22 Mo Old Not Saying Many Words

One important question..........is he meeting all his other milestones?? Please do not let a doctor tell you not to worry if you are at all concerned then have him tested it's important. Please feel free to contact me if you need more help

Early Intervention Therapist

FYI, I didn't talk until I was 1 month shy of 3. i guess i said NOTHING. no words, sounds....And then I spoke sentences when I did start talking. I didn't have learning problems, I went to UCLA. So, I don't know what the "norm" is. But, i hope you have nothing to worry about.

I think 12 words is great and definitely within the normal range! My son had at most that many words by that age. He didn't really start talking real things that we could understand until after his 2nd birthday and we had to translate what he said to others for a while after that!

Hi A.,

Your son is still very young and may very well start talking any day now. However if you do decide to evaluate him and consider services, I have some words of caution.

My son didn't really talk till right before he turned 3 years old and we have been through early intervention (EI) through Regional Center and then through the school district after he turned 3 (EI is only till 3 years old). They do offer evaluations and services for free but the best way to approach this is as an informed parent. Unfortunately, not all the EI experiences of parents and late talking children are positive. I don't want to go into detail but you are welcome to email me personally.

There is a yahoo health group called 'Natural Late Talkers' that absolutely saved me. There is a great deal of information available in the files section of the group and also through experienced parents of late talkers and an expert clinician (Stephen Camarata from Vanderbilt University) with 20 years experience evaluating and working with children with language delays for all sorts of reasons. I can also recommend a couple of books by Thomas Sowell, particularly the Einstein Syndrome. This book details studies on late talking kids that are bright and go on to be very successful in life.

Again, this may all be premature but the best advice I can give to a parent of a late talking child is to do your research before involving state programs such as Early Intervention.

Hi A.,
I am an Early Intervention teacher for infants at risk of a developmental disability. You are not wrong to be concerned. This is the age when speech should begin to explode. The rules of thumb are; Mama, Dada and at least one other word by 12 months, and one word per month of age by 20 months - so a your son is just a little behind. But the big thing is that by 24 months, he should be combining two and three words together to make a sentence. Most children don't do that until they have 25-50 words. So this is the time to keep a close watch. There are times during this next age period you are coming into when your child should seem like he is learning a new word every day, and copying everything you say, and babbling in intricate phrases that DO sound like words. Look for (and model) two word phrases like "blue car" "hi daddy", "go outside now" "big cookie" and clap and throw a happy dance if your child repeats it, or comes up with one on his own. If you do not see this explosion into speech in the next few months, or if your child at any time talks less than he used to, don't wait, call Inland Regional Center (if you are in the Inland Empire) ###-###-#### for an Intake. They will assess your child and determine if he needs Early Intervention Services, which are free to you. It may be a teacher like me, who comes to your home once or twice a week for an hour, or they may determine he needs speech therapy. Early Intervention ends at 3 years old, and after that if he still needs services he gets into the Special Education system of your local school district (they would be the ones to evaluate and serve). But it is important to start Early Intervention if he needs it because it is easier to close a small developmental gap than a large one. If you are outside the Inland Empire ask your pediatrician for the number of your Regional Center. Don't ASK, tell him you want the number, and you can refer yourself. You are a good mom to pay attention to this. B.

When you call out your son's name from a foot or two away, does he turn his head to respond to it?

When he's across the room, will he hold up a toy or object for you to see what he has found?

When you are near him, if you point out an object and comment on it, will he turn his head to look at what you are talking about?

Does he point to things to show them to you?

When you or anyone else raises up their hand to give him a High-5, does your son automatically raise his hand up to respond to the gesture?

If your answer to these five questions is an unqualified "yes," then I wouldn't worry about it. From your response, it does sound like your son is developing language but, as you had wisely pointed out, children do develop language at their own pace so to compare your child's development with other children is just crazy-making. It does sound like your child is on his way to being a talker so you probably don't have a lot to worry about.

If you are still concerned about your son's speech development after reading this response, then please book an appointment with your pediatrician as soon as possible and demand that he refer your son to an ENT for a hearing test and a speech therapist and a neurologist for evaluations. I wouldn't necessarily consider your son speech delayed but if there is something going on with his development, the sooner you have this issue checked out, the better off he (and your whole family) will be in the long run.

Wishing you all the best.

I know this sounds weird but does he like tv? My daughter has learned soooo much from a channel called Noggin. Its all about Preschool and learning. My daughter loves it! She is 22 months and speaks english and spanish well, knows songs, numbers, alphabet, shapes, colors all from her shows and me repeating stuff ALL the time. Also, elmo, sesame street, preschool prep co., & the baby einsteins have really assisted in her vocabulary.
I also, narrate everything I, she or anyone else does. I even narrate when she watches the tv so she can relate whats going on, to my words. I sound like an idiot but eventually she starts saying things on her own.

Ex: We have to put on your shoes and socks before we leave. Where are your socks? Should we wear the white socks or yellow socks? Lets wear the white socks. Yes these are your white socks. Can you help mama put your socks on? You can help mama put your socks on! Lets do the left foot first. Good Job. Now the right foot. Good job. You helped mama put on your socks. Now you have socks on your feet. These are your socks. etc. It didnt take long before she was saying socks. haha. Now do the same thing for the shoes. It sounds ridiculous, but I do that for EVERYTHING! Speak like an adult but say it every way over and over and over. I promise it works!

Also, dont let him get away with pointing or grunting to express to you what he wants. Try to make him ask for it. Keep in mind every child develops at their own pace, my neice is 2 and doesnt say a word.
Good Luck!

I know you will hear this a lot..."Give him time, they all develop at their own pace"....and that is TRUE!! ( I heard that so many times!!!) However, in the case of a developmental delay (which this may NOT be??) Early intervention is THE KEY to fixing the problem (if there really is one) I would say this: Contact "Regional Center of Orange County". They will evaluate your son (FREE) and determine if he is truly "delayed" or maybe just developing on the slow end. If indeed your son qualifies and needs speech and language therapy, they will set you up with a qualified therapy program for your son (Again FREE). However, they only provide therapy until your child turns 3 so I would call TODAY. It does take a while to do the testing, paperwork, etc and get the ball rolling. BTW the testing is in a room with toys and You may be present. Very non-invasive. I think they can actually come to your home too if needed. This is a win-win. (My story: My son went thru this program. He didn't seem to be talking like his peers either and wasn't hitting the markers of "certain amount of words by the time they're a certain age" or whatever. I told myself that at 2yrs if he still wasn't at talking, I would take him in and sure enough he qualified and this program was magic for him. He was/is completely normal other than not talking on time) PLEASE contact me if you want to talk more about this. I am happy to answer any questions!! Good luck, Janet
p.s. I don't think you need a referral from your Dr. They can't do the appropriate testing anyway...put a call in to Regional Center first.

Hey A....

Well I'm no expert, but I wouldn't be too comcerned! My 1st daughter (now 12) was talking good single words by her first bday (pwease, tank u, hi, bye etc.) and great phrases by 18 months! My now 22 moth old, like yours, is doing the exact same thing your son is doing! She can say Mama, Dada, Baba, Wawaand imitate what an animal says and can follow directions completely, recognize things in a book and everything but no phrases, and no comlete words! Like Dog is just Dah, and Juice is Ju. I took her to the ped. cuz I was worried and she said she was doing just fine and not to worry until after her 2 year old check up and they would revisit the milestone markers but for now she was meeting them (while just barely). Another friend of mine had the same problem with her son and he remained where our two are at 29 months and he got sent to a speech therapist for 30 minutes twice a week and he's now 4 and speaks beautifully! I'd just keep an eye on it and talk to your ped. at his 2 yr check up...good luck.

Okay, here is my experience.
1) boys often talk later than girls
2) if you are concerned, ask your Pediatrician
3) Do NOT compare him to other children...or feel 'awkward' that your child is not talking like other kids or feel that your kid is 'weird' or certainly do NOT feel that way in front of other parents
4) If your Pediatrician is not concerned, try not to worry too much. BUT as a parent, you can do what I did....

My Son sees a Speech Therapist who comes to our home, he started this from about 19-20 months old. The services are FREE...through the zero-to-three program through the Easter Seals outreach program in my town. My son had a complete overall assessment... and, there is NOTHING wrong with him and in fact he is even advanced developmentally in some areas. And his comprehension of what he hears and what we tell him is excellent. BUT, he is just slow to talk, per his typical age group. But, since it is free, I figured why not? My son has made great strides and progress because of it. There is absolutely NO pressure on the child or parent. We are free to stop anytime WE want. It is very low key. My son enjoys it very much, and he is "proud" anytime he says something new. PLUS, they give the Parents knowledge and ways to help your child's speech.

Now, per our speech therapist, she said that there is indeed a gender difference in when a child starts talking. About 80% of her clients are boys. Nothing clinically 'wrong' with them...but this is typical.

Now, if you are concerned about your son... or his other developmental areas, you can contact your local regional center about getting free services. Your Pediatrician should know about this as well and tell you who/where to call. You do not have to be referred by a Doctor. And, these services assist in any developmental area, not just with speech. It's really great, being it's free. I find it very valuable and helpful for any child/family that can use its help.

There are certain techniques and ways you can 'help' a child to form words and talk. It is just not about talking, but their mouth/tongue/throat coordination too. For example, some children who have food issues or cannot eat certain things, also may have speech problems.

Again, an assessment is helpful for any concern you have. For my son, I have seen it's benefits and the smiles on his face when he says 'new' words. He loves when his Speech Therapist visits us and he'll run to the door to let her in. It's really nice.

All the best,
Susan

My son is 20 months old and in a similar situation. He only has 3 words. He has several sounds and we do a lot of signing. The signing has helped him communicate with us. I also have him in the California Early Start program. You might want to look into getting him evaluated because if you get him into the program before he turns 2 then the program is free. They have a teacher and speech therapist come to my house once a week to work with my son. I would also talk to your Dr. at his 2 year well child visit about getting his hearing tested. Good luck.

Dear A.,
All children develop differently. My oldest son was such a busy little guy, pulling things out of the toy box, playing with cars, etc. even putting simple one piece puzzles together...but at 1 he wasn't waving bye-bye like others and at 2 years only had a 10 word vocabulary including cook-cook for cookie, trac- trac for tractor and a sluping sound when he wanted a glass of water. Read books to him such as Richard Scary's Best Word Book ever and short stories too. Then he will build his vocabulary...he will start talking soon...give him another year. At three my son spoke in sentences, but still mispronounced many words "get cider" for jet fighter" "wittle Awice" for little Alice. Many people could still not understand him...sometimes I even had problems, but now he is fine and he is a good writer and gets good grades. Enjoy him and just talk to him in sentences and read, read, point out colors, cars, houses, trees, etc. Don't worry about the speech at 22 months...it will come. He is probably busy working on a variety of locomotion activities and hand coordination skills right now and not focused on speech;)
Blessings on you little guy,
H.

Hi A.,

This sounds familiar! Our son was at about the same stage when he was 22 months. It's a good sign if your son is "babbling"--it's officially called "jargon" and it means that he is capable of forming words--he just hasn't done it yet.

On the advice of our pediatrician, we had our son tested at that age for a speech issue (we went through C3--Children's Care Connection--which receives its funding through First Five of California. It's free. You can do the same thing, if you wish--just google C3. You can refer yourself if your doctor does not (have your talked to your doctor?).

Anyway--the joke of it is, our son's language "exploded" by the time he was about to receive speech therapy (it took about four months after the initial test), so that he only ended up receiving 8 short speech therapy classes. Ironic, huh! In retrospect, I do not think the speech therapy did very much--I just think our son talked when he was ready. So--don't worry too much! This stuff is pretty normal, for boys especially. I have a friend with a boy the same age who also had a similar experience to my son. Both boys (especially mine!) are very, VERY talkative now, and my son had almost no enunciation issues, either. The fact is--if you are talking to your son normally and singing to him and reading to him (especially rhyming and repeating stories), then he will talk! Again--it's a great sign that he is "babbling."

:-) D.

Email me, I asked the same question and then compiled all the wise advise in a word document that I received from moms. My son is 27 months now and doing great with communication. Let me know. K.-Email ____@____.com

Hi A.,
this sounds exactly like my nephew.... to the tee. He is almost 23 months old. Boys just develop a little later then girls. Well, thats what I keep hearing.
Do you work with him? I use flash cards with my daughter and I bought a memory game. (she is also 22 months old) I turn the pictures up and tell her to pick a picture and find the match. I also have her say the word, and I make a big deal of it. It gets her all excited and happy. Anyway, don't worry, all kids end up talking. Just work with him and make sure you pronunciate your words to him. Also, don't talk baby talk to him. Talk to him like you are speaking to an older child. Parents make the mistake of using a baby spin on words like "Wa Wa" instead of using the proper word...water. I have a friend who has a 20 month old. She still calls water "Wa Wa". Drives me nuts! Anyway, I hope you recieve many good suggestions to help you.
Good luck!

My son just turned 3 and really did not become a strong speaker until about 30 months. The only time you really need to worry is if there is no language or if he did speak and then suddenly stopped. All kids are different. My 3 daughters were all speaking in full sentences by the age of 18-20 months then my son came along and wow, I was so worried!! But, I have now learned that it is not a thing to stress over as long as he is doing all the things you say and the little language he has does not go away!! I am sure he fine :)

If you are concerned, I would take him to Regional Center and have him tested. It only takes a couple hours, and they'll be able to tell you definitively if your child is behind enough to warrant speech therapy. Our pediatrician kept telling us not to worry with our older son, and we didn't bring him to Regional Center until he was almost 3. Our son is 6-1/2 and has been in special ed ever since for expressive/receptive language delay. We lost a whole year of speech therapy listening to the doctor. Our pediatrician is considered one of the best in the South Bay, so even doctors may not know when to have a child tested.

You should call the los angeles regional center for a free assesment of your child from a child development expert and a child speech therapist. This is how I found out that my 2 yr old has a slight speech delay. They have been helping us for free by giving my son speech therapy in my home.

You can have him tested for free through first five. Boys tend to take longer to talk. don't stress he may just need a little speech therapy to catch him up. Or he may just do it in his own timeframe. My parents worried about my youngest sister who wasn't talking at that age either. She had her first sentence instead of her first word. She was just a perfectionist and didn't want to say it unless she could say it well. She did well in school and everything. So don't stress but get him tested so he can get any focused help that he might need just in case. :) Then you can rest easier too.

Hi A.,

My son (who is now 3.5) was not really talking at all at 2 years old. But then by the time he was 2.5, he was talking a lot! And now.... well, it's hard to get him quiet! As long as your child is understanding what you are saying to him, following directions, etc, you have nothing to worry about. He will talk when he's ready. And then you'll be on here asking how to get him to stop asking you so many questions!! hahaha!!
Be patient...
D.

Hi A.,

A typical 18-month-old will know how to say about 50 words, according to my son's speech therapist. She has been coming to our house to work with him 1x/week for about 7 months. And in that time, her work, combined with things we do at home, he now speaks (at 2 years old) about 500 words. Truthfully.

While it's true that all kids learn at different paces, I highly recommend that you arrange for a speech evaluation for your son, to see 1) if there is anything blocking his speech, 2) to rule out any medical issues, and 3) to get great tips on how you can support his speech development.

These speech evaluations are free, and are offered by the LA COuntry Regional Center. You can call them directyly at ###-###-####. Tell them you want an Early Intervention Intake. They will schedule someone to come out to your house and "play" with your son, while also evaluating his speech. And all of their services are at no cost to you.

They only offer these programs up until age 3, so the earlier you call the better. There is no stigma attached here, you just want the best for your child. I jumped at the chance to have my son have a speech therapist. We LOVE her and are soooo grateful for her impact in our son's life.

I wish you all the best!

Its sounds like this is a first child just kep talking to his he will learn if you are still concerned you can decuss this with a dr. Rlax there willcome a time when you cant shut him up mom of four adults and grandchildren no. Hills

A. C
Don't worry, my youngest boy didn't speak a word until he was almost 3 1/2 yrs old. For the most part this was because he liked to point at what he wanted and someone would give it to him. If he had to get someones attention he would grunt. Until one day I was looking in on him to find out what he was doing and found him talking very clearly to one of his cousins. LOL I was very surprised, but took it in stride and made him speak when he wanted something like a cup, or toy that was out of his reach. He did finally get the hint and began to speak (as I said) very clearly. He had no problems at all once he found out I would not give him anything without speaking, grunting was not speaking. So just relax and when he is asking for something, make him say the word to you first then give him the cup of water, milk, or even a toy. Good Luck to you.

Hi A., all I can say is follow your gut instincts. I've been there and done that with both of my boys. They both talked late and both got evaluated for a speech delay right after their 2nd B-day and then they began receiving services to help get their language to be age appropriate. It was a long and sometimes scary road with some uncertainty but it was also a lot of fun and an amazing gift to meet such amazing and great people that helped my boys to grow and thrive. My oldest Jared is no 4.5 and is doing AMAZING and is attending a typical preschool and has graduated from all services. My youngest Joshua just turned 3 and is also doing GREAT, he too has graduated from all services. If you have any concerns at all talk to your doctor or call your local regional center for an evaluation. The therapy is FUN, kinda like Gymboree but one on one with your child and lots of language games and activities built in to bring out that expressive language. My boys like yours didn't talk much, but they understood everything I said. At one point we freaked ourselves out wondering if our oldest was Autistic by reading way too much info online, and he is not Autistic. So don't spend a lot of time online looking for answers to the point that you will freak yourself out. Also, all of my family and friends told me not to worry and that they'd be fine. I can't tell you how happy I am that I followed my gut instead of the advice of my family and friends and had an amazing docotor that recommended an evaluation. Early Intervention WORKS! Oh and FYI: The services available to your child before the age of 3 are totally free to you and are Fantastic and will be through a private company/organization. Ours is through Tri-Counties Regional Center and our Child Development Center. Once your child turns 3 any additional services are provided through the school district and are also free. While the school's speech therapists are good... they don't really compare with what is provided before the age of 3. I wish you and your son the BEST of LUCK!!! Like I said, I've been down that road before twice, so if you have any specific questions feel free to contact me. -T.

It IS hard to not compare our kids with those at the playground, etc. but I wouldn't be concerned, especially if he is able to follow your direction. My daughter is almost 22 months, and only says a few words and all animal sounds. She can follow 3 step directions, and gets her point across. If she doesn't say more words by her 2 year checkup, I will ask the pedi for further evaluation. (like hearing checked, early speeech therapy, etc.)

My son didn't really start saying more words until a couple of months after his 2nd birthday. I had his hearing checked and all was okay. Now, at almost 3 1/2, he is very verbal and articulate. He was just late!

Call your local school district. They tested my son and started class at 3. But they do have teachers that come to your home for younger children. I wouldn't wait. I asked everyone about my sons delay, I was always told boys are slow he'll catch up. Finally someone said to call the school district they will put you in the right place. As a mom we want the best and it's better to start young. I refuse to believe that boys are slow. Some children are slow yes but if you can get them help why wouldn't you. My son went to the speech preschool at age 3 they really helped him at 4 we put him in regular preschool along with the speech preschool. and re really toke off. The regular preschool taught him how to sing and there where more kids, they weren't picking on him to speak. At 5 he didn't want to go to speech anymore so we slowly drifted away and had the sisters help him play the phonics game this helped him get over the baby talk things like woggy for froggy type stuff. He learned the correct sounds for the letters (by the way he has a late birthday this is why we held him back from kindergarden, he's a end of October Birthday.) So by kindergarden the teachers had no idea that he was ever in speech class. He's now in 2nd grade and has always been in the top of the class. So don't panic just call and get started. This doesn't mean that he's a slow learner. It's just the speech. Alot of times it's us, we give them everything and they don't need to talk. When others (teachers) are with them they realize that they don't understand what they want and they get them to talk. Good luck. J.

Hi A.

I have to say that this sounds like me and my Hubby about 23/24 years ago. Our eldest son didn't say much, and when he did it was his own language. We went to every one and had tons of tests done. He was normal. He would talk in his own time, and did.

Now our eldest son has graduated college a year early from the Electrical Engineering Program being first in his class, with the highest GPA while taking between 18 and 22 units per semester. He has always excelled in mathematics, and in whatever he attempts he does well in. He is now married and has a small child of his own who is just as smart as he is.

Just a little something to look forward to. I know that not every child is this way, but what a life to look forward to huh?

Give him lots of love and teach him well.

DK

I echo the advice of the early intervention specialist below to get an evaluation. My son is autistic and I was concerned when he was your son's age by his lack of speech. He also had other signs of autism like not pointing, limited interest in people, unusual movement and sensory issues, unusual toy play -- so I am not at all suggesting that just because your son isn't talking a lot, he is autistic.

If you live in San Diego County, there is another free resource for development evaluations, aside from Regional Center. The C3 program is also available. You can go to www.howkidsdevelop.com/ and click on "c3, children's care connection, and click on the development screening centers. They diagnosed my son and hooked me up with good services. They also have great classes to help you get your child to communicate.

The reason I think it's important to act now is that there are resources for children under 3 that are not available later on, so it's good to act now. Plus, the earlier you act, the better the outcome. I have a friend whose daughter started speech services around your son's age. She now a kindergartner in a Spanish emersion program -- learning to speak 2 languages!

Good luck!

A.,

My granddaughter was the same and she is fine. Some take longer than others. But if you are really worried check with your physician. I am sure there are some tests they can do for your child. Just keep reading and having your child try to sound out the words.
Good Luck. God Bless You and your family.

my son wasn't talking much either at 22 months..just a few words..he could out run any other kid but wasn't talking..my friend said her son was the same way and to just wait til about 2 weeks after he turns 2.5 years old..and yep..sure enough...he started gabbing ..he just turned 3 on saturday and can tell u the names of all sorts of dinosaurs..b/c he watches Prehistoric Planet..also Little Einsteins helped and Dora..
some people think tv is bad..but i think he's learned a lot from the shows..
we also go to museums and all kinds of places every day..i'm a SAHM..and he's not in school..the other day we drove past a fake eiffel tower and he said "look mom it's the Eiffel Tower" and he talks about Africa..and just 6 months ago i was worried...
i also give him choices all the time..i make him have to decide.."do u want this one or that one" it's good for the brain i think to have to choose...
i remember at 22 months ..it was a time when he was having sleep problems..and it seemed like he was going to give up his nap..and he sure wasn't talking much...
just wait..when he's 2.5..just watch the next couple weeks after that..i bet he has a word explosion.

Hi! If I were you I would have him evaluated by his pediatrician. I know this probably sounds off base, but my husband did not talk until his was 3. My mother-in-law had the same worries that you have so she took him to be evaluated. The doctor actually told her that he had "selective deafness." Meaning he listened to whatever he wanted to listen too. Needless to say he is 28 now and nothing was wrong. But it never hurts to get a doctor or multiple doctors recommendations on something like this.

Good luck!

Hello A.. When I read your request I just kind of smiled. My now 11 year old son was the exact same way. Until I informed his doctor that he doesn't speak and does not converse with others. Our doctor referred us to a speech pathologist who asked how many words do you think your son knows? I said maybe 20. She looked at me very concerned. She pulled out a folder with pictures of bicycles, toothbrushes, etc....just common everyday things. I just knew he didn't know any of these words. To my surprise he knew all of them. I had never heard him say any of these words. The speech pathologist asked me, do you and you family talk for Garrett(my son)? I said no, but my 7 year old daughter was with me and said yes we do. After this appointment we made sure that my son spoke his words and if he wanted something he had to say it.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME:

42 year old working mom, married for 18 1/2 years to a hardworking man, with beautiful 16 year old daughter and very talkative 11 year old son.

Contact your Regional Center. They will help you out with your concerns. They may request speech and language testing and provide services for you and your son. A lot of kids go through this and that is why there is a support network already provided! The Regional Center is great!

Please have your son evaluated for a speach delay. Ask your pediatrician for a referral. He is young enough to get right back to where he should be. Do not be discouraged. In my Mommy & me class, we had a boy in the same situation. He started with speach and wow! The child can talk now.
GL!
A.

You're right about the fact that you shouldn't compare children. This is so very normal. A lot of kids don't talk much at all until they're three or four and then, BOOM! They start talking in complete sentences! Ask your pediatrician about it just to feel better. Good luck!

I guess you received a lot of sound replies... So, trust your gut feeling, and yes, why not have him evaluated if you have a doubt, but... 12 words doesn't seem that bad to me, plus the fact he's babbling "in his own language". My son did exactly that, and he barely had 10 words at 20 months or so, but he "babbled" a lot. He didn't really "speak" until he was... almost 3 (granted, we're a bilingual family, so it delays things a bit more). But I didn't worry, because he is a perfectionist. I "caught" him practicing sentences when he was alone in his room or in the bathroom, then when we were looking, he would giggle and revert to babbling again. Then, all of a sudden, he started talking full sentences, he literally went from very few words to pretty clear speech. I did not worry because in every other way, he was very aware, reactive and at ease with everything. I hope this helps..

Hello, Our 13 year old grandson, Tyler, was late talking. He is now in excelled classes in middle school. Don't stress too much on how other children are progressing. If your child is progressing well in all other areas there may not be a problem. Also, when our oldest son, Ron, was almost two, we were concerned that he wasn't speaking in sentences as his older sister had at that age. One day, he just started speaking in perfect sentences as if he had been doing it for a long time.
K. K.

A., Have you asked his ped? I would start there and if the ped thinks he needs some help, he/she will direct you to some resources that are out there and they are free thru the school district. My son, 19 months, is deaf in one ear and he has had a Specialist Teacher and a Speech Therapist since he was 1 month old, and they come to the house and evaluate him. It is a wonderful program and it is thru the school district. They will continue to come until he is 3 and then it will change. He will have help available throughout school. Feel free to e-mail me if you have more questions.

Good Luck!

M.

My niece went through the same stage. My sister brought her to a speech pathologist (rec by her pediatrician) for about 6 months. She just needed a boost to get speaking. This was approximately the same age as your son. She is now turning 5 next month and you would never know. Get an evaluation by your pediatrician and a referral to a good speech pathologist as well. Hopefully it is covered by insurance. Good luck!

Yes, children do development a different levels, and he is saying words. Should you have concerns, discuss this with your pediatrician. You can also get helpful ideas on the web by typing: 22month language development or Toddlers milestones. Hope this helps.

Don't worry about it. My daughter didn't really start to talk until around 26 months. She had few words before that, but understood everything, and know how to get what she wanted. She now is talking plenty. Every little one develops on their own scale.

you know what? i would definitely NOT worry too much at this point, since hes not even two yet? there's nothing to worry about until hes coming up on three and hes still not progressed.
especially since he is your only child right now, am i right? or at least hes the oldest? because my oldest did the same thing, he barely said anything even though i would talk to him all the time. but once he started to be around other kids more often(he was in daycare while i was going to school) he started to say more and more words, and soon enough was speaking in complete sentences and ended up passing up those other kids who spoke early on.

every kid is different and so is every human body. especially the human psyche, it is very difficult to understand. even for people who have been studying them for all their lives (aka doctors). you just have to keep that in mind. that is also why you often notice such a large gap in developmental age ranges. kids can start walking anywhere between 7 months to 20 months. and speech is so much more different because, being a cognitive thing and not necessarily physical its all that more complicated.

my daughter started saying words at about four months old, she spoke in broken sentences at a year, and by the time she was a year and a half she could speak in full sentences. her pediatrician and daycare provider both were totally amazed that she could speak so well so early on.
but now i have another son who is thirteen months, he barely says "mama" and "gook" which means 'look' and "na na na na" which means 'no no no no' then he growls when he sees cats and pictures of certain animals that growl. but i am not worried at all because he finds other ways to communicate and i know that as long as i keep telling him what everything is called and speaking to him and have my older kids speak to him a lot, he will eventually start saying more words.

your child doesn't need a speech therapist at the age of two, that is a waste of money. since you're a stay at home mom you can find some websites or library books or videos to use yourself with your son. that would also make for some great 'mommy and me' time

good luck!

A.,

Although there can be a huge range of "normal" at this age, if your gut feeling is that there is something not quite like it should be, you are probably right. No one knows your child better than you do. My now 5.5 year old hit all of the developmental milestones at the absolute end of the normal range. Everyone including my pediatrician told me he fine, within the normal range and all of that. My gut feeling was that there was something wrong. He just wasn't progressing like I felt he should. At 2 years old he spoke 4 words. The same 4 words he spoke at 18 months old. We had him evaluated and he has autism. He's very high functioning but he has autism. He's social, interactive, cute and fun. But he still has autism. If you feel there is a problem, have your child evaluated. It is a win-win situation. If there really is nothing wrong, you can relax and just go with it. If there is a problem (there are lots of reasons for lack of language development besides autism - the first thing they will do is test his hearing) the sooner you start dealing with it, the better the long term outcome. We started my son in various therapies when he was 2. At 5.5 he still has some issues but anyone who didn't know he has autism wouldn't know he has autism. They'd know he's language delayed (he is fluent now but still hard to understand and he's still in speech therapy) and they'd know he's hyperactive. But I doubt anyone but a true expert would think "autism." He's learned a lot of coping skills in the last 3.5 years. If you want an evaluation and are in Las Vegas, look under "Nevada Early Intervention." If you are anywhere else, you should have a similar service. You can get the number from your pediatrian or school district. Early Intervention provides evaluations and therapy until age 3 then the school district takes over. All of the evaluations and therapy we got through EI and the school district have been completely free. Other than the initial evaluation, all therapies were done at my house at my convenience.

Although I will tell you that as a parent, finding out there really is something wrong with your child is one of the hardest experiences in your entire life, it is entirely worth it to set your own ego aside and do what is best for your child. If there is an issue, the sooner you start the better results you will get from therapies.

Good luck,
:-)T.

Hi there - this sounds just like the experience we had with my son right around the same age. Few spoken words, lots of animal sounds, babbling, what seemed to be great understanding, but resistance to trying to actually learn/say many words.My advice is that you partner with your pediatrician to get him evaluated. My son was given hearing and speech assessment tests and was diagnosed with a mild expressive delay. Starting at 28 months he attended group speech therapy at Children's Hospital twice a week for almost a year. There was such incredible progress!! At age 3 he moved into the public school system for continued group therapy and after the school year finished up he was released entirely, having "caught up" to what was expected for his age level.

My little guy is now 4.5 years old and thriving in his preschool class. His teachers there didn't even know he'd had speech therapy until I mentioned it to them one day!

Good luck to you and your little one!