all areas except is not yet speaking. The age at which they are expected speak sometimes varies depending on who you ask, but according to normal developmental milestones, children begin speaking their first words between 9-15 months of age.
Typical developing children, who are not considered late talkers, will have the following skills
between 12-18 months of age:
If your child is not meeting most of this criteria,
they are generally considered to be a 'late talker'.
For some parents, this may not be that great of a concern. While each child does develop at his/her own pace, there are benchmarks for a reason. Late talkers present with expressive language delays, but can also have receptive delays as well. Children with only expressive delays exhibit delayed vocabulary acquisition and often demonstrate slow development of sentence structure and articulation. Those with mixed expressive and receptive language delays exhibit delays in language comprehension and in oral language production.
By 18-24 months of age, these are expressive skills you should see:
Typical developing children, who are not considered late talkers, will have the following skills
between 12-18 months of age:
- Uses 3 to 20 words with meaning
- Vocalizes with gestures
- Says “all gone” (emerging negation)
- Answers question, “what’s this?”
- Asks for “more” (emerging recurrence)
- Imitates familiar words
- Makes some environmental noises, familiar animals and machines
- 50% of utterances are nouns
- Average length of responses are 1 to 2 words
If your child is not meeting most of this criteria,
they are generally considered to be a 'late talker'.
For some parents, this may not be that great of a concern. While each child does develop at his/her own pace, there are benchmarks for a reason. Late talkers present with expressive language delays, but can also have receptive delays as well. Children with only expressive delays exhibit delayed vocabulary acquisition and often demonstrate slow development of sentence structure and articulation. Those with mixed expressive and receptive language delays exhibit delays in language comprehension and in oral language production.
By 18-24 months of age, these are expressive skills you should see:
- Uses approximately 50 recognizable words
- Uses simple phrases (i.e. "more juice")
- Uses names of most familiar objects
- Produces animal sounds or uses its name
- Verbalizes toilet needs – may verbalize before, during or after act (closer to 2 years)
- Identifies and names five or more pictures
- Says own name on request – refers to self with full name
- Verbalizes “no”
- Verbalizes immediate experiences
- Combines 2 words into phrases (~2 years) in noun Verb or noun+adjective form
For more information on child development, you can visit ASHA's website or click here for our milestones checklist.
What are the outcomes of being a late talker?
While more than half of them usually catch up to their peers. With about 25 percent of late talkers, they continue to have difficulty with language. These children are usually diagnosed, in preschool years or elementary years, with language impairment and receive some kind of support services in school.
An ASHA study on Late Language Emergence concluded that a late talker is more likely to develop language and literacy difficulties later on.
Some of the outcomes listed by the study include:
An ASHA study on Late Language Emergence concluded that a late talker is more likely to develop language and literacy difficulties later on.
Some of the outcomes listed by the study include:
- At age 5: Children who were late talkers had lower scores on complex language skills, such as narrating a simple story.
- At age seven: Children identified as late talkers had reduced general language ability and grammar.
- At ages eight-9: Children who were late talkers demonstrated poor literacy abilities.
- At age 13: Children identified as late talkers had lower scores on vocabulary, grammar, verbal memory, and reading comprehension.
- At age 17: Children who were late talkers showed poorer scores on vocabulary/grammar and verbal memory factors.
Children who are still late talkers by 24 months of age are more likely to hav a low vocabulary and low school readiness, according to a study published on the ASHA Wire. In fact, 1 in 5 children who were late talkers are below age expectations for language by school-age (Telethon Institute for Child Health Research).
These outcomes are further supported by studies mentioned in another article published by The Hanen Centre. According to researchers, late talkers who eventually “grow out of it” have been found to show weaknesses that prevail throughout adolescence in:
- Language and literacy skills, such as: Vocabulary, grammar, phonology, reading, creating stories, writing, reading, and listening comprehension.
- Skills that rely on language: Social, behavioral, and executive function skills (planning, organizing, paying attention, and controlling impulsive behavior).
- Auditory Processing: Immature speech/language processing skills, which can affect language and literacy development.
What causes late talking in children?
The cause of late talking in children developing normally in other areas still unknown. It is neurodevelopmental in nature, which means their linguistic neural connections are less sophisticated than peers. In general, language disorders are often caused by:
- Hearing Impairment
- Physical Impairment
- Developmental Delays and Disorders
- Motor Planning Impairments
- Have a family history of early language delay
- Males are also more likely to have language delay
What does treatment involve?
- The first step should be to get a hearing screening done to rule out hearing loss for any reason (sometimes due to multiple ear infections will result in a slight drop in hearing ability that affects language for periods of time).
- Second is to have a speech pathologist evaluate the child's expressive and receptive language abilities. Speech Pathologists prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat communication disorders (amongst other things). Each state has an Early Intervention program, which provides services to families free of charge, if they qualify.
- Sometimes, a child does not qualify because although they have an expressive language delay, their receptive language skills are typical. Services are reserved for very severely delayed children only since it is a free service given by your county. Often, parents seek private therapy when this is the case.
Treatment involves training parents and caregivers how to best promote language.