Speech Development

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Speech Development:
When Should We Be Concerned?

Kathy Yingst

There will always be many concerns that parents have in regard to the well-being of their children. FamilyMatters.tv seeks out the experts for the answers...

One common concern is speech development.

Kathy Yingst holds masters degrees in communicative disorders and education. Thanks to her expert advice, we now have the answers we were looking for:

FM: At what age should parents be concerned about the speech development of their child?

KY: If the child does not have a pretty extensive single word vocabulary by the age of 3 and not starting to put words together, I would be concerned. If the child appears to not hear you and to not understand directions from 2 ½ on, I would be concerned. As far as speech sounds, the later developing ones like "r" and "s," I wouldn't get real concerned about that until the 2nd grade. With the little ones, I'm more concerned about language.

FM: How does a parent go about finding speech development help if they need it?

KY: A speech therapist/ speech pathologist is accessible at any public school and that's where I would start.

KY: With hearing concerns, I would start with a pediatrician and have the hearing screened. What they're doing now, is screening from birth.

FM: At what point should you insist on seeing a specialist?

KY: If a child has had to be medicated for more than three ear infections by the age of 3, I would take them to an audiologist.

FM: Thanks for answering our questions on speech development, Kathy. We appreciate your insight.

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