Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Speech and Language Problems in Children
Children vary in their development of speech and language skills. Health care professionals have lists of milestones for what's normal. These milestones help figure out whether a child is on track or if he or she may need extra help. For example, a child usually has one or two words like "Hi," "dog," "Dada," or "Mama" by her first birthday.
Sometimes a delay may be caused by hearing loss. Other times it may be due to a speech or language disorder. Children who have speech disorders may have trouble making speech sounds correctly. They may hesitate or stutter when talking. Children with language disorders might have trouble understanding what others say or difficulty sharing their thoughts.
If you have concerns about your child's speech or language development, talk to your child's health care provider.
It sits within Children and Teenagers and Brain and Nerves.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Delayed Speech or Language DevelopmentNemours Foundation
- Speech and Language DelayAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- Speech and Language Developmental MilestonesNational Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Speech and Language ImpairmentsCenter for Parent Information and Resources
Treatments and Therapies
- Speech-Language Therapy (For Parents)Nemours Foundation
Genetics
- FOXP2-related speech and language disorder: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- MED13L syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- PACS1 syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- SATB2-associated syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Statistics and Research
- Quick Statistics about Voice, Speech, LanguageNational Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Language DisordersNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Language Disorders. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Speech and Language Problems in Children, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.