2 1/2 Yr Old Not Talking

I agree with the other moms that it might be time to get him evaluated for hearing or other health problems. Once you get the all clear though, I would suggest that you try Sign Language. My kiddos love it and it really helps with there communication skills. They do not have to be exact with their signs, just be consistant in what you choose to use. Here is the online ASL dictionary I use.

http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi

My own child had this problem. I put him in speech therapy with the school district. It was suggested that every where I go, I point to things and have him repeat them to me. It's just a matter of having him repeat after you.

I would have him evaluated by your pediatrician. The pedicatrician should have good resources for you, many times at low or no cost. I would say the sooner the better!

einstein didn't talk til he was four!!! :)

Visit a speech therapist for an evaluation.

I had a similar experience with my son. I finally started getting him evaluated by speech therapists. I went to the school district and they said he didn't qualify, so I ended up paying for private speech therapy for about one year. That speech therapist gave me a copy of her evalulation and I submitted it again to the school district. Eventually they agreed that he would qualify and he received free speech therapy. He went to a speech therapy preschool and had speech during kindergarten. Now he's fine and doesn't require any help anymore. I found that you have to be persistent in your efforts, as the school district tries to tell you multiple times that their services are no longer needed. The first time they said that I thought "OK" but then when we went for his kindergarten assessment the teacher asked if he was doing speech. I explained that I thought he still needed it but that the therapist had said he was done. I fought a bit and got him back in it. You really have to watch out for your kids' rights in the special ed programs and make sure they get all the services that they need! Good luck!

My grandson was the same way and he has been found to be autistic. I would get him checked out.

I experienced this with my 1st and 3rd children and found that the lack of communication was due to my not encouraging my children to use their words. I was doing things for them before they actually asked me to do it. I had to force myself to wait for them to use their words and not give in until they said something.

You stated that your little one was using many words and sentences before....he still knows the words, you just have to encourage him to use them to get what he wants by you saying it and having him repeat it.

HTH

Enjoy your week!

S.

Have him evaluated and talk toy your doctor, but my niece grunted until about 3 years old. Once she started talking it was all at once.

Have you had his hearing checked? I had several nieces and nephews with this problem. They had problems hearing. Once they got these problems resolved, they started talking.

Have you had his hearing checked? My nephew has had trouble with language (he's 3). He recently had to have tubes put in his ears and his doc said to expect that over a course of time, language will be easier for him because it will be easier for him to hear.

My son is the same way. He says maybe (on a good day) 10 words. My daughter is in a program called early intervention because of a genetic disorder. It was the physical therapist who recommended getting my son into speech therapy. He has been in it for 4 months now and has close to doubled his vocabulary. He loves going each week. I would contact the early intervention program in your area (there is one everywhere). They are great to work with, they come to your home, and work around your scheduling. It is very very inexpensive (and even free if the fee is a burden). Each week we learn how to interact with our children to encourage them to talk more. One tip that helped my son the most is to cut down on the questions I ask him and just tell him everything I am doing. Even if he isn't playing with me just in hearing range. Also try cutting your sentence down to around 3 words. EX "Mommy do dishes" "Dishes dirty" "Drink from cup"

Good luck!

I agree with getting him evaluated if you're really worried, but I went through the same thing with my son. He started using words and acted like it was fun and then decided to stop. He would grunt/wine/point and say uh uh uh when he wanted something. At 2 1/2 I put him in pre school 2 days a week for 3 1/2 hours at a time. They were not as attuned to his signals and noises and so they would make him "use his words" when he wanted something. He is now 3 and talking ALL THE TIME! I realized that part of his problem was that I usually knew what he wanted, since we were so close, and so he wasn't really forced to speak his needs. He also seemed to gain more confidence by speaking with other adults when I wasn't around as well as other children. It was a HUGE help and he has really come out of his shell. I was very nervous about putting him in a pre school, I am a stay at home mom, but it turned out to be the best thing for him. He now knows all his colors, shapes, letters and numbers AND speaks them. He also participates AlOT in class and has a BLAST! Hope this helps. Good luck to you and your little one!

Ditto on getting him to your pediatrician ASAP. If you have a concern, it's coming from somewhere, and often there is more to our gut feelings than just what we're able to verbalize or cognitively recognize. I have soooo much autism in my family (speech is the first to go), and it is SO IMPORTANT to catch it as soon as possible, that it isn't worth waiting till June, just in case. He's at prime time for autistic regression too (unfortunately).

I agree that many children just outgrow these stages of regression, but if it is more than that, you will always wish you paid the co-pay (or even the full amount) and got him checked out. Often times with boys their speech takes a dive while their large motor skills take a leap, so the others are correct that often they outgrow it, but still if it was my child I'd go in ASAP.

I would go so far as to specify with the doc that you are concerned about something like autism. When you specify things with your doc, they tend to take it a little more seriously and probe more deeply into what's going on, hence you get a more thorough exam time with the doc!

If you haven't done it yet, get your son a hearing checkup. I don't know what the consensus on tubes in the ears is now, but my younger son (now nearly 30) was late to begin talking and had the behavior you write of. It turned out he needed tubes, and within six hours of the surgery we could tell the difference. With your son it may be something else, but it never hurts to check things out. For what it's worth, my granddaughter threw fits at about the 2 to 2-1/2 year stage because she couldn't make herself understood. With her, it was just development. Her family had to be patient with her and give her a lot of love and encouragement. Once she got past that stage, she was very articulate! (She's eight now and talks and talks and talks.) :^)

J., I would like to make a gently suggestion that you take him to the pediatrician immediately and they can refer you on for further testing if they think it's necessary. Something doesn't sound right and I wouldn't wait until June to get it evaluated.

its good your taking him in to get evaluated. Autism does start that way. Kids with hearing issues can do that. However, on the other side he may be just fine and just going at his own pace. Best to check things out.

My little boy did not say much until he was 3 years old and then he said complete sentences. I have had other friends with the same problem with their kids and things turned out fine. I work on a special needs school bus (not saying that your son is special needs) but I do a lot of repeating. It is hard transitioning back to talking to adults without repeating and adults always look at me funny when I do repeat. Try not to get the item that he points at right away until he says something. When he does say something repeat it and eventually he will say it to you. I think my son also became lazy because he had an older sister and she did everything for him. Maybe you could ask the sister to help you with this. It also helps me a lot to get the kids to talk if I get down on their level and my face is even with them and they see my lips move. Just some ideas! Don't throw in the towel yet!

You are worrying too soon. Boys talk later than girls. If he understands you, then he's doing fine. Keep talking to him. Tell him what he should say. "I don't understand what you want. Can you use your words? Say 'more milk, please'"..etc.

Play more songs on the radio. Extra TV time can help speech, but some say it lessens attention span.

My boy didn't talk much until he was 3.5 yrs old. Then one day he just exploded into full sentences. He's been talking like crazy ever since. ...except when he plays with other boys who are under 3 yrs old. Then they just grunt at each other as they run around playing. The only real words are "mine" when they're tired and done sharing.

Call your health and family services department they do free evaluations. Many services are free or prorated based on your income. They will usually do speech and hearing screenings. If you can't find a phone number call the health department or school district and they can refer you.

My own son needed eartubes because he was hearing everything muffled. As soon as he got ear tubes he started speaking more clearly.

I also have a niece who sounds more like your sons situation. She was having trouble processing the speech patterns although she could say each sound individually. She had a hard time putting the words together. They tested her and had a speech therapist come to her house and work with her. I think they also did some group sessions. Anyway she is about 4 1/2 now and is speaking very well.

I would definetly get him tested, for your own peace of mind.

Good Luck

Do you let him point? My boys did the same thing but had other developmental problems. When they would point and grunt I would make them try and say what they wanted. Some of the time they would get a few of the letter sounds out in the word they were trying to say. My nephew was a lot like your son and my sil didnt make him talk she would talk for him. I told her to stop because she was getting worried about him and it worked for her. If he wanted something he had to say it first if he didnt she would put it back and start to walk away. He got it real fast and started talking.

It is possible that in the next 6 months a plethora of words will arrive...I'd just take him in now to a pediatrician and say your concern. Dont worry just yet. sometimes there is regression in normal development too!

I would suggest having his hearing checked. Has he had alot of ear infections? I had a son that did this and when we had him checked he was deaf in one ear and tone deaf in the other. He could understand me but not the rest of the family because I spoke in the tone he could hear. They put tubes in and wihtin a few days he started talking. He went through a few years of speech therapy to help him catch up and now is in the 6th grade and doing very well. Hope this helps and good luck.

The same kind of thing was happening with my son, and as you've noticed I'm sure, it seems like it is with boys more than girls. My son was evaluated by the school district when he was about 26 months. He was saying maybe 6 or 7 words, and not very clearly. He easily qualified and they told me he has an isolated speech delay, wich means there is nothing else wrong except for with his speech, which sounds like the case with your son, they understand everything going in, it's coming out that's the problem. He has had a speech therapist come twice a month and he also goes to toddler classes every week. He loves it. My personal opinion is is that they will talk when they are ready, speech therapist or not, I feel like the help I am getting with them helps a lot with his behavrial issues, more than getting him to talk. He throws big fits to communicate because he doesn't talk. You could at least look into having him evaluated, it is free and now I pay a low cost monthly payment. He sounds like he is just fine, he just isn't quite ready to talk.