Speech: Three to Four Years

At age three your child should have a vocabulary of 300-500 words. He’ll be speaking in complete sentences of five to six words. You’ll find that he uses voice inflection and imitates adult speech. Children at this age are often chatterboxes. But don’t discourage their use of speech they are practicing and learning. You’ll often hear your pet phrases coming out of their mouths or comments that you don’t want repeated. So it is important to watch what you say as a parent. A stranger should be able to understand most of what your child says. But up to half … Continue reading

Speech: Two to Three Years

Between your child’s second and third birthday you will see a speech explosion as your child’s vocabulary grows from about 50 words to 400 words. She’ll start using sentences with more words. Instead of saying “More milk,” she’ll say, “I want more milk.” The use of pronouns will become common. He will start using language to express and communicate his desires, thoughts, feelings, and ideas. At this age your toddler should understand two-step commands. If you say, “Get your jacket and wait by the door,” he should be able to follow your instructions. It doesn’t mean that he sometimes won’t … Continue reading

Speech: One to Two Years

Between the ages of one and two your child’s comprehension of language grows by leaps and bounds. You no longer have to wonder if he understands you because he will show you by his actions that he does. When you announce it’s time to go, you’ll find him getting his shoes or waiting by the door. If you ask if she wants a snack she’ll respond yes or no. During this time your child should start being able to follow simple commands such as “Give me your cup,” and answer questions like “Where is your nose?” Although your child may … Continue reading

Causes of Speech and Language Delays

Speech and language delays can be caused by a number of things. This blog will describe the possible causes. Only evaluation by a professional can determine the actual cause of your child’s speech delay. Mental Retardation Children who have some type of mental retardation count for 50% of speech delay cases. According to the American Pediatric Association a child who is mentally retarded “demonstrates global language delay and also has delayed auditory comprehension and delayed use of gestures.” Which means that the child has been continually slower than average in speech development. The child also does not make use of … Continue reading

Speech: Birth to 12 months

Babies begin by hearing other people make sounds. In the beginning the tone and pitch of the voice is most important. If your voice is calm and soothing your baby is comforted. It is important that you vary the pitch and tone of your voice so your child learns voice inflection. By about 4 months he is starting to listen to the actual sounds that you are making. At this age a child usually start to babble, trying to imitate the sounds she hears you make. When your child makes a sound listen to him and talk to him throughout … Continue reading

Speech and Language Delays

Speech and language are separate things although they usually develop in conjunction with each other. Speech is a child’s ability to say words and express himself verbally. Language is the process of expressing and receiving language in a meaningful way both verbal and non-verbal. Usually a child can understand more than they can speak but by age three speech and language typically catch up to each other. Children who have a speech and language delay cannot express themselves and also have a lower comprehension of other’s speech. This delay is easier for parents to see because not only can their … Continue reading

Child Speech and Language Development

Many parents wonder is my child’s speech developing normally? Does my child understand everything she should? Review the following general guidelines for speech and language development and find out if your child is on track. 6 months Babbling and using a number of different sounds like ma, da, ba, etc. Responds to his name Responds to human voices by turning his head Responds to the tone of the voice whether friendly or angry 12 months Uses one or more words with meaning (the same word is used to mean the same thing each time), may be a word fragment such … Continue reading

Conjoined Tucker Twins Successfully Separated

Two little girls started their lives connected to one another in a way that few siblings experience. They were conjoined twins. Allison and Amelia Tucker have been successfully surgically separated from each other. The twins need to undergo some therapy, but are doing well. Allison June Tucker, and Amelia Lee Tucker, were born as conjoined twins. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, this is rare. It only occurs in one out of every 200,000 live births. Their survival rate is not very high. Somewhere between 40% and 60% of conjoined twins are stillborn. Another 35% survive until birth, … Continue reading

Interview with Danyelle Ferguson – Diagnosing Autism

Today I’m joined by Danyelle Ferguson, author of the new resource book, (dis)Abilities and the Gospel, for parents and teachers who have students with a variety of cognitive disorders. I asked Danyelle to share some information with us today. The things she shares will be incredibly useful for both homeschool and public school parents. Danyelle, when did you first realize your son should be tested for autism – how old was he, what were the tell-tale signs, etc.? Actually, we thought our son just had speech delay. Looking back now, we had a rather typical experience. From birth, our son … Continue reading

Money Can Make You a Mommy

They say money can’t buy happiness, but evidently it can buy you motherhood. Shortly after Libby blogged about Celine Dion’s latest pregnancy announcement, I commented about the mega-singing star’s sixth try at conceiving a child. Dion and her husband, Rene Angelil have a 9-year-old son who was conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, the couple wanted to add to their family, so for the past year, Dion has undergone a series of IVF attempts. According to the songstress, the sixth time was the charm. After an arduous journey and multiple failed attempts, Dion is now pregnant with twins, and … Continue reading