My Son's Not Talking Yet!

Little ones talk at different ages. Since he won't be 2 until March, and he understands what you say to him,I wouldn't be too concerned. Give it a little time.

does he have an older sibling?

my little brother and i are about 2 years apart, my brother wasn't talking either at 2 years old. My mom took him to the doctor, and the doctor said to send me to grandmas for a few days! haha
i was doing all the talking for him, or all his needs were being met at the same time as mine, so he didn't need to talk.
it worked

Unlike most responders here, I'm going to say this is very common and I would not be in fast mode to get him into see a doctor. My son turned 2 in March and said nothing! Just grunted and pointed a lot. Today, 8 months later, he has full conversations with me. People are quick to assume the worst, and for me I believe that sometimes a speech delay is JUST a speech delay. He will find his time.

I would take him to an audiologist (one that deals with pediatric hearing). My brother had constant ear infections and tubes as a baby and he had to have speech therapy because he had stuttered a lot and said his l's and r's as w's. The sooner you get him to a doctor who can help him, the sooner he can get treatment and therapies to help him overcome this downfall. It can be helped as long as no permanent damage has been done (they were afraid of that with my brother), who is now 23 and has no problem hearing.

Does he seem to have a hearing issue? Does he understand what you are saying?

What does your pediatrician think? I would be concerned enough to schedule an appointment to discuss this.

My children didn't say momma until after they were 2.... then within 6 months they were speaking sentences.

If he can say that, respond to requests, if you say ball he points to one, if you ask him to sit down and he does, if you say lunch is ready and he starts for the table, or ask him to get his blanket and he looks for it... it shows his hearing is fine, he's just not interested in talking yet. You just have to see if he is beginning to understand words. Many boys are late talkers b/c they are more focused on excelling physically (climbing/jumping...)

If you are very concerned, you can request ECI to do a hearing evaluation and get help if needed for speech therapy. It's free, but the service stops once the child turns 3.

You can also do word learning games with him as well. Reading to him, talking to him (not in baby talk), singing, nursery rhymes, talking hikm for a walk and pointing out trees, grass, sun, swing and repeating the words, these things will catch on his speech.

These sites will help give you ideas on how to encourage him, and what milestones are. It sounds like he is on track for his age:
http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2680039/how_to_h...

http://www.parenthood.com/article-topics/how_children_lea...

http://www.meddybemps.com/7.21.html

I wouldn't wait. Talk to your pediatrician. I would also request a hearing test. If his hearing is fine, then I would look into early intervention for evaluations. If there's a problem, nip it in the bud now.

Good Luck!

He might surprise you and start talking in full sentences like my husband did as a kid (big sister just did and said everything for him). But it probably wouldn't hurt to get a consult with a speech pathologist. If something is wrong, better to deal with it sooner rather then later.

I would have him evaluated by a speech patholigest. It may be nothing to worry about or he just may need a little extra help. My 7 y/o daughter started talking b4 she was a year (hasn't been quiet since) My 5 y/o step son didnt talk till he was 3 but we had to take him to speech therapy and there are other issues, My 4y/o didn't start really talking till he was about 2 and still dosn't talk as much as the others, he can talk well just sometimes dosnt see a need to. My 2 y/o started talking a little bit and when he was 1 year got tubes put in and right away started yapping our ears off. My 7 y/o and 2 y/o even talk in their sleep! lol

Contact ECI or early childhood intervention programs they offer spech therepy and will evaluate your child for free to see if they can help. My son had assistance and it is well worth it ... now if only he could come with a "mute" button ;)

Absolutely talk to your pediatrician. Delayed speach can be the first sign of many different problems. My daughter had delayed speech, I had her evaluated 3 times from 2yrs to 5yrs...they all said she was delayed but not enough to be concerned with at that point.. she is fine now, I just had her evaluated for a stutter that magically has gone away. Better safe than sorry. It could be nothing, but you never know unless you ask. By the age of 2yrs children should be speaking short sentences so there is a delay, just need to know what it is, hearing, or speech disorder..Speech problems may also run with sensory problems of the mouth, for instance while eating either gagging or overstuffing their mouth in order to feel the food in their mouth. Talk to your doctor. Good Luck!!!

Have you had your doctor check him? It would be worthwhile. If there's a problem, the sooner it's diagnosed the better. On the other hand, if there's nothing wrong, you can shelve your worries. One day your boy will start talking and your house may NEVER be silent again.

One of my good friends son never spoke a word until he was amost 2 1/2, she put him in an early intervention program at her local head start, and within a few months he was speaking sentences. Other than not talking he was a normal healthy happy toddler. I wouldn't worry, we have an 18 month old girl and she doesnt talk yet either but she understand everything we say to her.

Get the evaluation.
But as a side note you could be just very in tune with his needs so he does not have much to say yet. My kids while they did not have the ear infections started talking in full sentencing around 2 and 1/2 they did not do the regular build up of words so your child may be the same way. Good Luck!
J.

My daughter didn't say much until she was about 2 and then spewed out full sentences. She hasn't stopped since. She's 7 now.

My son has been our little 'parrot' since about 7mos.

Kids are different. Mine were both complete opposite of each other. It seemed that my daughter (even given her personality now), until she can do it 'perfectly' she won't attempt it. With my son... He doesn't care if he messes something up time and time again... He'll keep at it until he gets it. It's a matter of how that individual learns I think. An 'artistic mind' (the perfectionist) vs the 'mechanical mind' (learns by making mistakes).

A.,

First I would suggest a great yahoo group called Communicating Partners. Here's the link to the group's site:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/communicating/

The group is run for parents with late-talking or non-talking children. The organizer is Dr. James MacDonald and he has written a number of books to teach parents how to communicate with their children and encourage them to talk.

Here is Dr. MacDonald's website link: http://www.jamesdmacdonald.org

Also, you mentioned your son had constant ear infections when he was an infant. I would recommend you look into an allergist to test him for food intolerances / food allergies. Intolerances or allergies can cause the body to react in weird ways, one of which includes an increase in the production of mucus and can result in ear infections.

By eliminating the foods he may be reacting to you can eliminate the reaction and he shouldn't have any more ear infections.

Your story sounds very similar to ours. Our son is intolerant to dairy, corn, soy, oats, eggs, and wheat. When he was an infant he screamed for the first six months of his life and we didn't know why. We tried talking to his pediatrician, but his pediatrician couldn't give us an answer and instead said he was suffering from colic. Turns out he was suffering from food intolerances and being new parents we didn't have a clue.

Since we took him off all of the foods he can't have he hasn't had a single ear infection and he almost never gets sick. Our son was diagnosed when he was 3 years old, he's nine now and is a happy, smart boy who talks almost constantly! =)

I hope you are able to find the answers you need.

C. J.

What do you have to lose with an evaluation?

I would start with the pediatrician, ask for a referal and a check for fluid in his ears. He should probably also have his hearing checked.

An evaluation is a win win. You either walk out the door knowing there is nothing to worry about, or you walk out the door knowing what to do to help your child. Never wait on development.

You can also call ECI, and get a free state evaluation. If there is a problem, you will want to supplement with private services because you want to maximize your son's potential and state services are designed to make kids functional.

M.

I remember that after my son got his tubes put in, his ENT had him do a hearing test and an ABR test. Has your ENT suggested this yet? If not, you probably should talk to him about getting this done.

Some children who have recurrent ear infections can have speech delay due to the fact that they are not able to hear and process all that they should be hearing and processing while they have the infections. If this is the case for your son, now that you have the tubes in place, he should be picking up language fairly quickly if that is the only reason for the delay. To help jump start his language development, you may want to contact your State's early intervention office (your pediatrician's office should be able to give you the number) to make a referral to have your son evaluated for services. If he qualifies, then the services will be free to you and will take place at your home.

It's not uncommon for a child is your son's age to not be talking yet, ear infections or not, just because children tend to develop certain targets during certain periods of time but it really does vary. The only time I really worry when a child is about your son's age is if they are not showing prelinguistic skills like pointing to show you an object, turning their head and look at something that you are pointing out to them, holding up an object from across the room to show you what they have found, and also whether or not they appear to understand some of what you are saying to them.

Hope this helps you possibly understand better some of what's going on with your son. Wishing the two of you all the best.

Have his hearing tested since he has had so many ear infections. Usually you can have it done free through county services. Also, take advantage of Early On. www.1800earlyon.org/ It's a free evaluation that will help define if there is an underlying issue and what to do about it. All services through Early On are free, and if he qualifies, your son will receive the therapies he needs to help him talk. If he doesn't qualify, they provide info for you to help work with him at home. Good luck!

Updated

Have his hearing tested since he has had so many ear infections. Usually you can have it done free through county services. Also, take advantage of Early On. www.1800earlyon.org/ It's a free evaluation that will help define if there is an underlying issue and what to do about it. All services through Early On are free, and if he qualifies, your son will receive the therapies he needs to help him talk. If he doesn't qualify, they provide info for you to help work with him at home. Good luck!

You can call your school district and ask to have him evaluated & they may offer speech therapy. Or you can wait and work with him to try to gently get him to say more. I sure wouldn't panic at this stage if you know his hearing is OK.

I don't think it's time to panic.

I'd talk to your ped about checking his hearing. You may also be able to have him evaluated by the state. He may qualify for some free speech therapy. It seems lots of states now are into early intervention programs.

And I'd also work with him to see if you can get him to try to talk more. So when he wants his milk/juice in the morning, ask him to say MILK. No screaming. No tantruming. Even a Mmmmm to start shows effort. Ask him to "Use his words" when he wants something.

Different kids speak at different times, but I think expecting him to "use his words" is a great start.

get a hold of eci. my son is doing the same thing and he is 2 1/2. they will start him in speech and evaluate him for anything else. this is how I found out my son is hard of hearing. things to look for to see if he is hard of hearing is my son when he talks he screams. literally talks in a very loud voice. my son responds to my husband but not me. but I have a soft voice. he has a deep voice.

also he cant hear us when his back is to us. He doesnt mock us much either and when he does it comes out wrong. cat comes out gat. and dog comes out ug. if he is told to bring us something he will bring us what he thinks we want which is usually everything but what we tell him. he tries to comply but just cant. selective hearing will comply 70% of the time. hard of hearing like my son will comply with my son is 20% of the time and he tries another 20% but like I said he just cant. for whatever reason he cant hear the word or hears them wrong. go to the sight signingsavvy.com and start teaching him sign. if you need more information on how they tell if he is hard of hearing pm me. mine also had tubes. it is possible his tubes have fallen out already but not likely. 6 months to a year is normal some keep them up to 2 yrs before they fall out. find an audiologist and ent usually has one employed by him. get his hearing checked. the sooner you catch it the better. if he is hard of hearing if he hears a loud noise he will look where the noise isnt. if we do a loud noise behind mine he looks up. he can hear it but responds wrong to it. if we clap it doesnt phase him I dont think he can hear it. he cant hear cars but can motorcycles or loud trucks. I hope this information helps you in some way to decide what to do with him.