My Child Isn’t Talking Yet – When to See a Speech Therapist in Kuwait

By Maraheb AlQallaf, Speech-Language Pathologist · Last updated June 2026

Age-by-age milestones – what should my child be doing?

Speech and language develop on a predictable timeline. Some children are early; some are late; but the milestones below are the medical benchmarks used worldwide. Concerns at any of these checkpoints warrant a professional screening.

By 12 months

• Babbles with consonant–vowel combinations ("ba-ba", "da-da", "ma-ma")
• Responds to their name
• Uses gestures like waving, pointing, showing
• Recognizes and turns toward familiar voices

Red flag: no babbling, no eye contact when spoken to, no response to name.

By 18 months

• Uses at least 10-20 meaningful words ("mama", "ball", "more")
• Follows simple one-step instructions ("Give me the cup")
• Points to show or request things

Red flag: fewer than 5 words, not pointing or gesturing, not understanding simple instructions.

By 24 months (2 years)

• Uses 50 or more words
• Combines two words ("more juice", "Daddy come")
• Family members can understand most of what the child says
• Follows two-step instructions ("Get the ball and give it to me")

Red flag: fewer than 50 words, no two-word phrases, hard for family to understand.

By 30 months (2.5 years)

• Uses 2–3 word sentences regularly
• Asks simple questions ("What's that?")
• Understands concepts like "in", "on", "under"

Red flag: not combining words, frustrating tantrums caused by communication breakdown.

By 36 months (3 years)

• Speech is understandable to strangers about 75% of the time
• Uses sentences of 3–4 words
• Tells short stories or describes recent events

Red flag: strangers cannot understand the child, speech is mostly single words, no questions or simple stories.

"My older child talked late and was fine" – should I trust that?

It happens. However, there is no reliable way for a parent to tell which late-talking child will catch up on their own and which one is signaling an underlying disorder: autism, hearing loss, childhood apraxia of speech, or a developmental language disorder. The cost of a screening is one hour. The cost of waiting and missing a treatable condition is years.

What is a speech-language assessment, and what happens in Kuwait?

At Argan Riaya, the assessment takes 30-60 minutes. A licensed Speech-Language Pathologist will:

• Take a detailed history (pregnancy, birth, ear infections, family history, languages spoken at home)
• Observe your child playing and interacting
• Use validated evaluation tools for Arabic and English speakers
• Recommend monitoring, parent-coaching support, or structured therapy

The assessment can also identify contributing factors such as hearing loss, which is a major hidden cause of speech delay.

What does early speech therapy do?

Modern pediatric speech therapy is not about drilling words at a child. It is structured, play-based, and family-coached. We use evidence-based parent-training models such as Hanen "It Takes Two to Talk" so the language work continues at home, where most of the progress happens.

For children with diagnosed disorders, such as autism and cerebral palsy, therapy is more intensive and possibly utilizes supplemental methods like Augmentative and Alternative Communication. The plan is built around your child, not a template.