Children who have a family history of speech delay, those who have hearing impairments, those who are premature, and those who experience other developmental delays are more likely to be late talkers. Additionally, late talking is more common in boys than girls.
When you search 'why my toddler is not talking ? ', you would come across several posts by parents with the same worry.
If your toddler is not talking, people around you would often tell you stories of some other family member who didn't talk till late age or they'd say 'wait till 3 years, give the child time to learn' or 'all children develop at their own pace'. But being a parent it is quite worrisome when you see your toddler attain all the other developmental milestones perfectly but lag in developing speech and language.
The term 'late talker' is often used for a toddler in the age group of 18-30 months, who is developing all the skills like motor skills, thinking skills, and social skills, and has a good understanding of language but has a limited vocabulary for their age group. The child faces difficulty mainly in expressive language.
Several researchers have narrowed down several causes for a child being a 'late-talker'. A few of the causes are-
Family history of communication delay, or learning disability.
A boy child often talks later than a girl child.
And, a child being born with less than 85% of the optimum weight.
Preterm pregnancy (before 37 weeks of gestation)
Hearing loss.
About 13% of all 2-year-old children are late talkers.
As the children from this group are developing perfectly in all other domains it is often presumed they will catch up on their own. Many kids grow out of it and many don't, it is difficult to predict who will and who won't. Hence, it is always the best idea to consult a specialist.
You can consult a speech therapist as they evaluate the condition of your child and also help them overcome the speech delay. We at Sounderic make specialized tailor-made plans as per the requirements of your child.
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Sounderic provides online speech therapy sessions for children with various communication disorders. We would love to help you. Get in touch with us on WhatsApp at +919644466635 or schedule a consultation with us at https://www.sounderic.com/service-page/speech-language-consultation-for-kids
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