The first word! How eagerly we wait for it!
Already he has said “mama” and “dada,” but these were the result of mere accident (lalling) or of imitation (echolalia). We can’t honestly claim that he has spoken a true word until he does so consciously and with purpose.
When does this happen? “The average child” really begins to talk somewhere between 12 and 18 months of age.
Of course there is no average child. There are many, many children—each with his own rate of development, each with his own environment which may furnish much or little stimulation toward speech.
If we take the numbers 8, 9, 11, and 12, we say the “average is 10″—even though “10″ does not actually occur in the series. So it is with the “average child.”
He’s a figment of the imagination—a nonentity existing only in the computations of statisticians.
Some children begin to talk a month or two earlier than the average; others—just as normal—are content to wait a while longer before starting to talk.
If he is a happy, healthy baby, if he uses sounds as well as gestures in his efforts to communicate, and if he gives evidence that he hears, we need not be concerned if he doesn’t use true speech just yet.
Some children use no intelligible words until they suddenly and surprisingly produce a complete sentence. One four year old boy had distressed his parents by refusing to even say “mama” or “dada,” “ball” or “drink.”
One afternoon he was taken to the zoo where he seemed especially interested in various birds. That evening when his mother was getting him ready for bed, she “almost fell off the Christmas tree” (to quote her) when her offspring said, “Muver, uh ‘itto owl had feavers on its feet.”
There are other instances of children who have used no speech in the presence of their elders until they uttered a complete sentence (although they must have been practicing when they were alone).
These are, of course, unusual cases. They are referred to here only to emphasize the point that children vary widely in the rate at which they acquire speech and the age at which they begin to talk.
Later, we’ll discuss when we should become concerned about the absence of speech (and if speech therapy is needed). Right now, let’s go back to the mythical “average child” and his first word.
As has been said, we cannot call the sounds he utters “speech” unless he uses conventional words intentionally and with purpose. That is, his actions must indicate that he expects a response that is appropriate to the situation and to the words he has spoken.
Before he can use words as the tools of communication he must know what they mean. Usually he will show that he understands quite a number of words before he begins to use any. He will shake his head or nod and start for the kitchen when you ask, “Do you want a drink?” long before he will say, “I want a dink.”
In fact, right on through the speech learning period his understanding of speech will exceed his use of speech. For that matter, most of us can hear or read and comprehend words that we never use.
About this time he suddenly becomes a very “human” member of the family. He learns to walk, to feed himself, and to talk—three mighty important developments.
In fact, he’s quite a person. Before you lose patience with him, suppose you tackle the job of mastering even half as many new skills as he is acquiring!
At any rate, somewhere between 12 and 18 months of age, he’ll probably begin to talk.
His first words will not be pronounced precisely as we pronounce them. If he gives a “reasonable facsimile” and indicates that he is doing so “deliberately and with intent” we can be happy.
If he consistently says “dah” for “doll” and “wah-wah” for “water” he’s on the right track. At this early stage he has neither the articulatory skill to imitate exactly, nor the acoustic discernment to evaluate his own attempts. Let’s not be unreasonable in the standards we set for him.
