Editing Language delay (section)

=== Early signs and symptoms ===
There are several red flags in early infancy and childhood that may indicate a need for evaluation by a pediatrician. For example, language delay can present as a lack of communicative gestures or sounds. Language delay in children is associated with increased difficulty with reading, writing, attention, and/or socialization.<ref name=":023">{{cite journal|vauthors=McLaughlin MR|date=May 2011|title=Speech and language delay in children|url=https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0515/p1183.html|journal=American Family Physician|volume=83|issue=10|pages=1183–8|pmid=21568252}}</ref>  In addition, an inability to engage in social exchanges is a sign of language delay at all ages.<ref name=":4" />

Communicative deficits at specific ages and milestones might indicate language delay, including:

* Not smiling at 3 months
* Not turning the head toward sounds at 4 months
* Not laughing or responding to sounds at 6 months
* Not babbling at 9 months
* Not pointing and using gestures at 12 months
* Not producing more than 5 words at 18 months
* Not producing more than 50 words at 24 months
* Losing language and/or social skills after 36 months<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Infant Development|vauthors=Palmer FB, Capute AJ|date=2011-08-02|isbn=9781444351842|veditors=Bremner JG, Wachs TD|volume=2: Applied and Policy Issues|page=266|chapter=The Early Development of Autism Spectrum Disorders|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQNUmIoG1ykC&q=%22Language+delay%22+infant+development&pg=PA266}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucAZIJUtJY4C&q=%22Language+delay%22+infant+development|title=An Overview of the Development of Infants with Down Syndrome (0-5 Years)|vauthors=Buckley S, Sacks B|year=2001|publisher=DSE Enterprises |isbn=9781903806029}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Crocetti|first1=Michael|title=Oski's Essential Pediatrics|last2=Barone|first2=Michael A.|last3=Oski|first3=Frank A.|year=2004|isbn=9780781737708|veditors=Crocetti M, Barone MA, Oski FA|page=120|chapter=The Streams of Development: The Keys to Developmental Assessment|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I3Kh1cNJxyUC&q=%22Language+delay%22+infant+development&pg=PA120}}</ref>

Later in life, important signs include:

* A lack of speech
* An inability to comprehend, process, or understand language presented to the child<ref name=":023" />