Q: I have just come across the label of "Overwelcomed Child Syndrome" in relation to gifted preschoolers and late speech development. I would like to know more about overwelcomed child syndrome to perhaps help me understand why my son ceased speech at around 10 months after very early speech at 17 weeks!

A: Overwelcomed child syndrome usually happens with a first, long-awaited child who receives continuous attention and is very verbal. The problem is that the child becomes so accustomed to total attention that when a second child comes on the scene, or the parent tries to encourage the child to play alone, the child feels rejected or attention-deprived. Sometimes, they do stop talking, but more likely, they become aggressive or sad. I refer to it as "dethroning."

Dethroning does not fit with the description of your son who spoke so incredibly early and then stopped. On the other hand, 10-month-old children don't usually have very much vocabulary -- usually fewer than a dozen words, if that many. I'm not at all sure there is a problem that's diagnosable at this time.

Encourage your son by talking to him. He may be able to soon point to parts of his body or make some animal sounds, like what the doggie or kitty says, but he's still rather far from the time you would expect talking, even from a very gifted child. You can read your son some simple board books and nursery rhymes, and teach him simple songs. Mainly, relax and enjoy him, giggle and laugh with him, and wait patiently for your little guy to develop his words.

Dr. Sylvia Rimm, Phd

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