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Questions & Answers - Speech & Language Concerns
I have a 15 month old son who is not quite walking yet, but has no
problem cruising at this point. A recent visit to our pediatrician
suggested to us that he may be also behind on language development as
well. He is extremely aware and seems bright; however, he has only said
"dada" and "hi" up to this point (that we can understand). He is
generally a happy baby who seems to interact with other toddlers and us,
but we are concerned about his communication skills at this point more
than anything. He reaches for things he wants, he goes to things he
wants to get them, but he doesn't do things like crawl to the
refrigerator and point at it when he wants a bottle. We read to him and
interact verbally with him on a daily basis. He enjoys language and
having books read to him. We have done flash cards with him as well, and
he can recognize and say back the word "hi" when prompted. I am
confident he will be walking soon; he stands up and moves around no
problem, even jumping up and down when excited. Should we be doing
anything at this point to intervene?
Since you mention that your son is cruising and working on
independent walking, it is not uncommon for children to put speech
"on hold" while learning to walk. Speech is also a motor skill, and
many babies who are learning to walk are focusing all that energy on
walking, so they may be quieter and speech production may slow down
during this period. At age 15-16 months most children are saying
Mama and Dada specifically to refer to their parents, as well as
saying a few other single words or word approximations such as "ba"
for ball or "ju" for juice.
They should be using gestures to communicate as well, such a
pointing or gesturing to get wants/needs met. For example, if your
son's cup is on the table and he can't reach it, he should be
gesturing or pointing to it and vocalizing (even if not using true
words) to get your attention that he wants his cup. He should also
be following a few simple commands such as "Get your ball" or "give
me the book". I am glad your son enjoys books and this is a
wonderful way to encourage language with him simply by letting him
turn pages and having you identify pictures for him. Encourage him
to point to or pat pictures as you name them and be a good language
role model for him by expanding on any sounds or words he may say.
For example, if he says "ba" when he sees a ball, you can say "You
found the red ball!". You can also use music and finger plays to
encourage speech, such as singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Wheels on
the Bus" using hand gestures.
I would also recommend to start moving away from the bottle and
teaching him to drink from a non-spill straw cup to help
with speech
production (it's also better for his teeth). If your child
has
mastered using a regular sippy cup with a spout lid, then
speech
therapists recommend using a straw cup and eventually
moving to an
open cup rather than always relying on sipper/spout cups.
Drinking
from a straw or open cup is a much more mature oral motor
movement
and is more beneficial for speech production than sucking
from a
bottle or spouted cup. When a child constantly uses a
regular sippy
cup their tongue tends to rest under the spout, which
promotes tongue
thrust, which can sometimes have adverse effects on speech
or
articulation skills. A straw cup promotes lip closure, oral
moto
control and strength. If you would like more suggestions on
how to
promote
independent walking skills, you can refer to this link, where we
have answered several recent questions on the topic. If
your son
is soon walking independently and by 17-18 months you
have not
seen any increase in his single word vocabulary, you may
wish to
have a speech therapy evaluation through your local early
intervention provider. Here is a link to
services in your area.
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