Late-Talking Children

A Symptom or a Stage?

By: Stephen M. Camarata

Narrated by: Dana Hickox

When children are late in hitting developmental milestones, parents worry. And no delay causes more parental anxiety than late talking, which is associated in many parents' minds with such serious conditions as autism and severe intellectual disability. In fact, as children's speech expert Stephen Camarata points out in this enlightening book, children are late in beginning to talk for a wide variety of reasons. For some children, late talking may be a symptom of other, more serious problems; for many others, however, it may simply be a stage with no long-term complications.

Camarata describes in accessible language what science knows about the characteristics and causes of late talking. He explains that today's greater awareness of autism, as well as the expanded definition of autism as a "spectrum" of symptoms, has increased the chances that a late-talking child will be diagnosed - or misdiagnosed - with autism. But, he reminds us, late talking is only one of a constellation of autism symptoms.

Although all autistic children are late talkers, not all late-talking children are autistic. Camarata draws on more than 25 years of professional experience diagnosing and treating late talkers - and on his personal experience of being a late talker himself and having a late-talking son. Camarata offers parents valuable guidance on seeking treatment, advising them to get second and third opinions if necessary and warning them against false diagnoses, unqualified practitioners, and ineffective therapies. He provides information that will help parents navigate the maze of doctors, speech therapists, early childhood services, and special education; and he describes the effect that late talking may have on children's post-talking learning styles.

©2014 Massachusetts Institue of Technology (P)2015 Gildan Media LLC

A good read. Calmed my nerves about my son

Gave a lot of perspective around the late talking, and a lot of things to watch out for

But stops short of giving much actionable advice on what to do to encourage talking.

It mostly concludes - either is a (highly unlikely) serious problem, or just be calm and carry on, it'll sort itself out.

That said, I did learn a lot and do suggest the read.

great book

I strongly recommend this book to each and every parent who has a child with speech delay. it's a great source of information and inspiration.

Informative

I learned so much listening to this. This is a great read for a parent with a late talker. Plenty of tips to help

Loved it!

This book is full of insight and great information especially regarding the Einstein Syndrome! I would recommend all parents with late talkers read this to avoid having their child receive a false diagnosis.

I have a late-talking boy - this is a great book

This book was very well narrated.

The content helped me with my late-talking child and helped me deal with my son and help him through very difficult times. There is so much jargon related to late talking, every parent needs this book to assist them in being an advocate for their late talker. You can't just put yourself in the hands of experts, you need to be advocate and pusher for their interests and needs.

I not only like this book, I appreciate the book, and I appreciate the work that Dr. Camarata accomplished for these children.

It made a difference for me and my family.