When A Child's Silence Isn't Golden

Tag : kid jean


For parents, the mystery is less what caused the problem than howto know when it's serious. There can be huge variability in speechand language development. By 18 months most children have avocabulary of about 20 words. By 2 they're forming two-wordsentences ("Mommy juice"). What if the child is nowhere close topassing these milestones? If she shows good comprehension and usesgestures to communicate, she is probably still on target forlanguage development, lack of words notwithstanding. Talking willalmost certainly come soon. Doctors' real concern centers ontoddlers who do not understand simple questions or instructions.

Proponents of early intervention worry that kids who appear to bejust delayed speakers may end up having more severe speech andlanguage problems later. They're also concerned that toddlers whoare frustrated at not being able to express themselves coulddevelop behavior problems. Denying treatment, they say, is not theanswer. "I'd rather err on the side of putting a kid in therapy whomight outgrow it," says Pamela Rollins of the Callier Center forCommunication Disorders in Dallas, Texas.

Not all would agree. It is difficult to tell, argue researchers,whether in the long run speech therapy actively helps or simplygoes along for the developmental ride. One speech and languagespecialist, Rhea Paul at Portland State University in Oregon, foundthat of children under 2 who were not talking, about two thirdsshowed continued delays at 3. At 4, half did. But by kindergarten75 percent of the children had caught up with their peers, scoringwithin the normal range-albeit at the low end-for languageexpression. "They are making slow progress all along," says Paul."It's likely they will be able to function more or less OK by thetime they get to kindergarten--even without intervention."