Boys talk later than girls. It is true that boys produce their first words and sentences later than girls. However, these differences are only in terms of a matter of a few months. There is a normal range within which children acquire certain language milestones.
Studies have shown that language development varies between the sexes, with males generally gaining language skills at a slower rate. Prenatal testosterone is known to influence fetal neurodevelopment, and preliminary studies have suggested that the hormone is associated with language delay.
At what age do babies start talking? Most babies say their first word sometime between 12 and 18 months of age. However, you'll start to hear the early stages of verbal communication shortly after birth. "From birth to 3 months, babies make sounds.
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.
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.
Call your doctor if your child: by 12 months: isn't using gestures, such as pointing or waving bye-bye. by 18 months: prefers gestures over vocalizations to communicate. by 18 months: has trouble imitating sounds.
Your daughter will understand words spoken to her before boys, start talking two months earlier, and will continue building speech at a greater rate right through toddlerhood. For instance, girls at 16 months of age will produce up to 100 words, while boys struggle at around 30 words.
Research indicates that the slower development of baby boys' brains is likely due to the male hormone testosterone2.
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 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].
Late talkers are predisposed to have severe and/or frequent temper tantrums at nearly double the rate of their peers with typical language skills, the study found. The scientists categorize tantrums as “severe” if the toddler is regularly doing things like holding their breath, hitting or kicking during a tantrum.
While boys will often hear things about puberty through school, media influences, and friends, it's important for your son to learn about the changes from you and his doctor. The timing of puberty is different for each boy. However, it usually starts between the ages of 9 and 16.
Boys tend to show the first physical changes of puberty between the ages of 10 and 16. They tend to grow most quickly between ages 12 and 15. The growth spurt of boys is, on average, about 2 years later than that of girls. By age 16, most boys have stopped growing, but their muscles will continue to develop.
However, a 2018 Gallup poll found that 54% of Americans said boys were easier to raise than girls, while only 27% said girls were easier, and 14% said there was no difference. Some research suggests girls are better communicators in the younger years, but this may change later on.
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.
A delay in speech or language is one of the earliest signs we have for kids that do go on to get a diagnosis of ADHD later in childhood. In this 2012 study, researchers found that two-thirds of the elementary-aged kids with ADHD had a speech or language delay at 18 months.
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.
In summary, boys do talk later than girls. but only by a few months. While boys tend to lag behind in their language skills, we don't want to dismiss concerns just because a child is a boy. If you have concerns, trust your parent intuition and seek out a Speech-Language Pathologist.
Children who produce fewer than 50 words and do not produce simple two-word phrases by 24 months of age are considered late talkers. Additionally, children are often assessed as to whether or not they demonstrated any sign of a language/vocabulary spurt between 18-24 months.
Model good speech, but don't criticize your child's speech if it is not perfectly clear. Imitate the sounds and words your child makes. Speak slowly so that a child can understand each part of a word. Listen and respond to your child even if they do not speak in full words or sentences.
There are several things that can cause speech delays, such as hearing loss, physical problems in the roof of the mouth, learning disabilities, or certain diagnosable conditions like autism spectrum disorder or cerebral palsy.
Children with autism often have speech delays, but speech delays alone do not mean your child has autism. Autistic speech delays usually occur along with other communication issues, such as not using gestures, not responding to their name, and not showing interest in connecting with people.