The warning signs of early speech delay are categorized into age-related milestones, beginning at the age of 12 months and continuing through early adolescence.
At the age of 12 months, there is cause for concern if the child is not able to use gestures, practice several different sounds, vocalize and communicate his needs.
Between the ages of 15 and 18 months children are at a higher risk for speech delay if they are still not using common words such as ‘hello’ , ‘bye’ , ‘mama’ .. , unable to identify his body parts, unable to imitate sounds and actions, and if they show preference for gestures more than articulation.
Additional signs of speech delay after the age of 2 years and up to the age of 4 include an incapacity of producing words/ phrases and if they are unable to follow simple directions. At 2, children should be able to make two words connections ‘dad work’ and their speech should be clear and understood by close family members.
By the age of 3, a child should be able to form sentences and should have around 400 words in his expressive vocabulary.
Speech therapy assessment should be administered if the pediatrician/ parent noticed any of the above. It includes a clinical observation and intervention to determine the child’s strength and weaknesses.
Once the results are exposed to the parents, a speech therapy rehabilitation starts when needed in order to expand the children’s productions and improve the pre requisites of the Oral Language.
Implicating parents is always beneficial in order to automatize the learnings and use them in daily life situations.