How many children have language delays?
Language development evolves with widely varying rates and sequences, and how we define a “language delay” also varies greatly, not only from state to state but also from parent to parent. Studies indicate that 1 to 18% of those less than 6 years old have a speech or language delay or disorder. Sixty-seven to eighty-four percent of those with language delays or disorders are boys.
What about a “WAIT & SEE” approach?
Of those under 2 years not yet talking who did not receive intervention
- 66% remained delayed at 3 years
- 50% remained delayed at 4 years
- 25% remained delayed at 5 years (the other 75% were within normal limits, yet skewed toward the low end of the range).
Research Summary:
Michael Guralnick’s landmark 1997 book, “The Effectiveness of Early Intervention” examined 15 studies of young children with language delays. Techniques of therapy included: “Naturalistic” play-based therapy, child-directed therapy, antecedents and consequences with primary and secondary rewards, language immersion, and structured approaches including objective targets and arranged environments. The duration of the interventions ranged from 6 weeks to one year. The studies included children who had language delays only, as well as language- with other developmental delays. The therapists were Speech Pathologists AND/OR Teachers, and parent consultation was always utilized. The outcomes of the studies were as follows:
Child Initiated……………. more effective and greater generalization than …… Adult Initiated
Integrated…………………… more effective and greater generalization than …… Pull-out therapy
Activity Based…………….. more effective and greater generalization than …… Direct Intervention
Modeling w/prompt…….… more effective and greater generalization than…… Modeling alone
Interventions resulted in positive changes in parent-child interactions, and interventions resulted in significant improvement on standardized tests.
