"MY OLDER SON was always chatting. By the time he was 18 months he running away with words," says Marian Bruton from Dublin. With her younger son things were different.

"When he was about two and a half I could count the number of words he had probably about seven. I compared him with my older fellow and I just didn't feel right about it, but typical middle class - I didn't think a health board would offer a service, so after talking to friends I took Michael to a private speech therapist."

This didn't work out and, finally, on the advice of another parent whose child had speech difficulties, she contacted the Eastern Health Board.

"The health board speech therapist assessed Michael and told us he was two years behind with his speech. They sent him for a psychological assessment, where the health board psychologist told us he was of average intelligence, but there was a problem with language.

Speech and language problems are more common than you think. According to Celia Nichol, principal speech and language therapist with the Eastern Health Board (Community Care Area 2), says that UK statistics show that one in eight children starting primary school have some form of speech problem, ranging from mild to severe.

The trick is to pick up the child with speech problems as early as possible. "Michael has improved enormously. He was two years behind, now he is only six months behind. I think the fact that myself and my husband were open to the fact he had a problem and sought help has improved his chances considerably," Bruton says.

SO, HOW DO YOU tell if your child has a speech or language problem? Knowing what is "normal" helps. If you have an older child this will be easier, but for those in doubt, Nichol has some guidelines.

"By about 18 months a child should be able to respond to simple requests - `Pick up teddy'. They should know and respond to their name and use 10 easy words like `Mammy', `Daddy', `ball'," she explains.

"If, by the age of two years, a child is not saying words and responding to words, that would be the time to contact the public health nurse."

In fact many children are identified at this stage by the public health nurse when they get their routine two year check, Nichol says.

A child with a language problem may be more difficult to identify than a child with an obvious speech problem, she says.

"Very often parents are picking up on how a child sounds, but they don't notice how their child is understanding language and this is the most important one because it may point to a language disorder rather than a language delay, and will require more intensive help.

Parents should not be afraid to contact their local health board if they think that their child has a problem, Nichol says. Bruton concurs, pointing out that their son has received a "fantastic" service - despite a five month wait for treatment.

Nichol is aware that parents will have to wait: "There are 250 speech therapists in Ireland, but we need 900 to cope with the work."

Parental involvement is vital to the therapy process, Nichol says, and in some cases more work may be done with the parents than the child. Bruton agrees: if your child does have a speech problem, you will need to spend a lot of time working with him or her. Similarly, there are ways that you can help your children with their speech and language development - essential work, since this will also lay the foundations for reading and writing.

"Spend as much time as possible with your child talking and listening. Give them a chance to say what they want to say. Often parents will overuse questions - `What's this? What's that?' - rather than joining in a conversation. Don't talk at them all the while - give them space and time," Nichol advises.

Reading to your child is also important, as is - rather surprisingly - watching television together. "Sitting them in front of the TV all the time is obviously not desirable, but programmes like Barney that are geared towards children are very useful to share and then talk about."

You should also watch if one child - is not getting a word in edgeways. "If you have several children and they're all talking, give the youngest child or the child with the speech problem a chance to talk as well."

Parents should realise that they are not responsible for their child's language problem. "Very often parents are not doing anything wrong. In most cases it is just the way your child comes into the world," she adds.

If you are concerned about the development of your child's speech, don't hesitate to contact your local health board clinic, Nichol says, "even if you think it's nothing".