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Suggest Treatment For Delayed Speech In A Child
Question: My Baby is 2 years 3 months and is not talking real words as yet.
He can show / point to things in books (pictures of fruits etc.) or stuff around the house (shoes, bottle etc). He babbles a lot but does not say actual words. He is very affectionate, enjoys games like hide and seek, runs and plays games, makes eye contact with the family (me, my wife, my dad), follows instructions and loves 'reading' picture books.
What can we do to help him start talking?
He can show / point to things in books (pictures of fruits etc.) or stuff around the house (shoes, bottle etc). He babbles a lot but does not say actual words. He is very affectionate, enjoys games like hide and seek, runs and plays games, makes eye contact with the family (me, my wife, my dad), follows instructions and loves 'reading' picture books.
What can we do to help him start talking?
Brief Answer:
Interact more and more
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for asking on this platform
Delayed speech is a very common complaint by parents in today's world of television,gadgets and working parents.
At 2-3 years of age baby should
Point to picture of common objects when they are named
Can identify objects when told their use
Understand questions like what and where
Understand negative orders like no,not,don't
Enjoys listening to simple story books and request them again
As you have mentioned your child is doing all these very well.This shows that receptive language development is normal.
I would like to know if the baby speaks na na, dada, papa,mumma etc and few other words for specific things like some children say mum to water,nini for sleep.
If yes then I won't get worried.The age for language development has a wide range.
Some babies take more time to speak(specific expressive language delay).
I would suggest you to interact with your baby more and more.Increase his vocabulary by naming the surrounding objects with their use.
I would suggest you to read picture book in front of your baby.All these will help in increasing the word power.
All the best.
Wish your child good health.
Please let me know if you have any more query.
Regards
Interact more and more
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for asking on this platform
Delayed speech is a very common complaint by parents in today's world of television,gadgets and working parents.
At 2-3 years of age baby should
Point to picture of common objects when they are named
Can identify objects when told their use
Understand questions like what and where
Understand negative orders like no,not,don't
Enjoys listening to simple story books and request them again
As you have mentioned your child is doing all these very well.This shows that receptive language development is normal.
I would like to know if the baby speaks na na, dada, papa,mumma etc and few other words for specific things like some children say mum to water,nini for sleep.
If yes then I won't get worried.The age for language development has a wide range.
Some babies take more time to speak(specific expressive language delay).
I would suggest you to interact with your baby more and more.Increase his vocabulary by naming the surrounding objects with their use.
I would suggest you to read picture book in front of your baby.All these will help in increasing the word power.
All the best.
Wish your child good health.
Please let me know if you have any more query.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
1. He does NOT say any specific sounds for specific things (like mum to water,nini for sleep) - Is that a cause for concern??
-My baby speaks na na, dada, papa,mumma, dugga, ting, taka, pepe etc etc but it's at nothing particular. Sometimes he 'sings' too - particularly when he is happy / in a good mood.
- If we are telling him "No / Dont" for something, he generally grunts his displeasure or steps away.
- If I ask him to "Give me your shoes" - he follows instructions. If I ask "Do you want water" - he will either give me the bottle or push my hand away.
- If I ask "Where do you want to go", he will raise his hand towards the door. Not point with finger but entire hand.
- He knows 20+ animals, fruits etc. in his picture books and can follow stories (knowing the characters, when the story ends, laughing at particular parts etc.)
- He loves to play with puzzles and completes like shape puzzles, numbers puzzles, alphabet's puzzle.
-My baby speaks na na, dada, papa,mumma, dugga, ting, taka, pepe etc etc but it's at nothing particular. Sometimes he 'sings' too - particularly when he is happy / in a good mood.
- If we are telling him "No / Dont" for something, he generally grunts his displeasure or steps away.
- If I ask him to "Give me your shoes" - he follows instructions. If I ask "Do you want water" - he will either give me the bottle or push my hand away.
- If I ask "Where do you want to go", he will raise his hand towards the door. Not point with finger but entire hand.
- He knows 20+ animals, fruits etc. in his picture books and can follow stories (knowing the characters, when the story ends, laughing at particular parts etc.)
- He loves to play with puzzles and completes like shape puzzles, numbers puzzles, alphabet's puzzle.
Brief Answer:
No need to worry as his receptive language development is normal
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for follow up
The most common cause of pathological delayed speech which needs to be addressed aggresively is hearing defect (congenital or acquired cause).
After going through the detailed History it appears that receptive language development is normal (no problem in hearing).
So in this case I won't get overly worried even if he does not speak specific words.
I would suggest you to keep patience,try your best and observe for improvement in language development.
Regards
No need to worry as his receptive language development is normal
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for follow up
The most common cause of pathological delayed speech which needs to be addressed aggresively is hearing defect (congenital or acquired cause).
After going through the detailed History it appears that receptive language development is normal (no problem in hearing).
So in this case I won't get overly worried even if he does not speak specific words.
I would suggest you to keep patience,try your best and observe for improvement in language development.
Regards
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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