ONLINE: Assessment and Treatment of Late Talking in Toddlers

"LIVE" Online Learning

Session 1 Monday 17th November 2025, 11.00am-2.30pm NZDT

Session 2 Thursday 20th November 2025, 11.00am-2.30pm NZDT 

The session will be “LIVE” and will not be recorded at the request of the presenters.

This 7-hr online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) event is intended for Speech-Language Therapists/Speech Pathologists working in early intervention with a clinical focus on language intervention. Assessment and treatment principles will focus on the interface between language and phonology development in toddlers and direct caregiver training/coaching principles to support effective implement of the Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) protocol.

Registration and Online Learning Details

Single registration cost is for each individual, not per site. Zoom will be used to deliver the training with “meeting room” details emailed to participants prior to the event. You will need to download Zoom software to your computer. A webcam and inbuilt microphone on your computer is also preferable so you can fully participate.

Readings and Resources

Recommended readings and resources will be shared 1-2 weeks before the event.

Workshop Content

Toddlers who have significantly smaller expressive vocabularies than their peers with typical development are known as late talkers. Late talkers have no frank neurological impairments, sensory or motor deficits (e.g., hearing loss), or other diagnoses (e.g., autism spectrum disorder) that might otherwise account for their language deficits. Some late talkers show persistent language difficulties and are later diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), while others develop language skills that fall in the average range but remain below the skills of peers with typical early language development. Regardless, it is important to attend to late talkers' communication needs  as late onset of talking and slower rate of word learning are early risk factors for lifelong problems with language, both oral and written. Session 1 will provide clinicians with evidence-based recommendations for assessment of language and phonology in toddlers. Session 2 will  focus on effective implementation of VAULT treatment (Alt, et al. (2014). . Strategies to support parent education and parent coaching will also be discussed to ensure VAULT treatment is implemented to fidelity in the clinical setting and in the home environment.

Reference:

Alt M, Meyers C, Oglivie T, Nicholas K, Arizmendi G. Cross-situational statistically based word learning intervention for late-talking toddlers. J Commun Disord. 2014 Nov-Dec;52:207-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2014.07.002. Epub 2014 Aug 7. PMID: 25155254; PMCID: PMC4476298.

Learning Objectives

·      Evidence-based assessment of language and phonological skills in toddlers with a focus on late talking toddlers

·      Understanding of Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) intervention approach

·      Implementation of VAULT for late talkers with consideration of late talkers with phonological difficulties and late talkers with linguistically diverse backgrounds   

·      Strategies to support parents education in VAULT intervention approach 

About Professor Nat Munro and Dr. Tai-Ying Lee

Dr. Natalie (Nat) Munro is a Professor of Speech Pathology at Southern Cross University’s Faculty of Health. A certified practicing speech-language pathologist since 1996, she has extensive experience in academic, clinical, and educational settings, including NSW Health and various schools. She completed her PhD at The University of Sydney in 2008, focusing on word-learning in children with language disorders. Her research covers speech and language development from toddlerhood to adolescence, collaborating with experts in speech pathology, occupational therapy, psychology, community pediatrics, education, and linguistics. With over $5 million in grant funding and more than 75 refereed publications, Nat is recognized for her significant contributions to the field.

Dr. Tai-Ying Lee has a diverse background in academic and clinical settings from her experiences across New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong. Her clinical expertise is focused on working with children and families from diverse populations, particularly in speech sound disorders, and language disorders. Her experiences have shaped her research focus on bilingual intervention implementation, and early bilingual language development. Her current research projects are on the implementation of Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) approach for bilingual populations, the impact of linguistic distance and phonological neighbourhood density on early bilingual language development, bilingual fluency, and the use of new technologies in intervention.