Still not talking...

rowanleaves

My almost 18 month old still isn't talking. Well, ok, he's not saying much. He can say mama, dada, meow, and dog. But he really only says those every once in a while. He does understand a lot, though. He knows how to do tasks I give him, like "go get your shoes" or "give daddy a kiss bye bye". He can point out letters of the alphabet, differentiate between colors, understands personal belongings of other people, and he is very aware of people speaking. He will respond to being spoken too with babbling, as if he is saying something in response. I don't suspect any sort of disability, and have done the checklists for disorders, but I'm wondering if anyone else had a late talker?

tokenhoser

DS is 21 months and we're just starting to hear him try to talk more. He babbles tons, but has no interest in "say ____" for me. He also responds well to commands and clearly understands lots of words.

His doctor was mildly concerned at his 18 month check up, but only because the wait for a SLP in my city is 6+ months. So she waitlisted us for a consult, and if he's caught up by 24 months we'll just never go. At 18 months, you're still in the "wait and see" period, and likely it will self correct by around age 2. 

rowanleaves

My mother is unconcerned because the males in my family don't say much at all till they turn 2, and then, supposedly, you can't shut them up. I have thought about a speech therapist, but I feel like he will speak exactly when he is ready. Lets hope I'm right.

jkkg317

My son is almost 2 and a half and just now  starting to use sentences and use more words. But he stays home most of the time so he never really had a reason to need to talk since he had someones attention and the pediatrician said  that he was okay with where he was. Our nephew who spends a lot of time with us is a big talker and has been since shortly after he was one, very clear for his age and he never stops talking so honestly I enjoy what silence there is sometimes.

kcisthebombdotcom

I'm going to go against the grain here and tell you to get your child evaluated by early intervention.

I was born into a family where everyone was a late talker. I did eventually talk when I was three. However my articulation of words was horrid--turns out I had a neurological disorder that causes langauge problems. I was screwed when I started kindie. My speech issues had a huge, negative impact on my early years of school.

I think it's better to be proactive vs reactive with language delays. Will most kids catch up naturally on their own without intervention? Sure. There are a number of language disorders that can present solely with a delay in spoken language and don't impact receptive language (ie what the child understands). A SLP can weed out what are symptoms of a language disorder and what's just a late talker. Your pediatrician can't. The younger you intervene, the quicker/easier it is to correct any language issues/get a child caught up to their peers if they're behind.

rowanleaves

KC_13:

I'm going to go against the grain here and tell you to get your child evaluated by early intervention.I was born intonbsp;a familynbsp;wherenbsp;everyone was anbsp;late talker. I did eventually talk when I was three. However my articulationnbsp;of words was horridturns out I had a neurological disorder that causes langauge problems.nbsp;I was screwed when I started kindie. My speech issues had a huge, negativenbsp;impact on my early years of school.I think it's better to be proactive vs reactive with language delays. Will most kids catch up naturally on their own without intervention? Sure. There are a number of language disorders that can present solely with a delay in spoken language and don't impact receptive language ie what the child understands.nbsp;A SLP can weed out what are symptoms of a language disorder and what's just a late talker. Your pediatrician can't. The younger you intervene, the quicker/easier it is to correct any language issues/get a child caught up to their peers if they're behind.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it. I am going to look into what sort of local resources we have nearby.

rowanleaves

theresat858:

I did not really talk until I was two and a half. I didn't even say many words before then.But when I finally did talk, it was in sentences, not just words.nbsp; It's my personality I like to fully understand something before I do it. I was the same way with counting. I now have a PhD so I like to think it didn't hinder me too much...

You sound like my son. He didn't walk until he understood the concept, then he did it without mug stumbling or falling. He seems to be a perfectionist when it comes to new things. He waits till he masters the process, then he soars.

cayenne

My nephew is 18 months old today and at about the same place with spoken words as your son. He is growing up speaking both French and English though, which may have something to do with it. Either way everyone feels really confident he's just a late bloomer. My sister in-law didn't talk until she was over 2. Then one day she asked my mother in-law for a glass of orange juice. She's brilliant, and an Academy Award winning producer.

 I'm prone to telling you not to worry, but I like the proactive advice too, and I'm a firm believer that as a parent you should always follow your intuition. Sometimes it's just hard to discern what's intuition and what's just run of the mill worrying. Good luck! 

ncbelle

Callum didn't say a word until he was 2 nor did he babble aside from "da" - mostly because of the lack of babble we did have him evaluated through EI at 18 months - figuring it couldn't hurt.  His receptive was advanced though and our ST felt she didn't really do much for him...he was just a late talker and went straight to sentences.  He's a very articulate 4 year old so just a late bloomer.  I do think doing an eval (which is free through EI) can't hurt if you have any worries at all though.

MmW36

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much at the 18 month mark. I worked as a preschool teacher in both the younger and older 2s classrooms. There was a huge difference between the 2s classrooms and the toddler classroom (considered 18 months through 22-24 months at the center I worked for). We would transition children who hardly spoke, and within weeks they were chatting up a storm.

There is a lot of development between the 18 month mark and the 24 month mark, and vast development between 30 and 36 months, as well. I personally wouldn't worry at 18 months-- there are a lot of variables and each child is different. Having said that, there are a lot of resources out there for parents. If it is something you do feel worried about, it's better to go ahead and look into what resources are available to you. It never hurts to be cautious, and I do agree with the PP who said that it's better to be proactive than reactive.

Wally3

While it is normal for some children to be late talkers I would also have him evaluated by early intervention. It is free and most places have a wait of at least a few months for appointments. You can ask the Ped for a reference or call the school district and they will direct you.
My son was evaluated at 2 and had a delay and was in ei for a year. At 3 he "graduated" to the school district for speech therapy. He always understood but had very few words til he was almost 3 then his speech exploded. However he still had articulation problems.
It never hurts to get them evaluated and if they need intervention the earlier the better.

ToastieSimons

My oldest is 2.5 and nonverbal.  Communication is such a huge part of development that I recommend going for an evaluation.  Giving a child speech therapy is NOT forcing them to talk before they are ready, it is simply giving them more tools in their arsenal for building the tools to communicate.  Believe me, if you could force a child to talk, my DS1 would have words.

since your child's receptive language seems age appropriate it won't be long before his  inability to express himself creates a lot of frustration for him.  

BriDaily

Boys typically start speaking after girls in general. My DS is also 18 months and babbles but doesn't say a whole lot in terms of understandable vocabulary. I'm really not concerned. I didn't start talking until I was 3 years old... I had an older brother who would get me anything I pointed to By the time I started talking it was in crazy long sentences and with an extensive vocabulary. I don't worry about my DS too much. As long as a child understands what you are telling them and is interested in reading and learning language, I think it is okay for understandable vocabulary use to come a bit later.

danigirl7181

rowanleaves:

theresat858:

I did not really talk until I was two and a half. I didn't even say many words before then.But when I finally did talk, it was in sentences, not just words.nbsp; It's my personality I like to fully understand something before I do it. I was the same way with counting. I now have a PhD so I like to think it didn't hinder me too much...

You sound like my son. He didn't walk until he understood the concept, then he did it without mug stumbling or falling. He seems to be a perfectionist when it comes to new things. He waits till he masters the process, then he soars.

My DD was the same with walking, she didn't start until 17 months. She would walk along furniture but would not let go. One day she just walked across the whole room, about 20 or so feet. She does stuff in her own time. She turned two in Dec and is just now started to do 3 sometimes four word sentences. At 18 months she was olny saying a few things. If he understands what you are saying, I wouldn't worry too much.

SummerOH

theresat858:

I did not really talk until I was two and a half. I didn't even say many words before then.

But when I finally did talk, it was in sentences, not just words.  It's my personality - I like to fully understand something before I do it. I was the same way with counting. I now have a PhD so I like to think it didn't hinder me too much...

Same here.  My dad thought there was something wrong with me, but my mom had faith lol.  I was always at the top of my class and have two Master's so yeah, didn't hinder me.  Some kids are just critical thinkers even at a young age.

outnumbered

I would call EI and set up an evaluation.  You do not need a doctor referral. Your son might just need time or he might need some help.  If you delay and he needs ST you will be kicking yourself at the wasted time.  My youngest needed ST.  I had him evaluated at 18 months.  I would not wait to see if my son magically started talking at 3 and happy stories aside a three year old who does not talk is probably really frustrated.