10 Tips to Promote Speech and Language Skills in Your Child

Hi, i enjoy your site and I this article is great. I wanted to ask you about my 3 year old. We speak both English and Spanish at home, and she is not at the level of other 3 year old.she talks a lot and is very smart. she knows her ABC,numbers up to 50 with help, colors only green, yellow and blue. She understands well and can follow commands as well. My only concern is that her speech is not as clear as others, she has problem with the G,C,K,Q letter. I am sure others letters as well. She is at home with me, and she is not in daycare yet. I know that if she was it will be different. I had her evaluated at 18 months, and 2 years old and she did not qualify for early intervention. They told me she was not delayed enough to get therapy to just giver more time. she did gained more words, since then but I don't know if is normal for her to be this way? some strangers do understand her, so I might be just overeating. Is is normal for her speech not to be so clear?

Hi Jenny,

Research indicates that a familiar listener should be able to understand 70%-80% of what a 3 year old says in conversation. The sounds that you mention above that your daughter is having difficulty with (g,k,c,q) are usually mastered around 3, but often take until closer to 4 years of age to stop producing those sounds in the front of the mouth ("tar" for "car"). If that is what she is doing than she will probably outgrow it, but if she is still doing this by 4 then I would take her for another evaluation.

Because she is understanding everything and on target with her pre-academic skills, I think you're fine to be introducing her to two languages so early. Unless a child is showing signs of a language delay (not talking or only a couple of words by 3) then introduction to a second language is great and they do learn it better the earlier they are exposed.

So it sounds like she is doing just fine. And again, it is normal to not understand 100% of a 3 year old's speech.

I hope this is helpful.
Tami

This guideline is very useful. We are in touch with a Occupational Therapy for our son. Your advice and guideline are very useful.

God bless you,

Jena

these comments have been very helpful at one and a half years old my son was only saying dada after that he was just babbling since then he was seeing a speech pathologist he had to stop recently because of his behaviour so he is currently seeing a psychologist for behaviour modification he has been diagnosed as having social communication disorder which is an autistic spectrum disorder my question is how to i help him with his expressive speech so that he can get along with others socially

hello my son is 33 months old ,he has prolem with his receptive language,i know this problem when i saw that he does not follow my most of the commonds ,he only wants that i fullfill his demands but when i try to give an idea or any type of instruction he is reluctant to follow me ,thats why i am worried about him

My grandson will be 4 years old tomorrow. He has a hard time pronouncing his C,G,and K's. He is able to say Christopher but does not seem to want or be able to say many other words that start with that sound. He gets frustrated when we correct him and he tries but I am not sure if I am helping him or making it worse. Any suggestions on how to make a game out of pronouncing these letters or other recomendations to help. When should be be concerned.

Thanks

sir,
i have 19months old boy,he understand what ever we talk,regulary words he like atta,thatha,vadhu like words he a,i,u,o,f,and 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. i have problem with he touge,he touge shape is "w", in fuchar any problem with touge,
if any surgary what after surgaary he talk command language,plz guide me.

Thanks Author for the great information. This is a big help for my daughter.

Articulate your words clearly when you communicate withh your child. Speak slowly and remember to look directly at your child's face….this really works….i use it.

Jude Steven, Editor of Koi Guide

Dear Mam

My son turned 3 on 28th Nov .this year. He is not at the same level as his fellow classmates interms of speech. he Makes sentences of 2 to 3 words, he is good at reading pictures recognizes colours & shapes. but when it comes to saying rhymes or conversing like a normal toddler he cannot be understood … his speech is still not clear .
he tells his name , his school name .
he can repeat any hard word also . after…
Is is normal for 3year old for unclear speech.
Pls help I am very worriesd

Hi,
It is within the normal range that your son's speech is not 100% clear at 3 years of age. It is good that he is willing to repeat words that you say and that he is putting words together to make sentences. Many 3 year olds have speech that is still not clear. Depending on which sounds he is having trouble with, there is a good chance that he will outgrow this and sounds that are unclear now will start becoming more clear in the next year. You may want to consider getting a speech/language evaluation for him in the next few months if his speech doesn't get any clearer.

Tami

my son is 3+ years old he was saying words when he was 1 1/2 years old but after my husband departed overseas suddenly he shut himself and didn't speak for todays date. even we tried many doctors they say he will out grow the situation. even the primary schools refuse to keep him cuz due to the speech delay he is throwing out anger. once in while if he something that interest him like a animal he would say the name (eg cat / cow) but that would be once that is all

Please enlighten me with your experience.

god bless you

my 3 1/2 year old grandchild had hearing problems since birth. He has tubes in his ears to correct the problem for the second time.He can talk, but when he wants to tell a story or engage in a conversation, he will talk alot, but very few words are understood, and he is just so excited to be able to engage in a conversation. He will say things like for instant; kk had a good day at school! We always ask him open ended questions and he will reply. Articulation seems to be a big problem for him. How can we help him with his speech problem? We have been beggging for help since he was very young, and we have a speech therapist that will be seeing him, but it will not be often. We would really like some tool's on how we can help him at home so he can catch up to the rest of the children prior to entering school. Please send me a website I can go to or help us to understand what we can possibly do for him.He is not challenged in any other area except for his speech. Thank-you

thank you for the useful information.my child is 5 yrs old.he reaches the last step in number 10.he has some letters not of,but i think by practicing,he will be fine.his problem is the drooling,he has no enlarged adenoids,but he has some weakness in his all muscles,and some lack of coordination between them,PLEASE tell me how to fix this,because he is about to join a school.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

Thanks for the information Linda. I can't wait to check it out!

Tami

This is a great list. My son has a 50% delay in expressive but a small receptive delay. All these tips help!

My 31 month old son has a vocab of about 700 words, He still only uses 1 word sentences, will not combine words at all. Plus, when he gets upset, he loses his abilitily to form the words he needs to express himself. Our Dr doesnt seem to be concerned yet i am

Hi Heather,

If he has that many words, he should definitely be combining at least 2-3 word utterances. Have you done a lot of modeling for him of 2-3 word utterances? Take a look at these 2 articles. Especially pay attention to the indirect language stimulation techniques that I talk about in the first article. If you are doing all this and still he is not combining words, you may want to have his language formally assessed by a speech therapist. You can locate Child Find in your area for an evaluation.

http://speechtherapyweb.com/learning-language-through-play

http://speechtherapyweb.com/using-everyday-activities-to-enhance-language-development

Hope this helps,
Tami

hi…..
My sister's daughter is going to be 2 in another 14 days. She was speaking well in the initial stages till 1 1/2 yrs. suddenly she stopped speaking.she was taken for a check up was found that she has a poor eye contact and they said she has attention deficit problem (audiology tests and other tests show that she is perfect). Nowadays we are trying to talk to her by making her look at our face. she looks at us but only for few seconds. she is not trying to pronounce any new word. wat shall we do?? Tak her for a speech therapy or train at home itself. kindly giv a solution as soon as possible.

Dear Sir/Mam

Our 3 1/2 year daughter getting problem in expressing her words. She still cant speak as easily as other children of her age can. Her mother tongue is different than the local language we are living. Also she is learning English. As we are not fluent with local language, we use to speak in National Language (In India it is Hindi), in this way my daughter is facing four languages, mother tongue, local language, Hindi & English.

She is very intelligent in other fields, like in grasping any thing, dancing, sharp mind, she can learn things in single attempt.

Please tell me if she is normal and she is getting problem is speak due to many languages? or she has some problems? Please elaborate.

Thanks & regards

my son will be 3yrs by september 12th 2011 he is very active friendly sharp. he is in playschool now. he can count and point out numbers from 1 to 10. he sing a b c till z but not clearly. he try to repeat words but not clearly. he can communicate with one or two letter words. in our home we speak english and tamil. he almost understands both the languages. he like to listen to story but not often. he refuse to repeat certain words.he is not interested in learning or writing or coloring. he tries and escape i never force anything to him. whenyou talk to him he first say a word then start with non language words or he just show actions. he is totally different from his age group children. in school they complaint his language only. i am trying my best we even consulted child phychologist she told us to continue speaking to him for a month if he does not develope then go to speech therapist.

i am very much broken but i am trying my best to him. one day for sure he will talk to me.

Hi Karen,

Our little one is 17 months and car no problem with the C, car comes out load and clear. What we are concerned about is the lack of other words. Bababa (banana) he knows very well but that sums it up. We do speak 3 languages at home and are wondering how much impact this has on our little one.

Nik

Hello
THanks for this article. I am also worried about my 2 and half year old son. His main problem is, he is not interested in talking or listening. during his speech therapy, he dont want to be introduced to each of the toys, but he wants it all to play, and throw it. He is not interested about the information we want to convey with each toy we show there.. He just want to play his own way.. does not like to be guided or controlled..
BUt he does look into the eyes wen we talk and enjoys company of others.. please advice..

Hi Nik,

Well, a child who is developing language at a typical rate usually does well when exposed to more than one language at an early age. However, if a child is not developing language at a normal rate, then trying to learn more than one language can interfere and make it more difficult.

At 17 months, it is typical for a child to understand a lot of language and have approximately 50 words that you can understand. You can refer to this article
http://speechtherapyweb.com/language-development-typical-guidelines/ for more information on guidelines of language development. I would recommend that you try your best to expose him to one language (doesn't matter which). Once he becomes strong in his primary language, it will be easier for him to learn other languages.

Also, you can refer to other articles on my site that may help you with ideas on how to help stimulate more language with just everyday play and activities.

Hope this helps.
Tami

Hi Seema,

I think the best person to advise you right now would be his speech therapist. That's a bonus that he is already receiving speech therapy. She already knows your son and for that reason can provide better advise that I can.

Tami

Hi Tami,

Do you know of any formal research that indicates that you should make sure they master one language before you introduce the second language? The advice around this is really confusing.

Thanks for the other article, we are almost close to the required number although a bunch of words are only understandable by us.

Nik

Nik,

I was only suggesting that if your son is showing a delay with his language development, it might be easier for him to learn one language first. If your son were developing language at an average rate while being exposed to three languages, I'd say fantastic - keep it up.

I cannot put my finger on the exact research at the moment, but I know this to be true. You can probably do a Google search and find this out.

You say that he has many words (close to the guidelines for his age). That's great! At this age it is okay for many of his words to be understandable only to his parents. The important thing is that his words have meaning and you understand what that meaning is.

Hi,

I want your expert comments/suggestions for my 4 year old son.

He was in my home country till he was 2 years old. He did not had any speech related problems when we were there. He used to talk nicely and play nicely.

We moved to US when he was 2 years 1 month old. During that time also he used to say rhymes, in english, without any problem. He used to communicate without any issues in my mother tongue.

When he was 3 years old, we sent him to PreK school. At home also we started talking in English hoping that it will make him understand and communicate well in the class. After couple of months, we started noticing that my son was saying some words twice. The words that he repeated were mostly the first words of the sentence. He used to repeat the words entirely (like word you, you, you) and sometimes the repeated words were half. Initially we thought because of his limited english vocabulary he was repeating the word and trying to think of next word.

After few months, we discussed this issue with pediatrician and she said that it was normal for kids of that age and she advised us not to concentrate much on that and talk normally with my son.

Now he is 4 years old and he is still facing this problem. Sometimes he talks nicely without any repetition. Sometimes he repeats the same word. He also has problem with the 'r' sound.

When we ask him to say any of the rhymes, he says them flawlessly. He plays nicely along with his peers at school.

He speaks fast and this makes it difficult for others to understand his words or statements.

Please advise if we should have him consulted with a speech therapist.

Thanks,
Chan

It is within the normal range that your son's speech is not 100% clear at 3 years of age. It is good that he is willing to repeat words that you say and that he is putting words together to make sentences. Many 3 year olds have speech that is still not clear. Depending on which sounds he is having trouble with, there is a good chance that he will outgrow this and sounds that are unclear now will start becoming more clear in the next year. You may want to consider getting a speech/language evaluation for him in the next few months if his speech doesn't get any clearer.

Hi tami,
I found your article very helpful but was wondering if you have any advice for a one year old who is developing normally except for being on the low end of the normal range for expressive vocabulary. He says mama, dada, "row,row,row", some animal noises for the appropriate animal and that's about it. I only have a two and a half year old to compare him to and he was very advanced verbally, so perhaps I am not cutting him enough slack. However, I don't feel that he makes enough of an effort to mimic sounds we make and him. He is happy to just point and grunt for things (we have started to force him to at least try to say the word before we get him what he wants now). Any advice? My fear is that I wait too long if he really should have speech therapy, I know early intervention is best. Do you think we need it? Thanks so much!
Christine

Hi Christine,
You're right that early intervention is best. However, if your son has no birth or medical history that would be contributing to a possible speech delay, then I would say that given his age of only a year, you are doing the right thing. Encouraging him to at least try to imitate your model when he want something is very good because you are letting him know that words have meaning and that we need to use words to get things that we want. If you give him everything he wants when he points and grunts or whines, it will be more difficult for him to attach meaning to those words and to have a reason to communicate.

I would say keep up what you're doing, and wait until he is closer to 2 before you get too worried.

Hope this help.
Tami

Hi Tami,
I am from India and I have twin baby boys who are now 3 yr old.
I am facing some speech problems with one of my son.
Other is doing well in speech.Atharv speaks very well in both languages which we speak at home as Marathi and English.
While Amogh is facing some speech problems with Marathi as well English.
People can understand his language but they have to listen him very carefully even as parents we do.he speaks with very low level and can not speak some words like k,l,m,n.
Both of them goes to preschool and day care,there they don't face more problems. Amogh speak all phonic sound of alphabets but not so clear.
I don't know whether i should go for his treatment as my friends used to say that he can improve with age.
What things to take care while speaking with him?do i need to treat him differently than Atharv ? Please help.

Swapna
India

Hi! i have a 1 and a half years old son. I worry about her speech. He says mama and dada, baa for sheep and all the animals he sees, he says "tat". I have not heard any more words from him.. However, he tries to communicate with us by pointing what he wants.. He likes to see different pictures and says "tat". should i seek speech therapist help? i need your advice. thanks!

I have a 12 month old,He knows his name when its called, but doesnt say any words. He only squeals, shreeks, and babbles. He doesnt call anything by name, for examle, mama, dada, baba….Nothing yet. Should I be worried, should I have him evaluated? Thanks in advance.

The age range for babies to say their first words is just that - an age range. Some babies say their first words at 12 months and others not until 14 or 15 months. That's wonderful that e is babbling and squealing. I'd be worried if he wasn't doing any of that.

So no, I don't think you need to go for an evaluation quite yet. Give it six more months and I'm sure he'll have many words.

Thanks for visiting my site.
Tami

Hi tami,
My 3 year old son is very fluent and somewhat clear in his native language ( malayalam) . But he doesn't know english at all( we speak malayalam at home). So if someone is asking him in english, he is repeating the question itself. I tried teaching him question and answers like "how r u" , u answer "I am fine". But he s still repeating the questions. If I ask him "how r u" he s repeating "how r u to me. Should we start speaking in english at home? He s not into a preschool yet. Please guide me through this. We live in chennai, so he HAS to learn speaking english for sure ! Kindly guide me, am so troubled coz of this.

Hello,
my nephew is 2 and a half years old but he doesn't talk very much, he can say some words his favourite is postman pat, but we cannot get him to say any new words, he is very above average in other areas of developoment though. We all do the things above but it doesn't seem to work, we all think he can talk but he chooses not to :/

My daughter turned 3 in Sept. She is enrolled in a PPCD program through our school district, but she is still having problems making her own sentences. She usually repeats what we say to her and if it's a question she answers it with a one or two word answer. She watches a video when she gets home from school while eating lunch and has memorized some of it and acts out little plays. She will tell us things but never has small conversations. She is a very smart little girl, she knows most colors, ABCs, she can count to 20, and follow direction very well. I'm just worried about her speech. Any ideas on how I can help her more?

Hi Tami

My daughter will be 3 1/2 in April. She is a very bright and happy kid. She has recently been diagnosed with mild autism and her challenges are mostly language and speech.

My instinct tell me that she will be fine and outgrow this with age. My concerns are very similar to Stormy but my daughter is older.

She doesn't narrate her day's events to me when I ask her. If I mention some friends' names or some activities, she makes a connection but talks about something else related to that person or activity. She goes to full time day care. How do I get her to engage in even TWO line conversations with me. Please suggest some daily verbal exercises that I can do with her. Sometimes I am at a loss for questions and topics that I want to to talk to her about

Thanks!

Hi Jayashree,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. This is definitely a tricky thing with learning 2 languages. Many children pick up both languages fine at an early age and some some have more difficulty. Studies have shown, however, that a child will learn a 2nd language easier if they are strong in their first language. So, if I were you I would make sure he is very strong in his native language and then when he is exposed to English, he will catch on easier.

Hope this helps.
Tami

Hi Charlie,

Do you feel that your nephew understands what you say to him? Have you tried withholding something he wants until he tries to imitate the word? Often this works, but sometimes this just creates frustration if the child truly cannot say or approximate the word.

Also, sometimes when a child is working hard on other areas of development(say motor), than his language development may take a back seat for a little while but then eventually catch up and even out. I would give it another few months - keep on doing what you all are doing to encourage new words. If after a few more months there is still no progress, you might suggest he be evaluated by a speech/language pathologist.

Good luck.
Tami

Hi Stormy,

It sounds like your daughter is saying a lot of words, but just not making sentences. The methods of Indirect Language Stimulation usually work well to help expand your child's utterances. You can learn about these methods from this article:
http://speechtherapyweb.com/learning-language-through-play.

There are salso some good tips on this article:
http://speechtherapyweb.com/tips-to-help-your-child-learn-new-words.

From all you describe, it sounds like she is just on the verge of using longer sentences and expanding her language.

Good luck to you.
Tami

Hi Bea,

If you know your daughter's daily routine at day care it may be easier to prompt her with specific questions. Also, if you know some of the topics she is learning about, you can ask her very direct questions. Preschool age children often don't do well with open ended questions. So instead of asking "Who did you play with today?", You might want to ask "Who did you play with outside today." Or "Did you learn about dinosaurs today? Which one is your favorite?" And then if she doesn't answer or she starts talking about something else, maybe give her a couple of choices to help bring her back to the question. And then try to comment on her answer and then prompt her with another related question.

At this age, and especially with the challenges of her diagnosis, she will not be the one to engage in a back and forth conversation and so you need to be the facilitator of this. And again, asking more specific and direct questions will be easier for her to answer and then always try to comment on her response.

I really hope this has helped.
Tami

Thanks Tami. That was very helpful. It's so nice that you actually take the effort to answer each and every question. Good work!

My 2 year old son (just turned 2) repeats words said to him and will say juice, milk, mummy, Daddy and car but only says his sisters name when you say it. He used to say dont do that… naughty but does so less often now. He grunts if he wants something and takes you by the hand to get it. Some pointing but not alot. When he goes to the bathroom, He says hands and puts them under the tap. does not seem to respond when you ask him to pick something up..just repeats what you say including his name….. should I be worried?

Hi Judy,
Because of what you describe here, it sounds like you would benefit from getting a speech/language evaluation for him. If he doesn't qualify for therapy, at least you will walk away with some tips and strategies on how to help him yourself and you'll also walk away with some piece of mind and alleviate some of your worries.

Good luck to you.
Tami

Hi
I have 19 month old girl/boy twins and I worry about my lil girl more so then my son, she understands commands but isn't really talking at all like her twin brother he has a pretty good volcabulary and can string two to three word sentences, all we hear from her is "look at dat" and "wow" and "shoes".
They twin "speak" most the time which is there own little babble.
Is twin speak detrimental to there vocabulary development??
My first daughter whom is nearly 4 is a excellent speaker was talking full sentences by two and I can't help but compare them to her
I have read a few articles about twins being a tad slower in language development then a singleton child but I have a hard time believing that only thing that makes me think that maybe that has justification is the "twin speak" help please

I have a son whose 2yrs3months and is only saying yes,no,mum,dad.he has said granny,scooter,plane but it was as if they just flew out without him realising. The health visitor came out and assessed him when he turned 2 and said he was above average in every other area and very bright and not to worry but he talks all day without forming words. Health visitor also said a speech therapist won't look at him until 2 1/2, what should I do,thx

hi there.

i am worried about my 2.5 year old. he only says about 15 words and half of those are "his"words. ex…instead of car he will hum, monkey he says eeeee, train is choo choo etc. hi, see ya, juice, momma and daddy is about it.

he is very bright, will point out anything you ask him to find. busy and active little boy. just not talking…his name is max but he calls himself "dis dis"

we are on a waiting list to see a therapist however it is a 6-8 wait. do you think this is common? i am worried for a reason right? any tips on how to encourage speech?

thank you!!

Hi Tami,
I am worried about my 23 month old daughter, Anneliz. She talks a lot but mostly babble. I can understand what she says sometimes but noone else can, not even her dad. She is very active and extremely smart, but has a hard time concentrating and gets very frustrated with simple tasks. Her attention span is very limited. I thought maybe she was just lazy because it seems like she just sloughs words out of her mouth without really trying to pronounce them, But she understands commands and when she is being told "rules" she nods and says "ok". Most of the time she says things under her breath which also makes it hard to understand her, but her pronunciation is still "off" it seems to me that her speech is behind, something like that of a 15 or 18 month old. I have not had her evaluated though. On one hand I am afraid I am making a big deal out of nothing, but on the other hand I don't want to wait to long if there is a problem. She definately has about 50-60 words in her vocabulary and follows instructions very well, Though her pronunciation is not very good at all. I just want to know should I seek help or is she just fine?

Hi Cass,

I really don't know much about twin speech. I would not think that it should interfere with language development, but I really don't know for sure. Will your daughter try and repeat a word that you've said if you get down on her level and ask her to say it like you? I'm sure you've tried this already. There must be some great information online about twin speech and perhaps you can find speech therapist who knows something more about that specific topic.

Sorry and good luck.
Tami

Carla,

Hi. If you feel like your son (and you) would benifit from having a speech evaluation, you do not have to wiat until he is 2 1/2. Have a look at this article and hopefully you will get the information you need to move forward. http://speechtherapyweb.com/speech-language-evaluation-process

In my opinion, if you suspect that there might be a speech/language delay, having an evaluation is a good idea because even if you jumped the gun a bit and he doesn't need it, at least you'll have a peace of mind that everything is ok. And a speech therapist is the best one to evaluate his development and make the judgement to start therapy or to wait a few months. Also a speech therapist is likely to give you suggestions to work at home with your son if he doesn't qualify for therapy right now.

I hope this has helped.
Good luck,
Tami

Hi Lindsay,

This article on my website has some general age guidelines, but you also need to go by your instincts.
http://speechtherapyweb.com/language-development-typical-guidelines
So at 2.5, yes he should have more words and he should be starting to combine words as well. 6-8 months seems awfully long to wait for a speech/language evaluation. Have you called around other places. At 2.5 he can also get an evaluation through your local school district's Child Find. This link will tell you more about Child Find - http://speechtherapyweb.com/speech-language-evaluation-process

Good luck Lindsay.
Tami

Hi Awyn,

I think I would say the same thing to you as I did to both Cass and Lindsay. Please have a look at those comments. I always think that if a child is delayed with any skills, the earlier he gets intervention, the better. And like I said in one of my other comments, if your daughter goes for an evaluation and does not need therapy, at least you now have a peace of mind that her development is not that behind. So for me, I'd rather do that, than do nothing and then later wish I had done something earlier.

A mother always needs to follow her instincts when it comes to her children!
Tami

dear mam/sir,

My baby is 5yrs, doctor said, she is cp child, she started only word and what i say to her she just repeats but she doesn't speech herself, i am going to a speech therapy centre, since one and half year.

But i didn't get that much result, i am very much worried, her writting slso not yet come, she walksvwith the help of afo,

She will be allright or she will be able to speek or she will not be, pls suggest me

Hi Priya,

It sounds like from what you describe about your daughter that she is quite involved. Since I have never sen her, I would not be the one to give advise or suggestions. It sounds like she has a team of therapists already working with her. They would be the ones to give advise and suggestions. You can always try a different therapist, though if you feel you are not getting results.

Tami

Hi Tammy
My daughter is 2 years 4 month old we have bilingual background (hindi + english) .She babbles a lot we counted her words she speaks a total of 50 + words.she is very active is able grasp things fastly .she uses sign languages a lot to convey her demands .Is she doing gud or should we seek therapist advice.

Hi Tammy
My daughter is 2 years 4 month old we have bilingual background (hindi + english) .She babbles a lot we counted her words she speaks a total of 50 + words.she is very active is able grasp things fastly .she uses sign languages a lot to convey her demands .Is she doing gud or should we seek therapist advice.She doesnot repeat things at that very instant.But says it after 1-2 days.

Hi Asyshi,

From what you describe, it sounds like she may be just a little behind the norm for her age. At the age of 2.4, she should be starting to combine some easy 2 and even some 3 word combinations. However, this mild delay may be because she is learning 2 languages. Exposing a child at this young age to 2 language is wonderful and continue with what you are doing.

I would probably wait a few more months and see if she doesn't start to develop more words and some 2 word combinations. If after a few more months her language has not progressed much, then I would recommend a speech/language evaluation.

I hope this has helped.
Tami

my boy child of 3 years couldnt speak yet.he make baby sound,follow some instructions,play well with his toys,points,cry n giggle 4 what he want but not speak a single word properly. we r dieing 2 know when he will speak [eg;dad,mom,potty etc] or repeat words. he can drink water by himself but dont know 2 eat by himselfe.please answer me as fast as possible.

Hi Chetna,

From what you describe, I would suggest you take him for a speech/language evaluation or a developmental evaluation. If you looked at my article on general developmental guidelines, he should be already saying many words and putting sentences together.
http://speechtherapyweb.com/language-development-typical-guidelines
Have a look at this article as well, maybe it will help you to find a speech pathologist in your area and it will also inform you on how to get evaluated through your local public school district.
http://speechtherapyweb.com/speech-language-evaluation-process

Good luck!
Tami

Hi Tami

My son Yahya will be five in September 12. He has just started his fourth quarter in pre-K and still has speech difficulties putting sentences together. He knows his shapes, numbers, & colors very well in class, but reports from his teacher is that he doesn't seem to understand questions or communicate normally, and always needs close assistance. No problems with his ears or sight, and he does understand sentences like "what is your name" and replies in one or two words, "take this plate to the kitchen" , he repeats a lot of new words or questions like eg "Hey baba, what r u doing ?". But very rare two way communication or replies to questions like "who are you friends" or "what did u do today in class". Also, he really gets frustrated when I try to repeat a question to him, and he very clearly shows me with facial expressions and anger that he has a problem expressing himself, and stumbles with words. He does speak all day but mostly unclear or mumbled and mixes up words from class or alphabets, and so much unrelated and unclear pieces of words. Many times I really feel that its us, his parents, that don't understand him than the other way round. He is really good in computer games and many times directs us to secrets in the game… Do we need to see a pathologist for this, considering the scarcity & our location in West-Africa. We are hoping he improves more and outgrows out of it, and do admit that we have noticed an improvement from last year pre-school, when nothing was understood at all in his speech, and only one word sentences. Also, please consider that English is a second language to us and we only started to talk to him in English about a year ago, when his teacher so advised. Please do advise. Thanks very much for your kind help.

CAN THE SHAPE OF MY CHILDS UPPER FRONT TEETH HAVE AN IMPACT ON HER SPEECH

My son is 2yrs this, talks all day but doesn't form words. He spent the first yr throwing up all the time and was told it was severe reflux, it turned out that he had a dairy allergy which then lead him to have an aversion to food and it's only recently he's started eating wee bits. He only has about 5 words. He seen a speech therapist today who said she is sure his mouth muscles aren't strong and that he doesn't use his tongue. What do I do to strengthen his muscles and will he talk with this help and she wouldn't answer any of my questions straight, just said it was going to be a long process. There's no concern in any other if his development or social skills etc my son really tries to talk and does all day, can u suggest anything to help plz

I've been told to smear food over his top lip for him to use his tongue and to get him to drink with a straw

Hi Tami,

Thanks for the good work you are doing.My daughter is 2 years and 10 months old. We have bilingual background. We speak in native language at home and she learns English at school. She goes to school since she was 18 months.She is very smart kid and knows ABC, 1 TO 20 numbers, All colors,all shapes, All animals, body parts. She knows lot of nursery songs and sing it well. She knows lots of words in both language. I am worried because she is not talking in senescence. She will talk in one or sometimes two words. If she want's something, she will come and ask for it but in only one word. For eg, if she wants to read book, she will bring the book she wants and then just say "read". She will answer close ended questions but she will not say anything if I asked her "what did you do in school today? . Do i need to take her to doctor? Her teacher says she is extremely happy kid in school.Please advise.

Hi Bassam,

That's very positive that he has shown progress with his communication since last year. What is of consideration, however, is that you say he is becoming frustrated and shows anger when he is not understood. I've seen many children with behavior problems die to lack of communication skills or lack of being understood.

It is unfortunate that you are not near a city where you could take your son in to see a speech pathologist. That is what I would recommend. In the meantime, however, look around my site at some different articles. I have a lot of information on different techniques and tips for helping to stimulate communication skills.

I wish you the best of luck.
Tami

Hi Lena,

Pleas explain to me what you mean about her upper front teeth. Does she have an open bite or an overbite, does she have a narrow palate.

Let me know and maybe I'll be able to help.

Thanks,
Tami

Hi Clare,

Is it good that you are starting him in speech therapy now and yes, he will make progress. But be sure to ask the therapist for exercises and homework that you can work on with him too. It sounds like he needs more than once a week and so if you can also do some of the intervention with him, that would be good. Maybe you can sit in on the sessions and that way you can see what she is doing so that you can then work on the same throughout the week.

Yes, putting some peanut butter or something like that on the top of his lip is good - also you can put some in the corners of his mouth and have him lick it off. See if he will imitate you doing silly things with your tongue - like sticking it way out and sticking it in, licking all around your lips, make your cheeks poke out on either side with your tongue. There are lots of ways you can help increase his muscle tone. And yes, drinking through a straw is also good, but do this also with smoothies and things like that so he has to use more muscle to get it out.

Good luck and definitely ask the therapist for activities and exercises to do at home.

Tami

Hi Preet,

Asking her an open ended question like "what did you do in school today?" is difficult for children of that age who are talking in sentences. That's even difficult for 3-4 year olds. Will she repeat a word that you have said? Like when she wants something and she takes you to what she wants, will she repeat the word after you have given it to her? It's important to give her that word and ask her to say it and then over time slowly expand the words that you are giving her. For example - when she says "read" as she brings you a book, say back to her "read please" or "read book".

Have a look at this article - there are some great suggestions on stimulating language through play and then there are 3 techniques to keep in mind to help stimulate her language.
http://speechtherapyweb.com/learning-language-through-play

It sounds like she is a bright girl and if the teacher says she is happy at school, that's wonderful. Then she's not getting frustrated. Keep in mind also that she is only 2 and at that age kids are just starting to string together 2-3 words together. It really does sound like she's doing fine.

Tami

Hi Tami

Thanks so very much for your kind reply and sorry to ask again, when you said, "I've seen many children with behavior problems die to lack of communication skills or lack of being understood.", did you mean that you've experienced such behavior problems that fade out ?

Hi Bassam,

Oh my! I meant "due" not "die"! I guess I need to proof read before I hit "send". So sorry. So no, I wasn't talking about behavior problems that fade out in time. I was merely just saying that I've seen kids with behavior problems due to lack of communication skills. Kids may tend to act out or even become physically aggressive if their frustration level becomes too high with not being able to communicate or not being understood.

Sorry for any confusion.
Tami

Hi Tami,
Thanks so very much for the clarification

Hi Tami,
my kid is 32 months old. he does not talk anything at al. Only babbles sometimes. He is having speech therapy twice a week. earlier he had it once a week.
he points to the alpahabets correctly since last 2-3 months. understands some colors, does some actions for rhymes etc. but no expression of speech. used to say mamama.. but with no meaning. he has difficulty chewing things and has somewhat low muscle tone.
How can I help him to get some words or proper sounds from him?

Hi . Thats the same problem with my 6.5 year old son and we discuss this with speech therapist he suggested 4 three months speek slowly and observe there is no need to therapy but after 3 months we observe there is no change in making sentances. we r still worried..

hi sir,
my son is one and half year old.he can able to understand what i am saying to him.he is babbling the words.but when i tell any words to him he is not repeating.he is ignoring to repeat.but my relatives daughter is 1yr and 3months she is trying to repeat whatever her mom tells to her.i feel very sad about my son.what will be the problem?

hello. my son is 3yrs old he cannot speak, he only says very few words like baba etc, he cannot say a sentence, he is very hyper active and has become so naughty lately. hearing and brain tests were done and was fine. what could be the cause of this delay?

frustrated mommy

Hi,

My daughter is 2.5yrs, we started teaching her when she was 6months ago. know even if we ask her to read she hesitates to read along with me, i seriously dont know how to go about it.
I've got her the CD's,colorful books, development activity toys but she hates to read, but blindly she wants to play with the toys.kindly suggest me am i pressurizing her or how are different ways to teach her.

Hi,As Thulani said my nephew is having same problem.plz suggest, what should we do?

My son was born with a bilateral Cleft lip an cleft palate he has already went through four surgeries including the reconstruction of the palate, he is 19 month old only says "daddy" and not very clear babbles somewhat and makes hand gestures nods his head to yes and no. The speech therapist stated that because he is able to understand everything and very receptive and is able to roll his toungue when eating that the cleft palate has really a slim chance of affecting his speech, she feels that he is a little lazy and really not trying. I would like to see if any one else is experience this and if so is this somewhat correct. Please advise??

My 2.5 years daughter has a vocabulary of about 40-50 words mostly nouns. She does not seem interested in talking. If she needs anything she will pull you and take you. Otherwise she seems fine. She understands everything. Identifies alphabets, fruits animals and so on. Do you think we should take her for an evaluation? At home we speak in two languages and since we do not have a huge friend circle her interactions with other kids is very limited. Could this be the reason for a delay?

Hi Arch,

It's great that you have your child in speech therapy already. I would encourage you to ask the speech therapist for suggestions on how to best work with and help your child at home. I have many articles with many suggestions on this website that you can try, but ultimately the therapist who is working with your child should give you suggestions.

Tami

Is your 6.5 year old currently in speech therapy? I'm not clear on exactly what the problems are. If you are unhappy with the progress your child is making, perhaps you can find another speech therapist.

Tami

Hi Abc,

Your son is still very young at only 1 and a half. There is a large range for typical development for children developing or repeating words. Perhaps have a look at some of the articles on my website to help you stimulate your child's language.

http://speechtherapyweb.com/tips-to-help-your-child-learn-new-words

http://speechtherapyweb.com/learning-language-through-play

Both of these articles have a lot of great suggestions on stimulating your child's language and encouraging new words. There are several other articles on this website as well.

Good luck.
Tami

Hi Thulani,

I don't know what could be the cause of this delay. It's very good that you have already had a hearing evaluation for your son. Perhaps a speech/language evaluation would be a good idea as well. At his age you can get a state funded evaluation through your local school district's Child Find Program. This article may help:

http://speechtherapyweb.com/category/speechlanguage-evaluation.

It is possible that a lot of the naughty behavior is because he cannot communicate. He is at a great age for an evaluation and intervention.

Good luck,
Tami

Hi Sharadha,

At the age of 2.5, the best way for a child to learn is through play. Have a look at this article for some suggestions:

http://speechtherapyweb.com/learning-language-through-play

Through play your child won't even know that you are trying to "teach" her things, she will think you are just playing with her and she will be more open. Playing will take off any pressure that she might be feeling. She needs to develop her own desire for books and simply reading picture books to her (books with not many words) will help her to develop her own desire.

Hope this helps.
Tami

Hi Mayra,

Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with cleft palate. The only thing I would suggest (if in fact he is being a little lazy) is give him a reason, motivation to use words. Instead of anticipating his needs, encourage him to use the word - say it for him and encourage him to try to imitate and then give him what he wants. I have several articles with lots of suggestions, so poke around my site and see if you can find some helpful suggestions. Here is one article with lots of tips:

http://speechtherapyweb.com/tips-to-help-your-child-learn-new-words

You may also want to get a second opinion from a different speech therapist.

Good luck.
Tami

Hi Lavina,

It is very hard to pinpoint the exact cause of a speech/language delay. Some children do great being exposed to 2 language from the beginning and other children have more difficulty. It might be a good idea to have to the 2 language in different contexts, for example with dad she hears and speaks one language and with mom the other. Or at home you all speak one language and outside the home you speak the other. This is only a suggestion.

When she pulls you or takes you to what she wants, it is important that you give her the word for what she wants, for example, "milk, you want milk."

Have a look at the suggestions on these 2 articles:
http://speechtherapyweb.com/tips-to-help-your-child-learn-new-words
http://speechtherapyweb.com/using-everyday-activities-to-enhance-language-development

If these are things you are already doing with your daughter, then perhaps taking her for a speech/language evaluation is a good idea. But do try these suggestions first.

Good luck to you.
Tami

Hi Tami,
My son will be 6 yrs old in August. Iam worried about his speech. He cant speak one language properly. He is exposed to English, Hindi, Malayalam. He speaks mixing all these three languages. And also he cant make sentences, when we show him a picture or anything and if we ask him to make sentence. He says only the nouns which he can see in the picture. But he dont make sentences. But whatever he speaks that is very clear. He say all the words very clearly. But only the problem is that he cant explain a full scene or full picture or a story to us. He can only make sentence which is 4 words long.
We showed him to doctors also they told me that he is mild autistic.

Please help.

hello!
I been reading your column & I like it..I want to share my problem with my 4 year old son,he can write alphabet,numbers 1-100,spell many words, he can read simple sentence through the use of computers and books but the problem is oftentimes he does not listen and response when we call him,and when he ask something he does not talk straight sentence specially with our dialect…help me what shall i do…thank you

HI,
MY DAUGHTER IS 5YEAR OLD WITH DELAYED MILESTONE.SHE SPEAKS AMMI BABA ABBA PAPPA,BUT UNDERSTANDS EVERY GESTURE OF ME MORE THAN ANY BODY ELSE.I HOPE YOUR ARTICLE WILL HELP ME AND MY HOPES OF MY DAUGTERS SPEECH WILL BE FRUITFUL . I THANK FOR U R ARTICLE .

My son is 2yrs this, talks all day but doesn't form words. He spent the first yr throwing up all the time and was told it was severe reflux, it turned out that he had a dairy allergy which then lead him to have an aversion to food and it's only recently he's started eating wee bits. He only has about 5 words. He seen a speech therapist today who said she is sure his mouth muscles aren't strong and that he doesn't use his tongue. She give my exercises to do with him.What do I do to strengthen his muscles and will he talk with this help and she wouldn't answer any of my questions straight, just said it was going to be a long process. There's no concern in any other if his development or social skills etc my son really tries to talk and does all day, can u suggest anything to help

she has said she's only prepared to see him once a mth but this isn't enough,can u give me some advice

Hi, my baby is 3yrs and 4 months old. she loves to listen music and enjoying it. if she will watch any hindi,marathi song or english rhymes on tv for 3-4 days, definately, she will by-hard 2-3 lines of songs, but her pronounsation is not clear. if i will teach her alphabates / numbers / animals etc., next day she will response me correctly for the same.

But,she can speak setence with 2-3 words only, not more than that. she cant speak innovative words or sentence.
Her pronounsation is not so clear, its very difficult to understand others and sometime me too.

she was with speech therapy for 6 months, but i cant continue due to some personal problem.

pls guide me how to increase her vocabulary so that she can speak clear inovative sentence.

Hi,my brother age 15 year,he is studying 9th std and he is reading book but him pronounsation is not clear and continuely he is not reading book please help me as soon as possible,thank you……

MY SON 7 YEAR OLD IS STUDYING 1TST STD COMPLETED.TAKE GOOD MAKRS BUT in pronounsation NOT CLEAR HE is talks all day but doesn't form full words .presently speech therapy run.some improvement found .So please advice from your side ( OVARALL DEVELOPMENT IS LET )

PGR