All Entries in the "Receptive" Category

Guidelines for Referral for a Speech-Language Assessment for Toddlers

I recently found a great article written by Marilyn Agin, M.D., and author of The Late Talker.  It was written for a pediatrics journal, but it also has great information for parents who might be on the fence wondering if their child will catch up on his own, or if they should go ahead and be referred for a [...]

Ear Infections & Hearing Assessments in Toddlers

One of the standard recommendations during the diagnostic process for a late talking toddler is an audiological or hearing assessment.  If a baby can’t hear, he’s not going to learn to talk.  Now with universal hearing tests mandatory at birth in the United States, very few children with significant hearing losses are missed at birth. 
However, your child’s ability [...]

Teaching Your Toddler to Answer Questions - Receptive and Expressive Language Delay Issues

Many toddlers with language delays have difficulty learning to answer questions.  Common problems include:

Repeating or the last few words of the question rather than answering
Answering incorrectly such as shaking their heads “yes” when you ask them a question with 2 choices 
Giving an off-target response such as answering, “Two,” when you ask, “What’s your name?”
Not responding or ignoring questions

By 30 months of age, [...]

Helping Your Toddler Listen and Obey - Improving Receptive Language Skills in Your Young Child

I have seen many parents and daycare teachers label toddlers as “difficult” or a behavior problem when the real problem is that the child doesn’t understand and process language as well as other children his age.  Parents sometimes overestimate what their child who is not talking is able to understand.  When I was talking about this with a good friend of mine who is a developmental interventionist, [...]

Why Can’t My Child Talk? Common Types of Speech and Language Disorders

There are between 3 and 6 million children in the United States with  speech or language disorders.  As a pediatric speech-language pathologist specializing in early intervention , I work with children between birth and 3 years of age.  When I evaluate a child, after confirming parents’ suspicions that there is a definitive problem, the next question is usually some version [...]

Are My Child’s Language Skills Normal? Compare your child to the standards listed below.

Age Ranges

Minimal Expectations
(If your child cannot perform these skills by the end of the age range, an immediate referral to an early intervention program or speech-language pathologist is warranted.)

Typical Expectations
(Most children can perform these skills by the end of the age range.  In other words, this is “typical” or “normal” development.)
 

0-3 months

-Communicates with cries, [...]

What Doesn’t Work - Unproductive Strategies For Helping Toddlers Learn To Talk

(Edited with the addition of #9 on March 18. 2008.) 
Here’s what I’ve learned, the hard way unfortunately, about behaviors that do not help babies and toddlers learn to talk.  All of these are helpful for not only parents, but also professionals working with young children.  Most of these are common sense, but worth repeating.
1.  The adult interacting with the child is (yawn) boring.
As even two-year-olds know, interacting with a [...]

What Works - Strategies That Help Toddlers Learn to Talk

Here’s what I know after spending nearly 30 hours a week for the past 10 years in the homes of my little clients.  Listed below are the 10 best ways to entice a child to interact, then communicate, then (FINALLY) talk!
1.  Play, play, play, and when you’re tired of all that, play some more! 
You absolutely, positively have to [...]