Here are some red flags that may indicate your child should be seen by a neuro pediatrician:
Under 18 months
• No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by 6 months
• No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by 9 months or thereafter
• No babbling by 12 months
• Does not respond to his/her name by 12 months
• No sharing/reciprocal interactions like pointing, sharing, reaching or waving by 12 months
• No pointing at objects of interest by 14 months (pointing at a car driving by)
• Does not understand simple common words like mama or milk
• Is not using any words by 16 months
• Does not imitate gross motor movements like clapping or stomping feet
By 18 Months
• Does not use at least 8-10 meaningful words
• Does not follow simple commands like “come here” “stop” “don’t” “give me the __________” or “touch your nose”
• Does not follow your pointing with his gaze
• Is not playing “pretend” with items (talking on toy phone, feeding a doll)
• Does not play in proximity to other children
By Age Two
• No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
• Does not follow simple two step commands such as “Get the ball and put it on the table”
• Speech is not at least 50% understandable
• Cannot point to pictures of items in books when asked
By Three Years
• Is not using three and four word sentences
• Speech is not at least 75% or more understandable
• Child is leaving the beginnings or ends off of most words
• Cannot accurately answer yes/no questions
• Cannot answer simple “wh” questions like “who is that” or “where is the truck”
• Does not play with other children
• Is experiencing stuttering behavior for more than 6 months
By Four to Five Years
• Is not 90-100% understandable to strangers despite age appropriate articulation errors (may not be able to say /r, sh, ch, l, or th yet)
• Is not consistently using 4+ word, complex sentences
• Is not asking a variety of questions to gain information (who, what, where, why and when)
• Is having difficulty with grammar or pronoun use
• Cannot tell a simple story on topic
• Canot follow simple two step directions
• Has difficulty answering simple who, what, where and why questions
• Is not yet able to name a few letters, numbers, and rhyming words
Overall Warning Signs
• ANY loss of speech or babbling or social skills at ANY age
• Never gestures or imitates
• Does not appear to understand speech, or appears to be unable to hear
• Never develops words beyond repeating others over and over
From the author Katie Yeh visit her website www.playingwithwords365.com
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