Watch for any sign of a major speech delay in your baby. The earlier a speech problem in babies is diagnosed, the more time you'll have to correct the problem. If you sense a possible problem with your child, you can:
- Get their hearing checked. Hearing loss in infants can delay their speech growth. Most states require a hearing screening in the hospital right after birth. Take your baby in for a full hearing exam by age 3 months if they didn’t pass the first hearing screening.
- See a speech-language pathologist if your child has a specific speech, language, or voice disorder. Treatment may include games to improve speech problems in babies and improve a child's language skills.
- Rule out other problems. Almost 1 out of 5 kids in the U.S. have a mental or behavioral disability like autism or development delay.