Schedule routine well child visits with your child's doctor. These should occur periodically throughout the first 2 years, and every year thereafter through at least age 6. During these visits, the doctor uses various methods to test your child's development. Most evaluation for speech and language development will be based upon your answers to questions about whether your child has reached milestones for his or her age. If your child is suspected of having a speech or language delay, your health professional will refer your child to a speech-language pathologist to have specific tests that measure nonverbal intelligence, language skills, and vocabulary.

Hearing problems are an important cause of speech and language delays in children. For this reason, hearing tests conducted by an audiologist are an essential part of any suspected speech and language developmental delay. Many health professional organizations claim that screening is critical in infancy because hearing problems that are caught and treated within 6 months after birth may help prevent some developmental problems, including those related to speech and language development.²

Most newborns in the United States are screened for hearing loss before leaving the hospital. Ask your doctor whether your newborn's hearing has been tested.