What causes speech delay, and how can parents help?

By Marci Melzer, MEd-SLP

If you have a child over two years old who is not talking yet, you likely suspect a speech delay.

The investigation usually starts with a family member or friend comparing your child to others. Perhaps your pediatrician has told you your little one is behind on their speech and language developmental milestones.

The four most common root causes of speech and language delay

The National Institutes of Health research reports that the primary causes of late language acquisition (late talking) are very common and highly unique to each child. Here are the four most common:

Acute ear fluid or otitis media (AOM)

This condition is defined as an infection of the middle ear. About 1 in 9 children will have otitis media with fluid accumulation before school age.

The hearing loss and physical pain that accompany AOM commonly result in speech and language delay.

Developmental language disorder (DLD)

DLD, also called specific language impairment (SLI), affects approximately 1 in 14 children, causing difficulties processing auditory or written information.

Mobile media device use

One study shows that language delays were reported for children who used a mobile media device for an average of 15 minutes each day. Parents reported expressive speech delays at a prevalence rate of 6.6%, while other communication delays were reported at an 8.8% rate.