Abstract
This paper describes the age at which a sample of children were reported as beginning to talk and the incidence of marked delays in language development. This is followed by an examination of the significance of early delays in talking in terms of the language development of these children at ages three and five years. The implications of the results for screening, diagnosis, and intervention in early expressive language delays are then discussed and practical recommendations made. The results described in this paper are now largely superseded by RO7, RO26, RO33 and RO89.