The majority of babies say their first word - in such a way that the adults understand what they are saying - between 12 months and 18 months - and some babies as early as 10 months. There are many factors which influence this.
- Is there spoken language in the child’s environment and is the child spoken to directly throughout the day? The child is absorbing that these sounds are what adults use to communicate with. If there is no language directed to the child, things can be delayed.
- Is there more than one language being spoken around the child? A child can pick up more than one language simultaneously but this can sometimes briefly delay the articulation of both.
- Does the child have a history of ear infections, particularly between the ages of 6–12 months? During this time frame the child is absorbing basic language from the environment. Ear infections can cause distortions in what the child hears, creating perhaps distortions in their later articulation. Ear infections should be treated as soon as diagnosed.
- Is the child in a family where an older sibling - or a parent - always intuits what the child wants/needs so language is not necessary to have needs met? If this is the child’s reality, this needs to be discussed with the family.
Between 10–20% of 2-year-olds are late to develop language, with males three times more likely to fall into this group. Most don’t have a speech or language disorder and are caught up by age 3 (Healthline.com). Read more about this here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5801738/
Since language development is so individualised, it is important to be aware of, or even record, ongoing language development. If no change is noted over a 3–6-month period, it may be time for an evaluation. We must also remember that some children speak early, and some speak later. Some children speak single words for a short period, some a long period, before this evolves into sentences. Unless there is a physiological or a psychological problem, all children will speak if they live in a spoken language environment. Additionally, the richer the spoken language environment, the richer the child’s language will be.
