Slow talkers come on in

snowgirl427

i know there have been posts before so I know you are out there! I'm a little concerned about J.. He babbles a TON but only uses a handful of words regularly. He also understands everything.. We just can't get him to talk - forget stringing words together.. The pedi told us he is lazy because we are able to understand what he wants through babble and pointing. He told us that if LO babbles at the fridge and wants milk but doesn't say it then to give him an onion or something... Problem is then LO wants the onion, lol. We read a lot and talk a lot but he still doesn't get more words.

What are you doing to help your LO?

DiFazette

We do our best to make Owen 'tell us' what he wants. For a while I feel that I was really handicapping his language because I understood his grunts, pointing and babble. Since I started showing him options and using simple language - then making him repeat, he's grown tremendously. If he was pointing at his cup, I'd encourage him to say drink, juice, cup, milk, etc. Once he had the cup, we'd say it multiple times to create association. That's what worked for us.

fancefpp

One thing that our SLP for DS1 suggested was offering choices even if you know what he wants. So, if you know he wants milk, open the fridge and say, "do you want milk or onion?" wait a few seconds to try to get response then give him the milk. She said to offer choices for everything...snacks, toys, books, etc. It's hard with your first kid because you anticipate all their wants and needs. It was something I really had to train myself to do. DS2 is talking more at this point because I think I can't cater to him all the time and he has a peer model (DS1).

bumpuser3155624

We have our 18 month appt in 2 weeks and I want to talk a lot about this. She only has 5 words she consistently says so definitely on the low end. The rest is just baby babble that DH and I can't decifer. We try reading and talking through things we are doing.

snowgirl427

Thanks ladies. @fancefpp‌ - I like the options. Think I'll try that!
@3timemom‌ - thanks for sharing about your daughter. Makes me feel better!!

fancefpp

@jacqueandadam

DS1 only had about five words and knew most animal sounds around 19 months. Believe me, I spent weeks, months worried about it. We had him evaluated by EI because I was so stressed and he did qualify but he was pretty much caught up by 2.5.  His EI team wasn't worried about anything beyond an expressive speech delay because he understood everything, could take direction, knew his name, joint attention was good, gross/fine motor was good, etc.

They even said it was extremely common among first born boys who had stay at home moms. This made me feel good but also kind of like it was my fault. Like I said, I catered to his every need and didn't want him to want for anything. I still catch myself doing it with him. I guess my point is, keep an eye on it but try not to stress if it's just expressive speech you are worried about. Also, I thought our EI experience was great but I know this isn't always the case. I used our SLP as an educator, basically. I asked her a million questions every week. I'm sure she thought I was slightly crazy/neurotic (well, I am a little) but it was helpful to have a professional in child development come play with us every week.  

bumpuser3155624

@fancefpp‌ - thanks! Helps reassure me. I have cousins that were late talkers too so know she's most likely OK. It's just the worry wart in me that is hard to suppress.

snowgirl427

@sct728‌ - that is good advice. I definitely need to work on shorter sentences. I get "huh?" A lot.

TheFutureMrs.O

We belong in here too. We are trying hard to get him to repeat. We read all the time, point things out. We have problems with the whole grunting/whining thing - we know what he wants, he knows we know, if we pretend we don't or try to give him an option like milk or onion - it's a massive temper tantrum complete with face down on the ground screaming with legs kicking and arms frailing.

This book was just recommended to me. I just ordered it from Amazon for $12.

https://thebigbookofexclamations.com/index.php/AbouttheBook/?mod=Pages&page_url_title=AbouttheBook

coffeeandbooks

We just had a meeting with EI and I was really happy with it.   We are also doing lots of sign language which helps with whining and grunting.  My other tip is when you talk, try to get down on his level and make sure he can see your mouth.   It seems many children learn to talk by watching mouth movements.
We also watch Mr. Babbles at night which you can buy on Amazon instant.   They have two movies.   They are educational programs developed by two speech language pathologist which encourages talking and sign language.
Other than that, just lots of reading, repetition, and trying not to anticipate their needs or communicate for them.