About This Site
Who built this
SpeechDelayHelp was built by a parent — not a speech-language pathologist, paediatrician, or any other healthcare professional.
It exists because finding calm, accurate, neurodiversity-affirming information about speech and language development is harder than it should be. A lot of what parents encounter is either alarming, deficit-focused, or written in clinical language that isn't accessible to someone who just noticed something about their child at 18 months.
This site is an attempt to do better than that.
Editorial approach
Primary sources only
Every specific developmental claim on this site cites a primary source: the CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early milestone checklists, ASHA practice portal pages, NHS guidance, the Rehabilitation Council of India, or peer-reviewed research. We do not cite other parenting websites as sources.
VerifyFlag system
When a developmental number or threshold is written — "50 words by 24 months," for example — it is tagged with a VerifyFlag in the development version of the site. That flag stays until the claim has been personally traced to the cited primary source and confirmed against the specific page or section. Flags are not removed simply because the claim sounds correct.
Pages visible on the public site may still contain claims under active review. The review date on each page reflects when the content was last written or meaningfully revised — not when every claim was fully verified.
Neurodiversity-affirming language
This site uses strengths-based, neurodiversity-affirming language throughout. "Typical" is preferred over "normal." Autism is described as a neurological difference, not a deficit. Gestalt language processing is described as a different learning style, not a disorder. The goal of speech-language support is to help children communicate effectively in the way that works for them — not to make them communicate as if they were neurotypical.
No diagnostic UX
This site does not include any tool that accepts input about a child and produces a score, risk level, or result. Milestones are reference content — a map, not a report card. An evaluation by a qualified SLP is the only appropriate way to assess a specific child's development.
Geography and scope
Content covers the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and India. Where guidance or service pathways differ by country, sections are clearly labelled. Milestone content primarily draws on CDC (US) and NHS (UK) sources — where those sources differ from each other, that is noted.
Reporting an error
If you find a factual error, an outdated guideline, or a citation that doesn't support the claim it's attached to, please get in touch. The review date on each page is only as good as the corrections that come in.
Contact: hello@speechdelayhelp.com
What this site is not
- A clinical service
- A substitute for an evaluation by a qualified professional
- Reviewed or endorsed by an SLP (there is no clinical reviewer — see above)
- A curated list of providers or SLP practices
- Monetised beyond display advertising (Google AdSense)
See the Medical Disclaimer and Privacy Policy for full details.