The Stay at Home Mother

I recently wrote about my daughter not speaking at 15 months old in my "Mom at Home" Column. Today I received an email from a reader who provided me with some very valuable information about when a child should speak - what the norm is and what you can expect. She is a Registered Speech-Language Pathologist located in White Rock.

It is so hard to know what is normal and what is abnormal when you try to compare your child's developement with another child or sibling. (I did this with my son as he was an early talker - and found it quite distressing that my daughter wasn't saying anything). With the Pathologist's permission, I have attached her information, in hopes that it will help other moms out there determine if there is a problem with their child's speech development.

What parents need to know is that there certainly are some markers that we look for in speech and language development, for example, first words typically are spoken at 12 mos. A vocabulary 'spurt' is expected at 18 mos where children rapidly learn new words, in fact, they can be learning a new word per day or more!

At 2 years, we expect to see the beginning of word combinations which is two words in a tiny sentece like 'eat cookie' 'go bye-bye'. Having said this, there is also a very wide range of what is still within the realm of normal development as not all kids follow this 'textbook' scenario of development (in fact none of my three did and they are all excellent oral communicators at 5,7 and 8 years).

What we as specialists in communication try to determine is if a child is within the wide expectations of these developmental norms, and along with it, we need to determine if the child's comprehension of oral language is on target as often it is a very good predictor of when a child will begin to talk.

I thought your article was timely given that May is 'Speech and Hearing Month' and if parents have concerns about their child's speech and/or language development they should contact a Registered Speech-Language Pathologist. This can either be through the public sector (although waiting lists are months long) or through the private sector (the Association holds a roster at www.bcaslpa.bc.ca)

For any more information - here is her contact information:

Petulla M. Dedish
Semiahmoo Speech Centre
105-15284 Buena Vista
White Rock,BC
604-250-3873
www.semispeech.com