19 Mos Old Twins Say Only 3 Words

Okay, it's true 19 monthers are often saying more words, but twins are often later talkers because they talk to each other. My twins were also a bit later to talk and are coming along faster everyday now (they are 2y, 4m, also boy and girl). The girl is a bit ahead of the boy. She is now putting two words together and her vocabulary increases almost daily. I am a speechie (in Australia) so I don't want to minimise this, it can be significant. If you are confident about their hearing, i they are clearly communicating with each other and you (using gestures, jargon, whatever) then consider trying a programme called Toddler Talk by a UK doctor called Sally Ward (available in bookshops) She can help you identify where they are developmentally and gives you very clear steps to help move them along. Your instincts are really important here, and you need to be heard as well. It is true that early intervention is the best course of action, but I suspect you are right to be less worried as they are communicating together and with you. No-one will force you into anything, but it is always helpful to know as much as you can. Good Luck.

Have you tried any of the mothers-of-twins groups. They could probably put you in touch with the therapy you might need.

It's not uncommon for twins to do this, concentrating on communication with each other instead of others, also sometimes "inventing" language that's just theirs.

In addition to the twin thing, there can be a problem with a sibling so close in age sort of interpreting their needs without making them say the words.

Meanwhile, before you get help, try limiting a little what you understand from their gestures, as asking with your back turned to them whether they want milk or juice; don't accept a grab for something, ask for the words.

I have twins-- they are 10 now.. my pedi didn't suggest hearing tests, but that could be a good start.. he suggesed that we get tested for speech therapy. You can get it through your school district and it's free. That is what I did.. because of their age, you only go for 30 minutes. I have boys, and they were 5 weeks early. They say that twins learn slower, and boys learn slower-- so I felt like my kids got a double whammy when it came to learning abilities. Like I said they are 10 now-- one got out of therapy about 4 years ago, and the other got out this year.

I wouldn't worry. Right before my daughter turned two, she barely said 5 words. Her pedi wanted us to see a speech therapist if see couldn't say at lesat 10 + words by 2. I was horrified. I figured we hadn't worked with her enough. The other kids in her day care (her age) were talking much more. I beleive she just wasn't ready. Shortly after 2 she was right on track with the other kiddos in her class. Now, I get compliments all the time about how smart she is. Hang in there!

Hi,
I have 4 year old boy/girl twins. The EXACT same thing happened to us. At their 2 year check-up, the Dr. recommended that we get their hearing checked. We had the tests completed and found out that their hearing was fine. He then referred us to a speech therapist. An assessment was performed on each (alone). It was determined that they were behind their peers. They chalked the delay up to being premature (only carried to 30 weeks) and that they were twins. They attended speech therapy sessions (alone) for approx. 6 months. Once they were in therapy and could no longer rescue one another, their speech picked up immediately. I think that it was the first time that they were alone (I was not in the room either). They are now talking better than their peers. Try not to stress. I did. Now that I look back, it was a positive experience for us all. Hope this helps.

This may sound like a silly concept, but if you are using a pacifier during the daytime, stop immediately. Your children should be saying more words by now. It wouldn't hurt to get them checked out. It may be some consolation, that some children just start talking in sentences when they are around 2. That is what my older brother did.

While I do not have twins, I have an 18 mo old daughter who can say very few words. She too was referred to an ENT. Our situation is different...after visiting ENT turns out she has the bone structure of a 10 month old. We are now looking at an MRI's of her brain and growth hormone therapy.
My point is, follow the advise of your physician. It cant hurt to rule out any potential diagnosis that can be treated.
Had I listened to everyone telling me she will catch up, every baby is different, she is growing at her own pace....
Well I wouldnt be fair to my daughter and would feel guilty for the rest of my life.
My other 3 children are in fine health and I didnt like hearing there was something wrong with my perfect child....

Don't be afraid to get the tests, try not to worry until you are faced with a particular diagnosis. Meantime you are just being a good mom by following through.

D., I don't have twins but my now 2 year old son refused to talk last summer, he was around 17 months at the time. I knew he could hear just fine and he communicated very well and understood everything. He just wouldn't talk. Stubborn maybe. Then all of a sudden he was saying everything. Within a couple months he was speaking in complete sentences using pronouns and all the little words kids don't normally use until much later. So we went from almost nothing to speaking almost as well as a 4 year old. I know they say a child should be saying a certain number of words by the time they are a certain age, but every child is different. This is just my opinion. Good luck.

I understand what you are going through. I have twin boys who are now age five going into kindergarten. I suggest you get them involved in speech therapy as soon as possible. There are programs supported by the government/public school system that are free and would be a great help. The sooner you get them involved, the better. After age 3, the process of getting help is much harder. I know, because I waited thinking they would come around, and they didn't. I started speech therapy when they were 3 1/2. They start Kindergarten in the fall but they still have speech issues. They will both have to be pulled out of the classroom for speech therapy. This has been such a source of anxiety for me for the last few years, but it is getting better. It will get better, I promise. If there is anything I can do to help you or encourage you please let me know. Hang in there. S.

I have twin grandsons and from that experience I would advise you to let the kids develope in their own time, because they will. Enough will find you without looking for it.

That ia definately a significant delay worth checking into. I would start with ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). I am going thru the same thing with my 28 month old daughter. As a matter of fact we are getting ready for an audiologist appointment toady to have her hearing checked. ECI suggested this and the pediatrician also suggested this before seeing an ENT. We are seeing a pediatric audiologist at UTMB in Galveston. They are supposed to be the best in the Houston area. HTH

I have twin boys who are 2 yr 3 mos old. You have gotten lots of great advice. My boys didn't say much before two but then really took off with talking after their 2nd birthday. It was like it happenend overnight. Now they are putting 4 and 5 word sentences together. I'd give it a little more time.

I don't have twins, but my son had a hard time learning to speak also. We went to ENT and speech thearpy and easter seals came out. THey said it was likely that he always had fluid stuck in his ears and because of that was not hearing well delaying his speech, but could never give me any definate answers. I resisted tubes for a long time, then one day my husband over rode me and took my son in for tubes. He got them and I swear a week later he was speaking full sentences. I guess my point is that it doesn't hurt to have them looked at. I loved easter seals. It is a great program and they come to your house. Very convenient!

Hi Dayla, It is very important to get your children's hearing checked as a first step. They should also be evaluated by an ECI for developmental delays, especially Speech delays. There are at least two ECIs in Austin, Easter Seals and Any Baby Can. Do contact them to evaL YOUR TWINS. tHEY CAN HELP. lATER, THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE ppcd PROGRAMS AND sPEECH THERAPISTS. Good Luck. J. K. :)

I have twins also - 16 years old now :) Mine seemed to talk regular words a little later than I thought should be normal, but they sure "talked" to each other though!. I have a friend with a boy who turned two in Jan, and he only knows about 3 or 4 words. I wouldn't worry about it - but if your doc wants to check them, I would go ahead, just to make sure.......... Good luck!

K.

I think this is very typical of twins. My twins didn't talk until much later and I've heard other moms say their twins did the same thing. Although one of my twins was not saying as many words as the other and he also had continuous ear infections. Doc removed his adenoids and within 1 1/2 weeks, my son caught up with his twin in speach. No problem since.

It's not going to hurt to have their hearing checked. ECI can be a great help too in identifying what they need to help them gain a larger vocabulary. Perhaps they need a speech therapist, perhaps not. ECI will be able to help determine that. Just call your local Early Childhood Intervention office (google it).
In the meantime, observe what you, hubby, or older brother might be doing that enables them to "not talk." Do they come and take your hand to pull you to something they want? Do you go along, or do you ask them to use their words to tell you? If you allow them to pull you, do you then label for them and ask them to label as well? (You want the puzzle? Can you say, "Puzzle Please?" Do they point to something and you fetch it without thinking twice? Shake a bottle or cup and you refill without asking if they'd like more? Do they cry and you figure out what's the matter and fix it without asking them to use their words? If so, there are a few things you can do to help. Here's an example: Ask one of them if they'd like milk or water in their cup. Show them both choices. If they point to the one they want, say "You want milk?" If they shake their head, say, "Say Milk Please." and wait for a response. Don't deny them the milk if they can't say it, but try to get them to before giving it to them. Offering choices and expecting them to choose with words not fingers is a great place to start. Also, expecting them to verbalize wants and needs instead of automatically doing it for them will help tons! It is more time consuming and nerve wracking, but its also more beneficial for them! :)

When my GB twins were this age one spoke all the time and one only spoke a little but they communicated with each other and their older sister beautifully...

The problem was my son had fluid on his ears so he wasn't always hearing everything they way he should which made for a lot of garbled speach on his end and it was comlicated by the fact that BOTH of his sisters (his twin AND his older sister) would talk for him all the time negating the need for him to verbally commincate as much. Luckily I recognized this as well as my pediatrician, we had him teste, had tubes placed in his ears and contacted ECI (Definitely do so in your area, it's free and they do the therapy in your own home until they turn 3)Once he began speech therapy and had the tubes he caguth up by the time ECI stops providing their services at 3 years old!!!

my daughter said maybe 20 words at 2nd birthday. she understood loads more though. We just now (she is age 3) had her ears cleaned or washed and we removed a huge ball of dead skin and wax (gross I know!) Now she makes complaints about how loud everything is, but it was like a light switch in her talking. She speaks more clearly now and is alot more verbal, so it could be possible that they aren't hearing as great as they could be and you not be aware of it. I wish I had taken her to an ENT at 15 months when I first started wondering why she wasn't as verbal as others were.

Hello Dayla,
My name is A. I also have b/g twins. My daughter has a wide vocabulary up to around 20 words, while my son only says about 2 to 3 words. My twins will be 2 on June 1st. My son had to go the the ENT and they couldn't get a good test done on him so on the 19th of this month he is scheduled to see a specialist. I believe that my son may not hear as well as my daughter. We also have a speach therapist that comes to the house 1 to 2 times a month to work with him, don't know if it is going to do any good but anything that may help I'm willing to give a try at. The twins premature doc. wanted his hearing checked and to also see a neurologist to make sure neither aren't the cause before saying that he maybe a bit austic. I hear my son talking baby talk like his sister does occasionally but he says it soo quietly. Everything he learns is from his sister and she usually learns it 2wks before he picks it up. However the only words I've heard him say are Dada and jj (his uncle A.J.). I've been told by several ppl that some babies just don't start speaking till around 3 yrs or so. But to be on the safe side I am going to do every test the doc. believes needs to be done to rule out any problems that may exist that we maybe unaware of. I wish the best for you and hope you'll let me know how it turns out.

This is common in twins.

I come from a family with multiple! sets of twins, mostly girl/girl, and a couple of boy/girl. Although I am not a twin, my son has twins. The girls were late in talking, one has a hearing deficency. When they were young, they could communicate with each other very well, but did not say many words to the rest of the world.

Both girls went to speech therapy, and were taught to sign basic words (we all learned these signs). As they grew older, the girls used these signs less and less. Kendal and Jorden turned 10 in March, they are smart, well adjusted, and talk up a storm!

I agree with everyone and would suggest hearing tests. If they check out ok - you can go the speech therapy route, or just wait it out. Please understand, every child grows at a different pace - One of the dr's told us in the beginning, that it's best not to compare your twins to single birth children. Twins usually catch up with their peers by the time they start to school. Hope this helps.

For a quick assessment of your twins, I suggest you contact Project Grow ECI- you can find them on the internet. If you live in Sugar Land, Richmond Rosenberg Missouri City area...call Project Grow ECI ###-###-####
Since you are concerned that their speech is delayed, they will come to your house with a team of specialists (Speech Therapist etc..)and do a full assessment on them. If they identify any delays, they can offer treatment services on a sliding scale - very reasonable and sometimes free. What is ECI?? go to: http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/providers/providernetwor...

D.. For now don't worry. Many children's brains choose to develop the physical before the verbal. I take care of an under 2yr old class in church and only a few say words. Some children don't even talk until they are 3. My friend, a brilliant kindergarten teacher and her granddaughter didn't talk until 3.

My grandson is 22months and only says up and yes. There ae 4 adults in our home so he gets lots of attention. Every parent of a boy that I have met at our parks (i talk to everyone) says that their son didn't talk till later also. This is especially true for boys. Many pediatricians advise parents to get hearing tests which we did and his fearing is fine.

The only other concern might be water in the ears but the child would have had many ear infections, in which case you would see an ENT doctor. Another thing you can do is contact the CEI (sp?). Check with your pediatrician. It's a medical program that sends out a therapist to work with the child on sounds, etc. I hear it is very good but we are going to wait for awhile before we do that. Bottom line, talk with your doctor but if there are no problems, they are just not ready yet.

Since there is an older sibling that helps and their interactions with other children at the park, church, etc. helps.

Hi D. -

I do not have twins but my 23.5 mo old is not talking at all yet. Some talk late - and I am sure you would know if they had a hearing problem. I would wait until they are 2.5 years old. Many kids are talking later than earlier in the last 5 years or so. Lots of kids learn to talk between 2 and 3 years. As long as they are healthy in all other respects and they can communicate in various ways to you, they are probably just fine.

Alli

I'm betting it's because they are twins. Insist that they ask for things before you give them. "Cookie" "juice" ect one word is good until they are used to it and you can turn single words into phrases.

Not to worry you, as she is advanced, but my 13 month old has 30 words and phrases. But we encourage her to talk and she has older sisters who talk to her as well. She's not in day care so she gets lots of attention during the day.

S., mom to four girls

iput the twins in seperate area with other kids to comunicate with others start with just 20 minutes one day one in a daycare with other kids and keep the other with you out side pointing to differant things you saw like trees grass car and try to get them to copy you the next day swich the twins and do the same and next week increase it to a hour it might help them understand they need to use other means of comunication with others and that they wont always have their twin with them to understand them and help them they will have to do it them selfs and it will give you one on one time with each one to realy know their differant personalitys by the second month they should be saying new words and then move up to 2 days a week and in the 3erd month put them together in the day care and words will be coming out right and left because they will have learned differant word when they where apart and when they come together they learn from eack other hope this helps p.s. make a date with the day care to spend an hour or two by your self there to make sure they are people you trust with a structure not just a play ground thats padded

hi my name is C. , i say to you. is to pray about it . let pray, lord God in heaven, I thank you for this precious children you have given to this family. help them to rejoy in all things that they will realize that you lord know althings that in ISA 52:5, and with his stripes we are nealed, Aman, read ISA 52:5] you have amazing family. be strong and of good courage and know that the lord hold althings in his hand and he working it for you .

Hi D.,
I also have boy/girl twins but they are now 3 years old and 4 months. When we took the twins in for their 18 months check up or it could have been before that their peditrician suggested I contact ECI because they were not talking as much as they were supposed to. The little girl was more advance and graduated from ECI sooner, but the boy twin continued to receive services up until the age of three. My twins were born at 35 weeks and the boy twin stayed 11 days in the nicu and the girl twin stayed 9 days in the nicu. ECI (Early Child Intervention) did wonders for my twins and also for my oldest son which will be turning six in five days. He also had to take speech through ECI, we speak both English and Spanish in our home so I think it confused him somewhat. I am still teaching my children Spanish because it is important. Your peditrician should be able to give you information regarding ECI if you ask for it. I hope this helps!

H.

A little about me:
I will be celebrating nine wonderful years of marriage on May 15th and I have 3 year old boy/girl twins and almost a 6 year old son. I work fulltime as a nurse recruiter.

Hi D. I don't have twins myself but I do have twin sisters that are 10 yrs younger than me. So I learned how to be a mom early in life to try to help my mother who had 3 other kids plus the twins (5 total) and I was the oldest so alot of the responsibility feel on me......Any who my little sisters Amber and Amanada new how to say a few words but not a whole lot. They didn't start talking until they were 3 yrs old, but the odd part is they would use alot of jibber jabber and they new exactly what the other was saying. They had their own language both verbal and non. They would stand in front of each other spit out this jibberish and then take off running in the same direction. It was the oddest thing. We had no idea what they were saying but apparently they new exactly what was going on with each other. My mom asked the doctor about it and he said that it is not uncommon for children of a multiple birth to communicate in their own way that only they now what it is. I think its because ever since conception they have always had someone with them. Mom started separating them for a couple of hours a week and although they are still inseparable it helped them learn how to be verbal to the rest of the family.
I wouldn't completely rule out the ent but if there proves to be nothing wrong then they might have figured out as long as they can communicate with each other then there is no need to get in a hurry to let you understand what is going on. Hope this helps some!~~~Good Luck!~~~T.

I am a twin and had my own language with my own twin. Have you considered calling easter seals or another eci agency as 3 words is considered a delay at this age. You could be getting your child in home therapy with eci. Good luck.

I just wanted to say something when I read this. I didn't have twins but my sister and I were prego at the same time are due dates were the exact same. CRAZY, However I ended up having mine first. She was a stay home and I had to go back to work. So she took care of my daughter for me and had them together all the time like they were twins. (I WORKED LONG HOURS) and they too communitcated with each other in LIKE THERE OWN LANGUAGE. My friends child 1 month shy of them TALKED all the time but not ours. The doctor too recommended they be checked since they weren't twins - had different PEDI's etc. And they turned out fine. BUT BOY OH BOY did they carry on there own conversations amoungst themselves. IT was kinda cool. But people can be rude and make you feel as if something is wrong. However, there 11 now and just the best of friends. And they fight like sisters. They have no speech problems AND doing real WELL IN SCHOOL. I'd say they grew out of it by the time they were 2 closer to 3. By 4 you would have never known there were speech issue's they say it all!

Just wanted to share. TOTALLY understand.

I don't know about twins, but my 2 older children didn't really start talking until after they turned 2. I was always soooo worried. Now I can't get them to be quiet. My youngest started talking clearly in complete thoughts right after turning 1. Who knows. They definitely didn't follow textbook development.

Call ###-###-#### and ask to receive the number of the Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program nearest you. This program will send an intervention specialist for a free home visit, assess your children's speech and other developmental markers and refer you or offer to set up a plan for more home visits until the children are on track or 35mo. If not on track after 35mo, your local school district will be notified about the children & of their speech issues for school-based speech therapy.
If the children are covered by insurance, ask the Parent Educator/Consultant at the above number for local pediatric speech clinics near you.