Expert: Sharon Rosen Lopez - 7/7/2009

Question
Hello, thanks for taking the time to read this. My I'm old baby boy doesn't wave, clap or point. He is nearly walking, kisses & hugs, laughs out loud, smiles, looks where you are pointing, gives me objects especially his food and knows his name. He also eats quite well and drinks lots of water from beaker himself etc. Should I be concerned - I want to enjoy my little boy and stop worrying if I shouldn't need to!!

Answer
Hi Eva,

Absolutely you should enjoy your son and his adorable smiles and happiness! I am glad to read that he is almost walking, eats and drinks well, kisses, laughs, responds to his name, gives objects (is that responsively?) and follows your pointing gesture! These show that his gross motor integrity is on track, that he engages socially,  has well-developing oral motor skills, and that he's attending and listening! And perhaps best of all, he's a happy little guy! How wonderful!

It's interesting to note that the three concerns you mention -- that your son's not clapping, pointing, or waving -- involve hand use. So you'll want to consider how your son does when he's playing with his toys and eating -- can he pick up cheerios, transfer an object from one hand to another, and manipulate toy parts? There is variation in child development and not all children do everything that others may do, but these are things to be aware of.  

The behaviors that speech/language pathologists generally look for in babies who are approaching their first birthday are: social engagement, oral senorimotor integrity for speech and feeding, speech sound play, communicative intent, object exploration and play, and responsiveness to language (early on -- to name, common object labels and simple commands).  From what you write, we know that your son's doing well in atleast a couple of these areas. To further determine  your son's speech skills, you might notice if he's babbling, and if so, what sounds he's including in his babbles -- does he produce repetitive consonant vowel combinations -- like, bababa -- or longer strings of more varied speech sounds -- like agugabadi?  And how does he let you know that he wants you...or whatever it is he wants? Does he cry, or look towards you, or reach for the cookie in your hand? And what will he do if you take a bite of the cookie and don't give it to him right away.  Similarly, if you give him a choice of a car or a truck, will he reach for the truck...and if you withhold that from him for a minute, what then?  As to your son's ability to understand language, does he respond to 'no!' and when you ask him to come, does he (atleast occasionally) do so? What if you tell him to get the ball...or the book...or his bottle?


I hope that you'll find that your son is generally doing ok with regard to his speech and language skills, and I assume that at his one year old check-up, his pediatrician will check to see that his development is across the board on track. Please do write back if you have any further questions, and most importantly, try not to worry! I know that's easy to say, but it sounds like you have a lovely little boy to enjoy!  

Best of luck!

Sharon Rosen Lopez, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech/Language Pathologist
http://www.SpeechSkillsForKids.com
http://www.SpeechArts.com