I was wondering if anyone has ever had this problem before or if any has any new ideas.
My son (23 months) seems to have problems with putting names to faces. Half the time he calls me "Da-E" and his father "Ma". He also points to himself and says either "Ma" or "Da-E". He has never said his name, or any form of Grandma/Grandpa, or any other person's name. He does make eye contact and give us great big smiles/hugs/kisses. When we tell him to give something to mama or dada he will go to the correct person, but if we say "who is that?" you never know what he is going to say.
We do play a game where I will say "bye" and leave the room and his dad will say "call Mama", and then my son will yell "MA!!!" and I come running into the room. And and then his father leaves I tell him to call his dada, and he yells "Da-E" and he comes running. He loves that game and it seems to help for a few hours, but it doesn't stick! When we try to teach him by looking at photos or in the mirror he gets mad, or frustrated, and refuses to look at them or say who he sees.
As far as regular speech - he has lots of words, but usually only says 1 syllable, even on longer words. Examples: his toy bulldozer he calls his "Doe" short for Dozer. Tractor is "Track".
At his 24 month appointment his doctor will decide if he needs to be evaluated for speech, and I will be mentioning the name thing too.
Thank you everyone for your responses. In the past week he seems to have gotten the Mama/
Dada worked out. This makes me feel better, of course. But after reading what everyone wrote I started paying attention to his speech more intently. I noticed that aside from only saying 1 syllable, he also has other issues - any word that ends with 'K' (block, yuck, truck, clock) he pronounces "Ka!". We were bouncing him and saying "Boing" but extending the word "Boooiiinnnggg!" and he started saying "Gummmmmmm!" So he is having problems, but whether or not they will work themselves out or if he needs help, I do not know.
So to sum up- I will have him evaluated and then see what the specialists say. But I am a lot more at ease about it. Thank you everyone.
He sounds just fine to me. Relax. He is still a baby. If the dr. is concerned go with the recommendations, but in the meantime continue what you are doing but do not force him into frustration.
Young children generalize when labeling objects. My kids did it, I did it, you did it - that is typical language/cognitive development.
A.
SAS
My then 3yr old was exhibiting some of the same issue that you raise. My friends and family told me not to worry and not to put so much emphasis on the fact that she wasn't like other children her age. They all age and learn differently is what I heard over and over. I went to her pediatrician and raised some concerns and she basically told me if I felt that strongly I should get her tested. I did some research and found an excellent center with a great team that consisted of a psychologist, speech pathologist, pediatrician , etc. The testing took three months and the end result cognitively (non-verbally) my daughter scored very high on the IQ test, verbally she was found to have a developmental delay. She now see'S. speech pathologist once a week which we private pay for and continues to be followed by the team quarterly. That's my story here is my advice if you feel something is off then it probably is. You have a small window three years in fact from birth to age three if children have delays they fall under an early intervention category and the resources are limitless after age three the resources are less and you will most likely have to pay for them. I am including a quote from an early intervention website for your review. "We are so fortunate today with free support services available for our children from the time they are born. Between birth and age three, if your child is diagnosed with developmental delays, he or she has the right to receive services in your home or the least restrictive environment. Part C of IDEA was established by Congress in order “to enhance the development of infants and toddlers with disabilities, to minimize their potential for developmental delay, and to recognize the significant brain development that occurs during a child’s first three years" There are many more resources available from birth to age three so I strongly recommend that you go with your gut I went with mine and my daughter is much better off now with the extra support. Good luck and God speed.
My first son was speaking in mini sentences by 20 months...my second son wasn't. He also REFUSED to say his own name until about a month ago...he is now 31 months. But when we press him to say it he also absolutely refuses...I think it's just part of being 2. I guess because my first guy was speaking SO early I assumed it would be the same when the second came along. By about 26 months his vocabulary increased A LOT and now he is talking up a storm.
I also heard that it's very common for boys to start speaking after girls, so if you have a lot of play dates that are with girl babies, don't let their development discourage you. From the things you wrote your son sounds absolutely normal to me! But I have to agree with the post before me. I actually had no idea there were so many resources out there. And I would also tend to err on the side of caution...if you feel in your gut like somethings not right, what is it going to hurt to get it checked out, especially if there is so much and for free! That way if there is a problem, you've caught it early and if not, you'll go on your merry way happy to know that your son is fine and on the right track!
Please keep us updated on his progress!! :)
Hi,
I am not a doctor and cannot diagnose your son. If I were looking at my son and he was connecting with people, pointing to objects , sharing his interests with you, non repetitive, and wanting to play typically and imaginatively, then to me it sounds like the problem might be a bit of apraxia, with apraxia, as far as the name thing goes at least, they literally cannot pull out the right word that they want, its like he may know you are mommy, but for some reason daddy comes out, and usually its very hard to also pronounce the sounds in words as well. A good speech therapist evaluation would be in order now, which could be done through birth to three, even if there is no real issue, getting him a bit of help to jumpstart him early is not really a bad idea, you dont need a doctor to do it, you can call your local birth to three, voice your concern and they will come out.
hope this helps
C.
I am not a speech therapist, however, I am a special education teacher. Your child seems to have an expressive language disorder. Although he seems to understands what you say to him (receptive language), he has difficulty saying words (expressive language). Keep giving him directions, such ad go get your tractor, eat the cookie (placing a cookie and another preferred food item on the table). Often, pediatricians will say, "Wait and see, boys develop language slower than girls." With the prevelance of Autism these days, I would not wait. The fact that your son makes good eye contact and smiles is a good sign (probably not Autistic, but I wouldn't take any chances). If he has had frequent ear infections, this may be contributing to his lack of expressive language. I got my daughter ear tubes 3 times. It was a difficult decision the first time, but as long as she had tubes, she did not have ear infections and she was able to hear well.
You are entitled to birth to three services in Connecticut. You call them up and they will evaluate your son, free of charge. If he needs services, I believe they now charge on a sliding scale. I urge you to look into this ASAP. You are better safe than sorry. Research shows that the sooner children are given services, the more progress they make. I hope this helps.
Hi there! At 2 yrs - your child should be putting 2 words together and using approximately 50 words. All children are different and develop differently, yes - but that'S. pretty standard base to go from.
I am a speech therapist and very much so think you should have your son tested. It could be apraxia, as someone suggested, but without more info - that's tough to say. He also could have something called a phonological disorder. It is a rule based disorder - for your little guy - it may be that he 'forgets' to finish a word longer than 2 syllables. His difficulty with consistently naming you and your husband may be related to his speech difficulty that you are seeing as well.
I urge you to not rely solely on your Ped. to make this decision (many times they think the wait and see approach is best). But - if your little one needs help to talk - the earlier he gets the help the better b/c he may need to play more catch up later. So - you are obviously feeling like this is not right - trust your gut and push for the speech eval even if your ped feels it's unnecessary. If he doesn't need the services - they will tell you at the eval. If he does - and it really sounds like he could use a bit of help to get the dam open (most parents wonder after a year or two what they were so worried about once their children don't stop talking!!) it is better to get him the services earlier so he can learn.
Good luck!
I would call the Birth23 program
they are great , they come to your home to diagnos the problem and then create a plan for solution.
at 24 months he seems a little delayed,
I really think he would benefit, my youngest was delayed and they were able to help him catch up.
besides its free.
They told me that most doctors/parents who take the wait and see approach wait too long. making it more difficult for their child to catch up.
The way I look at it, as a mom its my job to make the right decisions for my child.
If my child was sick , i wouldn't hesitate to take them to the doctor,
You have a concern for your child, why take the chance, best bet is to ask the professionals to evaluate and help you decide IF there is a delay and what action to take IF there is one.
Good luck
M.
