If you’ve ever found yourself watching your child and wondering, “Should they be talking more by now?” — you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common concerns parents bring to us, and it’s one of the most important questions you can ask.
Early intervention refers to support provided to children from birth through age five who may be experiencing delays in speech, language, or communication. Research consistently shows that the earlier a concern is identified and addressed, the better the outcomes — for language, for learning, and for confidence.
This guide walks through what early intervention covers, what to look for at different ages, and what you can do at home to support your child’s communication development right now.
What Is Early Intervention — and Who Is It For?
Early intervention is for children ages birth to five who may be showing signs of a delay in how they communicate, understand language, or interact with the world around them.
One of the most common misconceptions we hear is that speech-language therapy is only for children who have trouble pronouncing certain sounds. In reality, speech-language therapy for young children covers a much broader range of areas:
Expressive Language — difficulty using words or sentences to communicate wants, needs, and ideas. A child might have a smaller vocabulary than expected, struggle to combine words, or have trouble with grammar.
Receptive Language — difficulty understanding what others say. This might look like trouble following directions, not responding to their name, or consistently misunderstanding questions.
Mixed Expressive and Receptive Language — challenges with both understanding and using language.
Articulation — difficulty producing specific speech sounds clearly enough to be understood.
Social Communication — difficulty using language in social contexts, such as taking turns in conversation, making eye contact, or understanding social cues.
If you’re noticing concerns in any of these areas, an evaluation is a low-pressure, informative first step — not a commitment to anything.
What Should My Child’s Communication Look Like?
Around 12 Months
- Uses a few words like “mama,” “dada,” or simple approximations
- Responds to their name consistently
- Uses gestures like pointing, waving, or reaching
- Babbles with varied sounds and intonation
Most children say their first true words somewhere between 10 and 16 months. First words typically include sounds that are easiest to produce — especially bilabial sounds made with the lips, like /p/, /m/, and /b/. This is why words like “mama,” “papa,” “more,” and “ball” come so naturally early on.
Around 18–24 Months
- Uses at least 50 words
- Begins combining two words (“more milk,” “daddy go,” “big ball”)
- Points to familiar pictures in books
- Follows simple two-step directions
Around 3 Years
- Speaks in three- to four-word sentences
- Is understood by unfamiliar people about 75% of the time
- Answers simple “wh” questions (who, what, where)
- Engages in back-and-forth conversation
Around 4 Years
- Speaks in four- to five-word sentences
- Is understood by unfamiliar people 90–100% of the time
- Can tell a simple story with a beginning, middle, and end
- Answers more complex questions (“What do you do when you’re tired?”)
How Can I Help My Child’s Language Development at Home?
You don’t need to be a speech therapist to make a meaningful difference in your child’s language development. Here are three strategies that work at any age during the early years.
Strategy 1: The “One Up” Technique
Model language that is just one step above what your child is currently saying. This exposes them to slightly more complex language without overwhelming them.
- If your child says “ball,” you say “red ball” or “big ball” or “roll ball.”
- If your child says “go car,” you say “the car goes fast” or “the car is going.”
- If your child says “more,” you say “more please” or “I want more.”
This simple technique gives your child a natural model of their next step — without pressure to repeat it.
Strategy 2: Use Verbal Routines
Verbal routines are short, predictable phrases repeated in the same context over and over. Because they’re predictable, children begin to anticipate what’s coming — and eventually fill in the missing word themselves.
A few favorites:
- “Ready… set… GO!” — pause before “go” and wait for your child to fill it in
- “One… two…” — pause and wait for “three!”
- Repetitive books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? — pause before the repeated phrase and let your child complete it
Music works beautifully too. Songs like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and ___” build the same anticipation and give children a clear, low-pressure opportunity to produce language.
Strategy 3: Make Statements Instead of Asking Questions
When playing with your child, it’s natural to ask a lot of questions — “What’s that? What color is it? What are you doing?” But questions actually put pressure on a child to produce language on demand, which can slow things down.
Instead, try making three to four statements before asking a question:
- “The dog is running. He’s so fast. He jumped over the fence.” Then — “Where did he go?”
Narrating what you see, what you’re doing, and what your child is doing builds vocabulary and models sentence structure naturally — without putting your child on the spot.
Simple Activities to Encourage Early Speech Sounds
For babies and toddlers, certain sounds come first — especially bilabial sounds made with both lips: /p/, /m/, and /b/. Here are easy ways to encourage these sounds through everyday play:
✓ Bubbles — encourage “pop,” “big,” “more,” and “open” naturally during bubble play
✓ Ball play — “bounce,” “back,” “push,” “my turn,” “pass” all target bilabial sounds
✓ Mealtimes — model “more,” “please,” “milk,” “banana,” “bite” during feeding routines
✓ Farm animal books — “moo,” “baa,” “oink” pair bilabial sounds with fun, repetitive play
✓ Repetitive books — Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom are loaded with early speech sounds and repetitive text
When Should I Seek an Evaluation?
It is never too early to ask for a screening. Parent intuition is a powerful signal — if something feels off, trust that feeling and get a professional opinion.
Some specific signs to act on:
- Your child is not using any words by 12–16 months
- Your child is not combining two words by 24 months
- Your child’s language seems to have plateaued or regressed at any age
- Unfamiliar people have significant difficulty understanding your child
- Your child seems frustrated when trying to communicate
- You have a family history of speech, language, or learning differences
A free screening is a low-stakes first step. It either gives you reassurance that things are on track — or connects you with support at the earliest, most effective window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Isn’t it better to wait and see if my child catches up on their own? Some children do catch up without intervention — but waiting to find out means potentially missing the window when the brain is most receptive to language learning. An evaluation doesn’t commit you to anything. It just gives you information to make a confident decision.
My pediatrician said my child will grow out of it. Should I still seek an evaluation? Pediatricians provide valuable guidance, but speech-language evaluations are more specialized assessments of communication development. If you have concerns, it’s absolutely reasonable to seek an evaluation in addition to your pediatrician’s guidance. Early evaluation and early support are rarely a mistake.
Can I do anything at home that’s as effective as therapy? Home strategies like the ones in this guide are powerful supplements to therapy — and for children with mild delays, they can sometimes be enough. For children with more significant delays, professional therapy combined with consistent home practice produces the best outcomes.
How long does early intervention therapy take? It depends on the child, the nature of the delay, and how early support begins. Many children with mild delays make rapid progress within a few months of beginning therapy. The earlier the intervention starts, the faster and more lasting the results tend to be.
Does my child need a referral for a speech-language evaluation? In most cases, no. You can contact a speech-language pathologist directly to schedule an evaluation without a physician referral. Some insurance plans may require one for coverage, so it’s worth checking with your provider.
How ETLC Can Help
If you have questions about your child’s communication development or want to take the next step, our team is here to help. We provide evaluations and individualized early intervention therapy for children from infancy through the school-age years.
Learn more about Early Intervention at ETLC orschedule a free consultation to talk with a member of our team.
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About the Author
Sonia Strueby, M.A., CCC-SLP, is the founder of Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center. With over 25 years of experience as a speech-language pathologist, Sonia has dedicated her career to helping children overcome complex communication and academic challenges. She has advanced training and a special focus on treating dyslexia and childhood apraxia of speech, and she is passionate about providing families with a clear path to success.
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