Smart Children Who Talk Late

The Einstein Syndrome

Recently I came across the book titled, "The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children who Talk Late" by Thomas Sowell. I was immediately interested in reading this book because out of my three boys, two have been late talkers. As a child development researcher I have observed extremely intelligent children who talk late and wondered where these children fit into the current literature that suggests children who talk late have difficulty learning to read, issues with socialization and peer relationships, and a tough time navigating the school system.

Hart and Risley among other researchers have found that the amount mothers directly talk to their children is strongly associated with the children's vocabulary growth. Other research suggests that quality mother to child talk influences how children well children explore books and adjust to school.

The Study Sample

The book, "The Einstein Syndrome" follows two groups of of exceptionally intelligent late talking children. One group had 46 children while the other had 239 children. Sowell refers to late talking children who are exceptionally bright as children who fit into what he calls "The Einstein Syndrome." He says these children have characteristics and experiences similar to what has been written about Albert Einstein.

Sowell says the most difficult aspect about bright late talking children is not due to the actual speech delays these children have but rather a result of the distress brought on parents of the late talking children by teachers, relatives, neighbors, and friends. He goes on to describe how many parents of bright late talking children often feel a sense of guilt and responsibility for why their child is not talking like his or her peers. The pressure these parents feel from those around them often leads them to frequently attempt to find a diagnosis for the child's seeming learning disability. Sowell says, mothers are often the parent blamed for the child's lag in talking.

I myself have experienced this type of pressure, guilt, and blame when both of my older sons around 3-years of age exhibited speech delays. I remember feeling confused about their inability and lack of desire to communicate with others. Although I read to my children daily and interacted with them frequently as a stay at home mom, I often felt their language delays were in some way my fault for not reading, talking, or engaging in enough quality interactions with them.

I am familiar with the research conducted by Hart and Risley and other researchers who have found mothers who engage in quality talk, frequent story-telling, and daily reading to their children have children who demonstrate high vocabulary skills, increase ability in reading readiness, and better communication skills. However, despite my attempts at reading, communicating, and interacting with my older boys frequently they both were late talkers.

Sowell says there are many reasons for children to talk late. Some reasons include: hearing problems, autism, physical problems with their tongue or soft or hard palate, and deafness. When all the possible emotional, mental, and physical problems for speech delay are ruled out then the author describes that it is possible the child may be experiencing "The Einstein Syndrome".

Parents of bright late talking children report extreme amounts of pressure from friends, neighbors, teachers, and relatives to "get the child the help they need", even when all potential physical and emotional disorders have been ruled out by a qualified physician. This leaves parents of children who fit into the "Einstein Syndrome" feeling guilty, alone, isolated, and confused. Parents of bright late talking children do not usually know anyone else who has experienced what they are experiencing and therefore they often feel more isolated and alone.

There are websites and seminars throughout the United States where parents of children with the "Einstein Syndrome" can share their fears, ideas, experiences, and receive support. The parents in these two study groups reported that being able to share their experiences with others who understand their trepidations, frustrations, and successes was key in helping them cope with the asynchronicity they felt around other parents of children who had typical speech development.

Characteristics of Smart Late-Talking Children and Their Families

After studying this small population of children and their parents, Sowell discovered several attributes of exceptionally bright late-talking children and their families. Here are 8 characteristics of bright late talking children and their families.

1. Speech Delay. The majority of children in both study groups failed to use more than one word until 3 1/2 years. In fact the majority of children in this study spoke their first sentence at 4 years of age. The author pointed out that when the children finally started to speak in sentences they demonstrated a unique approach to talking. For example, some started speaking words and practicing slowly, others made rapid progressions, while others were difficult to understand when they first started speaking.
2. Uncommon Family Characteristics. The results of the research study indicated that many bright late talking children have parents who are extremely analytical. For example, many of these children's parents or close relatives worked as a mathematician, scientist, or engineers. The late talking children in his study had parents who were above average in educational level. At least 26% of the parents in both study groups had postgraduate education. Another interesting family characteristic found in this population was that many of the late talking children had relatives who were also late-talkers.
3. Gender Differences. There were great differences found in gender and late-talking. Boys in the two study groups were 85% more likely to be exceptionally bright late-talkers than girls.
4. High Analytic Skills. The children in both study groups demonstrated high analytical abilities. With ease they solved difficult puzzles as toddlers and enjoyed engaging in activities that required numbering, pattern determination, and cause and effect skills.
5. Exceptional Memory Skills. Many of the parents of the two study groups reported their children as having a type of "photographic memory".
6. Precocious Abilities. The children in the two groups were overwhelming reported to effectively use the computer and/or play an instrument with little guidance as a toddler or preschooler.
7. Delay in Social Development. Bright late talking children were reported to have difficulty engaging in social relationships with their peers. They were also overwhelmingly reported by their parents to be delayed in toilet training. In fact the median age for toilet training was 3.1/2 -4.1/2 years in both groups.
8. Extremely Strong Willed. The parents in both groups consistently described their children as being extremely strong willed. Often having, "obsessive interest, abnormal sensitivities, and extreme reactions", similar to children with high-IQ's. Parents described these children as marching to the beat of a different drummer.

My first born and second born sons were both bright late-talkers. They have many of the qualities described by the author of the book. My middle child has an exceptional memory, is extremely strong-willed, great with computers, and extremely delayed in potty training. I remember when he was almost 4 years old I asked him why he was afraid to sit on the toilet. He said, "Cause the bats". His answer baffled me but I was use to his vivid imagination and creative style of relating so I responded to his answer with a simple, "okay."

After a few days, I asked his older brother if he knew what his brother was talking about with the bats. His older brother told me that the only thing he remembered was the summer before when my middle child was 2 1/2 years old, his grandparents had taken him to a cave in Branson. My oldest son said the tour guide talked about how bats pooped in the cave. I called my parents to ask them about the bat cave experience and they said they remembered the tour guide discussing bat poop. I asked my middle child if he refused to sit on the potty because of what he heard and saw the year before about bat poop in the cave and he emphatically replied, "Yes"!

When I told my friends and relatives about why he refused to potty train they rolled their eyes at me and told me he was pulling the wool over my eyes. After reading this book all the confusion and misunderstanding I experienced during this difficult time was finally validated by the parents' stories.

Conclusions

The author does not whole heatedly recommend speech therapy for all bright late talking children. He said, rather it is important that the child's speech is encouraged when the child begins to demonstrate readiness. Experts in speech development and brain research like Professor Steven Pinker at MIT, state that the brain has a capacity to learn a primary language greatly until age 6. After age 6 it becomes extremely difficult for the brain to learn language. In other words, there is a longer time span for learning a second language than there is for learning a primary language. A long-term research study over 1,245 children who were identified as late talkers at age 2 were looked at until age 17. The authors reported the findings of the study in the journal Pediatrics July 2011. The lead researcher Andrew J. O. Whitehouse said the results of the study indicated that children who are late talkers have no more emotional or behavioral problems than those children who talk earlier. You can read more about this research study here

So if you discover a child who displays what the author describes as the "Einstein Syndrome" you will have a better understanding of this fascinating phenomenon. The research in this area is new and the long-term consequences of being a bright late child are relatively unknown. One thing we know understand is that exceptionally bright children who talk late have unique paths of speech and language development.

For more articles or information about the author Kelley Ward, PhD, RN, C please visit here.