Early Intervention is Key!
What is early intervention?
Early intervention is support or services given to little ones that have delays in specific areas, including communication. Therapy may include speech, occupational, physical, behavioral, and more depending on the type of services needed. Children 0-3 years of age are eligible for free services through your state if determined eligible for therapy through an evaluation. You can search for “Early Intervention” and include your state to find specific information. Private therapists are also available to provide speech and language therapies, as well as other services.
Why is early intervention so important?
The early years are so crucial for brain development in children. These first few years are when the brain is making the most neural connections, including communication, sensory, and cognitive functioning. After these first three years, the neural connections slow down, which makes it harder to change brain functioning. Research has shown that these early years are the foundation for future communication skills.
What if your child is not meeting a milestone?
Any time you are concerned about your child’s speech and language development, you should reach out to your pediatrician and/or a speech-language pathologist.
Thinking about taking the “wait and see” approach?
Something to keep in mind is that babies develop very quickly, and each milestone is a stepping stone to the next! While a child may eventually catch up, each skill that does not develop is holding up another language milestone dependent on prior skills. Research suggests that 40-50% of late talkers do NOT catch up on their own, and early intervention can improve developmental outcomes in children (Paul, 1991). Something to think about: If your 18-month-old isn’t saying 10 words, it may be challenging for them to reach 50 words by 2 years. And by 2 years we want children to start putting two words together. A two-year-old needs to have those 50+ vocabulary words to build their language skills! So think of each milestone as a stepping stone to the next! Early intervention is KEY to bridging gaps that may be preventing your child from moving forward in development.
What is a late talker?
A late talker is a child that has not met a verbal milestone within a specific age range but is meeting all other milestones.
Late Talkers
18-20 months: less than 10 words
21-24 months: less than 25 words
24-30 months: less than 50 words, not putting words together
*Late talkers are typically not delayed in other areas, including language.
Resources
References:
Bailey, D. B., Hebbeler, K., Spiker, D., Scarborough, A., Mallik, S., & Nelson, L. (2005). Thirty-six-month outcomes for families of children who have disabilities and participated in early intervention. Pediatrics, 116, 1346-1352.
Casto, G., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1986). The Efficacy of Early Intervention Programs: A Meta-Analysis. Exceptional Children, 52(5), 417–424.
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2008). InBrief: The science of early childhood development. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/download_file/- /view/64/
Hebbeler, K., Spiker, D., Bailey, D., Scarborough, A., Mallik, S., Simeonsson, R., & Singer, M. (2007). Early intervention for infants & toddlers with disabilities and their families: participants, services, and outcomes. Final report of the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS). Retrieved from http://www.sri.com/neils/pdfs/NEILS_Report_02_07_Final2. pdf
McLean, L. K., & Cripe, J. W. (1997). The effectiveness of early intervention for children with communication disorders. In M. J. Guralnick (Ed.), The effectiveness of early intervention (pp. 349–428). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development, Shonkoff JP, Phillips DA, eds. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2000.
Rosenberg, S., Zhang, D. & Robinson, C. (2008). Prevalence of developmental delays and participation in early intervention services for young children. Pediatrics, 121(6) e1503-e1509. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-1680
The Importance of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families, by NECTAC (2011)