What are some Children’s speech disorder symptoms or warning Signs?
There are several symptoms that help to indicate if a child has a speech problem, or s speech disorder. Not all of these will be direct indicators of problems, however it is good to be mindful that discovering a mild problem before it becomes a large problem can be very beneficial for your child. The list below includes some of the warning signs to be mindful of as a parent.
Speech Disorder Symptoms:
- Does not babble or attempt to talk by one year of age
- No words produced consistently by 16 months
- Delayed development of vocabulary, concepts and grammar
- Absent pointing by one year of age
- Does not talk or uses more gestures than words by 2 years of age
- Speech and Language is considerably different from children of the same age
- Limited sound repertoire
- Leaving off first sound of a word
- Inconsistent sound errors
- Speech is difficult for strangers to understand
- Increased frustration during communication attempts
- Increased need for repetition for response to commands, questions
- Decreased/lack of appropriate play skills
- Randomly says a word accurately, then doesn’t use it again
- Decreased interest in social situations by age 24 months
- Decreased eye contact
- Delayed response time
- Decreased need to communicate wants and needs to others
- Lack of imitation skills
- Difficulty with transitions
- Perseverative or repetitive behaviors
- Loss of skills previously mastered
If your child is showing signs that are part of the above list – this may not mean that you child has a speech problem, they may simply be delayed and progressing in other areas of development. However if your child repeatedly shows more than one of these speech disorder symptoms – asking a local speech pathologist for a consultation is the best thing you can do for your child’s development and well being. Contact us if you would like any advice or helpful information about your child.
