Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
teacherhollys
member
almost 16 month old not talking
teacherhollys
member
I'm concerned about my son not talking like others do. He has no spoken words and doesn't make many sounds other than screaming when he's unhappy. He doesn't hardly babble or never imitates sounds. My son also can't follow when I point. He did start pointing at 11 months, but I don't think he still understands what he's doing. He can follow directions very well. Anyone else have a child like this?
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Re: almost 16 month old not talking
Have you discussed it with his pedi?
If you haven't already I would discuss it with his pedi and see what he says. You could also call your local EI/Birth to Three program and request an evaluation. They will come to your home and evaluate your child in the 5 main developmental areas and is he scores low enough in any one or more areas who would qualify for services to help him catch up.
On average they expect a child to have 5-10 words by 15 months old. That being said a lot of kids don't have that many words by 15 months and are just late talkers - which is ok. What's more concerning to me is that you say he also doesn't make many sounds or babbles and at this age babbling should be pretty constant. There may not be an issues here and he may just be a late talker but if there is an issues that needs to be addressed, early intervention at this age is really important. I would definitely call your pedi and discuss it with him.
My DD only had one word at 16 months. It was "more" but she really said it like "morrrrrrr" and it was a real push to get her to say that one word. She now talks full sentences. I found sign language to REALLY help with the screaming and the words followed soon after.
I would talk to the pedi and you can always go for an Occupational therapy evaluation. Early intervention is free (in most states) up until age 3 even if your health care covers it.
we did food therapy for food aversion due to severe reflux and saw HUGE results in only a few sessions. If he isn't babbling or imitating sounds I would at least get a professional opinion by an occupational therapist.