If Your Toddler Isn’t Talking Yet, COVID Authoritarians Might Be To Blame

“If Your Toddler Isn’t Talking Yet, the Pandemic Might Be to Blame,” the title of a Wall Street Journal article reads. 

Sarah Toy, a reporter for the publication’s health and medicine bureau, wrote an increasing number of “babies and toddlers are being diagnosed with speech and language delays” due to academic setbacks during the virus pandemic when the economy was forced to shut down. 

Toy cited new data from health analytics company Truveta that analyzed 2.5 million children under the age of 5. There was a significant increase in diagnoses of first-time speech delays. She said on average, between 2018-19 and 2021-22, these delays soared by 1.6 times, adding there was a large surge in delays among 1-year-olds. 

She spoke with Dr. Caroline Martinez, an assistant clinical professor of behavioral pediatrics with Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, and various speech therapists, who blamed social isolation combined with stress among parents as the top contributors to the delays. Here’s an excerpt of what Toy wrote:

“Social isolation coupled with pandemic-related stress among parents likely contributed to the delays, Martinez and speech therapists said. Families were less likely to start therapy or get their children evaluated during the pandemic, they said, creating a backlog of patients longer than ever, they said.” 

The WSJ journo cited a survey from April that showed 80% of 1,000 members of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association working with children under the age of 5 found an increasing number of delayed language or diagnosed language disorder cases compared with pre-pandemic trends. Many of these speech pathologists also said there had been an increase in children with social-communication difficulties. 

While the data is insightful, we’re sorry to inform Toy the “pandemic” isn’t to blame for why a generation of children has developed language disorders. Why the journo left out the politicians, public health bureaucrats, and teachers’ unions who ferociously demanded government lockdowns and closure of schools is a significant concern. 

As we’ve observed, Covid authoritarians, such as Anthony Fauci, are becoming deniers of the truth and the largest source of misinformation about what really happened several years ago as they desperately try to rewrite history due to the botched response that should’ve never included the closure of the economy and shuttering of schools. 

•  Why Are So Many COVID Authoritarians Suddenly Shifting Their Narratives?
• Another Lockdown Authoritarian Tries To Weasel Out Of Responsibility For Role During Pandemic
• Top Officials Who Pushed Aggressive COVID-19 Policies Try To Rewrite History

And, of course, there’s this:

• Watch: Fauci Claims Lockdowns Have Not “Irreparably Damaged Anyone”

#Fauci this morning vs Fauci 2020. He hopes you will ignore the blatant lies & adopt his new narrative because it supports your political bias. If you’re vaccinated, I hope you choose what’s true versus what you want to believe – Humanity depends on it. It’s time to unite! We are… pic.twitter.com/tjjdg6ZUks

— Brandon Taylor Moore (@LetsGoBrando45) April 26, 2023

A reworking of the WSJ headline is needed: “If Your Toddler Isn’t Talking Yet, the COVID Authoritarians Might Be To Blame.”