Here’s one of the most common things we hear from parents after an evaluation: “I wish we had come sooner.”
Not because they did anything wrong. But because the signs they were watching for weren’t always the obvious ones. And the ones that actually pointed toward speech therapy — they didn’t know to look for those.
This blog is about closing that gap.
The Signs People Know
Most parents know to pay attention if their child isn’t talking by a certain age, or if their speech is very hard to understand. Those are real signals, and they’re worth acting on.
But there’s a lot more to the picture.
Signs That Often Get Missed
Your child has words, but isn’t combining them.
By around 24 months, most children are starting to put two words together (“more milk,” “go bye,” “Daddy come”). If your child has a solid vocabulary but isn’t connecting words yet, that’s worth looking into — even if they seem to be communicating just fine otherwise.
You understand them, but most other people don’t.
Parents become expert interpreters for their own kids. That’s normal and beautiful — but it can also make it hard to notice when clarity is lagging behind where it should be. A rough benchmark: by age 3, unfamiliar adults should understand your child about 75% of the time. By age 4, closer to 100%.
Your child gets frustrated when they can’t be understood.
Meltdowns and frustration around communication are sometimes behavioral. But they’re also really common in kids who have something to say and can’t get it out. If your child shuts down, melts down, or avoids communicating because they’ve been misunderstood too many times — that’s a signal.
They’re not asking questions or answering them.
Back-and-forth conversation is a big milestone. By age 3, most children are asking “why,” “what,” and “where” questions and answering simple ones. If conversation feels one-sided, or your child struggles to respond to direct questions, that’s worth noting.
Mealtime is a consistent struggle.
Extreme food aversions, gagging, difficulty chewing or swallowing, or a diet that’s very restricted by texture or type — these aren’t always behavioral. They’re often feeding and oral motor challenges that a speech therapist is specifically trained to address.
They talk a lot, but miss the social side.
Some kids have great vocabularies but struggle with the back-and-forth of conversation — taking turns, staying on topic, reading the room. Social communication challenges (pragmatics) are absolutely within the scope of speech therapy and are worth addressing early.
Something just feels off — but you can’t name it.
Parent instinct is real. If you’ve had a nagging feeling that something in how your child communicates isn’t quite right — even if you can’t put your finger on it — that’s reason enough to get a professional set of eyes on it. The worst that happens is you get reassurance. The best that happens is you catch something early enough to make a real difference.
What “Early Intervention” Actually Means
You’ve probably heard this phrase a lot. Here’s what it means in practice: the earlier a child gets support, the more adaptable their brain is to building new patterns. Communication skills build on each other, and gaps that are small at 18 months can compound over time if they’re not addressed.
Early intervention doesn’t mean panicking at the first sign of anything. It means not waiting too long once you’ve noticed something.
Have Questions? Start With a Consult.
A referral from your primary care doctor is required to begin speech therapy services. Reach out to schedule a consult with us today if you have questions about your need for services or getting a referral — we’ll walk you through it honestly and help you figure out the right next step.
If speech therapy is the right fit, we’ll tell you. If it’s not, we’ll tell you that too — and point you in the right direction.
