Hi, I have a baby boy who just turned 18 months yeterday. I am very concerned because he is only babbling and pointing at things, it seems as though he is trying to say things but no real words are formed. I have had his hearing tested and he passed with flying colors. He is very active and social, he is always the one at play group to walk up to the other kids and play with them.
When i say that he does't say anything, his only word that is consistant is oh...oh. He has said mama when he wants up but that is only out of frustration, when I say to him say up. If it is speech delay, at what point do most children pull through and talk?
Does anyone else have a similar situation?
I think it is supposed to be 5-10 words by 18 months, which if you think about it, isn't a lot. Neither of my twin boys was talking at that age. I wouldn't have worried, except they also weren't pointing, which can be a red flag. We got them into speech therapy. T started talking at 2 years, S at 2.5 years. T is caught up at age 3, and S will still get speech therapy for articulation. Pointing is no longer a concern!
Get a copy of The Einstein Syndrome by Thomas Sowell.
also he wrote Late Talking Children.
Updated
Get a copy of The Einstein Syndrome by Thomas Sowell.
also he wrote Late Talking Children.
Before 18 mo, all my son said was momma, dadda and bubba (the dog). He said his first word, bear, at his 18 mo appointment. At 2, he had a few doz words, but mostly babbled. About 2 mo after his 2nd bday, he went from a few doz words to a few hundred. By 2 1/2, he had not only caught up, but passed most of his peers' speech.
As long as he is making a lot of different sounds when babbling and he is social, I wouldn't be too concerned.
Hi J.,
While I heard your concern try not to put too much pressure on your child to speak. Yes he is a little delayed but it is not uncommon. make sure you are getting on his eye level and always encourage him to repeat after you if he wants something but let's give it a little time. In the next six months take another look and see he should have at least 50 words. Also, make sure that when he is eating he is using a complete rotary jaw movement. No one can give you advice that will make YOU feel better all moms have had different experiences. So if you are still concerned but 2 y/o then just check it out with a developmental ped. He may just need a little push.
If you send me a return email I can send you some material on helping your child reach this developmental milestone.
Penny Amic CEO/Clinical Director
Special Beginnings Inc.
An Early Intervention Network
###-###-####
18 months is very young to be talking. I have a son who is currently in speech therapy at 2 years 3 months, and he's saying a total of 6 words right now. His fine motor and gross motors skills exceed his age, and his only delay is speech. They expect him to break out and start very soon. You have nothing to be worried about at this stage!
My son was like that too but he didn't even babble. I called Early Intervention right after he turned 18 mos. He began receiving services when he was 21 mos. so it takes a while. The therapists come to the house and evaluate him. Please don't wait. I am so happy I followed my gut that something wasn't the way it should be and called. My son was diagnosed with mild developmental delays and speech delay. He has been receiving services for the past year (Speech, Occupational and Developmental therapies), on a weekly basis, the improvements are wonderful. I currently enrolled him in Pre-K also with the help of Early Intervention, he'll be 3 in July. Everyone told me boys are slow talkers and just to wait I'm glad I didn't listen to them because my son got the help he needed to start talking and communicating. He will continue to receive speech therapy in Pre-K once a week.
J.,
If it is a true delay, kids don't just pull through and talk without therapy. If you think he is trying to say words but they are unitelligible, you could have your States early intervention out to screen him. If you feel strongly about it, you can always schedule an appointment with a private therapist too, most insurance will cover this.
It will probably make you feel better to go ahead with an evaluation. Kids with significant delays look just like kids who just seem to lag behind and catch up, so you are in a win win situation with an evaluation. You either hear what you want to hear, that he will just start talking soon and be fine, or you hear exactly what you need to do to help him talk, either way, he wins.
Certainly, call ECI, and if in the next six months he does not have a huge expolosion of language (40 to 50 words) and put two words together in a simple sentance, at that time seek a private evaluation for sure.
M.
Some kids talk more than others. My son is 22 months old and says lots of things. My husbands cousins son is 1 year older and barley says a word.
Talk your Doc and see if they feel there is something to worry about. Since he passed his hearing tests, I think that talking will come naturally. He might start out with a ton of words, unlike a younger child who has only a few words.
Good luck
My son wasn't beginning to talk at 12 and 15 month check ups so our pediatrician recommended that we have him evaluated. He started speech therapy at about 18 months and he made quick progress and started talking. He finished therapy within 6 months. I will never know if the therapy made the difference or if he was just ready to talk then, but I would do it the same way (10 years later). Therapy was a positive experience for us - like playtime for him. Get him evaluated; no harm in being proactive.
My 16 mo old still doesnt talk. Just babbles and points. Her consistant word is a-da-da. We thought how cute, thats her first word (daddy). Nope, she calls everything a-da-da. Our ped said its normal and kids will talk when they are ready. She did tell me when she hits 2 and still didn't talk we will discuss treatment from there. We ask her "who is daddy?" and she goes to him and points or pats him. She does this with a number of things, but will not say the word. I tried to get her to say FLOWER, and it comes out blooor, then she gets bored and calls it a-da-da again. But when I ask her where the flower is she will point to it. Does your son know who people in the family are? If you ask him to point to a certain thing does he? If he understands things I would say he is probably just a late talker. Good Luck!
I didn't speak until I was three, and I grew up to win school debate tournaments. :) If his hearing, general demeanor and overall cheerfulness aren't affected, don't worry too much.
My grandson just turned 2, and has just started talking. He could before, but just didn't want to. He would talk more for me than for his mom. That was because he had to, she knew what he wanted easier than I did.
He still doesn't talk a lot, but when he has to he can come up with full sentences. LOL
Neither of my daughters were more than babbling at 18months, and girls are usually quicker to talk! How many words do they recommend he know at that age? I don't remember. Look up milestone charts by age. And make sure you speak to him in full sentences, describing everything he points at in detail.."you want to see the two blue fish?" he will pick it up soon!
Boys usually don't talk a lot until age 2-3. I would just try to talk to him in adult language and sing to him as much as possible and see if that helps him progress faster.
My baby sister didn't talk for the longest time, but it was really because she didn't have to. She had her own language, that apparently my mother could understand, and she didn't really speak anything but gobbledy until she was about 2.
She's perfectly fine and very intelligent. A grown woman working for the school system for many years, she is such a proponent of "using your words". How ironic. :)
My advice is not to "baby talk" to your son and speak to him as if he understands you because I'll bet anything that he does.
Not all kids who don't speak early are "delayed" by definition.
Talk to the pediatrician about perhaps having him evaluated, but at this point, I wouldn't be super concerned. He's obviously happy and outgoing and no doubt he is soaking things up like a sponge.
Some kids just take longer to spit things back out.
Best wishes.
contact your local Regional Center and ask that your son be evaluated. Document and explain your concerns. You may also want to get a private evaluation from a speech therapist. Your son IS very young, but he should be making a greater variety of sounds by now and trying to imitate sounds.
it IS a great sign that he is showing communicative intent by pointing and making noise - it means that he does want to communicate with you.
always better to err on the side of caution since early intervention makes a huge difference for kids.
It sounds like he is doing well. All children pick up langauge at different times. Some kids start talking sooner than others but, as long as there is not a learning disability, then they pretty much catch up with each other by the time they are ready to start school. Here are somethings you can do to help your son's talking speaking skills:
** Talk, talk, talk to him as much as possible, labeling anything and everything that you cross paths with.
** Resist the impulse to talk for him or talk over him. When you are labeling stuff, pause for a bit and give him a chance to mimic you. If you ask him a question like, "Do you want some juice?" pause for a bit and give him a chance to say "yes" or "no" and then give him the words to help him out.
The fact that he's very sociable, babbling and pointing is great! Try putting these two things to the test and give him a little bit more time to start developing his speaking skills. If you don't see any noticable improvements within the next 6 months, then definitely address the issue with your pediatrician to see if your son would benefit from some speech thereapy. Probably, by then, your concerns will be a non-issue.
i know some boys who were still babbling at ages 3 and 4, for some reason a lot of boys progress slower vocally. I have 2 girls , the difference is like night and day. Just continue talking to him, talk to him about everything, he wont be silent forever.
My mom says I didnt speak until I was about 2, and she jokes that once I started I didn't stop. I was always shy, but really came out of my shell in my teen years. If your son is actually walking up to other kids, I wouldn't worry a bit. Give him time.
M.
my son is 25 months and just started saying a few more words at about 20-22 months. in his babble words do appear but he doesn't repeat them very often. I wouldn't worry to much yet. if it sounds like he is saying a word repeat the word you think he is saying to him so he makes a connection. if you give him milk repeat the word to him at least 2x. if you give him a cracker the same thing. it wouldn't hurt to have his ears checked to see if he needs tubes. but if his hearing test was good I would say hes probably fine without tubes.
From what I had heard before my son could talk, and now that he can talk more (he's 21 months old), a lot of kids just suddenly start. My son had maybe 15 words down at 18 months, and he wouldn't use them all of the time. Now (3 months later) he has over 100 (motorcycle being his biggest and fave word right now). I think your son just isn't ready yet. My son would just whine when he wanted something for a while, and we would ask him to say it (like cracker), and then he finally just started doing it. It might take some time, but you probably have nothing to worry about. If he's still like this at 2, have him checked out, but I think he's just on his own schedule, as all kids are.
Yes we have a very similar situation with our third child. Our daughter is a very happy, bubbly outgoing child but she too would just say a few words. I brought this to our pediatrician's attention at the 18 month visit and at the time the Dr. said to wait until she was two years old. If there was no improvement then she would recommend that I take her to a speech therapist. I did just that and had her evaluated at 24 months. She showed a delay in expression of 6-8 months, but all other cognitives skills were about average. The evaluation recommended pre-school asap and to have as many play dates with peers. However, they also recommended that she get some speech therapy, which is very expensive at $200+ and hour. So my advice to you is to not wait to get him evaluated because if you get him in before he turns 2 (which I found out after the fact), the state will cover for the speech therapy. I went to the Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center in Alhambra. A lovely facility and they did a great job and provide follow up. I would call right away. I wouldn't worry though, our daughter's vocabulary has exploded now and she forming short three word sentences at 28 months. These delays tend to resolve themselves. But I would take advantage of their services if your son qualifies. Our daughter was deficient in only one area and did not qualify because she was 24 months, but had I brought her in at 12 or 18 months they would have provided the therapy. So don't hesitate to make a call to them. Good Luck!
Don't panic. Babies speak when they're ready. There is no exact science to when babies decide to walk, talk, potty train, etc. It's ok. Keep talking to him and eventually he will mimic your words when he decides to. I recall a story about a child that never uttered a word until some insanely late age like five and then he spoke full sentences. I am sure that was a very rare case but it illustrates the point. The child had been listening and learned all that time. He says things to you now, even if its only "oh" or "mama". Those are the clues. He has the ability. When he wants something, point at it, repeat the name over and over and try to get him to mouth the word in order to get what he wants. Strong encouragement to speak in order to get something helps. Good luck. He's fine. :-)
If your son understands everything you say, he may just not want to talk yet. My husband didn't talk until he was almost 3. When he started talking, it was in full sentences. Apparently his older sister could understand what he wanted and she would get things for him so he had no reason to talk. If you doctor isn't worried, then he's probably fine and just waiting till his ready to talk. Meanwhile, keep reading to him, show him things, ask him questions about things, play with him. That may get him talking.
Good luck!
My brother didn't speak until he was 2 years old. He didn't speak a first word or a first sentence. When he finally spoke it was a whole paragraph and then some. It was as if he waited until he could verbalize exactly what he wanted to say in the way he wanted to say it. Baby talk didn't cut it for him. He was good in school without trying and became ASB president in high school. He's an adult now, with several degrees. He teaches both
high school and college classes. He has set records in sports and has gotten commendations for community service. It is possible that your little guy is also waiting until his physical capabilities match his mental abilities.
My brother has many, many friends and enjoys life immensely.
i was worried too when my son was that age..as most parents do...but my friend kept saying "just wait til just have he turns 2.5 years old..just you wait" and she was right..a week after my son turned 2.5 he started saying words..a lot of them and then by 3 he was just gabbing away...now he is 4 and uses words like herbivore when describing certain dinosaurs..and many other big words...just wait..you'll see..and be sure to expose your son to things..my son enjoys watching Prehistoric Planet and other programs he can learn from..he also enjoys going on youtube and has a leapfrog computer..i limit his time on these things but he is just like a sponge and picking all kinds of things up...so all my worrying was in vain..
i'm sure your son will be gabbing away soon
good luck
xo
I have a 16 month old son and he also just babbles and I don't worry about him. I have a 4 year old daughter that started saying sentences by 18 months but her cousin when she was the same age barely babbled...they both speak perfectly now :) I wouldn't worry about it just give him time.
Good morning! My now 11 year old son had a vocabulary of maybe a dozen words until he was three. He has two older brothers who did all the talking and he didn't speak, but pointed and grunted to get his point across to us. We all knew what he wanted, and as frustrated as it seems now...he will talk when he is good and ready! My son never, and I mean never, now shuts up! He is extremely bright and just finished 6th grade with strait A's and A pluses in his honor classes. Before you know it, he will be talking a mile a minute. Be patient and enjoy him now, for tomorrow he will be all grown up!!
Both my son and daughter didn't utter a word until well after 2 years (26 and 27 months respectively) and both were fine. Remember, Einstein didn't speak until he was 5 years old and then he spoke full sentences :)
