“My child is two and she is not talking yet.”

There are some reasons why a young child is not using words to communicate. The most common ones are:
1. Late talker
2. Receptive and expressive language delays
3. Deficits in social communication, a characteristic of Autism
4. Motor speech difficulties, seen in Childhood Apraxia of Speech

What can parents do to help their child, regardless of the diagnosis? It’s helpful to get to the basics…
– Be connected! It’s not just about the words
– Be expressive! Talking should be a happy event, not a task or a chore
– Turn questions into statements
– Keep it short and simple
– Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!
– Use “power” words (words that are powerful for a child, including ‘no’, ‘mine’, ‘more’, ‘done’)

Contact our speech therapists at Child & Family Development in Charlotte for more information about your child’s speech and language development!