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Oller, D. K., Eilers, R. E., Neal, A. R., & Cobo-Lewis, A. B. (1998). Late onset canonical babbling: a possible early marker of abnormal development. Amerian Journal on Mental Retardation, 103, 249–263.

By their 10th month of life, typically developing infants produce canonical babbling, which includes the well-formed syllables required for meaningful speech. Research suggests that emerging speech or language-related disorders might be associated with late onset of canonical babbling. Onset of canonical babbling was investigated for 1,536 high-risk infants, at about 10-months corrected age. Parental report by open-ended questionnaire was found to be an efficient method for ascertaining babbling status. Although delays were infrequent, they were often associated with genetic, neurological, anatomical, and/or physiological abnormalities. Over half the cases of late canonical babbling were not, at the time they were discovered, associated with prior significant medical diagnoses. Late canonical-babbling onset may be a predictor of later developmental disabilities, including problems in speech, language, and reading.

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