From what age and to which specialist should you go with a child who does not talk?
Applies to age: 18–36 months
In short
The health checkup at age 2 includes an assessment of speech development. If by age 2 a child does not put two words together (a WHO milestone), you should suspect hearing loss and consult a doctor as soon as possible.
What is normal
Some claims: international norm
- A child with normal hearing puts two words together by age 2, such as “no bed” or “more apple”.
Source: WHO · international norm – show the original wording (EN)
Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:
By the age of two years:
WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]
A child with normal hearing will:
WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]
Put two words together such as “no bed“ or “more apple”
WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]
- A child with normal hearing puts three words together by age 3 when talking about things.
Source: WHO · international norm – show the original wording (EN)
Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:
By the age of three years:
WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]
A child with normal hearing will:
WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]
Put three words together to talk about things
WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]
- Every child is different, and development does not follow a strict pattern.
Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
Każde dziecko jest inne i jego rozwój nie przebiega ściśle według wzorca.
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
- A child who cannot hear human speech will not learn to talk.
Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
Dziecko, które nie słyszy ludzkiej mowy, nie nauczy się mówić.
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
When to worry
Some claims: international norm
- If a child has not reached the hearing and speech milestone from the WHO leaflet, you should suspect hearing loss and consult a doctor or a healthcare worker as soon as possible.
Source: WHO · international norm – show the original wording (EN)
Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:
Suspect hearing loss, if your child did not reach the milestone.
WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]
See a healthworker or doctor at the earliest.
WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]
- A sign of a possible hearing problem is, among other things, that the child does not react when spoken to, and that the child mispronounces words or speaks unclearly.
Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
Twoje dziecko może mieć problem ze słyszeniem, jeśli:
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
Polish original
nie reaguje, gdy do niego mówisz
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
Polish original
przekręca słowa lub niewyraźnie mówi
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
See a doctor
- If there are signs of possible hearing loss, such as the child not reacting when spoken to or mispronouncing words, consult a doctor and have your child’s hearing tested; hearing tests are free at any time, not only right after birth.
Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
Skonsultuj się wtedy z lekarzem i zbadaj słuch swego dziecka.
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
Polish original
Badania słuchu są bezpłatne zawsze, nie tylko zaraz po narodzeniu.
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
- Polish care path: the Ministry of Health regulation on guaranteed services in primary care (POZ), consolidated text in the Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2023 item 1427, annex 1 part III, item 5, provides for a test of the development of auditory reactions and an assessment of speech development as part of the health checkup at age 2. This is the timing of the checkup and an indication of what is assessed then, not an age threshold for going to a speech therapist.
Source: Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
2 lata profilaktyczne badanie lekarskie (bilans zdrowia) obejmuje
Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [3]
Polish original
przeprowadzenie testu rozwoju reakcji słuchowych oraz ocenę rozwoju mowy
Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [3]
- A child’s health checkup is carried out by a family doctor, a pediatrician or a nurse.
Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
Badanie przeprowadza lekarz rodzinny, pediatra lub pielęgniarka.
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
- If a child develops differently from peers, it is worth discussing with a specialist whatever worries you, and using the advice of a midwife, a nurse or a pediatrician.
Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
Warto jednak skonsultować ze specjalistą to, co Cię zaniepokoiło i korzystać z rad położnej, pielęgniarki czy pediatry.
Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]
- Guaranteed services in outpatient specialist care include a “specialist consultation – speech therapy” (Ministry of Health regulation, Dz.U. 2013 item 1413, consolidated text Dz.U. 2016 item 357, annex no. 1, item 55); it can be provided by, among others, a person with the title of specialist in neurologopedics or surdologopedics.
Source: Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
Porada specjalistyczna -logopedia
Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [3]
Polish original
uzyskała tytuł specjalisty w dziedzinie neurologopedii lub surdologopedii
Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [3]
- Guaranteed services in outpatient specialist care include a “specialist consultation – audiology and phoniatrics” (Dz.U. 2013 item 1413, consolidated text Dz.U. 2016 item 357, annex no. 1, item 54), where the place providing the services is required to have a set for behavioral hearing tests of infants and small children.
Source: Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw – show the quote
Verbatim quote from the source:
Polish original
Porada specjalistyczna-audiologia i foniatria
Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [3]
Polish original
zestaw do badań behawioralnych słuchu niemowląt i małych dzieci
Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [3]
international norm “International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.
Sources
- WHO (who.int)License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Source: WHO (who.int). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original. WHO does not endorse this site or its content.
- Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl)
- https://pacjent.gov.pl/zapobiegaj/jak-dbac-o-zdrowy-rozwoj-psychiczny-dziecka
- https://pacjent.gov.pl/niedosluch-u-dzieci
- https://pacjent.gov.pl/zapobiegaj/zaprowadz-dziecko-na-bilans-zdrowia
License: CC BY 3.0 PL. Source: Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original. - Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw (ELI: eli.gov.pl, api.sejm.gov.pl)
- https://api.sejm.gov.pl/eli/acts/DU/2023/1427/text.html
- https://api.sejm.gov.pl/eli/acts/DU/2016/357/text.html
License: Akt normatywny, art. 4 pkt 1 ustawy o prawie autorskim (nie podlega ochronie). Source: Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw (ELI: eli.gov.pl, api.sejm.gov.pl).