09 Jan Children Speech Patterns – Is Your Child a Late Adaptor
Children Speech
All children will eventually develop listening and speaking skills. Children speech development patterns comes in many forms. Some children are ahead of the game, some are right on track, and some are a bit behind, but that’s okay! If you’re worried about your child and their speaking abilities, sometimes it could be a good idea to go to a speech therapist just to be sure. In addition, here’s a few indicators that your child might be a bit behind.
Children Speech – The Beginning
The beginning stages of your child learning to talk is extremely exciting. They might be beginning to understand things you’re saying and be able to comprehend words to some degree. The thing to note about children speech development is that everyone moves at different speeds. There are general guidelines to where your child should be but these are just general guidelines and should not be taken too literally.
We know that when you’re a new parent, or just a parent in general, sometimes google is your best friend. Trying to search for information that could help tell you if what you’re doing and if what is happening with your child speech development is on track can be a regular occurrence, and not just for speech.
Children Speech at Twelve Months
At this age, your children speech skills should allow them to use around 3-5 words on a regular basis. Simple words, that is. Additionally, they should be able to recognize their name. This is also why it is important to often use their name and talk to your toddler lots, even if it feel as though they’re not listening or have no idea what you’re saying. In fact, they probably don’t, but it’s the only way they’ll learn. It’s also a good sign if they’re using a number if sounds similar to consonants and vowels.
At 18 Months
At 18 months, your children speech development will continue to get better. Their amount of words they use on a regular basis should be around the ten word mark. It’s also common that they will be able to understand and follow simple directions that are only 1-step. They should also recognize and be able to comprehend easy or non-complex body parts.
Two Years Old
At this age, your children speech development should be around the point where they can use at least 60 words on a consistent basis. They’ll also be able to group words together (at least 2). Since it can be difficult for a parent to keep track of and count 60 or more words, it’s also a good indicator if your child can have a simple conversation with you where you are talking back and forth. It doesn’t have to be anything complex but a responsive conversation will do.
What to do If They’re Really Behind
As we mentioned, all children speech development is different Children will vary based on a variety of factors. But if you find that your child is very behind and do not see them catching up easily on their own, it’s a good idea to get in touch with a speech therapist. They can help your child develop speaking skills quicker and more effectively. They’ll also give you, as parents, tips on how to help your child at home effectively develop their talking and communication skills.