What we treat / Infants & toddlers
Infants & toddlers (birth–3)
The first three years are the busiest language-building window a child ever has. When something feels off with your baby's or toddler's communication, acting early is never the wrong move. KidSLP is a private practice: we check milestones, evaluate, and coach you through play in your home or online — and we'll point you to your state's Early Intervention program.
Signs to watch
Reasons to check — you don't need to be sure something is wrong
Benchmarks from ASHA, CDC, The Hanen Centre and Cincinnati Children's. Every child varies; a loss of skills always deserves prompt attention.
Not responding to their name or turning toward voices by around 9 months (ASHA; CDC).
Few or no gestures — pointing, waving, showing — by 12 months.
No first words by 12–15 months, or fewer than about 20 words by 18 months (The Hanen Centre).
Fewer than 50 words or no two-word combinations by 24 months (ASHA).
Trouble understanding — not following simple directions or pointing to familiar things by about 18 months (Cincinnati Children's).
Any loss of words or skills your child used to have. This always deserves prompt attention.
Feeding struggles, motor concerns, or anything your pediatrician is “keeping an eye on.”
Your gut. Caregiver instinct is real data, and “you don't have to wait and see” is ASHA's own advice.
How KidSLP helps
Play on the floor, coaching for you, and a clear plan — from the very first months.
Milestone checks and full evaluations
A judgment-free look at how your baby or toddler communicates — understanding, gestures, sounds, words and play — with you present throughout, in your home or online. No referral or diagnosis is needed to start, and “on track” is a real answer too.
You are the therapy
For young children, research supports parent-implemented intervention: caregivers coached to respond to communication attempts, model language, and expand what the child says (ASHA). We teach you those moves inside your real routines — bath, meals, diaper changes, the walk to the park.
A private practice that works alongside EI
KidSLP is a private practice, not an Early Intervention provider. Many families use both: we'll help you understand what your state's program offers, and if your child receives EI services we share goals and strategies so everyone pulls in the same direction.
Go deeper
Everything else parents want to know
Open a section. Nothing here replaces an evaluation.
Communication starts long before first words. In the first year, babies turn toward voices and respond to their name (by around 9 months), babble, and start using gestures — pointing, waving, showing — by about 12 months (ASHA; CDC). First words usually arrive between 12 and 15 months, with around 20 words by 18 months and about 50 words plus two-word combinations by 24 months (The Hanen Centre; ASHA). Understanding runs ahead of talking the whole way: by about 18 months, most toddlers follow simple directions and point to familiar things (Cincinnati Children's).
When support is needed this young, the best early therapy shares a signature look:
- It happens in real life — home, routines, play — because a toddler's natural environment is where skills actually get used.
- Caregivers are the main players. You aren't watching the therapy; you are the therapy.
- It follows the child: their interests, their developmental level, and warm back-and-forth connection.
- It's play, on purpose — bubbles, splashing, snack time, peekaboo. To the child it's a good time. Underneath, every game is engineered.
Any child from birth to age 3 whose communication feels off: babies who aren't babbling or responding to their name, toddlers with few words or few gestures, children born early or with a medical history, and children with a known diagnosis or delay. You don't need a diagnosis to check, and you don't need to be sure something is wrong.
Every U.S. state and territory runs a public Early Intervention program for children from birth to 3 with developmental delays and disabilities (CDC). Three facts worth taping to the fridge (CDC): you do not need a doctor's referral — caregivers can contact the program directly; services are free or at reduced cost for eligible children; and after age 3, support shifts to preschool special education through the public school system. Find your state's program here.
KidSLP is a private practice, not an Early Intervention provider. Private therapy isn't either/or with the public program — many families do both, and we'll help you sort out what combination fits your child.
The road is shorter than most caregivers think. Say it out loud — to your pediatrician, and to us. “I'm concerned about her talking” starts everything. A KidSLP milestone check or full evaluation happens in your home or online, with you present throughout. For this age, play is the test.
- A caregiver interview: milestones so far, birth and medical history, family history, and exactly how your child communicates today.
- A close look at understanding — responding to their name, following simple directions, pointing to named things.
- Watching how your child communicates in play: gestures, sounds, words, pretend play and back-and-forth connection.
- Feeding, hearing and motor questions noted, with a referral if a hearing check or another evaluation is needed.
You leave with a plan: home strategies now, a check-back date on the calendar, or therapy if it's warranted. If you also contact your state's Early Intervention program, its evaluation runs separately and at no cost to you; ours can run alongside it, and private therapy can start regardless of eligibility.
Here's the honest, numbers-backed case. The first three years are the busiest language-building window a child will ever have, and when development stalls in that window, nobody can tell you in advance which child catches up alone: 50–70% of late talkers do, but 20–30% don't (ASHA; The Hanen Centre), and one in five children with a late-talking history still had language impairment at age seven (ASHA). Reliable autism diagnosis is possible by age 2 (CDC), and treatment for communication disorders is best started in the toddler and preschool years (Cincinnati Children's). Waiting doesn't just delay help; it hands the gap time to grow, right before preschool raises the stakes.
Acting early gives children support during the brain's prime window, when change comes easiest; skills in place before preschool demands arrive; answers instead of years of wondering, including the happy answer of “on track”; and caregivers equipped with strategies, not just worry.
Checking early is not overreacting. It's exactly what early support was built for.
Tips for parents
What you can do at home, starting today
Act on the gut
“Boys talk late,” “his cousin was the same” — comforting, unverifiable, and not a plan. A milestone check is a plan.
Make the call this week
Talk to your pediatrician, contact your state's Early Intervention program, or book a free consult with us. Fifteen minutes starts everything.
Keep a video log
Thirty-second clips of how your child communicates, plays and eats. Evaluators get a truer picture, and you get a record of progress.
Get on the floor
Join whatever your child is already doing — follow their lead, copy their play, add one word. Connection first; skills ride along.
Be in the room
The best early support coaches you. If you're always in the waiting room, ask for a bigger role — the evidence supports giving you one (ASHA).
Turn routines into reps
Bath, meals, diaper changes, grocery runs — same words, warm pauses, every day. Routines are the therapy schedule you already have.
Write down the wins
New word, new gesture, longer play — a fridge list keeps hard weeks honest and check-back visits precise.
Protect the joy
Early support works through play and connection. If “practice” starts feeling like pressure, scale back and tell your team. Joy is the delivery system.
Through a child's eyes
Mateo's story
Illustrative story. Mateo is a fictional child, not a KidSLP client.
Meet Mateo, twenty-two months old, happiest creature alive in any body of water — bath, puddle, sprinkler, dog bowl. Mateo has four words and a lot of opinions he can't say yet. His grandmother says “boys talk late.” His mom's gut says “call someone.” This is the story of listening to the gut.
Morning: the call
Mom does two things before nap time: mentions it at the pediatrician's visit, and — because a friend told her she didn't need to wait for anyone — looks up her state's Early Intervention program and calls directly. No referral, no diagnosis, no permission slip. “I'm concerned about my son's talking.” That sentence, it turns out, is the whole key. She books a KidSLP consult the same afternoon.
The evaluations
The state's team comes to the house, at no cost, and plays with Mateo on his living room floor. The same week, a KidSLP speech-language pathologist does a milestone check at the kitchen table, because the family wanted answers fast and a private plan either way. The picture agrees: strong understanding, great gestures, expressive words well behind. He qualifies for public services. Nobody says “let's wait and see.” Everybody says “let's go,” and the two teams share their goals.
Afternoon: therapy on the floor, in the water
KidSLP sessions look like a splash festival — on purpose. Following Mateo's lead, therapy lives where his motivation lives: the water table. Pour, dump, splash — “POUR!” — pause — “more?” — pause. His therapist coaches Mom through every round: shorter phrases, longer waits, expand by one. Mateo thinks everyone finally got fun. The adults know the games are engineered.
Evening: at home
Bath time is now the best therapy hour in the house, and Dad runs it: “Splash! Big splash! More splash?” — then the famous five-second pause. “Mo pash!” Two words. Dad keeps his celebration to a grin and a giant splash, exactly as coached. The fridge list gets its eleventh entry that night.
Over time
By two and a half, Mateo's word list needs a bigger paper, and two-word combos arrive like spring — “more pour,” “dada go,” “big splash.” Maybe he'd have gotten there alone; nobody can know, and his parents are glad they never had to find out. As his third birthday approaches, his team helps plan the next step — and there's a real chance he won't need one. The gut was right. The call was worth it.
At KidSLP, we help children like Mateo find their voice — because every child deserves to be heard.
Questions parents ask
The questions we hear most from families of babies and toddlers
No. KidSLP is a private practice; we are not an Early Intervention provider and can't enroll your child in the public program. What we can do: evaluate and start therapy quickly, without a referral or an eligibility decision, and work alongside your state's program if your child qualifies. Many families use both.
Your state's program provides evaluation and services free or at reduced cost for eligible children (CDC) — that's the design, not a catch. The honest trade-offs: eligibility criteria vary by state, waitlists happen, and service intensity may be limited. That's where private therapy can fit — a faster start and more frequency when your child needs it.
No — not for KidSLP, and not for your state's Early Intervention program (CDC). Loop your pediatrician in, absolutely, and we'll share our findings with them — but you don't need anyone's permission to make the call, and you don't need a diagnosis first either.
Then you've won either way. “On track” from a real evaluation beats years of 2 a.m. googling. And if your child doesn't meet your state's eligibility cutoffs but your gut still says something's off, private support remains open: a watch-and-build plan with coached home strategies now, a check-back date on the calendar, and no child slipping through the gap between “qualifies” and “fine.”
Trusted resources
Where our numbers come from
Reputable sources parents can read themselves.
Every voice grows differently. Let's talk about yours.
Fifteen minutes with a licensed speech-language pathologist. No forms about your child's health, no commitment — just a conversation about what you're noticing.
This page is educational and does not replace an evaluation by a licensed speech-language pathologist. Statistics cited from ASHA, CDC, The Hanen Centre and Cincinnati Children's.