Hi wonder if anyone can shed some light on this matter.

My New Zealand born brother is married to an American from Texas, where they are currently living. Their 18 mth old daughter spend the best part of her first year with her mother being the primary caregiver, during which time her speech developed to a point that she was starting to use basic words like Mommy, Daddy etc. My brother then took on more of an active role as caregiver and his wife went back into part time work. Their daughter's speech development dried up and she chose to replace any words she had previously learned with an inquistive, questioning, humming sound (MMMMMmmmmmm?????. She happily would listen to instructions and directions so it was obvious that her hearing wasn't an issue without doing further investigation. They came to visit us in New Zealand and perhaps the familiarity of our collective accents compared to that of her father's, reinforced with her that the same words can sound completely differently. She chose to say a couple of words every now and then, but in a very quiet manner, as every time she did say something we all tended to make a huge song and dance about it. Do you think she has been having issues trying to work out the correct way to say a word when both Mum and Dad say it completely different due to their different accents? If this is the case, what is the best way forward for them? It would not seem to be practically the best option to just have one of them communicating with her until she gets past this hurdle. They are both starting to get concerned and stressed that she may have a speech delay.

Hi Bianco,

well this is an interesting question. I would say it is unlikely that she is not talking because she is somehow confused between mum and dad's accents. There are many parents who speak 2 different languages to their children these days and the child somehow manages to understand and learn both from an early age.

Well, there are several things to be aware of here:

1. Her age - she is still very young, and speech could just be a little delayed.

2. I would still get her hearing checked out. Hearing can fluctuate with children and could possibly be a reason why she started to say a couple of words and then withdrew somewhat. This might also be a reason for the humming??? Even if you think she hearing is fine, get it checked out.

3. Try not to make too much fuss if she does talk, obviously give positive feedback and respond, but don't go overboard and bring too much attention to it.

And no, it wouldn't be practical for only one parent to speak to her. They both need to speak to her lots!!

I think many parents try and force words out of their children by constantly asking them to name things e.g. "say car, say car" . This is not the way children learn speech and language.

Play with your child, let them be the boss of the game and just comment on what they are doing. Model back their speech and add to it e.g.
Child: "car"
Dad: "fast car"

If they use a dummy/pacifier, start to withdraw this. Get them away from the TV and read books with them.

There is no better speech therapy for a normally developing child than play and interaction.

If you brother is still concerned I suggest they also visit their local speech and language therapist / pathologist for an assessment.

Check out the Normal Development section of our online Download Centre where there are lots of free fact sheets describing speech and language milestones, speech development and games, ideas and strategies to help your child's speech and language skills.

I hope that helps Bianco.

Regards

Johan - icommunicate