Warning signs of language delay in children

Speech and Language Therapies in Bangalore | CAPAAR

Children pick up the language at various rates than their peers, but the majority follow a common timeline. It is time to consult your doctor if you feel that your child is not going on par with other children in meeting communication milestones expected to reach as per his age.

Early intervention is the best solution when it comes to the delay in picking up language skills. With this comes the accurate identification of the issue that’s causing the delay in language development and maybe even in the other cognitive skill development later.

We must understand the development of language skills is not a short term assignment as its common to face several obstacles in the process. For instance, you may have asked a kid to sing a song for you and that kid may have got stuck in a particular word – repeating it many times. What we need to analyze clearly here is whether the kid is trying to memorize the next lines – that unconsciously are the words getting repeated or is it really a stuttering problem.

Another important thing we must keep in mind especially in case of premature birth – is that children may appear behind their timeline by several weeks or even months. The good news is by the time they reach the age of 2 they will be totally on track with the rest of the children.

Timeline based cues which tell you if Medical Assistance is necessary

Remember you are the primary judge of the situation as you happen to communicate the most with your child naturally. If something feels unusual find out more about it. Consult your doctor if you notice any of the below according to the age group they belong to.

Aged about 12 months:

• And still hasn’t said “mama” or “dada”
• Zero use of any form of gestures
• Doesn’t even try to use any letters from your language
• No response to words like Bye or No
• Unusual lack of interest towards pointing out at things of fascination like a dog or moon
• Not even a single word coming out even at 15 months
• No babbling similar to talking

By 18 months:

• Can’t even point towards least one body part when asked
• Not communicating with you when help is needed or not even pointing towards what’s wanted
• Unable to say even 6 words

Between 19 and 24 months:

• No significant growth in vocabulary (like at least one new word per week learnt!)

By 24 months:

• No response to simple directions
• No activity reciprocation with the toys like dolls or herself say brushing her hair or driving the toy car
• Doesn’t try to imitate the actions or words of others
• Finding it difficult to point to named pictures in a book
• Unable to join two words together
• Hardly knows the function of daily household objects

By 25 months:

• Not able to use any two- to four-word simple sentences
• Unable to name a few body parts
• Finding t challenging to completing familiar nursery rhymes
• Won’t ask simple questions

By 30 months:

• Hard to be understood by family members

By age 3:

• No use any pronouns (I, you, me)
• Hard to be understood by strangers most of the time
• Doesn’t speak in short phrases
• Doesn’t understand short instructions
• Zero-interest in interacting with other children
• Finds it tough to separate from a parent
• Having a very unclear speech
• Still stammers often and has facial grimacing

By age 4:

• Not able to master most single consonants
• Can’t understand the concept of “same” and “different”
• Can’t use the pronouns “me” and “you” properly

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