Gifted children tend to begin talking early. While most children say their first word at around 1 year of age, gifted children may begin speaking when they are 9 months old. 2 Some parents report that their children said their first word even earlier than that, as early as 6 months of age.
Einstein syndrome is a condition where a child experiences late onset of language, or a late language emergence, but demonstrates giftedness in other areas of analytical thinking. A child with Einstein syndrome eventually speaks with no issues, but remains ahead of the curve in other areas.
Children with speech delay is one of the concerns for many parents. Many opinions believe that children with delayed speech affect intelligence. However, so far, there has been no research to prove that children with speech delay are less intelligent.
Delayed speech can also be a sign of intellectual disability in a child. In the case of intellectual disability, there may be a delay in the use of gestures and a generalized delay in reaching all developmental milestones. Children with intellectual disabilities may show an overall deficit in comprehension.
Many kids with speech delays have oral–motor problems. These happen when there's a problem in the areas of the brain responsible for speech. This makes it hard to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw to make speech sounds. These kids also might have other oral-motor problems, such as feeding problems.
Einstein, a certified genius, was also a late talker (according to some biographers). He didn't speak full sentences until he was 5 years old. Einstein's speech delay clearly wasn't an impediment to his intellectual prowess and awe-inspiring accomplishments.
Speech/Language Milestones
Boys tend to develop language skills a little later than girls, but in general, kids may be labeled "late-talking children" if they speak less than 10 words by the age of 18 to 20 months, or fewer than 50 words by 21 to 30 months of age.
Speak more slowly. According to research, you sound more intelligent if you speak relatively slowly. (Think of it as the Jeff Goldblum effect.) Speaking at a measured pace makes you seem smarter--as if your words are better thought-out (even if they aren't).
A delay in speech or language is one of the earliest signs we have for kids that do go on to get a diagnosis of ADHD later in childhood. In this 2012 study, researchers found that two-thirds of the elementary-aged kids with ADHD had a speech or language delay at 18 months.
Not necessarily. While speech delays, language delays, and learning differences are often a hallmark of ASD, a speech delay by itself does not mean a child has autism. In fact, there are key differences between communication delays caused by autism and other types of speech-language disorders.
Early Language Development
Gifted children tend to begin talking early. While most children say their first word at around 1 year of age, gifted children may begin speaking when they are 9 months old. 2 Some parents report that their children said their first word even earlier than that, as early as 6 months of age.
Causes of a speech delay
There are several things that can cause speech delays, such as hearing loss, physical problems in the roof of the mouth, learning disabilities, or certain diagnosable conditions like autism spectrum disorder or cerebral palsy.
Einstein did not start speaking until he was four, or so I was told by friends when they learned that Vincent, my toddler son, had a problem with his speech development. But it was of little comfort: I had not set out to raise another Einstein.
The risk of being a late talker at 24 months was significantly associated with being a boy, lower socioeconomic status, being a nonsingleton, older maternal age at birth, moderately low birth weight, lower quality parenting, receipt of day care for less than 10 hr/week, and attention problems.
Signs of Giftedness in Children Include:
an insatiable curiosity, as demonstrated by endless questions and inquiries. ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers. surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age. enthusiastic about unique interests and topics.
Down syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and fetal alcohol syndrome can cause speech delay in a child. Experts refer to this type of speech delay as secondary. Speech therapy can help a late-talker child with developmental disorders or disabilities but to a limited extent.
If your child isn't meeting speech milestones, make an appointment with your pediatrician. In the meantime, keep talking, reading, and singing to encourage your toddler's speech.
Children with ADHD often experience delays in independent functioning and may behave younger than their peers. Many children affected by ADHD can also have mild delays in language, motor skills or social development that are not part of ADHD but often co-occur.
Intelligent people tend to appear quiet because they are natural observers. They are listening and watching what's going on around them. They tend to analyze the situation, breaking it down into parts like a social puzzle, and ask themselves questions to figure it out.
Late talkers might be pacing behind on toddler speech milestones but are still able to understand much of what they hear (which is known as receptive language), use gestures to communicate (such as waving or pointing) or continue to learn new words, just more slowly.
Studies report a link between TV and language development in young children. The more time kids spend watching television, the more slowly they learn to talk.
MENTAL RETARDATION. Mental retardation is the most common cause of speech delay, accounting for more than 50 percent of cases.