Language Delay

Communicating with people in our lives is a natural part of human development and one of our most basic needs.  Communication takes many forms, both verbal and non-verbal, and it begins at birth with a baby’s first cry.  For some children, learning to communicate verbally does not come easily.  Sometimes the reason for these difficulties is obvious; other times it is less clear.  Early intervention for children with language delays has been proven to be very effective, and is crucial in helping these children.

Warning signs are evident, for example, children starting kindy are aged between 3 ½ and 4 ½ years.  By this time, does your child

• Talk in whole sentences using adult-like grammar?
• Tell a story that is easy to follow?
• Ask many questions?
• Answer who, how, how many questions?
• Use I, me, you, he and she properly?
• Start a conversation and continue it, staying on the same topic?
• Use language to create pretend situations when playing with others?
• Do people outside the family understand more than ¾ of what he/she says?

If any of these questions are answered with a “no”, a referral to your local speech pathologist should be sought.