Speech and Language Problems in Children

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Basics

• Summary
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• Treatments and Therapies

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• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Children vary in their development of speech and language skills. Health care professionals have lists of milestones for what's normal. These milestones help figure out whether a child is on track or if he or she may need extra help. For example, a child usually has one or two words like "Hi," "dog," "Dada," or "Mama" by her first birthday.

Sometimes a delay may be caused by hearing loss. Other times it may be due to a speech or language disorder. Children who have speech disorders may have trouble making speech sounds correctly. They may hesitate or stutter when talking. Children with language disorders might have trouble understanding what others say or difficulty sharing their thoughts.

If you have concerns about your child's speech or language development, talk to your child's health care provider.

NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Start Here

• Delayed Speech or Language Development (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Speech and Language Delay (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Speech and Language Developmental Milestones (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
• Speech and Language Impairments (Center for Parent Information and Resources) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Speech-Language Therapy (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)

Specifics

• Developmental Dyspraxia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Language Delays in Toddlers: Information for Parents (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Specific Language Impairment (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
• Your Starting Guide To Childhood Apraxia of Speech (Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America)

Genetics

• FOXP2-related speech and language disorder: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• MED13L syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• PACS1 syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• SATB2-associated syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Language Disorders (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Hannah Grace is an art therapist.
• Article: Features of speech and swallowing dysfunction in pre-ataxic spinocerebellar ataxia type...
• Article: Severe childhood speech disorder: Gene discovery highlights transcriptional dysregulation.
• Speech and Language Problems in Children -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Directory of Organizations (Deafness and Communication Disorders) (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Children

• Going to a Speech Therapist (Nemours Foundation)
• Stuttering and Speech Problems (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation)

Patient Handouts

• Language disorder - children (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Speech disorders - children (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish