Late talker? Get Barking!

It's interesting to see the differences between parents' of late talkers. Some worry early, some don't worry at all because after all, Einstein didn't talk until he was three years old, right?  Well, that may be so, but I think it is safe to say that Einstein was not typical!  On the other hand, many children don't pop those words right out right just when their parents want them too, or when their siblings did, and that's okay too.

For the parent of a late talker, I would absolutely recommend getting their child tested by a speech language pathologist.  It doesn't hurt to know where your kid is at, and you can always decide how you want to handle it. Any state in the United States currently has free services for getting a child under three tested, and depending on the results, possibly free services.  This is due to the fact that early intervention is often effective.  It is much better to take care of things sooner rather than later!  In the meantime, what can you do to help that slow talker?  For those who are pretty quiet and say very little at all, here's one simple tip that may help get them going: Imitation.

Notice if your child imitates you either vocally or physically.  This is a good thing! Try to make a game out of imitation.  If your child will imitate sounds you make, encourage this.  Start with simple sounds, even just a vowel sound, like /a/.  If he makes a sound on his own, repeat that sound and look at him expectantly to see if he will repeat you back.  If she touches your hand, touch her hand back and look expectantly to see if  she will touch your hand back.  Imitation is a foundation of speech, it is how we all learn to talk, by listening and imitating others.  If your child imitates words this could be even better--perhaps they would use these words on their own at some point.

Another fun way to imitate is with animal sounds.  Many kids are interested in animals and so this can be quite motivating.  Kids also may view animal sounds less as "talking" and so may feel less pressure to try it out. If your child says animal sounds this is GREAT, it's a good opportunity for them to develop the same speech sounds that occur in words! Practicing imitating things others say is important for developing speech and language and can be practiced in many ways, including imitating vocalizations, gestures, or animal sounds.  What ways can you think of to get your child to play copycat?  Don't forget to have FUN!