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Early Language

Late Talkers

Support for early language growth, connection, and communication confidence.

Overview

Language Milestones

Every child develops at their own pace, but communication milestones can help families understand the skills that typically emerge as toddlers grow.

Around 12-18 months

  • Points and uses gestures to communicate
  • Follows simple directions
  • Understands words for familiar people, objects, and actions
  • Begins using words along with sounds and gestures to communicate
  • Uses communication to request, comment, and interact with others

Around 18-24 months

  • Continues learning and using new words
  • Begins combining two or more words, such as "more milk" or "Mommy go"
  • Uses words for different purposes, such as requesting, commenting, or asking for help
  • Understands an increasing variety of words and simple directions
  • Uses gestures and spoken language together to communicate

Around 2-3 years

  • Uses word combinations more frequently
  • Continues rapidly adding new words
  • Begins using longer phrases and sentences
  • Uses language for an increasing variety of purposes
  • Understands increasingly complex questions and directions

Children may reach individual milestones earlier or later than others. If your child is not meeting several communication milestones for their age, has lost skills they previously had, or you simply have concerns about their communication development, a speech-language evaluation can help you determine the next step.

Common signs

When families may want a closer look

  • Your child uses fewer words than expected for their age
  • Words are not yet being combined into simple phrases
  • Gestures, pointing, or shared attention feel limited
  • It is hard to tell what your child wants or is trying to communicate
  • Your child becomes frustrated when trying to communicate
  • Understanding of simple words or directions seems inconsistent
  • You feel unsure whether communication development is on track

A child does not need to show every sign for support to be useful. If communication feels confusing or delayed, an evaluation can help families understand what is happening and what next steps make sense.

How support may help

Speech-language therapy can focus on...

  • Expanding early words, gestures, and play-based communication
  • Strengthening understanding of language during daily routines
  • Building back-and-forth interaction, attention, and engagement
  • Coaching caregivers so support feels natural and realistic at home

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a late talker?

A late talker is a young child, usually between 18 and 30 months, who is learning spoken language more slowly than expected. Many late talkers understand language well and have age-appropriate play, social, and thinking skills, but they use fewer words or word combinations than expected.

By around age 2, many children have a growing vocabulary and are starting to combine words into short phrases such as "more milk," "Mommy go," or "big dog." One common guideline for late language emergence is fewer than 50 words and no two-word combinations by 24 months, though word count is only one part of communication development.

Some late talkers catch up on their own, while others continue to have speech or language difficulties. If you are concerned, a speech-language evaluation can look at words, understanding, gestures, play, interaction, and other early communication skills to help determine the next step.

How much should a 2-year-old talk?

By age 2, many children are using around 50 words or more and beginning to combine two or more words into short phrases, such as "more milk," "Mommy go," or "big dog." They are also using language for different purposes, such as requesting, commenting, getting someone’s attention, and expressing their wants and needs.

There is a wide range of typical language development, and word count is only one part of the picture. A speech-language pathologist also looks at how a child understands language, learns new words, uses gestures, combines words, plays, interacts with others, and communicates during everyday activities.

If your 2-year-old is using fewer words than expected, is not yet combining words, has difficulty understanding language, or you simply have concerns, a speech-language evaluation can help you better understand their development and decide whether extra support may help.

Questions about early language?

We're here to help you decide whether an evaluation would be helpful.

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