According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), late talkers are toddlers (18 to 30 months old) who have a limited vocabulary for their age, but do not have any other developmental delays. Some late talkers may talk by three to five years of age. These toddlers are called late bloomers.
70-80% of late talkers will catch up (Whitehouse et. al, 2011). “Late talker” refers to a little one younger than 30 months old who is meeting milestones in other domains, including understanding of language, just not in expressive communication. But unfortunately, that does mean that 20-30% will continue to struggle.
Who is a “Late Talker”? A “Late Talker” is a toddler (between 18-30 months) who has good understanding of language, typically developing play skills, motor skills, thinking skills, and social skills, but has a limited spoken vocabulary for his or her age.
Children who present as late talkers tend to catch up to their peers by the ages of 3-5 years old, but could be at risk for developing later language or literacy difficulties, or even mental health needs.
And of course, late talking is one of the primary symptoms of autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and for intellectual disability (which was formally known as mental retardation).
While speech delays are very common among children with autism, they are common in children without autism as well.
The most common causes of speech delay include: Hearing loss. Slow development. Intellectual disability.
A child with a speech delay tends to naturally use body language and eye contact. Autistic children, on the other hand, may have trouble with social interaction, play skills, communication, and behavior. Children with autism may prefer to be alone.
So if your toddler is 2 or 3 years old and isn't yet talking, it's vital to go ahead and speak with their pediatrician, or with a speech-language pathologist. They will likely recommend a speech evaluation in order to assess your child's current abilities. Early intervention is so important in these situations.
Can a toddler outgrow a speech delay? Approximately 70% to 80% of children with expressive language delays will outgrow their delay and catch up to their peers. Children who receive early intervention services are more likely to catch up to their peers.
Speech/Language Milestones
Boys tend to develop language skills a little later than girls, but in general, kids may be labeled "late-talking children" if they speak less than 10 words by the age of 18 to 20 months, or fewer than 50 words by 21 to 30 months of age.
These happen when there's a problem in the areas of the brain responsible for speech. This makes it hard to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw to make speech sounds. These kids also might have other oral-motor problems, such as feeding problems. Hearing problems also can affect speech.
The age at which kids begin talking typically ranges from 6 to 18 months. In general, there is no need to worry if your toddler isn't talking and seems "behind"—even if they are at the older end of that range. Of course, if your child is 19 months and still not talking, you may be concerned, but this too can be normal.
Children who are late talkers will often have trouble with spoken or expressive language. While they understand instructions, and can point at objects etc, they may not be able to verbally express their wants and needs, or perhaps are less clear in producing common speech sounds.
While many Late Talkers seem to catch up to their peers by the time they start school, these children continue to have weaker language skills in areas such as vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, and listening comprehension [1].
Between 70–80% of Late Talkers seem to catch up to their peers by the time they enter school. Sometimes these children are called “late bloomers” because they eventually seem to catch up to other children their age.
Typically, this type of jargon is not directed toward another person. On the other hand, in cases of speech-language delay, a child's babbling may indeed represent the precursors to speech. Thanks to research, we now know that the majority of nonverbal 4-year-olds with autism will go on to develop spoken language.
By age 3, your child will probably have words for almost everything. And by age 4, he'll talk in sentences using five or more words, though his vocabulary will vary widely. He'll also be able to answer simple questions and mimic adult sounds well enough for most strangers to understand him.
Not necessarily. While speech delays, language delays, and learning differences are often a hallmark of ASD, a speech delay by itself does not mean a child has autism. In fact, there are key differences between communication delays caused by autism and other types of speech-language disorders.
Simple speech delays are sometimes temporary. They may resolve on their own or with a little extra help from family. It's important to encourage your child to "talk" to you with gestures or sounds and for you to spend lots of time playing with, reading to, and talking with your infant or toddler.
Einstein Syndrome is the term used to characterize a child who has a speech delay but is simultaneously gifted in other areas requiring analytical thought.
Delays can also be caused by neglect, abuse, or an event or circumstance that was really disruptive to development. These are atypical scenarios though that we rarely encounter. For the average parent doing their best, you can rest assured that your child's speech or language delay is definitely not your fault.
Children born to vitamin D deficient mothers have been found to have a two-fold higher risk of language difficulties compared with the mothers with sufficient levels of vitamin D [9].
Studies report a link between TV and language development in young children. The more time kids spend watching television, the more slowly they learn to talk.