During your toddler's early development, they will undergo a range of cognitive changes that will change the way in which they communicate. This development in communication is crucial to your child's development, and will ensure success later in their life. One of the most important skills they will develop is the ability to speak.
While mistakes are natural while your child is learning how to speak, if such mistakes become common and making your child fall behind others of the same age, it may be possible that your child is in need of late talkers' therapy.
Depending on the child, some may grow out of their delayed speech and language skills. On the other hand, others will require speech therapy. There is no telling way which path your child will take. It is always a smart decision to stay on top of your child's speech and language difficulties, instead of waiting to see if you think there might be a problem.
At SpeechAim, we will talk to you about any concerns and assess how well your child speaks, uses gestures and understands language.
Here are some of the signs you should look out for:
If your child has shown multiple of these signs on various occasions, we would advise that you look into scheduling an initial assessment.
It is important to note, that every child develops at their own rate. Some children may take considerably longer to develop speaking abilities, while others may learn how to speak very quickly. As each child is unique in their own cognitive development, it is no cause for concern when your child is late to speak.
When your child is still very small, such signs may be hard to judge. As a result, we advise that you book a consultation session, in which our professional staff will provide your child with an assessment that will determine whether or not they are in need to late talker's therapy.
Once we evaluate your child, our specialized staff will design a specially tailored program for your child. We will work with you directly, to improve your child's speech and have them talking like normal in no time.
At SpeechAim we will help you, parents, learn how to help your child at home. Here's a few ideas:
Self-Talk. Communicate what you're doing. Describe to your child what you feel, what you see. Children learn from hearing people talk about all sorts of things.
Parallel Talk. Similar to self-talk, talk to your child about what they're doing. For instance, name objects your child is using, their actions, feelings etc.
Expansions. This is building upon your child's preexisting speech and gestures. If your child says something, perhaps add a word or two onto it. For instance, if your child says "dog", you could say "brown dog", "pet dog".