20 months and not talking much

Filly78

How much do your 20 month olds talk?  My son definitely understands what we're saying when we talk to him, but he still doesn't say too much.  He is starting to say "dada" and "mama" but doesn't really associate them with me and my husband.  He babbles a lot, but doesn't really say words.  He's definitely smart though - he can clap and tries to imitate what we do and he can do a whole alphabet puzzle by himself with no problem.  He doesn't go back to the doctor until his 24 month appointment.  Should I call to talk to his doctor now?  We talked the the girls that take care of him at daycare and they don't seem to be overly concerned at this point.

eyenigh

What did your pedi say at your 18 month appointment? Did he or she express any concern then? Usually they have a standard number of words that they like kids to have by certain ages. I want to say ours wanted 12-15 words at 18 months? If it's something that's bothering you, I'd make an appointment and have a discussion about EI. I don't think it could hurt.

ktpaladino

My son is behind with his verbal skills too and when I brought it up, his doctor said that they don't really recommend getting Early Intervention involved until age 2. He said that many times if you have them do an evaluation before the age of 2, they will just say let's re-evaluate at age 2 unless they see problems with comprehension and receptive skills too. It does not sound like your LO has an issue in that area. That being said, you have to go with your gut. I have mommy friends who made the decision to call as early as 15 months and are moving forward with speech therapy, and they say they believe it's helping. So the choice is yours.

I will share my personal experience with you. My son is almost 20 months and since about 15 months all he has been saying is Mom, Da, ugh-oh, and a few animal sound effects. I decided to wait until 22 months to call EI if I don't see much improvement hy then. I have a feeling his language explosion will happen soon and I won't have to call. In the past few weeks, he has starting saying "here" when he hands me something, and has added turtle and car to his vocabulary. Then there are occasional words like door and button where he will repeat a few times and then I never hear them again, so I don't really "count" them since they are not consistent.

Remember, boys are always slower to talk, so just be patient, yet proactive if you ultimately decide it's necessary. Lots of reading and repeating words can help in the meantime.

ashiscute

What did your pedi say at his 18 mo checkup?  Was he concerned then?  I think ours was looking for 10-15 words at 18 mos.  My DD is 34 mos now but she has been in speech therapy since she was 17 mos.  At 20 mos she had 2 words- dada and mama.  She could also understand everything I said and is smart.  That doesn't mean that your child cannot have an expressive speech issue.  My DD was recently diagnosed with a speech disorder that makes it very difficult to her produce speech sounds with accuracy.  She babbled but not very much and she did not imitate.  

I would def call your doctor for a referral.  EI is a fantastic opportunity (and saying you shouldn't utilize until 2 is silly since 2 is the oldest you can utilize).  If he qualifies for services they will help you to help him communicate.  If he doesn't qualify they will give you other ideas and resources to help him communicate.  They will give you a better idea of how he is doing than just comparing to other children.  That's not a very accurate way to assess where your child should be if you know what I mean.  Good luck.  

RMama2012

If there is a delay, just get the EI.  It really can't hurt.  Even if he truly doesn't need any help but he qualifies for it, you'll be getting free professional developmental help for your child.  I don't see the harm in it.

Always better to be on the safe side than to wait and find out you lost time.

HeidiP14

If you are concerned check into early intervention. My son didnt really start talking more until like 23 months which for him I had a feeling might happen. I was a little concerned like you but figured I would give it until his 2 year old appointment and then a month before he start talking much more. He has always hit his milestones but at the end of the normal range (crawling @9/10 months, walking @ 16/17 months etc) so I kind of expected him to take his time talking too. 

Filly78

It's weird my son is a little late with talking because he was so early doing everything else - he started crawling at 5 months, pulled himself up on things at 6 months and started walking at 10 months.  He is babbling and "talking" more and more everyday now.