Does your 18-month-old not talking worry you? It may just mean that your child is developing at their own pace and reaching milestones at their own time – it's perfectly normal. But it could also portend something serious. In this case, early detection and treatment of your child can prevent associated emotional, social, and cognitive deficits and improve their development.
Next, this article will take a closer look at language delay and what it might mean if your 18-month-old doesn't speak. If you are worried that your child may have language delays, you can look for some signs and perhaps more importantly, there are steps you can take to help them overcome their difficulties.
What is voice delay?
When children's speech and language skills do not develop at the expected rate, they experience speech delays. When a child's language development is significantly lower than normal for children of the same age, the child is considered to have language delay. The language skills they acquire usually follow normal progress, but at a slower pace.
The difference between speech and language latency
Although these terms are often used interchangeably, speech latency and language latency are not the same.
Speech is the motor act of oral expression that expresses language. It is the oral production of language. Speech delay is a condition in which children have difficulty expressing speech.
Language is the use of symbols for interpersonal communication. It includes receptive language (understanding of language) and expressive language (conveying information). Language delays occur when children have difficulty understanding or expressing language. Language is not only spoken or heard. It may also include visual forms for example sign language.
If your 18-month-old baby doesn't speak, it could be due to one or both of these conditions.
Speech delay is a fairly common developmental problem. It affects 3 to 10 percent of preschoolers.
The incidence is one to four times higher in boys than in girls.
Children with all three risk factors are 7.7 times more likely to be at risk of language delay than children without these risk factors–a family history of a mother with low educational attainment, male and developmental communication disorders.
Behavioral problems may also be accompanied by language barriers. 40-75% exhibit challenging behaviors and these children may easily feel frustrated when they are unable to express what they need or want.
Infant language development milestones
When children learn to speak, they go from grunting to grunting, echoing, jargon, words, and word combinations. Typical voice development patterns are as follows:
Age Language development milestones
6 months Gollum responds to sounds
9 months Babbling
11 months Imitate a voice without knowing the meaning and say something like "Mom/Dad"
12 months Say "Mom/Dad" and understand what they mean. Words that mimic two or three syllables
15 months Vocabulary is limited, about 4 to 7 words
18 months Vocabulary is around 10
21 months Have around 20 vocabulary
24 months more than 50 words. Can make two words of phrases, most words can be understood by strangers
2.5 years Know more than 400 words. Can form a phrase of 2 to 3 words. Most of the speech can be understood by strangers
3 years Know how to count words using plurals and past tenses and objects, and can compose sentences with up to 5 words.
4 years Form a long sentence of 3 to 6 words. Ask questions and tell stories. Voice is easy to understand.
5 years Long sentences can contain up to 8 words. Colors can be named, money can be counted, etc.
Signs of language delay at 18 months old
If your 18-month-old doesn't speak, the following signs may indicate delayed speaking.
Your child won't be able to gnaw, point or gesture
They won't use at least three words, such as "mom" or "dad."
When asked, they cannot point to certain parts of the body (e.g., hands, head, feet)
They don't know simple commands (like "roll the ball")
They don't use language or gestures to answer simple questions (like "Where are your shoes?"). ”）
They don't like simple stories, songs, or rhymes
They can't use one or two word questions (e.g. "Where's Mom?"). "or "Goodbye")
They have a hard time putting two words together (like "more milk")
They can't mimic different voices
What is the cause of language delay in young children
Speech delays are caused by different factors in different children. Everyone doesn't have a single underlying problem. However, there are some common situations that can delay the development of language skills. Here are some of the more common causes.
Maturity delay
Many young children who arrive late are often the result of stunting. This happens when the central nervous process required to produce speech is delayed. It is more common in boys and late-adult families.
Most of these children end up without a language barrier9.These children usually have normal language development skills when they enter school.
Hearing loss
Hearing plays an important role in our ability to speak. If hearing is impaired, your child's ability to speak, use language effectively, and understand others will be severely affected.
Hearing problems can be the result of congenital defects, but they can also be temporary, such as an ear infection.
Hearing processing impairment can also cause some children to have difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments.
Intellectual disability
According to one study, about 50% of children's speech/language delays are caused by this condition.
Intellectual disability (also known as general learning disability, formerly known as mental retardation) is a significant impairment of children's cognitive skills and adaptive functioning, and speech retardation is a common symptom of intellectual disability.
Neurological differences
Many neurological disorders are associated with speech difficulties, including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and cerebral palsy.
Autism – Autism is a neuro-based developmental disorder. One of the symptoms of autism is difficulty developing language.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – Language impairment is more common in children with ADHD. Inattention and impulsivity can hinder opportunities to learn and practice speaking skills.
Cerebral palsy – Difficulty coordinating or cramping of tongue muscles, hearing loss, intellectual disability, or cerebral cortex defects can affect all aspects of language use.
Receptive aphasia
Receptive aphasia is characterized by difficulty understanding spoken language, leading to delayed speech. Despite the disability, children with receiving aphasia respond normally to nonverbal auditory stimuli.
Expressive aphasia (expressive language disorder)
Expressive language disorder is a less common disorder that can manifest symptoms of late appearance of language. These children may have normal IQ, receptive language skills, emotional relationships, and expression skills. Brain dysfunction seems to be the main reason for the inability to translate ideas into speech.
Psychosocial deprivation
Deprivation, whether physical (e.g., poverty, malnutrition) or social (e.g., neglect by children), can adversely affect infants' language development. Early childhood is a sensitive period for language development. Children living in abusive environments are less likely to have verbal communication with their parents. They tend to develop language/language barriers and lack any verbal communication skills in extreme cases12.
Selective mutism
Selective mutism occurs when a child is not speaking in a specific setting, i.e. at school but not at home or only with someone familiar. Speech/language problems often occur in conjunction with selective mutism, which is conceptualized as an anxiety disorder.
Bilingual environment
Children living in bilingual families may experience temporary delays in learning two languages. However, bilingual toddlers can normally understand both languages at their age, and they usually become proficient in both languages before the age of five.
How many words should an 18-month-old say?
Every child has their own pace of development, and every child is different. Therefore, there is no hard and fast rule on the number of words that should be said for an 18-month-old child.
In general, 18-month-olds know at least 10 words in their vocabulary.
Interestingly, 18 months also marks a period of sharp increase in the number of words some children get14.It is not uncommon for children to experience a "language explosion" and their vocabulary growing from 10 words to 250 words overnight.
Will people who are late for talking catch up?
Many latecomers do catch up on their own. By the time they're ready for school, about 70 to 80 percent will be on par with their peers15 while about 20 to 30 percent continue to struggle with reading, writing, and language16.
However, if the child's language delay is associated with neurological differences, intervention and treatment should be carried out as soon as possible to avoid developing further language difficulties.
How can parents help when an 18-month-old doesn't speak?
If your 18-month-old doesn't speak, there are steps you can do to help them with language delays.
Talking to your baby during their daily activities not only helps them learn the language, but also plays a key role in their brain development. The more times your child is exposed to the language, the more words they are likely to learn17.
Caregivers naturally speak differently to children and other adults. This type of "baby talk" has been found to play a vital role in language development.
More importantly, don't just talk to your baby, talk to them as if you were talking to them.
Studies have found that participating in a "conversational duet" can significantly help improve a child's speech development.
Role-playing or pretend play has been found to help preschoolers develop language.
You can invite other families with small children, or have your child attend a daycare so that your child has plenty of free time for simple pretend games.
One study showed that children learn to speak by imitating the language of others. You can encourage your child to repeat new words after you learn them. Be sure to praise your child frequently to reinforce their efforts.
Should you be worried if your 18-month-old doesn't talk?
When it comes to developmental milestones, children usually learn at their own pace, whether it's walking, talking, or toilet training. However, if your 18-month-old child doesn't speak at all, it can be worrying.
Be sure to ask this question to your child's doctor during regular health check-ups and refer them to a speech-language pathologist for evaluation.
A comprehensive assessment is essential when a child is not meeting the expected speech and language milestones. Abnormal language development is often a secondary manifestation of other physical and developmental problems. The earlier you intervene, the better.