20 – Month – Old Speech Delay – What Should I Do?

Parents worry about trivial matters concerning their child’s well-being. In addition, picky food choices, irregular sleeping patterns, and growth spurts are likely to happen as the child grows and matures.

All these sudden changes occurring in a baby can be intimidating for a parent as they go through many sleepless nights.

However, instead of putting themselves through extensive exhaustion, they must remember that these sudden mood changes or sleep regression are normal.

At times babies experience rapid physical growth in weight and height, while some suffer from delayed growth.

Thus, parents should never make the mistake of comparing their child’s growth with others.

This way, they’ll always be anxious and constantly worried. Instead, they should understand that every child grows and develops skills at a different pace. Some are quick learners, while some take time.

20 – Month – Old Speech Delay – What Should I Do?

When Does A Child Start Talking Properly?

A child’s speech skills typically develop between 1 to 2 years of age. During this time, their vocabulary increases tremendously, up to 100 words, and some are even capable enough to form two-word sentences.

Moreover, they can follow simple directions and name or point towards objects they know of. However, even when 20 months old, some children continue to babble. They typically point out objects or people their referring to but cannot speak clearly.

Delayed speech is quite normal among children belonging to this group of age. However, the situation becomes alarming when the child isn’t only talking but is also not responsive.

In this case, you might want to consult a doctor or speech pathologist who will help diagnose the issue (Read also: The 13 Signs of Autism in Toddlers Age 2).

What Could Be The Cause Of Delayed Speech In 20-Month-Olds?

There could be numerous reasons why your child is not ready to talk. For example, your child may take time to learn new things. So the following could be one of the reasons for delayed speech in your 2-year-old.

• Impaired Hearing:

Twenty months is quite early to detect hearing impairment in children. Parents are usually unaware of the issue until they notice that their child is not responding even when called. In addition to this, people must be extra careful if there is a history of hearing loss in the family.

Also, a child is likely not to hear if suffering from an ear infection. So whatever the case is, parents should have their child’s ear tested to prevent any problem that may hinder speech development.

• Excessive Affection:

Parents and older siblings at times do all the talking for the baby even when there is no verbal response from the baby. Although it is not bad, showing excessive affection may keep the child from speaking properly.

The child’s cognitive skills would still develop but may take time to communicate and increase the vocabulary. So it is advised to let your child speak even when he babbles. This way, he will not only learn new words but will be able to form sentences quickly.

• Oral Impairments:

Oral issues are quite common in children of 20 months of age. For example, problems like cleft palate and tongue ties could trouble your child to pronounce words. Such problems disturb the coordination between the brain, tongue, lips, and jaw, thus making it extremely difficult to produce speech sounds.

In addition, oral-motor problems delay speech and produce feeding difficulties. So, if you suspect any oral issue, you must take your child to the pediatrician, who may refer you to a speech specialist.

Things You Can Do To Treat Delayed Speech In Your 20-Month-Old

Here are some tips that would help enhance the speech skills of your child;

• Make sure to talk with your child a lot. By doing so, your child will not only learn new words but will gain a sense of forming sentences. Also, listen to what they say even though you can barely understand them.
• Try not to correct your child every time they mispronounce a word. So instead of correcting them, you should repeat the word out loud. This way, you will not only interrupt them while they’re talking but will help them learn the correct pronunciation.
• Reading is highly recommended to help improve your child’s speaking abilities. Parents are often advised to read books to their children and ask them questions. Reading helps with word recognition and will boost their speech confidence.
• Singing or making your child listen to nursery rhymes is one of the best ways to deal with delayed speech. Today, nursery rhymes are made on an entirely different level. The tunes and videos are so catchy that a child is naturally drawn to them.

Parents often mistake not looking at the child while conversing with them. The majority of the speech specialist’s advice talking to your child and looking at them when you speak.

It is because children who are 18-20 months old are capable of adopting things at a very fast pace. They can imitate and pick things quickly.

Hence, if you look at them while talking, they will watch your gestures intently. It will help them develop a sense of moving the mouth and tongue when forming or pronouncing words.