A mom is in need of some advice and guidance regarding her two-year-old daughter’s speech development and talking milestones. Amber Temerity Lozzi weighs in with some expert advice.
A Mamas Uncut Facebook fan wrote in asking for advice from the community about her two-year-old daughter, who, this mom says, only “says about 15 words including mama and daddy, and 3 sentences.” This mom wants to know if that’s OK, or if her daughter is perhaps experiencing a speech delay. Read Amber’s response below.
A Mamas Uncut Facebook Fan asks:
“Should I be concerned with how little my 2-year-old is talking? My daughter says about 15 words including mama and daddy, and 3 sentences. I’m just curious if she could have a speech delay? She used a TON of gibberish, she can go on and on… She can’t communicate her needs to us and still just cries and screams. She listens to commands and seems to understand us when we talk, but isn’t using her words. She is 2 years old and 4 months.”
– Mamas Uncut Community Member
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Advice from Amber Temerity Lozzi
Given her age and the number of words you say she can use, she would certainly be considered a “late talker.”
That said, speech delays are common and not all children develop according to schedule, so your daughter could just be an outlier. Other kids start talking early and then face a regression later on in development. If she’s interactive with you, expresses emotions with her face and body language, and plays by herself and other kids/people, she’s almost certainly just a late bloomer.
One practice that may help expand her vocabulary is to ensure that you yourself are using complete sentences. Instead of holding up a cup and saying “Juice?” Try a full question, such as “Would you like some juice?” You could also take this one step further and speak out loud more than you might usually. An example of this would be while making breakfast together, you could say “I am going to get two eggs from the refrigerator” before getting said eggs.
This might also be a good time to try to teach her sign language to communicate her needs. Many preschools and daycares will teach kids to use signs to state what they want before they can talk and after, as again, some children simply develop differently. You might find out ten years from now that your daughter is a great orator and dominates the speech team!
Overall, it’s never bad idea to talk to a speech therapist sooner rather than later. They can equip you with additional tools as they deem necessary, and if nothing else, can assuage your worries.
[Images via Envato Elements.]
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