Sowell's Survey on Late-Talking Children as reported in his book.
SURVEY RESULTS
SAMPLE SIZE:
Individuals 46
Families 44
1. EARLY CHILDHOOD: 1. Age at which parent became seriously concerned about child's inability to talk
Before age one 0
1 to 1
1
½ to 2 years 22 to 2
½ years 172
½ to 3 years 123 years + 11
2. Reason for concern about child's late talking:
Child's frustration 4
Daily problems 1
Behind schedule 31
Other 10
3. Children's general patterns:
Hand
Left-handed 2
Right-handed 43
Ambidextrous 1
Allergies
Many or severe 5
Few or mild 11
Practically none 30
Ear infections
Many or severe 15
Few or mild 8
Practically none 23
Physical skills
Clumsy 12
Average 18
Above average 16
Puzzles
Unusually good 31
Average 6
Below average 5
Not noticed 4
Fascinations
Water 19
Spinning objects 7
Spinning self 1
Other 23
None 14
4. Toys
Toys
Preferred girl toys 5
Preferred boy toys 25
No preference 16
5. Playmates
Preferences
Preferred girls 2
Preferred boys 4
No preference 37
Only boys available 1
Only girls available 3
11. FAMILY
1. Child's place in the family:
Child's place
Only child 9
First born 11
Youngest 19
Adopted 1
Other 6
Close relative who talked late?
yes 12
no 33
Relatives' children
More boys than girls 13
More girls than boys 6
No great difference 22
2. Family educational and occupational background:
Education
FATHER MOTHER
Less than high school 0 1
High school 2 2
Some college (includes associate degrees) 6 8
Finished college (4 yr.) 18 9
Postgraduate 9 15
Occupations of close relatives
OCCUPATIONS NUMBER OF FAMILIES
Accountants 23
Computer specialists 15
Engineers 26
Mathematicians 2
Physicians 5
Pilots 6
Scientists 9
Other analytical 2
*both economists
Musicians among close relatives
Yes 35
No 7
Multiple 26
Professional 12
3. Race or ethnicity
MOTHER FATHER
White 40 38
Black 2 3
Chinese or Japanese 0 1
American Indian 0 1
India Indian 0 0
Other 1 0
111. Talking
FIRST MULTI-
AGE: |FIRST WORD |WORD STATEMENT| FIRST SENTENCE |CONVERSATION|
Before 1 6 0 0 0
1 to 1
½ 8 1 0 0I
½ to 2 5 3 0 02 to 2
½ 9 3 0 02
½ to 3 6 6 1 03 to 3
½ 5 4 5 23
½, to 4 2 7 5 74 to 4
½ 2 9 9 104
½ to 5 0 2 7 45 + 1 3 10 14
Not yet 1 5 7 7
Integration of speech, gestures, and facial expressions
Much more so than most children the same age 12
Somewhat more so than most children the same age 6
Average for children the same age 1
Somewhat less than average for the age 8
Much less than average for the age 5
IV. Social development
AS A CHILD AS AN ADULT
Far below average 12 0
Below average 20 1
Average 6 1
Above average 7 3
Far above average I I
V. Mental ability
Intelligence quotient
NON-VERBAL TOTAL
Below 90 1 1
from 90 to 110 2 3
Above 110 1 3
Other measures
NON-VERBAL TOTAL
Below age level 0 4
Average for age level 1 3
Above average for age level 2 2
Parental assessment of child's memory
MEMORY
Very poor 0
Below average 0
Average 0
Above average 19
Extremely good 27
VI. Miscellaneous
1. Evaluations
Evaluated by medical or psychological specialists?
yes 41
no 5
First evaluation
Process itself stressful to the child?
Yes 20
No 16
Second evaluation
Process itself stressful to the child?
yes 9
no 17
Third evaluation
Process itself stressful to the child?
yes 9
no 9
Evaluators' conclusions
autistic 12
other disorder 12
no cause found 13
2. Child's likes and dislikes
LIKES DISLIKES
music 10 0
Puzzles 8 1
Building things 6 0
Computers 13 0
New things 0 3
Noise 0 9
3. Speech therapist
Used speech therapist?
yes 40
no 6
Age when therapist was used
By first birthday 3
Age one 0
Age two 19
Age three 7
Age four 7
Five or older 3
Results of speech therapy
Good 22
Bad 1
None 4
Doubtful 10
4. Toilet training:
AGE URINATION BOWEL MOVEMENTS
Before 1 0 0
1-1
½, 0 01
½-2 2 22-2
½ 2 12
½-3 4 33-3
½ 13 93
½-4 6 84-4
½, 5 54
½-5 5 45 + 4 8
Not yet 3 4
VII. GROUP ACTIVITY
Has written letters to the group 22
Has written letters to individuals 15
Has phoned other member(s) 14
Has been phoned by other member(s)
13Has met other member(s) in person
3Always read letters and memos 34
Usually read letters and memos 3
Seldom read letters and memos 1
© (1997). Thomas Sowell, Late-Talking Children.