Joanna Fortune: Are delayed language and social skills common in young twins?
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There are many and varied generalisations made about twins which have little to no clinical or scientific basis. That said, communication skills can be areas where we see mild-moderate delays in twins. Such delays are usually apparent by age two. While many multiple siblings will show no sign of a delay, occasionally multiple-birth children will be slower to develop language.
Typically, children start speaking somewhere between 12-18 months old and a delay is identified if a child is not speaking at least two-word sentences with an approximately 50-word vocabulary by two. Be aware these are general guidelines, and all children are different, so no parent should panic if their child is a little slower than these timelines suggest. However, it is advisable to contact your PHN (public health nurse) and request a developmental check if you are concerned about your young child’s development.
Observe your twins interacting with each other. Perhaps they have developed a way to interact with minimal speech so it might be helpful to also observe if they interact differently with other children when on a playground, for example. This can be helpful in understanding their style of communicating.
I suggest you contact your local PHN, share your concerns, and ask to be referred to the speech and language therapist in your area. There is likely to be a waiting list for such services, so do not delay in requesting this referral. Ask the PHN to meet you and your children in the meantime as they can give you helpful and practical support and advice as to how you can best support your children’s emerging communication skills.
It is always worth getting their hearing checked if you are worried about their speech or response when you speak with them. In addition, keep in mind that listening and understanding are essential components for all communication skills (including social skills). When talking with them, make a point of calling each child’s name and waiting for that child to look at you before you speak.
Young children learn and communicate in a 'doing' way more than verbally and play is the best way to learn at this stage. So, use sensory (messy) play and small-world (story-based play with little dolls' houses/mini-figures) play. Sing, dance, and get outdoors as much as possible, pointing out what you can see, hear, smell, touch, and even taste (where appropriate, of course).
Be aware you are an excellent play resource for your children. Use the prosody (musicality, pitch, pace, pause, and tone of voice) in an animated way and add gestures to convey extra meaning when you are talking with them. This type of playful communication is precisely how young children learn, grow, and develop.
- If you have a question for child psychotherapist Dr Joanna Fortune, please send it to parenting@examiner.ie
