Time to Talk

Are your child's speech and language skills on track? From babbling to fluently expressing thoughts, the developmental journey is filled with milestones. You might recognize some, such as when your child says her first words, but others are harder to spot. Does your child respond to her name by 12 months? Should you worry if your toddler isn't speaking? What if your preschooler struggles with the r and l sounds? Can your four-year-old rhyme words? Does your kindergartener show key signs of reading readiness? Time to Talk unlocks the mysteries of speech and language acquisition, and helps parents carefully monitor progress. Both troubleshooter and skills booster, this definitive guide provides timelines of what to expect from infancy to elementary school; quick answers to common questions; red flags to watch for; simple activities to boost communications skills; guidelines for handling common problems, such as articulation issues, late talking, stuttering, and dyslexia; tips for getting the best results from therapy; clear explanations of medical advances; advice for fostering bilingualism; and reassuring stories of parents and children who have faced and overcome challenges. And whether kids are working through obstacles or hitting targets, Time to Talk will put them on a firm path to literacy success. Michelle MacRoy-Higgins, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, has worked as a speech-language pathologist for more than 15 years, focusing on the treatment of infants, toddlers, and young children. An associate professor in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Department at Hunter College, Michelle has a M.S. in communication disorders and a Ph.D. in speech-language-hearing sciences. She is the mother of two girls. Carlyn Kolker is a freelance writer, former reporter for Bloomberg News and Reuters, and the mother of two boys.