Is my toddler's speech delayed? Signs, milestones, and when to get help

Few things worry a parent more than a quiet toddler. "Should she be saying more by now?" "He points and grunts but won't use words — is that normal?" If that's you, take a breath: you're asking exactly the right question, and asking it early is the best thing you can do.

A rough guide to speech milestones

Children develop at their own pace, so treat this as a general guide, not a scorecard. Still, these are the rough markers most professionals watch for:

Signs worth paying attention to

• Not babbling or using gestures by around 12 months
• Few or no words by 18 months, or losing words they used to have
• Not putting two words together by age 2
• Hard for family to understand at age 2, or for strangers at age 3
• Rarely making eye contact, pointing, or trying to share attention with you
• Not responding to their name or to simple requests

What to do next

You don't need a diagnosis to start. A free developmental screening or a speech-language screening can tell you whether your child would benefit from support. If your child is under three, California's early-intervention system (the Regional Center of the East Bay) can evaluate at no cost. If they're three or older, your school district and community providers can help.

How we help

At School of Imagination & Happy Talkers in Dublin, our licensed speech-language pathologists work with late talkers and children with language, articulation, social-communication, and feeding challenges — through play, in a warm setting, with families as partners. And because our speech, OT, and behavior teams work under one roof, a child who needs more than one kind of support gets a coordinated plan.

This article is provided as a community resource by School of Imagination & Happy Talkers and is general information, not medical advice. Every child is different — please consult a qualified professional about your child.