How Old Does My Child Need To Be To Start Speech Therapy?

By: The Speech Therapy Team at Child & Family Development

For the youngest of our clients, we often get asked question such as, “Is my child too young to start speech therapy?” or “How can speech help a one year old?” There is no specific age guideline for beginning speech therapy. Speech and language development begins at birth. For children under 1 year of age, speech therapy is more likely to focus on feeding related issues and educating caregivers on strategies to use for encouraging their infant’s language development. Even before the first word comes, there are pre-language skills that are already developing, such as shared attention, imitation, turn taking, engagement and vocal play. Around one year of age or shortly after, most children say their first word. Between the ages of 12-18 months, a child begins to use more words, follows simple directions, and understands words for common objects. From 18-24 months, a child will add more and more vocabulary until they begin combining words around age two. After only 24 months, there has already been a lot of speech and language development!

Children are seen by their pediatricians frequently during the first two years of life, and parents may be given information on developmental milestones. While these are helpful for making sure your child’s development is on track, they do not always give the full picture. A speech-language pathologist is a professional who has extensively studied communication development and disorders. They are the best resource for evaluating any concerns you have about your child’s speech and language development from birth onward. It may be that a child meets the criteria on a developmental checklist, but the quality of how their speech production is developing is not typical. It is possible that in addition to differences in speech and language development, there may be differences in how the child is interacting and attempting to communicate, which can be early signs of other developmental disorders. Speech-language pathologists are often the first professionals that are encountered with children who will eventually receive a diagnosis of autism. Early identification and treatment of developmental delays lead to the best outcomes. If you have any concerns about your child’s communication development, no matter their age, a speech and language evaluation can be beneficial.

C&FD was voted Charlotte’s Best Speech Therapy Practice in 2024! Our team of experts would be happy to answer all of your speech related questions.

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