When to check with your child's healthcare professional

Talk to your child's care professional if you're worried that your child has a speech delay. Speech delays happen for many reasons. These include hearing loss and other developmental issues. Your child's care professional might send your child to a hearing specialist, called an audiologist, or a specialist in speech and language, called a speech-language pathologist.

If your child hears or speaks two languages, called bilingual, a bilingual speech-language pathologist can test your child in both languages.

To help your child talk, talk to your child. Talk about what you're doing and where you're going. Sing songs, read stories and count with your child. Teach your child to copy things you do, such as clapping, and to make animal sounds.

Show that you're pleased when your child speaks. Repeat the sounds your child makes. A little "baby talk" is OK. But keep in mind that your child learns to speak by copying you.