Some parents compare his child with his peers to know if your child is left behind. Some kids are early walkers and some are early talkers and you will tell to yourself that nothing to worry about since every child develops on her own timeline. Seeking professional advice is postponed by parents because they keep on reassuring that a child outgrow it and catch up.
Here are some of the warning signs of speech delay:
- Does not paying attention to others. If your child does not paying attention, not responding to music, sound, voice, and moving toys.
- No babbling. A baby age 4 to 6 months should babbling and do some vocalization. At 6 months, the baby can put together some consonant and vowel sounds.
- Does not recognize his name. A baby between 6 and 9 months should turn toward you when you call his name. He or she should respond the different sounds you make and may ever start imitating you.
- No first world. A 12 months baby should have first word such as “mama”, “dada”, “dede”, “baba”.
- Act out with gesture. A baby at 12 months should start waving hands as saying hello or goodbye or shaking his head saying yes or no.
- Follow simple instruction. A baby between 12 and 18 months should be able to respond to his own name, understand “no”, “bye-bye”, “peek-a-boo” and can point out body parts upon requested. Also, able to follow simple request such as hold your toy, give me your car.
- Expressing feelings. A 12 month baby can express his/her feeling by using words or combining words. By this time, you can understand his/her speech by 50%.
If you noticed that your child may have hard to catch up, it is the best time to get professional help most especially if your child is around 2 ½ old because late bloomers usually catch up by that age. Treatment for speech delayed includes speech therapy or treating undiagnosed ear infections or hearing problems.