When is speech considered "delayed"?
First of all, I know that there is a *huge* range of "acceptable" with speech just as there is for so many other developlemtal milestones so it's not so much that I'm worried, more just wondering what to expect.
At DSs 12-month well appointment the pedi asked us about words (DS had none), said he wasn't concerned, but that if he still didn't have words by his next well appointment "we'd talk."
Well, the appointment is in 2 weeks and DS has just started saying "bah bah" with a wave hand gesture, presumably for "bye bye." Does that even "count" as a word? I mention the hand gesture because he says "ba ba" all dang day long, and I wouldn't think he meant anything by it were it not for the hand gesture!
Anyway - even if it counts I'm sure it's still not "normal" since I seem to recall that at 12 months the pedi said normal was something like 3 to 5 words. (Although it could have been less, I don't remember.) What, if anything, should I expect the pedi to say at his appt in 2 weeks?
Re: When is speech considered "delayed"?
I think that your pedi may suggest waiting a little bit longer. Eighteen months is typically when a toddler's language blossoms. You may be asked to wait until then to see how he develops.
Yes, definitely babbling and just generally carrying on
But, he never acts like he's even trying to put a word together (but for the aforementioned "bah bah" that sprung up very recently).
The level of delay varies depending on who is doing the evaluation honestly. Pediatricians are supposed to look for gestures such as pointing and waving at one year, in addition to hopefully two words like mama or baba. Communicative intent counts so if he says baba while pointing at something specific, that could be considered a word. If he's not trying to tell you something with it, then it would be babbling.
I'm not sure what the exact expectation is at 15 months, though I know my son didn't meet it. At 18 months, kids (regardless of gender) are expected to have at least 10 words at a minimum. That would be any sound they make that they use to communicate a specific thing such as animal sounds, or word approximations.
At 12 months my son had no words and no gestures, not even a wave. At 15 he could wave but not point and still had no words. At 18 months he finally had one word (mama), and was pointing and grunting to communicate. By then he was already lined up for speech therapy as he qualified at 17 months when I had him evaluated.
Lack of progress was also the final clue for my pedi too even though we were both concerned from 12 months on. DS didn't make any progress at all (even learning new signs) from month 14 to month 16 (which is when we called EI). He made some progress after that but it was not what I would call a "blossoming."
Low and behold at 18 months her vocabulary exploded! Then again at 23ish months and again at 2.5. When say say exploded, I mean like 5 new words a DAY for a while.
Now, when we play with that same kid, no one can understand a word she's saying (she has words but her enunciation is really poor) - she sounds the same as she did at 12 months old....Every kid is soooooooooooooo different.
Now, I'd pay my kid to shut up sometimes (if paying her actually worked! HA!)
Talk to someone if you're concerned (a freaked out mama makes for an anxious household!) but know that you're well within the normal range!