Does Your Child Have a Language Delay?

Your child may have a language delay if they don’t meet the language developmental milestones for their age. Their language abilities may be developing at a slower rate than most children’s. They may have trouble expressing themselves or understanding others. Their delay may involve a combination of hearing, speech, and cognitive impairments.

Types

A language delay can be receptive, expressive, or a combination of both. A receptive language deficit happens when your child has difficulty understanding language. An expressive language disorder happens when your child has difficulty communicating verbally.
Symptoms

If your child has a language delay, they won’t reach language milestones at the typical age. Their specific symptoms and missed milestones depend on their age and the nature of their language delay.

Common symptoms of a language delay include:

• not babbling by the age of 15 months
• not talking by the age of 2 years
• an inability to speak in short sentences by the age of 3 years
• difficulty following directions
• poor pronunciation or articulation
• difficulty putting words together in a sentence
• leaving words out of a sentence

Causes

Language delays in children have many possible causes. In some instances, more than one factor contributes to a language delay. Some common causes include the following:

Hearing impairment: It’s common for children who have a hearing impairment to have a language impairment as well. If they can’t hear language, learning to communicate can be difficult.

Autism: While not all children with autism have language delays, autism frequently affects communication.

Intellectual disability: A variety of intellectual disabilities can cause language delays. For instance, dyslexia and other learning disabilities lead to language delays in some cases.

Several psychosocial issues: These can cause language delays, as well. For example, severe neglect can lead to problems with language development.

Risk factors for language delay

According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, potential risk factors for speech and language problems include:

• being male
• being born prematurely
• having a low birth weight
• having a family history of speech or language problems
• having parents with lower levels of education

How it’s diagnosed

After conducting a thorough medical assessment, your child’s doctor will refer you to a speech-language pathologist. They will perform a comprehensive assessment of your child’s expressive and receptive language to determine if your child has a language delay. The exam will focus on various forms of verbal and nonverbal communication and use standardized and informal measures.

After completing a speech and language evaluation, the language pathologist may recommend other exams. For example, a hearing exam can help them determine if your child has a hearing impairment. Your child may have hearing problems that have been overlooked, especially if they’re very young.

Treatment

After diagnosis, your child’s treatment plan will likely involve speech and language therapy. A licensed speech-language pathologist will complete an evaluation to determine the types of problems that your child is facing. This information will help them develop and implement a treatment plan.

If your child has underlying health conditions, their doctor may recommend other treatments as well. For example, they may recommend an evaluation by a neuropsychologist.

What is the outlook?

Your child’s outlook will vary depending on their specific condition and age.  Early treatment can help prevent other problems from developing, such as social, learning, and emotional problems.

Excerped from “Language Delay” in Healthline. Read the full article online for more details.

Source: Healthline | Language Delay, https://www.healthline.com/health/language-delay | copyright Healthline Media. Last medically reviewed on December 10, 2016. Retrieved January 2023.

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If you have concerns about your child or teen, CHC Care Coordinators can arrange a free 30-minute consultation so you can explore options with an expert. We invite you to call or email us at 650.688.3625 or careteam@chconline.org to set up an initial Parent Consultation appointment. CHC teletherapy services are available now.