How does he communicate? Does he point to things that he wants, or does he take your hand and direct it to what he wants? Pointing is the more typical development.
Contact Parents Helping Parents in San Jose. www.php.com
School districts start providing services for kids at age 3. There are some early start programs for younger kids, but I think I heard some of them have been affected by the state budget cuts.
Years ago my friend's daughter rarely said a word. Her doctor said she didn't need to speak as her needs were given to her in advance. She had to reason to speak. Some kids I have cared for didn't speak munch and then spoke in sentences. A couple went to speech classes about two years old. Do you play games with him? Like hiding things in one of those shape shorters. Do you ask him questions, read books to him, sing songs to him, etc.? Reading books is the best way for a young one to learn words by picking picture books. What animal is this? What does the cow say? Invovle him in language.
Faye
My son was the exact same way. He didn't speak until 3 yrs. You can call your local school district and they will refer you to you County's dept. who handles this kind of thing. What we did was have someone come to our house and work with him on a weekly basis. They did a hearing test and he was fine, but due to the delay in his speak he qualified for their program. We didn't have to pay anything for the services. When he turned 3 the school district took over and he went to a sepcial preschool for speech delay where he got speech therapy. We held him out a year in Kindergarten so he just started Kindergarten this year at the age of 6. He is still in speech therapy and is doing great.
We also bought Sign Language DVD's from www.mybabycantalk.com That helped tremendously. He was my first child and I was always anticipating what he wanted and he never had to ask for anything. He had no reason to speak and I honestly believe that was the cause of the speech delay. He also use to throw extreme tanturums when we didn't know what he wanted and with the baby sign language he was able to communicate to us which caused him less stress. It was really hard not having him talk and very stressful for him as a child.
My 2nd son was only a baby when we started the baby sign language and by 18 months he was speaking full sentences and very advanced in his language skills. He is 4 and trying to read.
Both my kids picked up the sign language after only a few times watching the dvd and it was a lifesaver, esp. for my oldest. We had such a hard time with him. I wished I could have known about it when he was a baby.
Contact your school district and they will help get you the services that you need.
Martha,
My son did not speak until he went to speech therapy. He had all of three words by the time he was 18 months old.
It wasn't until he was 11 we learned he has ADD and a processing disorder. He can only learn visually, other wise he does not get what we mean. All it took was the right doctor to tell us what was going on. I would ask your doctor for a hearing test to start.
Wendi M
I would recommend you talk to his pediatrician first to screen for developmental progress, then get a speech and language evaluation so if intervention is required it starts as early as possible for the best outcome.
A little about me: I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Palo Alto with two children 19 yo boy and 12 yo girl and a husband of 21 yeas.
I think this is fairly normal for a 19 month old boy. My daughter was talking sentences also very early, but I have a lot of friends with boys and the boys are way behind verbally. Eventually boys catch up and my friends son also had the not listening to his name issue, but by 2 1/2 it has gotten a lot better.
Absolutely no doubt, ask your pediatrician for a referral for a hearing test. Try Dr. Arnstein at Los Gatos Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic. My daughter appeared to hear fine and was meeting her talking milestones, had enough words and could string them together but she just didn't talk much and when she did, she was difficult to understand. This was at 2 yrs, we were referred and she had a 35% hearing loss in both ears! She needed tubes to help with correct drainage and her hearing became normal and she is talking up a storm. What a difference. So, check that first. Also, you can call your local school district and request a referral for speech therapy to get an assessment and treatment (for free) if needed.
Grettings Martha: It is so nice to see another Grandmother,at this sight. I am the mother of 5, been a foster mother, and am the proud Grandmother of 12 ( partly from my foster children that I am blessed to have our lives. My children range in age of 22-43.
Having worked with children for 40 years I can tell you from what I know--girls are just the same as boys in most areas. Only a very few areas have I found that one sex is quicker than another in so it all balances out. So give your little one time-- he may have others doing his talking for him.
I have one child that when he read you question-- actually thought it might have been me describing him!!!
Our son, didn't learn to speak true words until his 5th surgery on his ears for tubes & he was almost 5 years old. This guy spent years with ear infections. He did not speak sentences until he was able to learn sign language and then put the word with the sign. Later, when he wouldn't respond to us but did respond to things that interested him--sharks, whales, turtles etc it was in a bable that only his older brother truely understood. So the older sibling did his talking for him until he was 3. Our son, we learned much later has Aspberger's Syndrome, which is a form of Autism. He didn't respond to his name either until a friend that was learning sign language, taught him his name,how to count and his colors all in Sign!!! It was the most amazing moment to see him respond and pick it up so fast. Things were going on in his head but he couldn't get it across to us. The school distric, didn't catch on to what the problem was so they just wanted to put him in special ed. preschool because he was language delayed. Our doctors, loved this child so much but really felt that he was delayed because of the ear infections so it was years before we got to the heart of the problem.
My grandaughter's pre-school started teaching sign when she waas 2 and it has been wonderful for her to use it. I know that even Seseme street teaches it now. So give it a try and see if that will open up a world to your little one. Talk to the doctors and make sure that there is nothing else going on that might prevent language developement.
As an added note my son tells me that he thought his nick name was his name, so I am glad we stopped that when he was young. My older children's friends all called him "BUDDY".
This young man now at 22 attends Jr. College, and is a hit at his favorite hobby. He still doesn't respond well at times but we have a way of getting his attention so that he is looking at us when we speak to him. That is another trick to try-- making sure that you have the child's full facial attention when talking with him. I am sure you are reading with him as that is great way to develope language skills. But you little one is little and will do great with time.
I have always considered parenthood the greatest adventure ride I have ever been on. My children either birth or foster, ever gave me a dull moment. But I am proud of them all. Good Luck & I hope that you find what will help your little one. Nana G
Hello Martha, I have worked with toddlers for the past 10 years, I have 4 children (3 girls and 1 boy). I would say:
1. have his ears evaluated for sure, you want to rule out an hearing problem.
2. read "To train up a child" by Debi Pearl at nogreaterjoy.org. It has some controversial points but it has some great principles on training a child to obey. Keep what makes sense to you and disregard the rest.
He needs to be trained to respond the first time, it does not come naturally most of the time.
This book changed my life,and my kids are well behaved and obedient (most of the time:) it is great.
Hope it helps.
Your description of your grandson is very similar to how my grandson was at that age. Early intervention is important. I would encourage you to contact North Bay Regional Center
Phone: (707) 569-2042
They will evaluate him and if he needs speech therapy or other services North Bay Regional will help you/your daughter with that. Speech services for your grandson are provided at no cost to your daughter. There are a lot of services available in the Santa Rosa area to help him. Please do not delay and call them ASAP.
My grandson received services from North Bay Regional till the age of three. Then it becomes the responsibility of the school district to provide services. When we started getting services it was for sensory issues and speech delays.
Another place you can call is ELI (Early Learning Institute)(707)591-0170. They will also do free evaluations.
DVD's that our grandson really like and helps with speech are the Baby Bumblebee DVD's. Look on Amazon, they got great reviews.
Please don't delay in getting him evaluated. It is so important to catch any delays as early as possible. I know a lot of people say boys are slower, and they are, but you know your grandson and you seem to have concerns that needs to be addressed.
Not sure where you are but he needs assessment with the Regional Center in CA. Each region has a Regional Center. You also need to speak with his pediatrician. Language delay is a huge red flag...Ann