I am wondering about the term “delay” as it is used in “speech delays” or “developmental delays,” etc.
Does it mean that the child develops normally but later? Speakers slower than normal? Develops later and not as well as normal children? Something else?
It is as if all this is written in code!
It is a descriptive term that doesn’t tell you much other than the fact that the child is behind. Sometimes they catch up on their own and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes children are later given more specific diagnoses. In any case, it means the child certainly is at risk for problems.
I have had two children diagnosed as preschoolers with speech delays. One is perfectly normal now at age 4, after speech therapy. The other is eight and has a bunch of learning problems. The two children had the same speech therapist who told me that if a child learns to speak in a normal sequence despite being delayed, then the studies show no long term problems. This described my now four year old. My eight year old, whose speech development has not been normal, still has problems with language.