Do Speech-Delayed Toddlers Catch Up?

When we meet parents of toddlers who are struggling with language development, they usually have one main question for us: Will my language-delayed toddler catch up?! Every toddler is different, so we can never say for sure—but there is a lot we can say to help them decide on the best course of action for their little one.

If your toddler is a late talker, or if you’re even just worried they might be, this post is for you. We’ll walk you through exactly the information we’d share if you were sitting in our therapy room or pulling us aside at a mom group. You’ll learn what the odds are that your toddler will catch up, what your next steps should be, and why we recommend what we recommend.

Let’s get right to it:

Do Late Talkers Catch Up?

They might! It would be nice to have a crystal ball, right? But here’s what we know:

70-80% of late talkers will catch up (Whitehouse et. al, 2011). “Late talker” refers to a little one younger than 30 months old who is meeting milestones in other domains, including understanding of language, just not in expressive communication. But unfortunately, that does mean that 20-30% will continue to struggle.

Also, when speech-delayed toddlers do catch up, some research suggests they may go on to have subtle difficulty with grammar, vocabulary, and reading and writing skills when they go to school (Roos & Weismer, 2008). If your toddler is behind in their speech development, early intervention really is key!

How Do I Know If My Speech-Delayed Toddler Catch Up?

As you hypothesize whether or not your toddler will be part of that 70-80%, one thing to keep in mind is the trajectory of their progress. Are they adding new words every day, or have their skills plateaued a bit? Look at the language mini-milestones, too:

Are they imitating?
Are they using gestures?
Do they have a strong understanding of language?
Are they using a variety of vowels and consonants?

Your toddler’s speech and language progress can be an indication of the level of support they’ll need—but know that it’s not a guarantee one way or the other.

When To Get Support for Your Speech-Delayed Toddler

If you’re worried that your toddler might be speech-delayed or you already know they are, it’s never too early to get support from your pediatrician or a speech-language pathologist.

We know it’s easy to worry that you’re overreacting and that some professionals might still tell you to “wait and see” what happens. But the truth is, we’ve never met a parent that wished they hadn’t gotten their child support. In fact, it’s usually the opposite: Parents wish they would have sought support as soon as they had a suspicion that their child was struggling with communication skills. The reason why has to do with toddler brain development—and the developmental importance of the first 3 years of their life.

Toddler Brain & Language Development

In the first three years of life, your child’s brain grows faster than it ever will again. The brain triples in size during the first two years of life, with 85% of the core structure of the brain fully developed before our babes turn three! The brain is capable of so much, especially during these early years where neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to learn, grow, and make new connections) is so strongly on our side.

We know this can all feel a little intense, but we actually find this information hopeful! And we hope you will, too. Because when neuroplasticity is on your side and you can find out how best to support your toddler’s language development, you’re much more likely to see better long-term outcomes! Even if your toddler is speech-delayed right now.

Early Intervention for Toddlers with Speech Delays

Because our children’s early years are so critical when it comes to development, early intervention—seeking support as soon as you notice your toddler struggling—is key. Early intervention moves the needle way more than waiting to see if they catch up.

If your toddler is one whose speech development would have eventually caught up anyway, they will catch up much faster if they get support in these early years. And, if your toddler is one whose speech delay won’t just catch up with time, then early intervention is what they’ll need

Preparing for Toddler Speech Therapy

We know speech therapy can feel like an overwhelming to-do if you aren’t familiar with the process. Especially as the parent of a toddler who, we’re willing to bet, is BUSY! You probably can’t imagine them sitting still for an hour-long, therapy-style appointment. We totally get it. But we really want you to know that for children, speech therapy feels more like play than therapy. We promise it’s SO fun and SO helpful—for your toddler and for you. Learning how to best support your child will feel really good.

Next Steps: Seek Support & Know The Milestones

If your toddler is speech-delayed, they might catch up naturally. But there’s a 20-30% chance they’ll continue to struggle without support. And because we can’t predict which toddlers fall into that 20-30%, we recommend that all parents of toddlers with speech delays seek an evaluation with a speech-language pathologist as soon as they notice there’s a problem.

Early intervention is so important because, during the first three years of life, your child’s brain is growing faster than it ever will again. So while we can’t predict which path your toddler is on, we can promise that you won’t regret getting them support early either way. Remember: Even if they can catch up on their own, they’ll only get there faster with help.

We also recommend gaining a good understanding of what you can do at home to help support their language & speech development.

Learn The Toddler Talking Milestones

If you’re worried your toddler is falling behind or you want a clear picture of what “on-track” looks like, download our free toddler talking milestones. This way, you’ll know which skills your toddler has down pat and which ones you can support them in learning next.

Get The Talking Milestones

LEARN FROM US

If you’re looking for more support, we are here to help.

TalkToddler is our online, self-paced course that will teach you how to help your toddler talk and communicate more. We don’t want you to be feeling worried or unsupported when it comes to your child’s communication development. We’ve worked with families of toddlers for a combined 20+ years and we’d love to help support your family, too!