Some language delays can come from abnormalities with parts of the mouth. Most delays come from problems with the lips, tongue or the roof of the mouth. The most common abnormality is cleft lip palate. These children are often delayed in speech because their lips can't form the proper shapes to make the necessary sounds. This abnormality is usually easily corrected with a series of surgeries. Once the surgeries are completed, the child receives therapy to help catch up in his learning. If the child gets the surgery early enough, he typically will be able to learn quickly and attain the same learning level as other children in the same age group.
Oral-motor problems indicate that the areas of the brain that are responsible for speech production have trouble communicating. Because of this lack of communication between the brain and the mouth, lips and tongue, children can have trouble coordinating the proper parts in order to speak. However, if the language delay is caused by oral-motor problems, speech may not be the only problem. Children with oral-motor problems can also suffer from feeding difficulties, coughing, spitting up and drooling. This type of delay has an immense effect on learning because the brain must be developed and trained in order to help the child learn to speak. If the brain does not develop properly, learning is severely delayed until the problem can be overcome.
Hearing problems are also commonly related to delayed language development. A child who has trouble hearing may have trouble speaking as well as understanding, imitating and using language. These children must adapt a different form of learning than children who can hear. They must either get cochlear implants or other types of hearing aids to help them to be able to hear, or they must learn to sign or read lips.
Twins may also exhibit language development delays. Twins typically start to speak 3 to 4 months later than children who are not twins. Although most studies show twins catching up to their single peers on standardized language tests during early childhood, a study reported by Record, McKeown and Edwards found that twins performed about 5 points lower than singles on standardized tests in the 11th grade, indicating that the language delay did have an effect on learning years later.