Late talking in Toddlers: Is it normal?

A late talker is a child who speaks fewer than 50 words and does not put 2 words together by age two. Children typically acquire their first word by 12 months and are putting 2 words together by 2 years. While 70 – 80% of late talkers do catch up on their own, we cannot determine which children might catch up to their peers. Even of the 70-80% of children who 'catch up' to their peers, 20-30% of these children will continue to have significant difficulties with language development in areas such as vocabulary, grammar, literacy and listening comprehension. This is why early assessment & intervention is essential for supporting children's language development.