5 Signs of a Speech Delay | Speech Therapist Explains

If you are a parent of a young one who is not talking, this video should help you identify the signs of a speech delay. The biggest factor is the child's vocabulary size compared to the average number of the child's age range.

Average number of words based on age:
12 mos = 2-6 other than mama and dada
15 mos = 10 words
18 mos = 50 words
24 mos = 200-300 words
30 mos = 450 words
36 mos (3 years) = 1,000 words

🙋‍♀️ Hi! I’m Kayla (Chalko) Gonzales, a licensed speech-language pathologist in California specializing in early intervention for toddlers with speech delays.

👉🏻 Want to advance your child’s language skills?

Disclaimer: I’m a licensed speech-language pathologist in California. These videos are meant for general education. Every child is different; this should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult with a professional in your area.

[thQuarterMentality]

As a parent I think speech therapists are grossly underappreciated. Thank you for what you do.

[lisa]

My sister didn't talk until she was 3! And there was no problem, she was just a late talker. Everyone develops at their own pace.

[bokjoowangso]

According to my aunt and parents, I started to talk between 3-4 years old. Everyone has their own pace.

[AJ-hcjj]

This pandemic doesn't help me get my child be social. With the lock down and social distancing. He lacks the social skills. Of course he's fine with me and dad but he's not used to being around other people and he doesn't seem like he's interested...

[ms.t]

Thank you so much for this! My daughter is all like that except that she can do hand gestures like bye bye, flying kiss, gesturing 'where?', eyes blinking, etc.

[tiffanysenior]

This video and your comments gives me hope. I’m so stressed over the fact the my son is 2 years old and is hardly speaking clearly. Often times he’s babbling. Whenever he wants your attention he will take your hand and pull you towards whatever he wants.
I can also see the frustration on his face because I know he wants to talk so we can understand.

[JGallardoOntheMove]

To everyone who might need to hear it on this thread: if you see signs of autism in your child, it may be because of too much screen time. Please search "virtual autism" as it has become very common during this pandemic. My child has all the symptoms but when taken off all the screens, he has started getting better (especially at eye contact and socialising). Good luck to all of us in this pandemic world.

[arnelporsona]

Don't pressure urself mother. We all feel the same way. we just need to be patient and stay communicating to our child. My son is 2 years and 8months old. He only speak few words which he only heard from us daily so we always try to teach him new words and gestures to communicate with us. We don't rush him to speak coz he understands us in some ways and he's a smart kid and always curious in everything. He can manage anything by himself like pulling a chair and climb up the table to get a glass of water or putting his toys on his bag after playing etc.

[Sodainspace]

My son was a pandemic kid, we live in melbourne australia where we had the longest lockdown in the world. Basically lived all his life for most part lockdown, while he developed really well he is struggling with speech he is almost 2 now only says mama dada and one word “car” that’s all, we are now seeking a speech therapist for him, we are not alone many lockdown kids are same.

[elishabuckinx]

I never knew "ah" for things wasn't so normal! That as well as the other signs is what my 2.5 year old does!

[Teagenjo]

I have my 2 year old in early intervention. She has taught me lots of exercises that I do with my some of random times of the day. He really loves the interaction and engagement. He thinks it’s fun and probably isn’t aware that he’s learning. I see the progress little by little everyday so I’m completely encouraged to take 10 mines out the day a few times a day and sing sings and teach him words and phrases. He may not say the words but I can hear him babbling the melody. It’s so cute. I taught him to clap today which is big bc soon he will see that as a way to show excitement. Slowly he’s checking his milestones off the chart.

[knicks]

This is one of your best videos like this. The graphics and music are a nice touch and you spent more time giving out information than promoting your course. I am just one person, but I really liked the format of this video and noticed the increased production value!

[millennialElder]

Omg youre whole video is for me i swear! My son is 21mo and doesnt say words. He babbles like no others business, but doesnt say any words. He is VERY aggressive and has slapped me right in the face! I can tell he is frustrated that he cant speak. Its alot of dadadadadauuuhhuhuhhh.. or varying pitches of uhhh.. and cant make the p or w sound. We had an evaluation last week, so hopefully well be seeing a speech therapist soon. They said there is only one in our town. I work with him at home and watch ms. Rachel on youtube. Pray for us.

[maharatatfalna]

You are wonderful excellent information
I am a speech therapist from Egypt

[renatoboymanila]

Thank You So Much, you gave us hope. 💓

[buckkylem]

It’s the best feeling when you come to these videos concerned and leave relieved. 14 months-16 words, right on track. Just frustrated none of them are “mama” lol

[carolpilbasian]

Would love to see a collab with you and a child psychologist talking about some of the differences between speech delay and things like autism or attachment disorders in toddlers.

[bdowiemama]

I think speech issues are the hardest thing for both kids and parents to go through. I never realized how difficult the English language is to speak until I had kids. It has caused so much frustration. It effects literally everything.

I always worry if kids will make fun of him or if the teacher won't like him if she can't understand him. I didn't discipline him correctly as a toddler bc he didn't speak and I didn't know if he understood the rules. So this led to behavior issues. I even regret his name bc he can't say it. He can write it though. He yells at us sometimes bc "we can't hear him" so I have to explain it's annunciation, not sound. We spent literally 20 min. trying to decipher "look at that dirt pile" while driving on the highway. 🤣 I try to make a joke out of it, but then worry he's looking at it like teasing. Just a lot of emotions with it. I know it's common and most kids outgrow it. It's just frustrating, especially when I see 1 year olds talking in complete sentences. My kid didn't talk until he was close to 3.

[nishagc]

Thank you so much ☺️ you make me feel relief.

[joelowens]

The way our pediatrician mentioned to us is that yes in many cases the baby or toddler will catch up on their own BUT the thought is the things that seem behind some to do speech, physical therapy or both so that when you get to pre-k the child worse case is even to ahead of the curve instead of counting on catching up naturally and being behind the curve. Then everything can amplify in a negative and bigger way when they go to pre-k.