Q: I have identical twin daughters who are 1 year 8 months old. All their activities are fine but they have yet not started speaking. They only utter a few words like papa/mamma/dada and speak in their own language like guguaaa/ooobbbbbbbaaaa/bakakka. I want to know if they suffer from any speech problem or is it normal as they are twins? Do we need to consult a speech therapist? Please advise and refer some doctors in Delhi.

A:Well, whether a child is a twin or a single child, there are certain speech and language milestones, which a child attains at 20 months of age (i.e 1 year and 8 months ). For example, the single word vocabulary is approximately 20 words at this age. From what you are reporting here, there seems to be a definite lag in the twins expressive abilities (there is no mention about their comprehension abilities!. Also it is quite possible that there might be an exclusive speech problem (inspite of all other activities being very much normal). Within that framework there might be a delay either in only expression or both comprehension and expression. I strongly recommend that you should consult a speech therapist in order that earliest intervention (if required) can be provided to the children along with proper advice for the parents.