Morning Chatter Podcast Episode #19: Speech delay with toddlers

We are joined by Cristina, a Speech and Language Pathologist, to talk about speech delays in toddlers. We go over early signs that there may be a delay, activities you can do at home to help your child, and how you can get free therapy.

Speech Delay  

Receptive language- what a child understands, following directions  

Expressive language– words that are said  

Ways to get your child to speak:

-withholding/incentive give them a reason to talk and ask for what they need

-place toy or item next to mouth and say the word so they can see how your mouth moves

-make it a game. Say a word into a cup and then have them try. Can also try this looking into a mirror

-put a phone to their ear and have them say hi mama

-follow their lead and play with what they want to play with. If they want to climb up on the couch then teach them the words that go along with that. Say up, then sit, down etc.

-sit down with them on the floor. Get down on their level and speak to them. Model simple words and sentences. Keep them short

-play “ready, set, go” or “1, 2, 3, go!”

-pick 20 minutes a day and do therapy sessions with them

-really get excited and reward them for saying words or even attempting

-when reading books: point out animals, colors, shapes etc. Reading teaches them literacy skills such as turning the page, holding the book the right way, how we start and end a book

-for those that have a sibling that speaks for them, turn it into a game. “See how many things you can tell me” or “it’s your turn to talk”, or you can use a visual tool such as a talking stick or a microphone and they can speak when they have the item

Recommend toys:

Puzzles

Shape sorter

Stacking blocks

Ball tower  

Getting into therapy:

-can be done at no cost

-contact the regional center if your child is under 3

-go through the school district if your child is over 3

-contact your insurance company  

Speech Milestones  

12 months- start imitating mama, baba, will start becoming intentional  

18 months- 10 words they can label - 3 animal sounds -will start using 2 words  

24 months- 50 words -combining 2 words