If your toddler boy has a speech delay, then you probably want to know everything you can about it. This includes know the reason behind his speech delay. Although a medical professional is the only person who can give you an accurate cause behind your child’s speech delay, you can educate yourself on the most common causes of toddler speech delays in boys.
How to Cope with a Speech Delay
Toddler Speech Delay Causes
Autism
Autism is a developmental disorder that affects a child’s social and language development. Oftentimes, autism can be left undiagnosed due to the broad range of behaviors that the Autism Spectrum Disorder can cover. If your toddler boy has a speech delay, it could be due to that fact that he is undiagnosed with ASD.
Hearing Loss
Hearing loss can play a major role in a speech delay. If your child has even a small amount of hearing loss due to an ear infection or medication side effect, then your toddler is unable to accurately hear the spoken language around him. Since children learn from listing and doing, this can greatly affect how your toddler learns to communicate. If your child has a speech delay, then you might want to talk to your family doctor about conducting a hearing test to check for any issues.
Learning Disabilities
A wide variety of learning disabilities can also cause a speech delay in your toddler. A learning disability can affect your toddler’s ability to recognize spoken language and give it meaning. Without meaning, your child is unlikely to use the words he hears, which causes a delay in developing his speech.
Oral Problems
The physiology of your child’s mouth can be the root of the problem when it comes to your toddler’s speech delay. If there is a problem with your toddler’s tongue movement or palate formation, then he might be unable to form words and sounds correctly. This can discourage your toddler from developing his speech, which can lead to a delay.
Dealing with a Speech Delay in a Tongue-Tied Toddler
If you’re looking for a great resource on how to recognize developmental delays and determine if it relates to your toddler speech delay issue, check out WebMD’s parenting guide to recognizing developmental delays in your child.
Does your toddler have a speech delay? We’d love to hear about your experiences.
My son spoke 8 words only and keeps repeating them, he’s 2 years old now and talks a lot of gibberish all the times in addition to those words. Should i consider consulting a therapist or should i wait? Thank you
That is very helpful! I had no idea!
My son still stutters slightly at times. He always hated it when he was growing up, and really doesn’t like it now.
My son had a speech delay and we worked very hard with speech language therapists to fix the problem. It is so important to recognize the issue and them work with an expert on a solution.
This is very important info. I really appreciate it. Thanks
Definitely great tips! My friend’s son had a speech delay, but he’s starting to catch on now :P
You have some great tips! Paying attention to your child’s behavior early on can really help catch problems that could become major ones later in life.
I have a nephew that was really outgoing when I first met him (he was 6 or 7 when my husband and I met). After his parents divorced, he really regressed to the point that I thought he was autistic. You cannot rule out traumatic events like this in a child’s life either.
HI Olfa – Is that little guy cute or what –
My son started asking for water early – but then became stubborn and stopped talking for what seemed like forever — I knew he could, but…Once he started talking regularly, I realized he also thinks a lot beforehand – interesting – thank you for sharing
Very helpful. A lady at my church ahs a son with speech delays too. I will have to share with her
This is a helpful list. It can be a scary thing when your child is not achieving a milestone.
My son had had fluid in his ears and it has made his speech not so great. Now that the fluid is gone I have to put him in speech therapy.
Is this something your pediatrician found?? I have a 19 month old who doesn’t really talk. We are in the first steps of therapy, but I have wondered about his ears. But the pediatrician says they look good. Should I see Nan ENT???
Thanks
Vicki S.
My son is 21 monthd and is not talking. We recently had him to a hearing clinic to have his hearing tested. It was a 3-part test and one was to test for fluid. If you were to talk to your doctor to be referred for a hearing test, it would probably be similar.
My friend’s son has speech delay and speech therapy has done wonders to help him catch up with his speech
When my oldest was little I thought he did so I put him in speech therapy. After a few sessions they told me nope he is just fine he’s just quiet! So I guess I haven’t ever really dealt with this!
I went to have my son tested at 18 months. He only had 5 words and my oldest had twice as many by his first birthday.
This is great information. My great nephew is almost 4 and he hardly talks. We have been encouraging his mother to take him to the doctor to have his hearing checked. She just keeps saying he is delayed, but I think something else is going on.
Hi my son is almost 4 year’s he’s been tested for everything, with no answer’s. They say it’s only a developmental delay. He’s in speech therapy, I would recommend that. He slowly picks up word’s. Email me you’d like katkev0303@yahoo.com.
Katie
This is really helpful reference of signs to look for. It would be to any parent’s advantage to catch these things early.
My son had a speech delay as a child. It turned out it was because he couldn’t hear.
My daughter didn’t start speaking until 2 years old. I questioned the doctor about all of these things and luckily, she was just taking her time. Good tips.
This is some great information for parents of boys. It’s important to be able to identify if they reach the milestones early on.
When my Granddaughter was young, she had poor hearing due to ear infections. She ended up with tubes and you would never know it today.
There are other reasons for speech delays as well, such as those resulting from developmental delays. As a parent of a child with special needs I’ve found it best to not do too much “investigation” until you’ve started working with a doctor.
My children did not have issues but my niece does. She is two and very behind and now in speech therapy to figure out what is going on. Im passing along the info for them to check out.
I do know a one and a half year old who is just now starting to talk. Makes me wonder.
My son is in speech therapy for the second time in his life. The first time around because he was not talking and now because of certain letters just don’t come out right. This article is very interesting to read. I will be checking some of these out myself with my son.
This is very interesting. My son had lots of ear infections as a very young child and he did have a speech delay.