CDC changes milestone on speech development for toddlers

[Anonymous]

The changes were based on a literature review citing studies from 1998, 2005, and 2018.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just so wrong! I absolutely believe it has to do with masking. It is one of the reasons that in Europe and many Asian countries they said NO masking kids under 5. I believe in masking and vaccines, but not for toddlers!

My son was language delayed and I remember looking at the percentile rank of kids who know 50 words by 24 months. It is NOT the 50th percentile rank. Around 90 percent of toddlers know 50 words by 24 months. This is written by a speech therapist:

Approximate Words in Expressive Vocabulary in Typically Developing Toddlers

By 12 months a child says 2-6 words other than Mama or Dada?

By 15 months a child says 10 different words.

At 18 months toddlers with typically developing language use 50 different words.

At 24 months a child with typically developing language says 200-300 words.

By 30 months a toddler says 450 words.

At 36 months a child with typically developing language uses 1,000 different words.

**LinguiSystems Guide to Communication Milestones cites sources as Child Development Institute at www.childdevelopmentinfo.com. Nicolosi, Harryman, Kresheck (2006). Owens (1996).

Contrast this information with milestones used in common speech-language assessments for infants and toddlers.

Most assessment tools include the skill, “Child says 50 words by 24 months.”

What’s the discrepancy here?

Even those of us who aren’t great with math can see that a child who is using 50 words by 24 months lags behind his or her typically developing peers who are using 200 to 300 words.

Remember that the milestones on speech-language tests are based on when 90% of all children have mastered the skill.

This means the majority of toddlers, usually 90%, are using 50 different words by 24 months.
It does not mean that a toddler with “average” skills says 50 words by 24 months.

Right, and now they are pushing it to 30 months to hide some of the damage done to this age cohort in the last two years, when they literally have not been able to watch others talk and properly develop their own speech habits. It's disgraceful.

It's not just masking. Everything is closed. People are in hermit mode. Some strange adult or older kid is going to make you work harder to be understood than your parents who understand your baby speech nonsense, and you will have to work harder to understand them. My 20 month old daughter gets 60% of her speech modelling from me, 25% from her four year old brother, 14% from dad, 1% from strangers and screens.

What study do you have to support this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you actually read what the CDC says about why they made the changes?

Because it has nothing to do with masking. It has to do with turning the milestones into a useful tool for pediatricians to use to identify children to refer to possible intervention, so they moved the milestones from the median to the 25th percentile, since a tool that identifies 59% of kids is clearly not helpful.

I think it was a bad move to change it. I don’t think too many people qualified before. If anything - not enough are able to early intervention.

Perspective from a mom of 3 kids, 2 were late talkers, AND 1 child who has ASD/Language disorder:

This was absolutely the right move and was a long time coming (yes, before the pandemic). People look at milestone lists and don't really understand what they are saying (some lists mark what 50% of children are doing, others what 75% are doing at this age, others what 90% of children are doing at this age). This leads to great confusion as to which missed milestones are "yellow flags" and which are "red flags," and when it's actually a problem that requires intensive early intervention and which can be simply monitored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if you think that mask wearing causes speech delays, wearing masks beginning at age 2 wouldn't impact a 24 month milestone.

It's not the kids themselves. It's that all adults around them are masked and they cannot watch faces to learn to talk. Think about it.

Their parents shouldn’t be masked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if you think that mask wearing causes speech delays, wearing masks beginning at age 2 wouldn't impact a 24 month milestone.

It's not the kids themselves. It's that all adults around them are masked and they cannot watch faces to learn to talk. Think about it.

Their parents shouldn’t be masked.

Here we go again. Let's do the math. 8 hour workday + hour lunch + hour commute each way = 11 hours in childcare daily. 12 hours of sleep. Equals as little as one hour a day with parents on work days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if you think that mask wearing causes speech delays, wearing masks beginning at age 2 wouldn't impact a 24 month milestone.

It's not the kids themselves. It's that all adults around them are masked and they cannot watch faces to learn to talk. Think about it.

Their parents shouldn’t be masked.

Here we go again. Let's do the math. 8 hour workday + hour lunch + hour commute each way = 11 hours in childcare daily. 12 hours of sleep. Equals as little as one hour a day with parents on work days.

Who puts their infants and young toddlers in daycare for 11 hours?? I would imagine anyone who possibly can tries to stagger hours with their spouse. Plus, you forgot about weekends. Unless the parents are on their phones all weekend and stick their kids on tablets. I actually think that’s the true culprit of societal increase in speech delays - phones and tablets.

[Anonymous]

In no way do I think under 5s should be masking. But it’s a little preposterous to think that the same cdc which has failed to get its act together this entire pandemic would be able to have, use, and act on data about new speech delays this quickly.

Let’s unmask the kids and just base it on the fact there’s no evidence that it’s effective - rather than make up conspiracy theories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The changes were based on a literature review citing studies from 1998, 2005, and 2018.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you actually read what the CDC says about why they made the changes?

Because it has nothing to do with masking. It has to do with turning the milestones into a useful tool for pediatricians to use to identify children to refer to possible intervention, so they moved the milestones from the median to the 25th percentile, since a tool that identifies 59% of kids is clearly not helpful.

Well gosh now I feel better! The CDC says it has nothing to do with masking, after 2 years of lying to the public about almost everything related to the pandemic, I’m absolutely sure *this time* they’re being honest. Thanks for the info!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you actually read what the CDC says about why they made the changes?

Because it has nothing to do with masking. It has to do with turning the milestones into a useful tool for pediatricians to use to identify children to refer to possible intervention, so they moved the milestones from the median to the 25th percentile, since a tool that identifies 59% of kids is clearly not helpful.

I think it was a bad move to change it. I don’t think too many people qualified before. If anything - not enough are able to early intervention.

Perspective from a mom of 3 kids, 2 were late talkers, AND 1 child who has ASD/Language disorder:

This was absolutely the right move and was a long time coming (yes, before the pandemic). People look at milestone lists and don't really understand what they are saying (some lists mark what 50% of children are doing, others what 75% are doing at this age, others what 90% of children are doing at this age). This leads to great confusion as to which missed milestones are "yellow flags" and which are "red flags," and when it's actually a problem that requires intensive early intervention and which can be simply monitored.

All this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is just so wrong! I absolutely believe it has to do with masking. It is one of the reasons that in Europe and many Asian countries they said NO masking kids under 5. I believe in masking and vaccines, but not for toddlers!

My son was language delayed and I remember looking at the percentile rank of kids who know 50 words by 24 months. It is NOT the 50th percentile rank. Around 90 percent of toddlers know 50 words by 24 months. This is written by a speech therapist:

Approximate Words in Expressive Vocabulary in Typically Developing Toddlers

By 12 months a child says 2-6 words other than Mama or Dada?

By 15 months a child says 10 different words.

At 18 months toddlers with typically developing language use 50 different words.

At 24 months a child with typically developing language says 200-300 words.

By 30 months a toddler says 450 words.

At 36 months a child with typically developing language uses 1,000 different words.

**LinguiSystems Guide to Communication Milestones cites sources as Child Development Institute at www.childdevelopmentinfo.com. Nicolosi, Harryman, Kresheck (2006). Owens (1996).

Contrast this information with milestones used in common speech-language assessments for infants and toddlers.

Most assessment tools include the skill, “Child says 50 words by 24 months.”

What’s the discrepancy here?

Even those of us who aren’t great with math can see that a child who is using 50 words by 24 months lags behind his or her typically developing peers who are using 200 to 300 words.

Remember that the milestones on speech-language tests are based on when 90% of all children have mastered the skill.

This means the majority of toddlers, usually 90%, are using 50 different words by 24 months.
It does not mean that a toddler with “average” skills says 50 words by 24 months.

So, why does my older child have a language disorder.

[Anonymous]

I believe it.

I was around both SILs this weekend and all they do is babytalk with their toddlers.

And what do most parents do at restaurants or while grocery shopping? They plop the kids down with the iPad or a phone so they'll leave them alone and be quiet.

It's not the masks; it's the lazy parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if you think that mask wearing causes speech delays, wearing masks beginning at age 2 wouldn't impact a 24 month milestone.

It's not the kids themselves. It's that all adults around them are masked and they cannot watch faces to learn to talk. Think about it.

Their parents shouldn’t be masked.

Here we go again. Let's do the math. 8 hour workday + hour lunch + hour commute each way = 11 hours in childcare daily. 12 hours of sleep. Equals as little as one hour a day with parents on work days.

You sound like crummy parents. Time for a new job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the CDC. One of my children was developmentally delayed and needed intense speech therapy, the other took her time but caught up without special support.

I agree too. We started st very young and it was not helpful till starting at 2:5 to 3 and too many years to catch up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the CDC. One of my children was developmentally delayed and needed intense speech therapy, the other took her time but caught up without special support.

I agree too. We started st very young and it was not helpful till starting at 2:5 to 3 and too many years to catch up.

Yep, a delay doesn't always mean there's a problem to be resolved with support. Many kids catch up on their own. But, by weeding out the kids who will catch up with a wait and see approach, it should free up resources and reduce wait times for kids who need it.