Risk and Protective Factors for Late Talking: An Epidemiologic Investigation

Objective To identify risk and protective factors for late talking in toddlers between 24 and 30 months of age in a large community-based cohort. Study design A prospective, longitudinal pregnancy cohort of 1023 mother-infant pairs in metropolitan Calgary, Canada, were followed across 5 time points: before 25 weeks gestation, between 34-36 weeks gestation, and at 4, 12, and 24 months postpartum. Toddlers who scored ≤10th percentile on The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Sentences between 24 and 30 months of age were identified as late talkers. Thirty-four candidate characteristics theoretically and/or empirically linked to language development and/or language impairment were collected using survey methodology. Results The prevalence of late talking was 12.6%. Risk factors for late talking in the multivariable model included: male sex ( P = .017) and a family history of late talking and/or diagnosed speech or language delay ( P = .002). Toddlers were significantly less likely to be late talkers if they engaged in informal play opportunities ( P = .013), were read to or shown picture books daily ( P