Early Talker, Late Talker: Is My Child Gifted?
How does early or late talking relate to how smart a child is?
Two families were visiting their great aunt and uncle and chatting with each other as their first-borns, and cousins to each other, were crawling and toddling around the living room floor in front of them all. Little Sally, about 14 months old at the time, was jabbering away and running circles around her one month younger cousin, Heinz. Sally’s parents were pleased but embarrassed as Aunt Helen oohed and ahhed over how precocious — smart — Sally was. Sally and Heinz have long since grown up, and if either is more intelligent than the other, it’s not as obvious as it was when they were toddlers. What happened? There are several real questions here.
Are girls and boys naturally different in early talking abilities?
How does early or late talking relate to how smart a child is?
Is it proof that a child is very smart when she talks a lot and “sounds smart”?
Whether or not a child talks early is a cause for either delight or concern for most parents — because it is one of the earliest milestones — next to those first steps — that we look for in our little darlings. But what does it really mean? What is early talking? Well, it depends on whether or not you have a little boy or a little girl, an introvert or an extrovert, or a first child or later born, just for starters.
Are girls and boys naturally different in early talking abilities?
Yes, it’s true that girls are more likely to be early talkers than boys because the verbal sections of their brains develop earlier than in the average boy’s brain. In fact, this female verbal advantage continues throughout life. Boys’ development is more visual-spatial with hands-on materials and exploration. Most little boys like to physically try things for themselves. The typical school setting often fits girls better than boys, especially after kindergarten, because school work is lots of work on reading and writing, and that works better for girls’ interests and abilities than boys’.
How does early or late talking relate to how smart a child is?
According to Hall and Skinner (1980), average children have a three-word speaking vocabulary other than “mama” and “dada” by 14 months, while the average for gifted children is 9.8 months. Research with levels of giftedness (Ruf, 2005) shows early talking — saying several words — starts as early as 5.5 months in some children, and while that’s certainly unusually precocious behavior, some equally intelligent children say very little before they are 20 months old.
Early talking tells us that children are usually advanced in their verbal abilities, but it doesn’t tell us how smart they may be in other areas. Advanced vocabulary often signals a strong memory, high verbal fluid reasoning — putting lots of ideas together, thinking on your feet, and strong knowledge acquisition abilities — children who seem to remember everything — but sometimes an early talker doesn’t have this wide array of aptitudes.
You may have also heard that smart children talk a lot — it’s a common “gifted” trait. While early reading can point to a high probability that a child is smart, some very smart children don’t talk early or talk much. Shy or introverted children, or children with a dominant older brother or sister, may take their time to perfect their abilities before they let anyone hear or see them. Younger children may decide the older brother or sister can do their talking for them. Some very bright children simply give up trying to compete with their older, talkative siblings. For others, they never turn into “talkers” because it simply isn’t in their nature. This absolutely does not mean they are less intelligent than the talkers!
Is it proof that children are very smart when they talk a lot and “sound smart”?
A good talker can “look smart” and confound parents and teachers when he doesn’t score high on tests of ability or might lack talent in math, for example. Like early reading, early talking needs to be measured in the context of the child’s whole life. What are her other interests and demonstrated abilities?
When a child talks a lot and “sounds smart” it means she will probably always gravitate toward using this ability for her pastimes and her eventual career. When given the chance, talkers will choose activities, coursework, friendships, and other environments that allow for discussion and interaction with others, especially others who share their interests.
Does an early and continued high ability for using words indicate high intelligence? At the very least, it indicates high verbal intelligence, and when people are allowed to use and develop their strengths, they are very smart indeed.
My current published books about the gifted:
The Five Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us (2023). https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-Children-Grown-Up/dp/B0C9SHFRLH or https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-5-levels-of-gifted-children-grown-up-phd-deborah-l-ruf/1143719859?ean=9798988323709. This is an 18-year longitudinal study follow-up about the original gifted child subjects in 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options (2005, 2009).
Keys to Successfully Parenting the Gifted Child (2023). On Amazon, Keys to Successfully Parenting Gifted Children (2022, 2023) Print and ebook. The Nook version is also now on B&N. This is a short book 80 pages including pictures - that is a great starter for parents just wanting some answers … fast! The content was originally from a PowerPoint I created for the parents of gifted children presentations around the country. The contents zero in on some of the most important things about raising gifted children that parents want to know.
Losing Our Minds: Too Many Gifted Children Left Behind (Oct. 2024). The book provides a detailed analysis of the different levels of giftedness, the concept of "good fit" in educational settings, and the impact of various school environments on gifted children. It also includes personal stories and experiences of gifted children and adults, highlighting the challenges they face in finding appropriate educational and social environments. Available now on both Amazon and B&N. It is not the old purple book from 2005. Also, the Kindle and Nook versions are formatted so readers can click back and forth easily and find their place again. Follow this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL3BSC9X or this link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/losing-our-minds-deborah-ruf/1146410968?ean=2940185888872
5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2009. Here are links to the 5 Levels of Gifted book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/5-levels-of-gifted-deborah-ruf/1126358834 and Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-School-Educational-Options/dp/0910707987 or directly from the publisher: https://www.giftedunlimitedllc.com/store/p12/5_Levels_of_Gifted.html
Environmental, Familial, and Personal Factors That Affect the Self-Actualization of Highly Gifted Adults: Case Studies (D. Ruf, 1998) doctoral dissertation. Free PDF https://dabrowskicenter.org/ruf
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2 of my 3 kids were "late" talkers, one was filibustering contentedly from about 3 months of age (babbling, not talking). The late talkers both are/were more introverted and preferred 1:1 and my chatty one still loves holding court with an audience 🤣
My late talkers were both saying wildly complex things once they started talked. Same happened when they learned to read. My sense was they have an inner perfectionism that led them to think they had to keep observing until they found their words. They also were both flagged for learning delays at school, yet at home were sounding out words like "chrysanthemum" in first grade. Both instances I was confident enough to suggest more challenging material to test them because they were likely bored with "see Spot run" type early reader stuff... I was accurate in my assessment and a little smug about it the first time around (I was in my late 20's with a grade schooler in an affluent community and stood out like a sore thumb, but that's a different story 🤣)
As an early reader and talked myself, I can say that it caused me a fair amount of worry that they weren't more "like me" but I'm glad I trusted my instincts to let them develop at their own pace without meddling too much. Intervention is critical in many cases, but arbitrary in as many more, causing achievement worry and duress. It's cool that they all have the own strengths and gifts that complement each other, and their "weaknesses" are scaffolded with understanding and patience. Sometimes I think they harder we attempt to get our kids to conform to a set of developmental or cultural standards, the more likely rebellion is. I'm ultimately lazy (okay, efficient?) and prefer pleasure, understanding and ease so that certainly factors in. Anyway, now all these kids talk my ears off and are voracious readers and writers too. Yay 🤸🏼 (now for them all to grow more confident and comfortable trusting themselves!)