Words

Zwolaka · August 2014

I am seeking opinions from other moms on my son's speech. Long story short, my son is almost 19 months (on the 3rd) he says about 8 words pretty 'consistently:' Uh oh, up, go, all done, ball, wow, sock (only does the ssssss-oooo, not really finishing the ck sound yet), hello (more like hewwwo), and he says his own form of 'thank you' which is just syllable sounds... if that makes sense. He says dada and mama all the time but never calls us it. He can say
chugga chugga choo choo' and 'coo coo' like it is his job, but when it comes to new "real words" he just stares at us lol. He understands everything we say so I know he KNOWS what all words mean (for example, if we tell him to take off his shirt, pick up his toys, give them to mommy, etc -- he does it so I know he understands what we say he just won't say them back !) We emphasize words and repeat every, single, day. His pedi is not concerned but told us if he doesn't gain more words within the next 3 months before we go back for his 2 year appt to give them a call and we would contact EI. It makes me feel a little under pressure to get him to talk within the next 3 months, not like EI is a bad thing bc I will do whatever is best for my son.... Basically I am wondering if this sounds normal to other moms and if I should stop worrying and just continue what we are doing?! I also might add we are having another baby in November so if he DOES need EI I want to get it started sooner than later...Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

MommaHen1984 · August 2014

I was in the exact same boat with my son. After his 18 month appt he only said a few words. bye, up, mama, dada. Our pedi was not concerned either. I was. By the time he was 20 months he only gained a few more words but like your son also, he understood anything we told him. I was very close to calling and making an EL appointment Well all of a sudden, had a HUGE language explosion. And by huge I mean he says anything and everything. Hes to the point now he absorbs any word I tell him and I only have to say it once. He uses small phrases too like " i stuck" or "main man" ( thats what i call him) or "bye dad". I was told boys take longer to talk and I see that is true! Now hes 22 months and I have to watch what I say because he is like a sponge. Hang in there, he might surprise you!

Zwolaka · August 2014

Thank you so much for the feedback, it definitely makes me feel better! I'm hoping we have the same experience as you!

Zwolaka · August 2014

Thank you ladies for the advice, definitely makes me feel better. We are constantly reading, talking, interacting, etc so I am just going to wait it out. Thank you, you have no idea how much this eases my mind. Nice to talk to other parents who are in the same boat or have advice

pb_bride · August 2014

When DS was 15m, he had zero words. At 18m, he had 5 words and 6 animal sounds. Between 15-18m I started teaching him sign language, and he managed to learn close to 40 signs during those 3 months.

It wasn't until he was 20m before he started learning on average 1 new word a day. Month 20 & 21 we saw him learn 1 new word a day. Month 22 (this month) he suddenly is learning 3-4 words a day.

I was really REALLY worried about him, and I was this close to calling EI. All his friends (same age) were talking up a storm by 15m. The only reason I didn't call was b/c I knew he understood everything, and I knew some kids are just late talkers, and I knew he had the language b/c he was able to sign.

LyndseylovesHugh · August 2014

At 18m DD had 12 words, but did not use them consistently. The doc said that it was fine, he just wanted her to be able to say 8. He said by 2 she should be saying two word phrases. I was so worried that this would not happen but around 19/20m she had a word explosion and now at 23 months she can say hundreds of words, says 3/4/5 word sentences and seriously never shuts up. Like never. It is crazy how far her language development has come in just a few months. I would just give your LO time, sounds like he's on the right track, and just make sure you talk and read to him often.

ashiscute · August 2014

Does your son use signs at all? Signs are very helpful at eliciting language. My DD had 1 word at 19 mos (she has a speech disorder) and signs were huge for us. More, all done, eat, drink, etc. I would encourage using signs for words while using the word.

Give him verbal opportunities to speak like ask if he was an apple or a banana and pause. If he chooses by pointing just make sure you are confirming his choice verbally. Also, try to get him to look at you when you are speaking.

And I would definitely consider "chugga chugga" and other sounds as words. Real words are not important. What is important is seeing him grasp an understanding of language and communication.

climbermomma · August 2014

My son just turned 20 months and we started early intervention around 15 months because he was only saying "dada, yaya, night night (not pronounced correctly), bye bye (pronounced ha-tee)". My pediatrician was concerned because he wasn't using any b sounds, would not repeat anything we said and wouldn't say "mama". We started EI right away and I am glad we did. He has more words now but is only now starting to repeat and use b sounds and not on a regular basis. Most of his words he has now he will only say if we say them, they are not spontaneous (which I guess is what you want). He has about 6 signs and 20 (non-spontaneous words). I think EI has really helped, if nothing else it was good to have his hearing tested and to have someone in the home every week reassuring us and playing with him. They want to test him for Autism when he turns 2 if he doesn't have a word explosion (which they don't think will happen but I still hold out for every day). I think EI is always good, even if your child verbally explodes, did EI hurt them? No, it just gave you both more support!

climbermomma · August 2014

Oh and when EI did evaluate him they said he had a 75% speech deficit and diagnosed him with a speech delay. Basically, they said he is about 6-7 months behind.

CC1017 · September 2014

That sounds a lot like my son. He had the very basics at 18 months ma, da, dog, ball, and could do animal sounds. It was obvious he understood everything. Then one day he said helicopter and he's been getting new words ever since. He's not really putting words together yet, but I'm not going to worry. He'll get there.

kcwnc · September 2014

We had K evaluated for EI for lack of speech right at 16 months and they determined that he wasn't behind enough to warrant EI at this time. They did say that he if he hasn't started using more words by 18 months to call back and they can come out again to assess him. A friend of a friend who is a speech therapist recommended us starting sign language with him and over the weekend he managed to pick up the signs for "all done" and "more" which we hope will inspire him to talk. Our biggest concern was at 14 months he had about 5 words which he stopped using weeks before his 15 month appt. He's saying daddy, Scott (his 1 year old friend's dad's name that his 1 year old friend says constantly), dog, and eat every now and then. He also says tickle, tickle, tickle if you are chasing him around like you're going to tickle him. We're waiting on the language explosion everyone keeps talking about.

Zwolaka · September 2014

I am glad to hear I am not the only one going through this! I emphasize everything to him, explaining what I am doing, emphasizes "key" words like mama, dada, more, car, whatever we are doing at the time. I find that he will say the word randomly, for instance, I said "say B-all, B-b-ball" and he said it! He said it about 4 more times. Now, I haven't heard the word in over a week, even when I prompt him to say it while we are playing catch. I don't understand how he can say it one week then the next totally ignore the fact he can say it lol.

DawnJM25 · September 2014

DS was born premature and we see a developmental/speech therapist because he was such a quiet baby. In the last few months DS has started learning lots of new words and isn't necessarily "behind" anymore, but I completely understand speech concerns! Our speech therapist said that when kids are learning major gross motor skills like walking, jumping, etc., their speech takes a backseat. So, kids who are early walkers tend to be early talkers because they got their gross motor development out of the way earlier. Once DS mastered walking, he had a speech explosion.

Zwolaka · September 2014

I wish that were true for us -- we were walking at 10 months lol every baby is different, that's for sure

nikkisun54 · September 2014

@Zwolaka I think that is generally what @DawnJM25 is referencing - the saying goes, "late walker, early talker" or "early walker, late talker". It's also true that their social/communication skills will take a back seat when they're working on big milestones like crawling or walking, but it also speaks to the fact that often times when you have a child that is very physically advanced, they tend to take a little later on some of the communicative development in general.

For instance, DS has about 15-20 words as noted above, but doesn't use them all on a regular basis and they all essentially sound like "ba", "ma", "pa", "wa" or "na" - it's all context that helps us understand what he means. However, he is running like a madman, twirling, jumping, climbing and jumping - you name it. He's always been slower on the social/communication skills, but if your little guy is trying to communicate and understands you and follows instruction, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

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