How to Know if Your Toddler Has a Speech Delay and What to Do About it

As parents of babies and toddlers, much of the first few years are spent observing, encouraging and celebrating milestones. We are told by medical professionals, friends, neighbours, and the internet even, that our child should be able to do x, y and z by this age, and a,b and c by this stage. But what happens when they don’t?

As the parent of a child with a speech delay, I found my son’s toddler years especially frustrating and confusing and not because he couldn’t talk and I couldn’t understand him. Being told by my maternal health nurse to ‘wait and see’ until he was 3 if things improved, or by family (my husband included) that I was just being ‘an over-anxious first-time mum’ – was very hard, when I just knew that there was more to it than that.

Being told that Einstein didn’t talk until aged 3, or that my husband’s brother was also ‘a late talker’ did little to convince me that my instinct was wrong and eventually, I ignored the well-meaning advice of others and sought help from a speech pathologist. (Which as it tuned out, was indeed the best thing to have done – fancy that!)

Whilst I don’t suggest that every child that has a mum or dad with concerns about their speech will in fact need professional speech therapy, there is certainly no harm in having it discounted by someone with qualified expertise in this area. If only to allay your own worries.

Signs your child may have a speech delay

Answering the questions in the checklist below may be helpful in determining whether your child’s speech is age-appropriate for a 2-3 year old or if a visit to a speech pathologist for assessment may be warranted.

• Is your child not joining two words together at age 2 years?
• Is your child using less than 100 words at age 2 years?
• Is your child using less than 300 words at age 2 ½ years?
• Is your child using less than 3-4 word phrases at age 3 years?
• Are you having difficulty understanding your child’s speech?
• Is your child not interested in communicating?
• Does your child have difficulty understanding what you say to him/her?
• Is your child stuttering?
• Is your child frustrated when trying to communicate?
• Are you becoming concerned?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, an assessment by a certified practicing speech pathologist with paediatric experience is highly recommended.

For more information on speech delay and communication for children you can contact Box Hill Speech Pathology Clinic

Sarah Young, Certified Speech Patholgist

Sarah Young brings 19 years international experience to Box Hill Speech Pathology Clinic. Sarah is passionate about making a difference to the lives of children and their families by attentively listening to her client’s needs and reliably delivering therapy in a manner that leaves children and their parents empowered and feeling satisfied with their own success. She has an abundance of resources and proven techniques which allow therapy to progress with velocity.

Sarah has also created, delivered and evaluated various education and training programs for parents, teachers and speech pathologists. Many of these programs continue to independently run today over in the United Kingdom.

Sarah is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist with Speech Pathology Australia.