17 months & not talking

leesa031906 · April 2014

My daughter is turning 17 months and still really no words. She was babbling but now she doesn't . Just wanted to know if your child went through the same thing

EandIMommy86 · April 2014

LovelyRitaMeterMaid said:

You need to call your pedi and ask for a referral for EI (early intervention). It could be nothing or it could be a language delay. If your pedi doesn't think it is necessary, reach out to EI yourself. You can google search to find out which office serves your county. They will come to your home and evaluate your LO. I would do this tomorrow.

This

SPK926 · April 2014

Does she have any words? Mama, Dada, uh-oh? Those count as words remember! Are you sure it's babbling and not trying to form a word? For instance DD says "do" but points to the dog so while it doesn't sound like "dog" that's really what she means. Before being an alarmist and calling for EI I would visit your pediatrician and see what s/he has to say. Good luck!

poppins123 · April 2014

LovelyRitaMeterMaid said:

You need to call your pedi and ask for a referral for EI (early intervention). It could be nothing or it could be a language delay. If your pedi doesn't think it is necessary, reach out to EI yourself. You can google search to find out which office serves your county. They will come to your home and evaluate your LO. I would do this tomorrow.

I agree. At this age you should really be looking for an increase in babbling and heading towards 25-50 words by 18 months. EI would be a great option and definitely not too early to call (even if your pedi suggests a wait and see approach as many do, despite age expectations with language development). She may catch up on her own, but with EI you'll be putting her in the best position to do this.

minervacullen · April 2014

My DS had words, but they were very hard to understand. Fast forward to 3 years old, he still had issues pronouncing words. I asked his pedi at every appointment about speech therapy, he kept telling me he was fine. Once he started school the school put him in speech. At 7, he still has some issues with certain sounds. He's doing so much better, but if my pedi would have listened to me, his mom who saw him all the time, then it could have been corrected much sooner and saved him getting frustrated in kindergarten when his peers couldn't understand him.
Pediatricians only see child for a few minutes a few times a year. If your momma instinct is telling you something's up, listen to it.
The sooner LO is evaluated the better. Good luck.

Beth.1212 · April 2014

I echo the sentiment to call EI. It really doesn't hurt to get your LO evaluated. If he needs help, the sooner you get the process going the better. If he doesn't, no harm done. The evaluation is really painless. My LO actually loved getting all of the attention from three adults that wanted to play with him. I think he'd get evaluated every week if he had a choice! Also, in some areas it can take a long time to get through the process - I've heard of people having to wait for months for the evaluation. (I was lucky and only had to wait a week or two, but then again I was filling in a cancelled slot.)

Good luck! Know that you're not alone, and there's nothing wrong with getting help. It makes you a good mom to get your LO what she needs to thrive.

MrsT0514 · April 2014

I would definitely give EI a call to set up an evaluation. EI is a great resource...better to nip a potential issue in the bud earlier with some extra help, than to wait it out and not know.

FWIW, my son is 15mo with lots of babbling but no real words, and our pedi just referred us to EI for speech. In his words, speech is something we should stay on top of, and it can be easy for kids to fall behind with. Better to get the help early on, so he isn't behind with this stuff when becomes of school age.

ashiscute · April 2014

Like PP said talk to your pedi about a referral for EI. If they blow you off be firm and they will give it to you.

My DD had no words at 15 mos and very limited babbling. My pedi was not concerned but I was. I pushed and got the referral. She was evaluated and started receiving therapy at 17 mos. She is now 3 and has since been diagnosed with a speech disorder and is still in therapy. But I am so glad I did not wait and I was proactive about getting her the help she needed.

There's no negative to being evaluated. Either she qualifies and gets services or she doesn't and they give you some things to work on and revisit in 6 months. Good luck!

pmduggan01 · April 2014

My LO was referred to a hearing and speech clinic last week (during his 18 month well visit at the pedi). He babbles, says one word consistently (ball, which sounds like "baaa"), and barely says mama or dada. I made the appointment today. Looking forward to what they learn.

Caseyk1127 · April 2014

DD is 17 months and says dada and a bunch of non-stop babbling. We've heard her say bye bye and night night 1 time each but never again. Took her to 2 different speech therapist fo reveals and they both said its normal and if she goes not start forming more words in the next 3 months to come back for a re-eval. She is very clear about her wants and needs just not verbally.

ktpaladino · April 2014

I had EI come out to my house for an eval when my son was 21 months and only saying a few words. They gave him a score of 90 which was middle of the road. A score of 75-120 is normal and they dismissed my case since he was above 75. I still felt something was off and discovered my son had a posterior tongue tie. We had it surgically released last week and he is already saying new words and "speaking" clearer. Have you checked for PTT? Pediatricians are not trained to diagnose it. You have to look up specialists in your area. Sometimes ENT or pediatric dentists, even IBCLCs can find it, but the posterior tie is hidden and very hard to diagnose unless you know how to look for it. Join the tongue tie support group on Facebook if you're interested in learning more. Not saying this is what is wrong with your LO, just wanted to share my story since its a really common problem that often gets overlooked.

Beth.1212 · April 2014

ashiscute said:

Like PP said talk to your pedi about a referral for EI. If they blow you off be firm and they will give it to you.

My DD had no words at 15 mos and very limited babbling. My pedi was not concerned but I was. I pushed and got the referral. She was evaluated and started receiving therapy at 17 mos. She is now 3 and has since been diagnosed with a speech disorder and is still in therapy. But I am so glad I did not wait and I was proactive about getting her the help she needed.

There's no negative to being evaluated. Either she qualifies and gets services or she doesn't and they give you some things to work on and revisit in 6 months. Good luck!

OP, you can talk to your pedi - nothing wrong with that - but you don't have to. I went straight to EI, and it wasn't a problem. I didn't need a referral.

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