Children reaching age 3 without being able to say a word, survey finds

[Sol Invictus]

Children are reaching the age of 3 without being able to say a word, according to a survey that also found boys are almost twice as likely to struggle to learn to speak as girls.

The average age for a baby to speak their first word is 10 to 11 months. However, a significant minority (4 per cent) of parents reported that their child said nothing until they were 3.

Toddlers between the ages of 2 and 3 should be able to use up to 300 words, including adjectives, and be able to link words together, according to I CAN, the children’s communication charity. Late speech development can lead to problems, such as low achievement at school or mental health problems.

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[Beorn]

Late speech development can lead to problems, such as low achievement at school or mental health problems.

Haha! Or is it the incessant beaking of society into the natural expression of a child which demeans its soul?

Lee Rose reached the age of 3 able to say only five words. His parents were not worried. “I had no other children to compare him with and his father was a late talker,” said Emma Rose, from Plymouth.

Well there you go. Like father like son. Why involve the beaks?

My eldest child spoke a completely different language/dialect/? to what she was being taught by daily interaction with her family and friends, yet to those who knew her well she could sing you a song or tell you tale that would make you cry with tears of joy or sadness.

To think they would want to sit her down and regulate her with "speech therapy".

She is five now and can talk clearer and more pronounced than any other of her classmates. She is in the top set of her class and is racing away with her reading levels. Her birthday party is this Friday and she can't wait to open her 40+ presents her friends will bring her.

Damn that natural process we humans have had for hundreds of thousands of years.

[Skandi]

I did have speech therapy I started talking at about 12 months but then stopped and refused to say a word until I was 3and a half. It doesn't seem to slow you down though, i could read by age 4 (basics obviously)

[Brynhild]

There is also that possible connection to slow talkers and Autism, since the number of Autistic people recorded are on the rise, and they are renowned for late speech. My youngest son was a late talker and we thought he was deaf. Sessions with speech pathologists and two paediatricians later, Autism was finally diagnosed. His speech is quite good and his communications have greatly improved, although there is still a long way to go.