What constitutes a speech delay?

[slowburner]

It sounds a silly question but I am new to this aspect of delayed development and would like to seek further information. Every milestone chart I find has different information within it and I also know that every child is different. Especially after reading many of the links in my earlier post I realise that maybe I should not be just assuming my DD will get there in her own time, and perhaps I should tart to ask for a salt referral given the time it may take. DD suffered a major brain injury at birth and so we see her paed reasonably regularly even if our physio is less than effective! Also if the right side of her body is affected then it is the left hand side of the brain which has suffered damage, and that side controls speech.

So what is a delay? DD says no words, but on occasion seems to mimic the words we say to her in syllables and pitch. She also goes through stages where she desperately seems to want to say something and just babbles nonsense instead. She is very vocal, lots of ba, ma, da, ta, ga, duh, and two syllable babble. She says mama dada but not to us as such.

I should add that she is clearly working very hard on physical development, and I spoke very very late, then never shut up.

Thank you

How old is she?

Ah, yes, that would be useful, she is 15 months tomorrow :)

I would say keep a very close eye. Yes, all children are different, yes, they do develop in leaps and bounds, but quite often it overshadows the fact that some children do need help with speech and language, and early intervention is really important.
So if she is not saying anything by 18 months, don't wait- get a referral to SALT, get her checked by another paed.
And to answer your question- speech delay is when everything happens the way it should- cooing, babbling, syllables, words, phrases- but with delay. Disorder is when speech does not develop the way it should- not just in terms of timing, but in terms of sequence iyswim. Hope it helps;).

I think a SLT referral is definitely the way to go. As you know speech is very variable and the fact that she babbles so freely is a good indication that she will get there eventually. Speech is not just about words but also understanding and attaching words to objects/people in a meaningful way.

If she points and understands what you are saying to her and can follow simple instructions then those are all good signs. She is not that far behind anyway, but a SLT referral will hopefully assess your DD and give you some practical advice.

Thank you, we see her paed who is superb on Tuesday so I shall ask for his input into a salt referral. I think dd has an age appropriate level of receptive communication, certainly her nursery think that there isn't much to concern them in her understanding.

DD points at objects, knows the names of people and toys as well as her beloved doll, she knows how to carry out certain tasks like bring a toy, throw a ball, press a button, and also don't touch, stop, hot e.g oven door, let go, gentle e.g. when playing with her tiny cousins.