Watch out for these speech milestones in your little one

Children vary in their speech and language development, but there is a natural progression in mastering these skills. Wise up to what should be happening (give or take a few months) and what to look out for. 

Before 12 Months
From the moment babies enter the world, they use their voices to relate to their environment. Cooing and babbling are early stages of speech development. At around 9 months, they begin stringing sounds together, saying words like “mama” and “dada”. Before 12 months, infants should also be attentive to sound. Babies who watch intently but don’t react to sound may be showing signs of hearing loss. 

By 12 to 15 Months
At this toddler stage, they should have a wide range of speech sounds and at least one “real” word, like “baby” or “ball”. Your tot should also be able to understand and follow single directions, like “Can I have the ball, please?”. 

From 18 to 24 Months
By 18 months, kids should have a vocabulary of about 20 words and 50 or more by the time they turn 2. By age 2, they should be combining two words, such as “baby cry” or “Daddy home”. A 2-year-old should also be able to follow two-step commands, like “Pick up the doll and put it in the basket”. 

From 2 to 3 Years
Parents often witness an “explosion” in their child’s speech. Your toddler's vocabulary should increase rapidly and he or she should combining three words and forming sentences. By 3 years, a child should begin to know the difference between words like “on” and “under” and “over”. Your child also should begin to identify colors and comprehend descriptive concepts like “big” and “small”.

KNOW BETTER Michelle Tham, a speech language pathologist and the clinical director of Leapfrogs, tackles your speech and language concerns.  Q My 2-year-old uses gestures and babbles more than he talks. Should I be worried? A I’d recommend that you monitor your child's communication development very closely. At 2, he should be able to use two words together, such as “Mummy come”, to express himself rather than by using gestures. At 2, words should be replacing babbling too. I suggest taking him to a speech therapist or to a developmental pediatrician who can identify problems such as autism and make recommendations about schooling and be able to advise you if your child warrants further investigation. In the meantime, slow down your speech, be more animated and give your child a chance to respond. If your child still continues to use a significant amount of gestures and babbles much more than he talks when he’s 2½, I would recommend that you take him to a speech therapist. He will be able to give his professional opinion as to how his communication skills are developing and maybe suggest strategies to help stimulate his speech and language skills further.   Q I think my 4-year-old has a speech and language delay. How can I tell for sure? A Observe your child's communication: Does he seem to understand what you are sharing with him? Does he use sentences to express himself?  Is he interested in interacting and sharing with you? Is he frustrated because he is not able to communicate his needs to you? Does he throw tantrums when facing a breakdown in communication? Is he quiet and withdrawn? Is he coping in school? How is he interacting with his peers? If you have answered “yes” to the above concerns, consult a specialist to be absolutely sure that he has a problem.

FROM MR QUIET TO MR CHATTERBOX
Sometimes, all it takes is a little attention to jump-start the conversation. 

“Gavin is now 4 years old. We call him Mr Chatterbox, or rather, he calls himself that! We noticed that he wasn’t reaching his speech milestones when the other children in his playgroup, mainly girls, were talking in short sentences by the time they were 20 months. He understood people but he just would not speak. 

So, when Gavin was 2, we took him to see a developmental pediatrician and had his ears checked. He was normal. The doctor said to give it some time and gave us some suggestions on how to communicate with Gavin. 

I felt very guilty and blamed myself for his speech delay. Since I work late often, he spends most of the day with our helper. But my husband thought I was paranoid, as he didn’t speak until his third birthday.
 
I decided that maybe it was he didn’t have enough one-on-one time with me, so I signed him up for a music class ? he loves to dance - and it became our weekly “date”. I made up lots of crazy songs, and rather than assume that he was too little to understand, I explained things to him. I also gave him a chance to respond, which I don’t think I did before. 

Then one day, when he was about 2½, Gavin said “tractor”. I couldn’t believe my ears. He hasn’t stopped since. These days, he still surprises me with his sentence construction, and how expresses his thoughts and feelings. Although, there are some days when I just want to tell him ‘Sssh!’”
- Grace Lee, 33, mum to Gavin, 4

Speech resources to tap on Websites • The American Speech-Language Hearing Association, www.asha.org • Speech and language articles, www.speech-language-therapy.com/devel2.htm • National Institute On Deafness And Other Communication Disorders, www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/speechandlanguage.asp • Information about late bloomers in speech, www.latetalking.org • The Speech-Language and Hearing Association, Singapore, http://www.shas.org.sg   Pediatric Speech Therapy Services • KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, www.kkh.com.sg. Tel: 6294-4050. • National University Hospital, www.nuh.com.sg. Tel: 6772-2002. • Singapore General Hospital, www.sgh.com.sg. Tel: 6321-4126.  Private Practice • Leapfrogs, www.leap-frogs.com, Tel: 6733-1992. • The Speech Pathology Centre, www.speechtherapy.com.sg, Tel: 6235-0037. • Speech-Language Practice, Tel: 6466-3635.

If you have any comments or practical suggestions, write to us at editor@family.sg

- Mother & Baby
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