How many words at 18mo?

Mama Jan · January 2011

Just curious how many words your LO had/has at 18mo - and were they ACTUAL words or just the word/sound your LO used?

I'm concerned about DS2's speech. Was concerned by his 15mo appt (and so was his pedi) and I'm anticipating an EI rec. at his 18mo appt next week. Just trying to feel things out

TIA!

Mrs.Hizzo · January 2011

I remember Finn had six and Clay had ten. I don't know about "actual" words...they were sounds that my kids used consistently to give meaning to a particular thing. I don't think their enunciation was perfect by any means, but that never concerned me.

katekirschner · January 2011

DD had approximately 100-150 words at 18 months. She is a chatterbox. My nephew who is the same age only has maybe 15.

groovygrl · January 2011

I also get confused by what they mean by words- like if DD says "no" for nose, while pointing to it, is that considered a word or not, b/c she doesnt pronounce the S?

The expected for 18 mos is 8-10 words right?

I think right now DD has probably 15 and DS maybe 10, probably more like 8.

Mama Jan · January 2011

Mrs.Hizzo:
I remember Finn had six and Clay had ten. I don't know about "actual" words...they were sounds that my kids used consistently to give meaning to a particular thing. I don't think their enunciation was perfect by any means, but that never concerned me.

I think this is what I'm mostly concerned with. DS2 doesn't use ANY words consistently. If I ask him to say Mama, he can. If I ask him to say Shoe, he will. But he doesn't have a single word (except maybe Shoe?) that he uses without being asked.

Usually, any word I ask him to say he will either sign (if he knows) or he will just immitate the syllables using grunts or a combination of sounds (alwaus the same sounds for different words, just immitating syllables).

DS1 is really advanced in speech so I'm not really sure if DS2 is on a normal track. I'm sure he's not though, since the pedi was concerned a couple months ago and he still hasn't really advanced at all.

GingerBabyJ · January 2011

My LO is only 15 months but she says Momma, Dada, Dog, Ball, Bottle(baba), wow, baby, water(wawa). There are people who say that their 12 month ols says sentences, and I know Jayden is far from that.

I would say that if his speaking or lack there of is the only thing worrying you, not to worry. Some kids wait till after 2 and then they will just start talking one day. I wouldn't worry too much.

annibes · January 2011

O has no words yet, at 17 months. I want him to talk, but the pedi tells me at every appointment that I know better than to freak out, lol (I'm in school for speech pathology). Still, though, if he still isn't speaking by age 2, I'll get him evaluated. Meanwhile, I label EVERYTHING, talk in really simple phrases, and focus on words containing sounds he uses a lot in babble.

Kailyn S · January 2011

katekirschner:
DD had approximately 100-150 words at 18 months. She is a chatterbox. My nephew who is the same age only has maybe 15.

This, although I don't think it's necessarily "normal" DS just loves to talk. He's been using 4-5 word sentences since about 20 months.

Mama Jan · January 2011

hijoi:
This will not help you at all, but my son is abnormal. He has about 50+ words. I can't get him to stop talking! According to our 18 months questionnaire, they should have 8 words other than mama and dada.

This is my DS1, too! I remember at 15mo they asked if he could say 4 words and I laughed. He turns 3 next month and he still blows me away by his verbal skills.

Okay, from everyone's replies so far it sounds like DS2 is def. behind. I don't think he even has 5 words he can actually repeat as words (or part of words). He's super smart and understands a TON, he just doesn't have the verbal skills he should have.

Kailyn S · January 2011

katekirschner:
DD had approximately 100-150 words at 18 months. She is a chatterbox. My nephew who is the same age only has maybe 15.

This, although I don't think it's necessarily "normal" DS just loves to talk. He's been using 4-5 word sentences since about 20 months.

MarriedBestFriends · January 2011

DD had hundreds, but our pedi said that she only expected 3-5 at her 18 month appointment. And that animal sounds counted. Is your LO working more on his motor skills? The reason DD, most likely, had so many is that she was stuck in a full body cast from 13-16 months and couldn't really work on walking, running, etc.

kellyperk85 · January 2011

B will be 18 months on the 7th but he has a vocabulary of about 60 words or so - 'nack' being his favorite word! (snack) HAHAHA!

alli&pat · January 2011

DS has about 35 words but I would say that the general public would only understand about 10-12 of his words. Only DH and I know, for example, that "adu" is banana. I'm only counting words that he uses consistently and repeatedly. He will repeat me, when asked, in saying several other words. He also does a handful of animal sounds that I don't count as words (not sure if they would count).

And to the pp, DS also uses "no" when pointing to his nose. I count that because he's consistent and obviously knows what he's trying to say. He has a handful of words that are like this.

kit443 · January 2011

Probably about 20-30 that he says. He knows what a lot more mean (like I can say show me your toes and he points to them) but he doesn't actually say them.

jonnygurl76 · January 2011

Mama Jan:

hijoi:
This will not help you at all, but my son is abnormal. He has about 50+ words. I can't get him to stop talking! According to our 18 months questionnaire, they should have 8 words other than mama and dada.

This is my DS1, too! I remember at 15mo they asked if he could say 4 words and I laughed. He turns 3 next month and he still blows me away by his verbal skills.

Okay, from everyone's replies so far it sounds like DS2 is def. behind. I don't think he even has 5 words he can actually repeat as words (or part of words). He's super smart and understands a TON, he just doesn't have the verbal skills he should have.

DD is only 12 months so i was just curious what everyone had to say.....but my younger brother didn't talk until he was 3 and being 6 years older i remember his Dr telling my mom that we needed to let him have the chance to talk. my mom had us sit quietly at dinner and not speak for him--as the 3rd child, he never had a chance to speak! i don't know if this can even be the case for you but just something to think about if he has an older sibling...because my older brother and i were speaking for him and over him and all he would do is point at things. we stopped doing that and he started speaking up...sometimes it is that simple.

annibes · January 2011

fredalina:
groovygrl:

I also get confused by what they mean by words- like if DD says "no" for nose, while pointing to it, is that considered a word or not, b/c she doesnt pronounce the S?

The expected for 18 mos is 8-10 words right?

I think right now DD has probably 15 and DS maybe 10, probably more like 8.
Yes, it's a word.

Yep, it's a word. It's really common for little kids to leave sounds off or substitute sounds for other sounds.

Mama Jan · January 2011

jonnygurl76:
Mama Jan:

hijoi:
This will not help you at all, but my son is abnormal. He has about 50+ words. I can't get him to stop talking! According to our 18 months questionnaire, they should have 8 words other than mama and dada.

This is my DS1, too! I remember at 15mo they asked if he could say 4 words and I laughed. He turns 3 next month and he still blows me away by his verbal skills.

Okay, from everyone's replies so far it sounds like DS2 is def. behind. I don't think he even has 5 words he can actually repeat as words (or part of words). He's super smart and understands a TON, he just doesn't have the verbal skills he should have.

DD is only 12 months so i was just curious what everyone had to say.....but my younger brother didn't talk until he was 3 and being 6 years older i remember his Dr telling my mom that we needed to let him have the chance to talk. my mom had us sit quietly at dinner and not speak for him--as the 3rd child, he never had a chance to speak! i don't know if this can even be the case for you but just something to think about if he has an older sibling...because my older brother and i were speaking for him and over him and all he would do is point at things. we stopped doing that and he started speaking up...sometimes it is that simple.

I wish that was the case - I've been really careful about it his whole life because I know 2nd/3rd/etc kids can have this happen to them. I'm sure it does happen some but I do work hard with him to get him to say words.

I've been talking with DH tonight since I posted this and we are coming up with a handful of words he does say on his own (more than just grunts). He may be in the normal range. We'll have to see what his pedi says!

sasa625 · January 2011

DD has about 70 words right now (we keep a list) but I'm probably the only one who understands all of them (and I don't always understand them). Some of the words sound the same and I only know what she means based on context. For example, "pa-pa" is pretzel or present, "tees" is cheese or treats (for the dog), and "ba-ba" is bottle, paci, or bounce depending on how she says it.

Something counts as a word if it's a sound used consistently to mean the same thing, even if it doesn't sound like the true word. It's very common for little ones to simplify words by leaving off the ending or repeating a syllable/sound (I'm a speech therapist )

mfransdell · January 2011

I've never counted her words. I'm not sure I could really take a guess at it either, she's a pretty chatty girl.

Lesley0228 · January 2011

My mom just made a list actually and DD has around 50 words. A handful of those are animal sounds though so not really words. She's always been fairly vocal.

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