Just like with a baby’s first steps, many parents eagerly anticipate their toddler’s first words. And when it doesn’t happen at the age you were told to expect first words, anxiety begins to arise. “Why is Emma who is 14 months saying her first words but my sweet Liam isn’t saying anything yet? He’s 18 months old!”. Shuffle the names around and you have a popular thought. It’s not advised to compare your baby to others, but it’s easier said than done, right?
If you’re concerned about this and you’re reading and looking for answers, you’re off to a good start. Why? Let’s break it down.
Stepping stones
Talking doesn’t magically start. There are stepping stones, or building blocks that build up in order for a toddler to finally pronounce their first words.
- Cooing (at around 6-8 weeks): A baby’s first attempt at talking. They are learning how to coordinate their breath and vocal cords to make sounds.
- Babbling (at around 4-6 months): Babies go one step further and now add consonant sounds to string together sounds like “da-da-da”.
- Gestures (at around 9 months): Pointing, waving, or maybe even sign language!
- Made-up-language (at around 10-12 months): Babies make up their own language and seem to be “saying” a lot even though no one understands. This gives babies a chance to practice different sound combinations needed for talking in words and sentences later on.
- Sounds to represent words or actions (at around 10-12 months): Like “moo” for cow or “uh-oh” for something fell.
- Words (at around 12-18 months): Actual comprehensible words that anyone can understand (not just expert mom and dad).
Talking counts as either points number 5 or 6, using sounds to represent words or actions, or actual words.
You will know your baby is finally “talking” because they intentionally use the same word or sound more than 3 times to refer to a specific person, object or action.
When to worry
If a child has already received a developmental diagnosis like cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism, etc, a speech or language delay is to be expected. If on the contrary, your child hasn’t received any type of diagnosis, and they are now 18 months and you are just noticing they haven’t gone through all the stepping stones 1, 2, 3 and 4 mentioned above, then they could possibly have a speech or language delay. If your child has gone through all those stages but they just aren’t saying any proper “adult” words, then they might just be “late talkers”. Let’s define these three terms or classifications:
Speech Delay: When speech therapists talk about a speech delay, they are referring specifically to a delay in a child’s ability to actually make sounds.
Language Delay: Language delay is a term used to describe children who are behind in comparison to other children their age in the ability to express themselves, vocabulary and understanding.
Late Talker: This term refers to a child that develops normally in all areas of development except talking. They understand everything that is said to them, they are able to play successfully, and their social, cognitive and physical skills are on track, they are just not talking yet.
Speech Therapy?
18 months is still quite a young age and a baby’s brain development is still at its peak, especially when it comes to language development. If your toddler has cooed, babbled, gestured, spoken in their own language and uses sounds to express their wants, needs or objects, and they evidently understand what is being said to them because they respond with nods or gestures, or they follow instructions, they are probably on the right track.
But, if you have serious concerns because you have noticed your child isn’t understanding language or isn’t expressing themselves in their own language, consulting with your pediatrician and/or a speech therapist for an evaluation might get some weight off your shoulders. If there were a speech or language delay, helping your child sooner rather than later will be helpful so your little one has less “catching up” to do. You might even be told there’s nothing to worry about and now you just got a huge weight off your shoulders.
NOTE
Check your child’s hearing. A child’s ability to hear is directly related to their ability to speak. If there is an ear infection, wax buildup or hearing loss, they can’t hear spoken language properly and therefore can’t assimilate it to process, learn, and practice.
