Will my child talk?

When I assess children, I like to meet with the parents to go over my report. Hopefully the results aren't shocking. However, it is extremely difficult to tell parents that their child is functioning at such and such level. I usually don't say what age the child is functioning like in my reports unless I think a) the parent needs to see the results in that way, b) the report is being sent to another agency and they need numbers, c) the numbers are "good enough" that I don't think it will negatively affect the parents.

There is one question that is always hard to answer: "will my child talk?" I hate that question. I don't have a crystal ball. I don't know if or when the child will talk. I can tell statistics and all that but sometimes I feel like I am popping or inflating the balloon of hope when I do that. I am not a miracle worker even though some parents are looking for a miracle.

I think the question "will my child talk?" is another question: will my child be OK? When children can't communicate, people judge them a certain way and make assumptions about how "smart" they are. Children who are very socially competent are judged to be "smarter" than those who have social skill difficulties. It is really unfortunate. I suppose, what else do people have to judge on?