Late Talkers: There is usually an underlying reason for a delay in speech and language skills. Children at risk include those with any of the following conditions:

• premature birth or low birth weight
• complications during pregnancy or delivery
• unusually quiet babies
• family members with a history of speech or language problems
• family history of learning disabilities
• chronic ear infections

"You were a late talker and you turned out just fine." Many people feel this way. Unfortunately, the demands placed on children in school now are far different from the demands of school when you were a child. When you were a child, children in kindergarten were expected to listen to stories, paint, play and learn how to get along with each other. In kindergarten classrooms now, children are expected to read, write, spell and do math. All of these academic areas require the ability to understand and use language well.

What is normal? A chart of Developmental Speech/Language Milestones is available at the website of the American Speech Language Hearing Association. ASHA also offers suggestions for you to encourage speech and language development in your child. Speech/Language Activities

Under 3 Years - We provide evaluations and private speech/language therapy at our clinic for children under 3 years of age.

You may also contact First Steps Early Intervention Program if you are a resident of Indiana for information about services they provide for children birth to 3 years. Every state has its own early intervention program. Ask your pediatrician for information.

3 Years to 5 Years - We provide evaluations and private speech/language therapy at our clinic. Our speech-language pathologists have extensive experience with the needs of preschoolers.

You may also contact your local public school system for information about the services they provide for children 3 years of age and older.

Articulation Disorder: Usually one or more speech sound are produced incorrectly. Children typically follow a developmental path in acquiring speech sounds. For example, by age 4, most children use "k" and "g" correctly. By age 8, most children from homes where English is their first language have acquired all of the necessary speech sounds to speak Standard American English.

Other conditions that cause unintelligible speech:

Phonological Disorder: able to produce individual sounds correctly, but use speech error patterns that make speech difficult to understand. It is very common for a 3-year old to drop the last consonant sound in words, but by age 4, most children are consistently putting ending sounds on words.

Dysarthria: condition of oral-motor weakness that makes speech sound slurred.