New Book Discusses Late-Talking Children

Posted on July 17, 1997

Late-Talking Children by Thomas Sowell (BasicBooks, $23.00, 180 pages) is the first study of unusually bright children who are years behind schedule in beginning to talk. (Famous examples include nuclear physicist Richard Feynmen, Edward Teller and Albert Einstein).

Based primarily on the experiences of 44 families with 46 such children, this book captures their parents' anguish and triumphs as they try to cope with relatives, teachers and "experts" who attempt to convince them that they have autistic or retarded children and to shunt these children off into programs that are blind alleys.

This book draws on the results of recent brain research and research on other people with unusual mental ability. It also offers some practical advice for parents of children whose late-talking has no apparent medical or other explanation. To parents, this book concludes: "Although late-talking has often been a sign of other serious and lasting problems, many parents of intelligent children who talk late have found light at the end of the tunnel -- sometimes very bright light."

"Late-Talking Children is a wonderful book. For lovers of medical mysteries, Sowell has an eye for telling detail that one sees in only the finest clinical observers. For parents of children with language problems, he combines a compassionate first-person account with sound, clearheaded advice. For scientists and professionals, he offers provocative data with possibly profound implications for our understanding of language, mind, brain and genes. And it is all done in Sowell's style: indefatigably researched, sharply reasoned and beautifully written."