Speech at 26 months?

kianew · January 2011

So the director of our daycare wants to talk to us about Dylan's speech. She feels he should be talking more, etc. DH is supposed to be calling her later. The director and his actual teacher said it seems like he can't form his mouth to say the words, etc., that they're trying to get him to say, if that makes sense. I sometimes see this at home as well, but in my opinion he does say quite a bit at home. He doesn't say actual sentences, but he'll say "oh well" sometimes. He says many other one word things too, like mom, juice, cheese, bubbles and he'll tell you what animals say (like meow, etc.). I haven't contacted the pedi yet because I want to wait to hear what else daycare has to say. I guess my question is, SHOULD I be worried? I see some kids his age that talk like crazy and others that don't. He also is only at daycare two days a week and I wonder if he is just being a little shy. I don't know.

MayDayGirl · January 2011

The thing is that MANY kids don't talk much at this age, and then just like that start sputtering out full sentences. I had a niece and 2 nephews that didn't talk until well over 2.5, so it doesn't seem weird to me. They are perfectly normal adjusted kids now.

BUT I know that sometimes speech delay CAN be a sign of something else going on. So it definitely might be something worth looking into.

LVBlvd · January 2011

My pediatrician is strict about speech at 2 years. But anything before then, she doesn't worry about.

At two years, she wants to see at least 60 words and using 2-word phrases with ease.

If the child isn't doing that, she wants an evaluation done.

If he is doing that at home, I wouldn't worry about it. He might just be shy at daycare.

madhatter2003 · January 2011

It's always worth being looked at, even if just to know everything is ok.

I can say my DS says 2-3 word phrases all the time and DD was the same at this age. It's good he does them at home, and it could be the transition to school....but if he only has 1 two word phrase that does seem on the low end just from my personal opinion.

RoxBride · January 2011

My pedi is sort of along the same lines at the PP, at 2 years, they show concern.

Speech is complicated, and it sure could be that he's shy at school, or it could be a sign that some sounds are hard for him to make. I'd listen to what the day care says, because they probably have lots of experience, and then talk to your pedi. Worst case scenario, he may just need an evaluation.

LisaMarisa · January 2011

If the issue is forming the words rather than trying to say them then I would definitely have him evaluated. Is his tongue tied? DS had a mild tongue tie when he was born but my friend who is a speech pathologist said as long as he can reach the top of his mouth with it, he is fine. He seems to have grown out of it and can now even stick out his tongue which he couldnt do before. But that may be an issue for your DS. Or it could be something else similar.

I would definitely have him evaluated. At this point, it cant hurt anything and if you catch it early it could be easier to fix rather than him dealing with it later down the road. Plus, my pedi said that if you're going to do early intervention, you have to do it before they're 3 so it will be free. If you wait, you have to pay for it.

roaringrock · January 2011

LVBlvd:
My pediatrician is strict about speech at 2 years. But anything before then, she doesn't worry about.

good grief. this blows me away! 2 years?! ginny is now on her 4th pedi (due to our moving) and only one of them was concerned with her speech delay. she (pedi #2) was fired because ginny wasn't saying much at 15 months. 15 months! we went through a TON of time consuming evaluations for EI and all it did was stress everybody out. ridiculous.

ginny will be 2 1/2 end of next month. in the last few weeks her speech has REALLY taken off. she has always had a good sized vocabulary but she's had no interest in sentences. until now... she. won't. stop. talking!

these pedis need to chill. these "concerns" really add unnecessary stress and worry to parent's lives. I know this. I've lived it. I had a long talk with pedi number 1 (LOVE him!) and he said Einstein didn't speak until he was 5! kids do things in their own time. if dc was 3 years old then maybe I'd be a bit more concerned. I think you're ok at 26 months.

kianew · January 2011

roaringrock:
LVBlvd:

My pediatrician is strict about speech at 2 years. But anything before then, she doesn't worry about.

good grief. this blows me away! 2 years?! ginny is now on her 4th pedi (due to our moving) and only one of them was concerned with her speech delay. she (pedi #2) was fired because ginny wasn't saying much at 15 months. 15 months! we went through a TON of time consuming evaluations for EI and all it did was stress everybody out. ridiculous.

ginny will be 2 1/2 end of next month. in the last few weeks her speech has REALLY taken off. she has always had a good sized vocabulary but she's had no interest in sentences. until now... she. won't. stop. talking!

these pedis need to chill. these "concerns" really add unnecessary stress and worry to parent's lives. I know this. I've lived it. I had a long talk with pedi number 1 (LOVE him!) and he said Einstein didn't speak until he was 5! kids do things in their own time. if dc was 3 years old then maybe I'd be a bit more concerned. I think you're ok at 26 months.

Thank you! I keep thinking the same thing - that kids do things in their own time. And Dylan is so smart, I see it every day. We'll be reading a book and I'll get to a certain part and he'll say the word or words. I also always try and work with him on saying things too - sometimes he will repeat me and other times he completely ignores me. The other day, DH heard him say applesauce, clear as day, as he pulled it out of the fridge, but now you can't get him to say it again.

Thank you all for your responses I have been stressing over it a lot.

roaringrock · January 2011

I'll tell you another story. my favorite nanny just quit to work full time with another little girl the same age as ginny. the child talks a lot but has no comprehension of shapes, colors or letters. sure, she'll say "I want more milk please" but she can't point out the letter "H" or the color yellow. ginny has known the entire alphabet for months now, can point out an octagon and she can put a puzzle together faster than I can. also, I was told that children who speak "later" tend do do very well musically when they're older. interesting.

and remember, some kids walk at 9M and others walk at 15M. each child is different.

mommyof4boys · January 2011

Joshua didn't really have words until after 2. When he did speak it was in full on sentences. Jon had words at 12 months and was a bit behind in putting 2 words togther. He's a very smart little boy! He happens to have apraxia and he knows what he wants to say but can't get it out. There's a disconnect between what his brain wants to say and how it travels out of his mouth. He's understood maybe 50% of the time and he's 5 and a half. Matthew is the same way and with a bit more help since he's been in speech for a year more than Jon is understood 75% of the time. Chris also has apraxia attached to a whole slew of other things and is only understood 25% of the time. It doesn't hurt to get an eval.

futrkingsley · January 2011

Yes all children develop at different rates. But a child of 2 years old who does not have at least 50 words is not developing normally. Here's the thing -- waiting does not help him. In the US, a child is eligible for early intervention services (which are free in most areas if your child qualifies) until they are 3 years old. Once they hit three the process for recieving help changes and is more complicated.

If your child is having trouble forming words that it appears he wants to say, get him an evaluation.

My son did not speak at all at 16 months and I had him evaulated. He qualified for speech therapy and received one hour a week of in home therapy for a year. In that year, he went from no words to too many to count. He is no longer delayed and no longer needs or receives therapy.

kianew · January 2011

futrkingsley:

Yes all children develop at different rates. But a child of 2 years old who does not have at least 50 words is not developing normally.

I would say he has close to 50 words, I just don't think daycare hears them like we do.

We will probably still look into an evaluation, though. It can't hurt.

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