Any late talkers?

LoveTimes2

Hi all!  My son is about to turn 15 months and has no real words yet at all.  He babbles a lot but more like "yeow oww aw awa" kinda noises. 

I have been going back and forth whether I should make an EI referral.  I see my doc next week but wanted some feedback since its on my mind.  He does not really imitate me so its hard to get him to make sounds like I make.  He has not clapped yet either, not sure if that is a big deal.  He did start walking right around 12 months though.

Feedback please?  Thanks!

amex0107

This sounds exactly like my son.  He's now 15.5 months and still no words.  But he understands and makes the sound of a lion. 

I would see what your doc says. Our boys actually had an assessment done at 14 months per the pediatrician's request.  Since they both tested low for language comprehension, we are now in the process of filling out paperwork for the Early Start program.  So we'll see what happens.

Babybear70

Our Pedi didn't seem all that concerned at this point. DS just turned 15M. She asked if he understands what I tell him like sit, get your shoes, come here, try this...stuff like that. And because I'm teaching him sign language she said that really he is using a language of sorts. It isn't that he can't talk, or doesn't understand or can't hear...he just isn't ready yet. She said that if he isn't speaking a handful of words at 18 months then she will see about getting a speech person involved, but until then we just wait and see. I've always heard early walker late talker and DS was walking at 10m 4d. So far it is holding true. But once in awhile he will blurt out words that are very understandable, then when you ask him to say it again he won't. So I think he is working on it, and once he gets going I don't think he is going to stop.

traveltheworld

I was concerned too since DS (14 months) didn't have any words I could understand.  Our pediatrician asked us to complete the Ages and Stages questionnaire, and I was kind of surprised to find that it defines a "word" as "a sound or sounds your baby says consistently to mean someone or something". 

DS consistently says "bah" for book, grunts for a cow, "mmm" for cat, "deeda" for cup, and "dadada" to mean that he is happy.  So according to that official definition, he has about 5 words, which is considered average for his age group.  For 16 months, I think the range was suppose to be 4 - 8 words in addition to mama and dada.

For what it's worth, here are the other questions on the 16-month questionnaire related to Communications (your child is not suppose to be able to do all of them):

1. Does your child point to, pat or try to pick up pictures in a book;
2. when your child wants something, does she tell you by pointing to it;
3. when you ask your child to, does he go into another room to find a familiar toy or object?

 

jess9802

There is absolutely no harm in talking to your doctor about your concerns. About the time he turned one I started having these panicky feelings that DS's lack of waving, clapping, and pointing, and not saying any words, were signs that he had autism (there were a couple of other quirky things too). I talked to his pediatrician about it, and she was very reassuring and talked to me about the development she wants to see at one year and where DS was. Since then he has waved, clapped, and pointed - and he is clearly very, very engaged with us.

He is not yet saying many words - Dada and Zack (his brother's name) are the most consistent, and I've heard "book" and "moo" in there, too - but he understands a LOT, and I figure he is on the verge of the language explosion and once he gets going he won't stop. That being said, if at his next appointment in December he's not talking more, then we'll get the referral and follow up as needed. It can't hurt.

FWIW, my nephew has a speech delay that was diagnosed at one year and he was in speech therapy for a couple of years. He's now four and a lot easier to understand and talks a lot. The therapy wasn't time intensive and the therapist gave my SIL tips and exercises for her to do with him.

Good luck.

cattynine

DD had maybe 1 word at 15 months and now at 17 months she has too many to count. It won't hurt to talk to your doctor about it, but I don't think its anything to be concerned about.

tbmadeamistake

I also wouldn't be too concerned.  At C's 15 month appt they asked not only about words (she has three or four of the sounds that always mean the same thing type of words), but also about her communication skills in general.  She can certainly let us know what she wants, and understands a lot of what we say to her, so the pedi wasn't worried.

amarie923

I just had my daughter's 18 month well check up yesterday.  She still doesn't have many actual words - she will say mama, dada, papa mainly if we ask, sometimes says ball and dog, and she knows a few signs.  She babbles all day long but nothing that is identifiable.  The ped said he wasn't concerned because her receptive language was just fine - she hears and listens and follows directions we give her perfectly, and said it can be hard to see other kids her age with a whole slew of words and get worried she's behind, but as long as she is saying a few things and making sounds and importantly listening and following what we say, the words will come later.  He wouldn't be worried or do any sort of speech eval until she was 24 months if she hasn't added anything new or made any progress, but we could bring her in at 21 months if it was bothering us.  I felt a LOT better. 

Lallymom

LO is 16 months and has no words, maybe more. At his 15 month appt I was sure our pedi would recommend a speech therapist or something. She asked if he understands and comprehends, he does. She wasn't worried at all. They won't do anything until 18-20 months. If it makes you feel better LO didn't clap until 12 months, wave and blow kisses around 13/14 months and point at 15 months. Def ask, but try not to worry. I'm trying my best because my pedi wasn't worried one bit.

nunzchucks

Nicb13 said:

At the 18 month appointment last week DS needed to have 8 actual words that we could understand. Hope that helps a little.

This. Our pedi said not to be concerned at our 15 mo and we would revisit speech at 18 mo.

ebalkits

I am a speech language pathologist and worked in early intervention for several years.  The biggest difference between an actual speech delay and a late talker is comprehension.  At this age, your son should be able to follow some simple commands (e.g., give me the ball), identify a few familiar objects (e.g., where's your shoe) and be attempting to express his wants/needs in some way even if it's not through words (e.g., pointing to something he wants, bringing you a toy he wants to play with, etc.).  I would definitely recommend that you talk to your pediatrician about your concerns to see if he/she thinks an evaluation is necessary.  I would definitely suggest that if by 18 months he is still not talking to have him checked out by EI. 

juliane2004

Depends on the kids. Our oldest (girl) had no words but only could copy sounds at 18 months. Then at 19 months, BOOM, word explosion.

Our middle (boy), is currently 2years9months and only has about 10-12 words. He is working in speech therapy and has an assistant come to preschool with him.

I'd wait another 6 months, and if nothing has improved, then talk to your pedi. At 15 months, I wouldn't worry yet.

rn8

My twins are 15.5 months and are not really talking yet either.  My little boy will do a 'dada, mum (like Stewie from Family Guy) and a yum (when he eats) sound' and our daughter will say 'dada'.  She will get in my face and blabber a long tirade of gibberish that I feel so bad I can't comprehend.  At their 15 month appt., by ped said if they didn't have 10 words by 18 months then she would recommend EI.  I was very concerned at the appointment. but she eased my mind. 

Their comprehension seems excellent.  I can tell them to get their shoes, books etc., my daughter will nod yes or no to my questions, they point to pictures in books, etc.  Other areas of their development seem on track, so I am trying not to sweat this, but if at 18 months we haven't had that language explosion, then I will push for an evaluation.  That's my plan!

JWSchwarz

EI takes a while to get going. I would start the process, get everything scheduled and you know if you don't need it, no loss. 

We did this because DS only had maybe 8-10 words at 16 months. He also had some fluid in his ears we didn't know about. We put him on antibiotics and scheduled the EI assessment. They were able to come out the next week (rare - usually over a month out). He scored really high on everything except expressive language.

We started some really focused 'games' to get him to use words. I recommend the playingwithwords365 website or LittleStories.com for ideas. 

Anyway, it has really helped and he's taken off. I bet within a month he's picked up 30 words. It was like we just had to get the door open so he figured out that words get him things he wants! Then, he did the rest. 

sunnyday016

At our 15m & 18m appts our pedi was looking for mama, dada, and 3 other words. That was all he had at that point. In the past month his language his really taken off. He's learned a ton of new words and mimics words we say a lot better.

LoveTimes2

Thanks so much ladies!  I guess 1 week won't hurt, I will see what the doc says.  I *think* his comprehension is pretty good but sometimes he doesn't listen to me and does the toddler thing and just walks away and smiles.  so hopefully he's just being mischievous.

 

LoveTimes2

@JWSchwarz:  that playingwithwords website is awesome!  i haven't gotten to the other one yet.  Thanks!

rn8

Ditto!! Thank you for posting these!

michelle7482

My 18 mo old has 7-8 words and while the pedi said she should have 10 words, he basically said if her receptive language is good, which it is, then that's the important thing and she will eventually talk. He left it up to me to contact EI which I will b/c she is slightly behind in words, and its free and can only help and not hurt so why not.

ashiscute

That sounds exactly like my DD when she was 15 months.  No words or consistent sounds and no imitating.  She did babble a decent amount.  Our pedi recommended EI and she barely qualified since her receptive skills were fine.  She started speech therapy at 17 months once a week and it has been great at helping her develop.  Her confidence improved dramatically once we were able to work on communication.  She is still delayed but making lots of progress.

NatesLady1309

DD is almost 19 months and although her receptive language is super, she does not have many words. Her one "true" word is "uh-oh" which I guess is really a sound but she uses it often, correctly and consistently. She tries to say Papa and and we know that's what she means but it comes out a little different each time (baba, etc). She has also been working on "dog" more recently but it's coming out different each time too such as "doh" or "deh" but she will be looking at a dog when she says it. She does a lot of babbling other than that. 

She has been referred to be evaluated for ST and we are currently going through testing for her hearing because that is what they require as a first step. We will see what happens with the ST, right now we're really confused because we have doctors giving us multiple and conflicting opinions. Fluid in her ears that's abnormal, not fluid just too much earwax, potential problem with her left ear, her speech is fine because she's late to get teeth (she has 4 right now) so it's normal as long as her receptive language is good, etc. We are overwhelmed and unsure of how to move forward. Right now we are trying to clear some wax in her ears and have an appointment to check her hearing at a more specialized place in a few weeks. 

This is a frustrating and crazy road to be on (not that it is this complicated for everyone but it is still a process I'm sure) so if your son is only 15 months, honestly I would just wait until 18 months before becoming concerned. That is what my pedi did with DD. There was some concern at 15 months and they waited until 18 months to see if anything would change. It barely did so now here we are. I hope things go differently for your son and that he shows improvement by then!

Grins04

My son didn't talk until 2. A little bit of babble beforehand, but no words until 2. He had no comprehension though, which was his biggest issue. Once he started to understand, he was all caught up in no time. He picked-up at least 100 words in a couple months after starting therapy.

We started the EI process on our own at 18 months (doctor wasn't concerned until 2 years...you don't need a doctor to do EI), but I wish I started the process sooner. It took a few months for the paperwork and evaluation to go through. Then we started therapy.

I say start the process. If your LO starts to pick-up speech, you can always cancel. They (EI) love to get the ball rolling ASAP.

I wouldn't be too concerned yet though . A lot of kids start talking around 16-18 months. Until then, maybe try more reading, singing, and even sign language. Use simple sentences. I also highly recommend the Baby Babble DVD (created by speech pathologists)...it's nothing fancy, but it's perfect. Even my daughter who doesn't pay attention to the tv will watch it.

yepyepsms

I was a little worried about DS and his talking (or lack there of).  He says momma and dadda every once in a while, "da" for our dog, "nana" for banana, and "hi".  Other kids in his classroom seem to say a lot more so I was orried.  He just had his 15-mo appt on Thursday and my pediatrician said she's only looking for mommy and daddy disciminately and one other word at this age.  She also said she wants lots of babbling and other exclamations (yelling, squealing, shrieking, etc) that shows he is trying to express himself via his voice.  Also, she asked a lot of questions about his receptive language (give me the ball...where's your nose...and getting a response from DS from those questions/directions).  She said she is more worried at this age when the receptive language is not at that level.  Sounds like all pediatricians are a little different in their expectations, but her questions and our discussion put me at ease.