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Early Intervention Key in Language Development
By Jennifer Newton Reents
Realizing early that your toddler may have a speech-language or developmental delay is key in increasing the chances for improving communication skills down the line, preventing him from falling further behind.
"[Find out] as early possible because you don't have to play so much catch up. You avoid problems with frustration and further delay," says Frances Grahamjones, a certified speech-language pathologist from Berkeley, Calif. Grahamjones urges parents to take action as soon as they think their child may not be talking properly or may be exhibiting signs of a development problem.
"If they have delays it will affect how they learn," says Grahamjones. "Early intervention addresses all the areas of a child's development, not just speech and language but social, gross motor [skills] ... and emotional."
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in Rockville, Md., if a child doesn't talk by age 1, the speech is not clear or if speech or language is different from that of other children of the same age, there may be cause for concern.
It's estimated that 2 percent of all children born each year will have a disabling condition, including speech or language delays, ASHA reports. While many may believe speech-language treatment cannot and should not begin until a child begins to talk, ASHA says children know a great deal about their language even before the first word is said.
The first thing to look for – even before children become toddlers – is eye contact and strong social skills, from age 3 months on, Grahamjones says. By the age of 6 months, a baby should be babbling, carrying on and having conversations in "baby talk."
But by 9 months, parents should hear the changing consonants in the baby's speech, she says.
Early identification of problems includes an evaluation and treatment provided to families and their children younger than age 3 who have, or are at risk of having, a disability or delay in speech, language or hearing.
