My son is 22 months old and barely says any words. He only has about four or five words that he says regularly. He does babbles non-sensical stuff all the time, though. I know he doesn't have hearing problems because he understands a lot. He can point to almost any body part (the only one he'll actually say is "nose"), can find almost every letter of the alphabet on any random book page, and knows about 15 different animal sounds, so it doesn't seem like he has a mental delay. We try narrating what we're doing and repeat the names of things over and over, but he doesn't try to repeat anything we say. I'm contemplating looking into getting him evaluated, but is it too soon? I mean, should we just wait it out and see if he'll start speaking on his own, or should we take him in? We brought up his lack of speech to the pediatrician at his 18-month check-up, but the doctor just said it wasn't cause for too much concern yet and that we should keep our eye on it. Well, four months later, he says maybe two words more than he did back then. I thought most kids his age should be saying at least 20 words and even saying two or three-word sentences. Any advice for us? Thanks in advance!
I would HIGHLY recommend doing baby signing with your son! It sounds like he has the comprehension skills but just hasn't developed the coordination needed to formulate most words. Research shows that kids who sign actually learn to talk sooner and develop more words to communicate with. Children develop coordination of their large muscle groups faster than the smaller muscles, especially those needed to coordinate speech. This is why babies can comprehend more than they can say and why signing is a good bridge between now and the time he begins to talk more. Since he has coordination of his large muscles and has comprehension, use signing for your communication right now. The communication with you in this way will actually help his language development, developing the language connections in the brain, and you may find that it won't be much longer before he puts it all together and begins talking. I agree with your pediatrician. Kids develop at different rates and I wouldn't be concerned yet. After all, Einstein didn't talk until he was three and when he did start talking, he only whispered for the longest time. His parents thought he was stupid. Ha! HTH.
He doesn't sound delayed at all to me. I'd ask at the 2 year visit with the Dr, if you're still worried. Usually boys are a little slower getting words out because they're working on their gross motor skills more than verbal ones.
If you live in the Denver metro/boulder area check out Imagine - an organization that can offer help (speech therapy)/evaluation/etc. They also can provide financial assistance if you qualify. A great resource. Check them out!
Hi- you could be writing about my son. At 22 months he had about 10 words and could not put 2 works together. I had him evaulated for speech. What they found was a delay in that area, but also in his gross motor skills. They suggested having him walk on uneven surfaces, play on a big inflatable ball to improve core strength along with anything else I could think of to improve movement. It just so happens after getting him evauluated I spent 6 weeks at the beach with my son. To my suprise, being outside in the water, sand etc. really kickstarted his speech. I would suggest getting him evaulated through the school district and working on his gross motor at home. My son is now 27 months and sings 5 different songs, and can talk in full sentences.
Call Your school district or local headstart program. They do free screenings for hearing and speech. My son at 18 months was doing things similar to yours and did have fluid build up in his ear. He understood what we said but to him it sounded different like listening under water. For him it was a hearing issue and after getting the tubes put in was fine. I also have a niece who didn't talk hardly at all, but could say the sounds when coached. Her issue was a speech delay something to do with the processing in her brain. Speech therapy through the schools helped her and now she does fine. If they do find a speech or processing delay they will offer services free or at a prorated rate depending upon your income.
I would definetly do the free screening, just for piece of mind, if you don't know the number any local Elementary school can get you the information. The doctors office can do screenings to but I'm sure there is a copay involved through them.
I've done screenings with several of my children and found no problem but it did eliminate the worry in my mind, and let me know that they were really on the right track.
Good Luck
Carina,
My son was the same way. He would talk nonsense (since the night he was born actually!!) and would say a few words, but wasn't really talking. He understood what we said to him, would do things when asked... all that stuff! And then he turned 2! I'm telling you it was like a switch went off!!! All of a sudden at about 26 months he started talking sentences and now there are days I wish for quiet!!
I would hold off a few more months. Talk to your pediatrician at his 2 yr. He may be like my son and storing it all up so he can talk sentences right off the bat!
BTW, "most" kids are actually ver different and all learn differently - boys are slower in that area than girls also so I wouldn't be overly concerned at this point.
God Bless-
Carrie
You are justified in contacting your doctor again if you are concerned. Pediatricians are there as much for the parents as for the children. Ask your doctor if your son should perhaps have his ears checked. My younger son (now an Army captain) fit the description you give at about the same age; finally we had tubes put in his ears. Within six hours of the outpatient surgery, his speech had dramatically improved because he was hearing us. Children develop normally at different rates, so you don't want to do too much measuring against other children or even against books. But it's good to ask your doctor. Doctors go to school for years and years so that they can answer our questions intelligently... and we mothers should help them make good use of what they're learned! :^)
My nephew seemed to have a delay in speech, too. Even though you know he understands some things, you might want to have his hearing evaluated. My nephew had to have tubes put in his ears in April and he never seemed to have trouble hearing us before that. The change in his verbal skills (and confidence) since then is dramatic.
I used to teach autistic preschoolers. The age of your child isn't too young to be tested. I can't stress enough how early detection is important~ I'd be taking him in today!! Best wishes!
Since your little one is trying to communicate but it's mostly not understandable, and since he's only gained 2 intelligible words in four months, yes, it's time for an evaluation. I work closely with a Speech-Language Pathologist, and the above two examples are hallmarks of seeking an evaluation. Speech with little ones is fun! It's mainly working on sounds, and playing with toys. I think your instinct is right.
Baby signs are fun, but if there is a speech delay, they can do more harm than good. Good luck!
When doctors and experts say that kids should say 20 words by 2, that's a huge generalization. Some kids naturally start speaking earlier, some just don't. Yes, some kids have medical problems, but some kids just don't talk early. My son said almost nothing we could understand at 22 months, but right before he turned 2 - in the space of just a couple of weeks - his speaking totally exploded and he went from like 3 or 4 words to over 50.
Keep a lookout for anything that might be medical-related and ask your pediatrician to do a generic evaluation at his 2-year appointment. If your doctor notices, then have him tested, but don't worry too much. Most kids will just naturally catch up a little bit later.
My best friend is a speech/language pathologist and she often tells families with similar questions to please contact their school district office and ask about evaluation services. The evaluation is often free or very low cost and makes a difference between helping a child progress easily or being frustrated for a long time and missing important developmental milestones. At this age, any therapy will be fun games. If he is not progressing rapidly, evaluation is a reasonable and important step. Just think--at best, they'll say he's in the range of normal and give you ideas for how to help him, and at worst, they'll help you connect with a qualified therapist who can help him develop his skills before they become a stressor in a school environment. Sounds like nothing but help to me.
Provo area has many specialized services for families and their school districts are large enough that they have lots of speech-language therapists for preschoolers. It's worth a call!
Best wishes!
At 2, a child generally has 20 words and puts two words together. Usually it's only understandable to a parent. He may be saying words, just not quite clearly enough that you can understand him. Don't expect it to sound just right. Listen hard and you may realize he's saying a lot more than you think.
I taught kindergarten with English Language Learners for 3 years (kids who didn't speak English at home). Kids learn first to understand, so the fact that he understands lots of what you say is a good sign. I had some kids who would not speak English for the majority of the year but would translate everything I said into Spanish for their friends. It's the normal sequence of language acquisition and some kids are ready to talk right away while others just listen for a long time. Goes pretty much the same way for young children learning their native language.
I would guess that he is focusing his development on some other aspect. Kids don't learn everything all at the same time. Some learn to speak early, others walk earlier, while others develop better small-motor skills first. He could be focusing his 'energy' on something else for now, and well take off with language soon.
I would bring it up again with the doc at his 2-year appointment (only 2 months away anyway) and see if the 6 month interrim has made any difference. If you are not satisfied by the doctor's response then, by all means start looking into assessments. The school district is the best place to start (although I think they aren't required legally to test kids until they're 3, but they might start earlier for speech anyway).
Good luck :)
I would check out the signing times dvd videos. They are videos teaching sign language to children by using sign language. I've recommended them to many friends whose children have delayed speech. It may help him to communicate better & feel less frustrated. I do recommend a consult with the school, doctor or speech expert--if only to make yourself feel better. good luck!
Hi Carina:
I do suggest a speech evaluation. Both my sons had speech at early ages. My second though was 18 months when my other sons head start teacher and speech therapist mentioned Daniels lack of speech. It was good though because through the Early Childhood early intervention program he recieved weekly speech therapy in the home. A evaluation is just that but then you will know. I would contact your school district and ask about the early childhood early intervension program and they can give you guidance for the evaluation. Hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you need more contact names. [email protected]
Here is the contact info for your area; Monica Grabavoy, Program Manager
Easter Seals Northern Rocky Mountain
c/o Wasatch Mental Health
1165E 300N
Provo, Utah 84601
Phone: (801) 852-4525
Fax: (801) 852-3589
this has the program that you want, just look it up online and it has what we did here in Colorado. Hope this helps!!
If he is not with his parents very often he might be responding to a lack of attention. If you are working full time and your husband is a full time student how much time are you spending with your boy? Are you talking to him like you would to an adult or are you talking baby talk to him. Signaling that you want him to remain a baby. My boys talk I think better for their age they are 3 1/2 and 2. I am home with them most of the time and we talk about adult things-I use real words and explain how things work that they ask me about. I treat them like big kids so they act more like big kids and not baby's needing to be coddled... at least in speach. Hope this helps.
Carina:
Hi there! I notice that you live in Provo. If you are concerned about it, I would call the program called Kids on the Move. I am not sure what the protocol is there (for instance, if you need to be referred by a doctor), but they work with children from 0-3 years on developmental delays. My daughter worked with them until we moved to another school district a few months ago. They will send someone out to your house to do an evaluation if you like. However, from what you've said your son is doing, it sounds like he's a smart little guy. I would keep an eye out for autism though.
Another thing that may be comforting is something my daughter's physical therapist said. Basically when kids learn one skill they lag on others... My daughter wa a late walker, but when she started focusing on walking, her speech progression altogether stopped for a few months. Once she had walking down, speech came back.
I would definitely call them. Here is a link to their developmental checklist. Don't feel bad about being worried about this. It could be something, and worse case, they tell you it's nothing (or that would be best case I think)
http://www.kidsonthemove.org/parents/devChecklist.html
http://www.kidsonthemove.org/
You may want to call DDI Vantage if you are in UT and at least get the ball rolling on the speech therapy (Federally funded program). See if he qualifies, and if he ends up not needing it then no worries. It can take a few months to get an appt though, so I'd suggest at least looking into it now.
I think an appointment would be worth it BUT, and I can't emphasis this enough... I really don't think there is a huge worry here. He is still young and from what you are telling us, quite bright. My son was the same way and he speaks just fine, in fact he did not say his first word until he was 2 and then within 3 months of turning 2 spoke in 4 word sentences. He may be one of those kids that just wants to figure it out on his own and have it perfect before he spits out the words. The evaluation is still a good idea and the wait time for an appointment is lengthy so you may as well get the ball rolling but you may not need it by the time the appointment comes along. Keep encouraging him and working with him at home. Someone suggested signing but I don't know if I would do that at this point it may be confusing if you are wanting him to speak, encourage the speaking. It has been statistically proven that videos are not the best tool to teach children to do any task and that one-on-one interaction is the best way for a child to learn so keep doing what you are doing. Play with him and talk to him and use real words making sure to enunciate each sound so that he can see how your mouth has to move to make the word without over doing it of course, make it natural so that he isn't making funny faces to make the same words. He will soon pick it up and have a vocabulary burst and you will be wondering when he will be quiet again... LOL..
Good luck and enjoy the upcoming conversations!
Shelby, Mom of 4 boys