Late Talker

My son did not really start talking till 18 months, including momma. He is almost 5 and has a wonderful vocablulary.

My son is about the same age. He will be 15months in April. He only speaks when he wants to. But, we have heard him say several words, even if it was only one time. There was an article in the paper recently that has a website. asq.uoregon.edu It is an ages and stages questionnaire that you can take online and take the results to the MD. I haven't been there, yet, but plan to soon. Hope it helps.

Jen B.

I noticed you mentioned his grandmother was teaching him a song in spanish. Are you raising him to be bilingual? I have heard that children that learn more than one language from birth sometimes talk later, as their brain is busy processing it all. I have heard that when they do start talking, sometimes it's in complete sentences!

I'm going through it right now with my 22 month old. Google Speech evaluation, and your city & state, and it will give you links to the Early Intervention program. Someone will come to your home, and evaluate your child's needs, and then may have someone come work with him once or twice a week. It is all FREE. It has made a HUGE difference in our lives.

My best friend went through something similar with her son. She had him evaluated for speech at 22 months and found that he was seven months delayed. After five months of therapy, he's back on track.

Good morning J.! I pretty much agree with all the comments so far. The only other thing I have thought of is that he might be delayed because he is by himself at home with just you and your husband. My situation was 'similar' to yours and as soon as my son is with children his age (he's 3 now), he talks so much! This is how it is ever since he has started talking! This past weekend we were with his 9, 7 and 3 year old cousins and his speech is amazing after that.

So, my advice is this, don't worry too much but still check it out. LIke someone else said, Illinois' testing is free. We actually had him tested in November and they sent a Speech Therapist and an overall children's therapist who looks for other things such as Austism. They spent around 2 hours in our house and it was actually fun!

Good luck and good job with your son!

Edit: I wanted to add this...
http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=30321

Find the office in your area and give them a call! :D

My oldest had me worried when it came to language development. He also didn't really say anything comprehendable at 15 months old and I was getting pretty anxious about it. However, at 18 months everything completely turned around and his vocabulary exploded. By 24 months he was string 7 words together in sentences. It was amazing to watch.

You are obviously very concerned and you should ask your doctor about early intervention programs in your area where your son can be screened. Early intervention programs are a wonderful source of information and can also help calm your fears.

Everything will be fine. It's amazing what love and patience can overcome.

Don't worry, my sister Beth did not start speaking anything until she was 4. She did say mama & dada, but basically that was it, she did to the hand thing. Usually she tried to get things. She is now 43, successful with her own business.

J.,
I highly recommend asking your pediatrician for a referral to early intervention if you are at all concerned. Even if he/she will not give you a referral, you can contact them yourself and have your child evaluated. I let my pediatrician and family tell me that my son was just delayed, and that he would just catch up. HOwever, at 2 1/2 I finally put my foot down. Turns out my son had pretty severe delays in speech, sensory issues, auditory processing and motor planning. Now, for the last year I have been trying to catch up - and missed out on most of the early intervention services.

Since then, I tell all parents, go with your gut. No child ever was harmed by a little extra attention - and the worst that can happen is that you waste a couple of hours on a speech evaluation.

Good Luck

It sounds like you're describing my son at that age...I had a feeling something wasn't right, my doctor said don't worry...I was a new Mom so I listened.

Big mistake, my son was diagnosed with Autism at age 3, it took another year to enroll him into school/speech therapy. We lost almost 3 years, he could have been receiving therapy all that time. To this day I still kick myself for listening to the 'experts' and not trusting my own instincts.

Just go ahead and have him evaluated, if it's nothing then you can stop worrying about it. If there is a concern then you can take advantage of the services offered, especially since the first 3 years are so crucial when it comes to brain development. The statistics for autism are staggering, especially in boys.

PLEASE go have him evaluated ASAP!

We are in almost exactly the same situation. My daughter will be 15 months old tomorrow and has no vocabulary. The first step would be to get his hearing checked. If all is OK there, you'll want to look into an Early Intervention assessment. Your state should have some form of the program and your pediatrician should know how to contact them. With the level he's at, he will probably qualify for speech therapy and you should only have to pay a portion of the cost based on your income.

In the meantime, read him lots of books, say the words for things as you go about your day, in the grocery store, whatever. And try not to use any baby talk so when he does start speaking, he's easier to understand.

I am on the side of the moms who say don't freak out. Children do have their own developmental process and especially boys are often later in talking. My son didn't talk hardly at all until he was 2-2 and 1/2. However, he was communicating with me using made up words and sign language, so I knew he was "getting" it. By the time he was in preschool he had as large a vocab as any of the other kids. On the other hand, of course you should keep a close eye on it, because it could be something. What you said about him not connecting Mama to you -that seems a bit odd. Above all, use your motherly instincts. I dont' think kids should be rushed to treatment because they aren't by the book. Good luck to you.

J.,

It doesn't sound as though there is anything wrong with your child at all. Before 'the experts' starting writing books, nobody got so worried about a 15 month old not speaking enough words. If your child understands words, seems alert and happy, there is nothging to worry about. Don't look for problems! Maybe you are a bit bored, and that is why you are spending energy on this. Make sure you don't watch him with a nervous face when he speaks- it may make him uncomfortable. Babies pick up on their mother's anxiety. Don't let him know you are worried-it is your issue- not his. He's doing fine.
Good luck.
Alex

HI there,
When my first son was 18 months old all he said was gut-oh. Not even any words of his own. The nurse at his check-up asked if he had 10 words in his vocabulary and he didn't so I asked the Dr. about it and he thought that we should get him evaluated. We took him to a speech therapist that had to be approved by our insurance. He was in speech therapy right around the same time he turned 18 months and he was in it for a whole year. He is now 3 and a half and talks all the time. He even corrects us sometimes if we don't say things the "right" way.
Good Luck! Hope this helps!

I personally have been where you are 2 times. Both of my sons, now a little over 2 and the other almost 5 said about 2-5 words until they were 2. After 2 they started talking a lot. Talk to your 15 month old all the time. Ask questions and answer yourself. Don't baby talk. If he doesn't by a little after 2 then you could have him seen by the local first step therapist. They take insurance and my doctor recommended it but I didn't do it right away because I knew they were understanding me and they are both doing well.

My son was very similar at that age, but because he seemed to be understanding what I was saying, I wasn't too concerned. At our 15 month visit, our doctor told us about "zero to three" and that we could get him evaluated if we wanted to, but she didn't seem overly concerned yet and I didn't feel it was necessary. By my son's 18 month check-up, I had almost forgotten how little he spoke at 15 months. Sometime in those three months, he language just took off, and he was saying more words than I could count. I really think it's up to you, whether or not you think he should be evaluated. I just wanted to let you know that 15 months is not necessarily that late for speaking.

I am very suprised that the doc didn't think this was an issue. At my sons 9 month visit his doctor was very concerned that he wasn't putting syllable together yet. He doesn't say anything at all, just makes noises. The doc reffered us to an audiologist to have his hearing checked and he failed the test for his left ear... I am not sure what the next step is yet. If I were you I would ask for a hearing test. Good Luck.

J.,

I have 3 daughters. My two older daughters spoke pretty well by the age of 2. My third, however, did not. She spoke all the time, but I was the only one who could understand what she was saying some of the time. We called Early Intervention which evaluates children under the age of 3 to see if they qualify for services. We had our daughter assessed and she definitely qualified for speech services. Unfortunately, we waited until she was already 2. She is just over 3 now and has made tremendous progress. I feel that if we had had her evaluated earlier that she would be all done with this speech thing. Her speech therapist did say that she will have met all of her goals by October, so she's almost done. It's amazing what 1 year of speech will do for a child. Sorry to have rambled.

I guess I am saying that you should contact an early childhood program in your school district and see if they have recommendations for some early intervention services in your area. We are lucky here in Champaign, Illinois, to have wonderful services all around us. I forgot to say that the first thing they had us do was to get her hearing tested. She was fine, but they like to rule that out as an issue.

Good luck in this. I know it can be difficult, but you will be doing your child a huge service by looking into it now.

B.-SAHM to 10, 7, and 3 year old girls.

I can feel your tension about this. I am not sure if this will help you or not, but they say that Einstein didn't talk til he was 4. My husband was told that he, as well, didn't talk til he was about 4. He just thinks he didn't have anything to say. (He also was the 4th of 9 kids) Our son was slow to talk and now, makes his living with words--and always has just the right ones, I think. (He is a minister) Also, I think that boys are not necessarily verbal as soon as girls. I know that there is a lot of emphasis put on verbal skills at an early age, but sometimes, if we just relax and let things happen, we are happily surprised. See what the pediatrician has to say.

Hi J.! I would see what your doctor says at your appt. If he still says not to worry then I would suggest calling Child and Family Connections. They can come do an evaluation on your son and see if he needs services. It's called Early Intervention. Do it as soon as possible because services are only until the age of 3. The state pays for it or you may have to pay a little toward it if he needs it. Although we knew he had Autism going into it they worked wonders for my son. I also have a friend that has a little boy with something similar to what you are explaining. He seems to understand everything but can't seem to get the words out. Her son may have what's called Apraxia. I'm not trying to worry you or say that your son may have anything wrong other than a possible speech delay. But check into Early Intervention anyway. It doesn't hurt to gets some extra help for little or no fee. The evaluation is free and if he needs services, they come to your home. Hope this info. helped. Take care. Kim

I would not worry--my 15 month old doesn't say anything. he babbles but does not say words. My pedi said not to worry!

Hello J.!
As a consolation, my last child, daughter Payton, did NOT talk until after her 2nd birthday. She would say mom and dad but just didn't talk much. She would point around to things that she wanted and would grunt for things as well. We knew that she knew words, she just did not want to use them. Just shortly after her 2nd birthday, she just started talking in short sentences. She has been talking ever since and talks from the time she gets up to the time she falls asleep in her bed. She talks, sings, mumbles, and just talks just to be talking now. There is an up side to not talking yet - LOL. But at 15 mos. kids are still learning sounds and how to move their mouths and tongues to use those sounds. I would not worry too much about it for now. Maybe try using flash cards with simple pictures on them to learn new words. Even though he is not saying the word, he will be hearing it over and over and it will sink into his head. It may seem boring to always point everything out in your house daily, but kids retain so much information that we do not even realize they are learning. That is what we have done with our kids. It does work. Soon your son will be talking up a storm and you will be even more amazed with his progress! Good Luck and enjoy!

My son was evaluated for early intervention (speech therapy services) at 18 months and started speech therapy at 21 months. I think they like to wait until the child is 18 months before evaluating. I would wait to see how his 15 month check up goes with your doctor and get his/her advice. If you still have concerns at 18 months, definitely get him evaluated. If it's still working the same as when we went through early intervention, the speech therapist will come to your home and evaluate your child and it's free.

That sounds a lot like my son. I kept asking the doctor if his limited vocabulary was anything to be concerned about and he kept saying no. I waited until he was two and then insisted that he be evaluated, but now I know that you don't need a doctor's referral to get this done. We called the Illinois Early Intervention program (you can Google it) and our son's been seeing therapists since February. He speech has really improved! And, it was interesting to find out what they thought the cause was - nothing serious like Autism, so don't worry about that, but more muscular. He sees an occupational therapist as well as a speech therapist and things are going great. The Early Intervention therapists will come to your house, and your insurance might cover it. Otherwise, you pay on a sliding scale. And as for not catching it in time, don't worry about that, either. It's better late than never, and 15 months isn't too long to wait, especially for a boy. They'll send therapists to evaluate him and either they'll recommend he seek therapy or they'll tell you he's developing normally. No big deal. Good luck and I think you're definitely on the right track!

hi J.,

Try not to worry - my 4 yr old was also a late talker and had her own language at that age. She literally never stops talking now! She still has some words she pronounces in her own way and we are actually having her screened next month at the advice of her pre-school teacher. She is talking right now as I am typing this :-)

It can't hurt to have him screened - even if your Doc doesn't think so (contact your local school district's administration office for a referral if needed) It's likely nothing is hampering his development, he's just doing his own thing - but you want to know if there is something, right? it will put your mind at ease.

They really do develop at their own individual pace, that is for sure. My oldest was talking in complete sentences and fully articulating at like 12 months I think. People would do a double-take when they saw this 'talking baby'. My middle child had a delay which turned out to be attributed to a partial hearing loss, so he had to be 'caught up' - which we did by age 5, in a different way. And now my youngest has some delays - lucky for us there are great resources out there to help.

cheers,

W.

J., don't worry and put away the books. My 43 year old son, an attorney with an IQ of 165 did not make sentences until he was almost 3 years old. And neither did Einstein!

M.B.
www.toy-train-table-plans-store.com

My next door neighbor has twins who are both verbally delayed. Typically children who hear 2 (or more) different languages at such a young age tend to fall behind in vocabulary and verbal expressions. But when they get older (age 6 and up) they may be at an advantage since they know more than one language. What the neighbors are doing to help correct it is they speak only English one day and then only their native language the next day. It seems to be helping. You may want to ask your mom to limit the Spanish speaking until your child masters his first language. Consider holding off until closer to age 5 before having him learn Spanish.

We had an experience almost just like yours. My advice is to call Child & Family Connections and get your son an evaluation right away. It's free for all children under the age of three! It never hurts to get them screened, especially if it is at no cost to you.
My son was doing almost exactly what you describe your son doing. He would even sing the Blue's Clues song in his own language. My doctor said not to worry, he will develop at his own pace - the worst possible advice!!! I knew something was wrong. I thought he had a hearing problem, but he didn't. We even got PE tubes put in his ears. After his evaluation, we found out he was delayed in his speech, beacuse he was autistic and we did not know the signs.
It is very important to catch speech and other developmental delays right away. Getting them the therapy they need early on will give them a much better chance at catching up with their peers.
Feel free to email me if you want to talk.
Good luck! Moms always know best!
A.