"My Son is 20 months old, and not talking much. Should I wait to give him some more time to catch up, or have him Evaluated by a Speech-Language Pathologist?"
There is great variation in language development, especially in children between one to two years of age. Is your son following directions? Does he appear to understand what you are saying? Does he have strong social-interaction skills? If you answered 'yes' to each of these questions, it's possible that your son may have stronger receptive language abilities than expressive abilities. The ability to understand language, is known as receptive language while the ability to use language (produce words) is known as expressive language.
However, it is important to note that your son has surpassed the important milestone for language development of eighteen months. Between 18-24 months of age, a child is expected to have an expressive vocabulary of about 40-50 words, and to begin combining words into two-word combinations, e.g., “My ball.” That said, it would be beneficial to have your son evaluated by a Speech-Language Pathologist, to obtain a clear picture of where he stands in terms of his overall speech and language abilities and determine strategies for you to use with him at home, that will be beneficial for encouraging his language growth.
For more information on our Evaluations & Therapy, or to schedule a visit for your child, visit www.TeamChatterboxes.com
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