Early Intervention – Why It Matters

Some of the key milestones parents look out for are related to communication. From first sounds to first words to first time combining words, each milestone is often monitored closely and celebrated by parents and caregivers. However, some children are late in meeting those milestones, which can lead to concerns.

Early intervention usually happens between birth and 3 years, but can also happen later in childhood. It aims to build functional language, often focusing on the child being able to communicate using single words and word combinations. Parents are closely involved, and speech therapists give them strategies to support language development at home.

How young is too young?

Many parents who come to speech therapy tell similar stories – a friend told them their child didn’t speak until they were four; a relative urged the parent not to worry; a GP recommended waiting until the child is at least three before accessing speech therapy. Despite these attempts to ease parents’ minds, many remain concerned about their child’s language development. So how young is too young to see a speech therapist?

There is no minimum age for speech therapy. It’s also important to remember there are no clear signs of which children will still have a language delay further down the track. Because of this, the ‘wait and see’ approach is never recommended for language development. In determining if your child should see a speech therapist, a few things to consider are:

• If your child has met their milestones. Milestones are not the average for children of that age. They are the lower limit of what we would expect for a child of that age. If your child is not reaching early milestones, it can be an indicator that they may need extra support to develop their language. Download our language milestones chart.
• If your child has a history of ear infections. Hearing difficulties are a big contributor to language delays! If your child has a history of ear infections or fluid build-up in the ears, it can have a big impact on the child’s language development as they miss out on weeks or months of exposure to language.
• If your child is getting highly frustrated. Children with language delays, whether at 12, 15 or 18 months, often get very frustrated at not being able to communicate their needs and wants. This is not only upsetting for the child, it can also be distressing for the family.
• If you have concerns. Parents know their children best. If you have concerns about your child’s language development, we always recommend an assessment with a speech therapist. While not every quiet baby has a language delay, it can be difficult to determine what’s a quiet baby and what is a language delay or disorder. The speech therapist can then give you strategies to work on at home, recommend speech therapy sessions, or refer you to other specialists if needed.

Why early intervention matters

Research suggests 70 to 80% of children with language delays will catch up to their peers. However, a significant proportion (20 to 30%) will not, and there is no clear way to tell who will and who won’t. Early intervention benefits both the child and the family, helping achieve communication success and decreasing frustration. Some of the benefits include:

• Therapy during an important stage of brain development. Children develop a large part of their communication skills between birth and 3 years. During this window, children’s brains are much more flexible and can learn skills faster than later in life.
• Building communication skills. Children begin communicating before they are even talking, using things such as body language, crying, laughing and facial expression to communicate what they need and want. Communication is part of everyday life from birth, and without it everything can be a big challenge. Early intervention builds on and encourages those early communication skills, both verbal and nonverbal.
• Parent strategies. A key part of early intervention is involving parents and giving them practical strategies for home and out in the community. These strategies are designed to fit easily into day-to-day routines. Working alongside families gives the best results.
• Providing other communication methods. For some children, language may take longer to develop even with speech therapy. Speech therapists can work with children and families to develop non-verbal methods of communication such as visuals or gestures. This can reduce frustration and help children get their needs and wants across.
• Social involvement. Communication is a big part of social interaction from a young age. Children with language delays at a young age can be at risk of struggling to play with their peers. As children get older, the communication expectations in play become more complex. Early intervention supports the child to use both verbal and nonverbal communication skills to interact with their peers.