Is It Too Early to Tell If My Toddler Has a Speech Problem?

It is never too early to contact ECI, if you think there is a delay they can help guide you thru it ... Early Childhood Intervention really helped us.

My son is 21 months as well. He said individual words, VERY early, Mama, Dada, dog...but they come and go. In the last 2-3 months, he has started babbling a lot, stringing together what seem to be sentences and I know he knows things because he takes direction very well, can point to items, etc. I have the same worries because I have always known little kids that spoke early, but I know too that he's a boy, an only child, I stay home full time and he's spoiled rotten, so he doesn't have to talk, everyone is at his beckon call.

I agree with you on discussing it at his 2 year though, we plan to do the same. Better safe than sorry, meanwhile, just work with him all you can. Books, videos, etc, whatever you like for learning. I'm trying to have more conversations with mine and even when I don't understand, I respond, so we can keep it going.

Good luck, please let us know what happens, I want to compare notes!

Sounds perfectly normal to me. You can't properly evaluate a child before age 2, so wait until then and see what happens.

Never too early. Please get him evaluated. My mother noticed that my middle son was having problems so I brought it up to my pediatrician who told me that boys talked late. So I waited until he was two and an half when I realized that I shouldn't have waited. Long story short, he qualified for two hours of speech and two hours of OT.

Fast forward five years and he is above grade level in reading and math and has an astounding vocabulary.

Please get him tested. There are two scenario: One- is that you wasted half a day, two- is that he gets the services he needs at a time when the best outcome can be made. Either way you are better off than before.

There are state services that should be free to every family for children under three. Your pediatrician should know how to contact them or the school district should have their number because they coordinate the transfer of the student at three years. In California they are called regional centers. Good luck!!

Every State, has an "Early Childhood Intervention" organization or "Zero to Three" programs. They do FREE developmental assessments, of kids up until 3 years old.. .and provide FREE services for the child, until 3 years old.
Do a Google search for it in your area.

My son from 19 months old until almost 3 years old, got Speech Therapy. He LOVED it as did I.
He was found to be delayed in speech, but advanced in many other areas.
Early intervention, helps... and for you as the parent. I learned a TON...about developmental speech and 'how' it develops, PER the age of the child....
there are 'front of the mouth" sounds, "back of the mouth" sounds, sounds which require complex tongue/lips in coordination etc. Something a layperson would not know.... nor which words are per age.... appropriate.

I simply called them on my own... you do not have to be 'referred' by a Doctor. It is a wonderful service.

But yes, developmentally PER age... a child will develop certain 'ability' for articulating 'sounds.' But a layperson cannot know this. I only learned this via our Speech Therapist. Many things, to know about speech... development.

All the best,
Susan

I would not wait. Call the early intervention program for your state and if they say he needs tharapy also have a private assesment. That he is using functional substitutions for nouns may be a language issue too. Never wait on development, the price is too steep if you are wrong.
M.

My oldest son had speech problems, couldn't say "words" and was totally frustrated. He and his older sister had their own language, but he couldn't respond in recognizable language. This was a 18 months I noticed delays. He had had a few ear infections as well, so he never really heard words the same way twice. We were referred to Children's Medical Center and they recommended speech therapy 2x a week. At that time our health insurance did not cover speech therapy. We found heaven on earth with Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders, now known as Kids Speak, on Broadway in Seattle. They have clinics across the state and in Portland as well. For the first couple of months, I went to therapy to learn how to talk with him so he could pattern what I had to say. By the time he was 23 months old he was in therapy 2x week and before his younger brother was born 10 months later he was saying his first clear words. He stayed with the program until he was 4 yrs old. The staff there gave us our son.... to have a child who can't communicate clearly influences what people think of them. He was/is a highly intelligent and thoughtful person... but unless you can tell people what you know they think differently of you. Kidspeak is able to do assessments. Early intervention is key. I wish you well.

.

My son had some speech problems at age 3. We didn't think it was a hearing problem, because he could understand the difference when we told him similar words. It didn't seem like a language problem either, because he knew a lot of words(one afternoon my MIL wrote down all the words he said to measure this).

It turned out to be an articulation problem and speech therapy helped. Where other kids of that age might say tuck instead of truck, he would say huck. It wasn't just that he couldn't say certain sounds, it was also that he was using inconsistent substitutions which made it harder to understand him. At age 8 he sounds mostly normal but still has trouble with some sound combinations. "Struck" still sounds like "sruk".

it sounds like your toddler is using gibberish. that is perfectly normal. you may relise that what he is repeating is not what you said, but to him it sounds like the same. he is just learning language and his ears aren't as finely tuned as ours. I remember I use to call my cousin cathy cady and she would constantly correct me and I didnt understand the difference (and we were four...she called me arah instead of S.). and my language skills are fine (in fact I have studied 4 forgien languages and came close to being fluent in two)

He's only 21mos old, don't worry! Our oldest didn't speak until he was almost 3, and then he woke up one day and literally started speaking full sentences! He's 8.5yrs old now and the most articulate child, speaks like an adult, he's very smart.

My youngest started speaking sentences by 10mos old. He's also had speech impediments.... he lisps and didnt say 'R' or 'L' until he was almost 5.

Each child is different. Your son sounds like he's right on track for his age!

I'm not a mother, but I work extensively with special needs children. It is possible to tell if there is a problem, most of the time it is very difficult at this age. Some children are just slower at being articulate. It may take them longer to grasp how to pronounce certain letters. It's not abnormal for a child at this age to still have difficulty pronouncing a word, even after hearing it. If it's troublesome I would definitely bring it to your doctor's attention. The sooner it can be diagnosed the better. A lot of the kids I work with were not diagnosed until around 5 or 6, and if they could have been caught sooner could have received therapy to help over come certain speech problems.
Autism is not easily diagnosable until around 3 years of age, but is a very treatable disability, depending on severity.

I think he's still within a "normal" range of development, but without actually seeing the child or working with him I can not completely tell you for sure.

Best of luck!

This sounds totally normal. Let him develop, mention it to your doc, but there are so many kids out there that aren't clear on their speech for awhile. I still sometimes have to guess what my 2.5 yo is pointing out and talking about.

I didn't wait with my daughter neither did our Pediatrician I brought it up @1yr check up then again @ 14 months she is now in speech therapy at our home we are working on getting her ears tested so far it all points to fluid in the regardless that she has only 1 know ear infection she has failed testing but passed newborn testing so it is a process.She is 19 months & saying about 16 words some 2-3 at a time.I don't like to wait & see the earlier it's noticed the better resources you'll have the better outcome.I see lot's parents & Dr.s that we will wait & see not me she had passed every milestone she doesn't have a Autism or anything like that just slpw to talk she understands perfectly what you tell her or tell her to do or stop.
Bring it up with the Dr.

sounds like he's just figuring out sppech to me, but since you are concerned, trust your mom's intuition. Emanuel & Providence both have pediatric audiology centers. I would not wait another 3 months to find out. If he does have a hearing problem, every month counts in getting him help to develop his speech.

A licensed speech therapist should be able to tell you whether your son has oral motor planning issues or a language delay and they can tell as early as 21-months. Definitely discuss this issue with your pediatrician and ask for a referral for an ST evaluation if you are really concerned about the issue. I do want to tell you though that it is not uncommon for toddlers to not be able to pronounce certain words and certain sounds. There's a whole science to speech development and certain sounds come in a lot earlier than others. I'm not sure if it is necessary to have your son checked out but if your concerned, then definitely do inquire about it at your next doctor's visit.

When in doubt check it out. Boys do start later. Also, by the time we get to be adults we forget how hard it was to learn a new language. Sometimes, even at the age of 50 I am still learning. For your peace of mind have him see audio dr.

Take care
J.

Honestly, he sounds perfectly normal to me. My twins (girls, supposedly "faster" to gain speech) said only a few partial words before age 2. Their speech exploded soon after that. Now they are four, and they talk non-stop, in long complex sentences. I am listening to them right now, on and on and on.... It's great to be aware and concerned, but I'd give the little guy a few more months, and I bet you'll be amazed and relieved.

We thought our older daughter had severe speech issues and we addressed our concern with her dr. It turns out that around here, they don't voice much concern until they continue w/ the issues after starting kdg/1st grade. After she started school and began learning phonics, her speech was corrected.

At 21 months, he's not actually supposed to talk very well yet. I have a 3 yr old niece who's just now learning how to pronounce some words.

If he just started talking 3 months ago, I think it's too early to tell. He is still learning words. Bring it up to your dr. at his 2 year appt., but I think it's too early to jump into speech therapy. My son is 4 & started speech therapy this year, "K" "G" "Y" and "S" are difficult for him....he started talking very early & I think just learned a few sounds wrong...plus it's also genetic. My daughter is 23 months & says 10 word sentences. She speaks very, very well, but I can tell has trouble with "S" and "K" like my son...again...genetics. I think your boy needs more experience & time learning to speak b/4 you can fully evaluate his speech. Sit tight for now...& good job keeping a keen eye (or ear) on this!

I am not a professional...but I do have 2 kids (one who is 5 and one who is 20 months) and from what you are describing, your child seems just fine! vroom vroom is a word - it isn't about labeling things according to what you and I call them, but giving things a name - and he has. Also, they usually give kids until the age of 7 to have all of their sounds developed correctly (this is if there are a few sounds, like R and S, not if there is confusion with all sounds)...I wouldn't worry!

I would say follow your intuition. If you think there is a problem then take him in right away, don't wait until January because the longer you wait the harder it will get to fix the problem. My son who is now 3 had a lot of the same issues at that age. We took him in to see the doctor as soon as we felt there was something wrong and found out that he was about 90% deaf because his ears were full of fluid. He could hear us speaking but it sounded like we were all under water to him so he had a lot of the same issues as you described. Within a week he had surgery to put tubes in and it was amazing how fast his speech came. He is three now and right on track. So, take your son in now, talk to your doctor and get a hearing test. It won't take much time and it could save you a lot of problems later.

Sounds normal, go ahead and talk to his Ped. Language disorder isn't just how a child says something it's how they can understand what you say and how they can express words. If you are truly concerned request a speech evual. You don't have to wait for his 2 year check up.

I think it's too early to tell yet.
My now 8 yr old didnt say ANYTHING anyone could understand until after she turned 2. At two her speech exploded . She was confirmed to be gifted last year.

I am not a wait and see mom...having said that, everything that you wrote does sound completely normal/typical to me for his age...and I researched this topic A LOT :-) However, I always encourage folks to seek evaluations when the mama instinct questions their child's development, even if is just from your local Early Steps program (I think they have different names in different states). That way you can have someone with credentials tell you that you have nothing to worry about or if there is an issue, you will catch it very early and possibly nip it in the bud before some others are even evaluated. It is a win/win. Good luck.

My experience is more with not talking at all until after 22 months. so first of all give him credit for talking and learning new words. Mispronounciation i)s normal at first. Dropping beginning or ending consonants is also normal.
Hearing- does he respond to you or at least acknowledge hearing you? Does he hear softer sounds or sounds he doesn't see source of (like a barking dog outside)?
most times if you get speech evaluated they will also request a hearing eval.
Talk to your dr. If you are still concerned before 2 yr appt you can self-refer him to your county Birth to 3 program.

My son is now just putting 2 words together and he 26 months. Our pediatrician wasn't concerned. Boys normally take longer to talk. And he says interesting words for things. One is Ork, for Orange. I think your son is completely normal.