Late Talkers and Late Bloomers

Language Impairments in Children

Definitions

  • Late Talkers: Children who fail to reach early milestones (e.g., 30-50 words by 18 months; two-word combinations by 24 months).

  • Late Bloomers: Children identified at around 2 years old who catch up to peers by age 5.

Key Statistics

  • 75%-85% of children identified as late talkers catch up to their peers.

  • 15%-25% may persist with language difficulties into middle childhood or adulthood.

Distinguishing Factors

True Late Talkers vs. Late Bloomers

  1. Receptive Language Delay: Difficulty understanding language.

  2. Gesture Use Delay: Struggles with conventional and symbolic gestures.

Assessments for Identification

  • MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI): Parent questionnaires on children's vocabulary comprehension, production, gestures, and grammar.

  • Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale (RITLS): Evaluates interaction, pragmatic skills, gesture skills, play skills, and both receptive and expressive language skills.

Preschool Language Impairment

  • Children may show support needs in:

    • Expressive language production.

    • Both expressive and receptive language skills.

  • Affects various areas of language:

    • Content (semantics)

    • Form (morphology, syntax, phonology)

    • Use (pragmatics)

Genetic Considerations

  • Specific Language Impairment (SLI) likely has a genetic component, as it tends to run in families.