Einstein syndrome: what does it consist of?

Einstein syndrome defines those children who develop their speech and language skills later than the rest.. Many parents feel worried when their children turn two years old and barely express a few words clearly. However, it is interesting to know that “late talkers” make up almost 15% of the population.

What’s more, one of those people who were part of this category was the very father of the theory of relativity. That’s how it is, Albert Einstein was a child who did not utter concrete and meaningful sentences until he was 5 years old.. His family was also alarmed and for a long time he assumed that perhaps little Albert showed some intellectual retardation.

However, the world of science would not be the same without that man who took a long time to be able to communicate effectively with his environment. And he’s not the only one. There are many people who, during the first years of their lives, show slow development in the communication process..

However, in certain cases they hide high intellectual competencies behind them. We analyze it.

What is Albert Einstein syndrome?

Few things obsess parents more than when their children do not meet all the developmental milestones expected for their age. We want them to meet those percentiles and growth markers to know that everything is “going well.” However, this does not always happen, and just because it happens this way does not mean that something bad is happening.

For example, research work such as those carried out in the department of communicative disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison tells us something interesting. Most children who begin to speak late acquire age-appropriate language skills.. That delay ends up being adjusted.

However, it is important that in the event of any delay in the development of a skill, a specialist be consulted. Early attention is key in many cases to reduce the impact of a problem, should it appear. In this way, it is interesting to know that what is known as “slow or late development” is especially common in speech and language processes.

Hence the Albert Einstein syndrome was coined.

Bright children who talk late

Einstein syndrome does not appear in any diagnostic manual. It is just a label to describe a phenomenon that appears frequently. There are many children who take a long time to speak, but over time they demonstrate high intellectual skills..

This term was coined by the American economist Evan Thomas Sowell. He popularized it following his book Children who talk late in 1997. Later, he published another work with Dr. Stephen Camarata titled Einstein syndrome: bright children who talk late.

Dr. Camarata, a professor of hearing and speech sciences at Vanderbilt University, highlighted something important in this work. Many children are mistakenly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) because they take more than two years to speak.

It is necessary to provide more adjusted and personalized attention to each child. What’s more, sometimes there may be other latent language disorders that need to be identified as soon as possible. Other times, it is just due to later development.

Likewise, there is another notable factor: There are children with a high intelligence quotient (IQ) who develop this communicative competence later.

What are children with Einstein syndrome like?

In the book Einstein syndrome: bright children who talk late We find those characteristics that define these little ones. However, in case If any of our children show this delay in speech, it is advisable to consult with the pediatrician.. Let’s not fall into self-diagnoses.

Let’s look at those characteristics that Evan Thomas Sowell and Dr. Stephen Camarata defined in 2002:

Inability of children to express a correct sentence even after reaching the age of two. They have a very small vocabulary and they pronounce most of those words incorrectly. They show great musical interests and skills.They have good motor skills, including fine motor skills.They have a great memory.They are decisive.They have very specific interests and they delve deeper into them, they long to expand their knowledge.They often take time to be independent when going to the bathroom. When they are doing something, they concentrate and focus their attention for a long time.

To conclude, it is important to note that we do not have extensive documentation on Einstein syndrome beyond this book and opinion articles. It is a reality that still needs more studies and analysis by experts. For now, we only need to remember something very basic.

Each child demonstrates his or her own pace of growth and maturation. Respecting this process and understanding the particular and unique needs of each child is essential. Before putting pressure, judging or labeling, let’s try to understand.

You might be interested…