Red Flag #8
Red Flag #8: If your two and half year old is not starting to use the small parts of speech such as ‘a, the, ing, and s (to show possession and plurality), it’s time to get a language evaluation.
By two and half years of age, your toddler should be moving from using just one to two word simple utterances to adding more structure to their sentences.
This does not mean they should be using these small parts of speech all the time, but it does mean you should begin to see them attempting to use more sophisticated language forms like plurals and articles sprinkled throughout their communicative attempts.
Red Flag #7
Red Flag #7: If your two year old does not have at least a 25 word vocabulary and has not begun using short phrases (i.e. want juice), it’s time to go see a speech-language pathologist for an evaluation.
Your two year old should have at least 25 words that he or she uses regularly to communicate his or her needs to you. Again, it doesn’t mean they are perfectly pronounced at this age, but it does mean that have approximations of these words in their communicative repertoire.
Your two old should also have started combining at least two words to communicate in little phrases to you. For example, he or she may say “more milk” or “want up” at this point in their language development.
Red Flag #6
Red Flag #6: If your 3 year old is not understood almost all of the time by unfamiliar listeners, it’s time to go to a speech-language pathologist for a speech evaluation.
By the time your toddler turns three years of age, they should be at least 80% intelligible to the unfamiliar listener. Again, this doesn’t mean that all the sounds in their words are perfectly pronounced; however, it does mean that a person who does not know your child is able to understand the majority of what they are trying to say.
Red Flag #5
Alright– halfway through our top ten red flags!
Let’s jump into Red Flag #5:
If you as the parent can not understand most to all of your two year old’s speech, it’s time to seek help from a speech-language pathologist.
A two year old should be able to pronounce at least 50% of the words they are using intelligibly. It doesn’t mean they are pronouncing all of the sounds in the word correctly, but rather you should be able to understand what they are attempting to communicate to you.
For example, maybe your little one would like some more cookies. They might come up to you, tug at your shirt, and say “tookie pease“! You can see from my example that the words are not perfectly pronounced, but you can make out or understand what they are communicating.
On the other hand, if your two year old comes up to you, tugs at your shirt, points at the cookie box and just grunts, or maybe they just say, “uh, uh”, your speech and language antenna should go up! If this is your two year old’s typical pattern of communicating, it’s time to go see a speech-language pathologist for an evaluation.
Red Flag #4
Wow, my brief interruption was longer than I meant it to be. Let’s move on with our Red Flag section!
Red Flag #4:
If your baby stops babbling around six months of age, get help immediately. Either call your pediatrician and voice your concerns or contact your local speech-language pathologist who can help you from there.
You may be thinking this is rather extreme, but actually, it’s not. Babies who are deaf will usually babble for a little while and then stop around six months of age.
So, this takes me to another point that I would like to bring to your attention during this particular red flag blog. Make sure your newborn baby has their hearing tested while in the hospital. I believe this is happening in most hospitals in the United States, if not all. So much can be done to help a baby who has a hearing loss, but it has to be identified and identified early!
So, get those precious ears tested early and….remember red flag #4: If your baby stops babbling around six months of age, seek help immediately!
A Brief Interruption…
If you will allow me to take a brief break from our red flag section for a moment to indulge my mommy pride, I would greatly appreciate it!
“It doesn’t look like much, but just wait and see”…These are the words my two and half year old daughter uttered tonight while building a sandcastle at the park .
My face beamed and my heart warmed…I was pleased by her sophisticated use of language, but more so entertained by the analysis of her building abilities.
O.K…back to Red Flags tomorrow!
Red Flag #3
Red Flag #3:
By 18 months, if your toddler is not following simple directions and understanding names of familiar objects when you name them, it’s time to go see a speech-language pathologist.
Your toddler should easily follow one-step commands by 18 months of age, possibly even two- step commands. For example, one-step direction: pick up the ball, or two- step direction: pick up the ball and put it on the table.
Now, there is a whole other variable to consider here as well. Whether or not your toddler can follow a command or will follow a command are two totally different topics…more on toddler behavior issues later!
Red Flag #2
Let’s continue on with Red Flag #2:
If your child is not using at least three true words by 15 months of age, it’s time to go see a speech pathologist for a speech and language evaluation.
By 15 months of age, your little one should have some real words under his or her belt. For example, common first words are ma-ma, da-da, ball, cup…really they could be anything. Don’t be worried if they are not pronounced correctly; as long as they are a close approximation of the intended word. I will discuss further with you in my red flags section when to get concerned about the actual pronunciation of words.
My daughter’s first word was duck! She had a major fascination with ducks from about age 9 months to 12 months. And lo and behold…her first word was duck!
Stay tuned tomorrow for Red Flag #3.
Red Flag #1
Let’s get started on the Red Flags section in my blog. If you remember, a red flag is a signal that something may be wrong and it’s a cue or signal for you to go seek professional help. In this case, the professional help you would seek would be a speech pathologist.
Red Flag #1: If your baby is not using a variety of speech sounds in babbling by one year of age it’s time to seek help.
What exactly do I mean by this? Your baby should be babbling a variety of sounds (b, p, t, d, m, w) in various combinations (ba-ba or ba-ma or ba-ma-ba-ma). Your baby may be using more sounds than the ones I just listed. I just wanted to give you an idea of some of the sounds you may be hearing in their babbling.
If your baby is not babbling or has an extremely limited babbling repertoire by one year of age, it’s time to go seek professional help.
Red Flags- Knowing When To Be Concerned
O.K., so maybe your toddler is not getting the hang of talking and you’re starting to get concerned that something may be wrong with their speech and language development.
I am going to start a section in my blog called Red Flags. A red flag is a signal that something may be wrong with your little one’s language development.
They are signs or guidelines for recognizing speech and language problems early. And early is the key word. The earlier you can diagnose something, the better. And that is true for all areas, not just language development.
So, stay tuned and learn my top ten red flags for early speech and language development.