No Speaking

Many very bright kids are late talkers.
read:
The Einstein Syndrome and Late Talking Children
by Thomas Sowell

This sounds like the kind of kid who will only speak when he can speak in full sentences. Does his "gibberish" have the sound of adult speech? When he can do so with real words, he will.

Get some recordings now. You will cherish them. The kids who do this kind of babbling are pretty adorable.

If he seems frustrated and unable to communicate, get him a speech-language assessment. If he's cheerful and engaged, don't worry about it. Every child learns to speak in their own way.

Maybe you are talking to him too much? I know lots of kids whose older siblings talk for them/over them and so they the younger child has speech delays or has no idea how to express themselves b/c someone is expressing what they need for them.

Have you had his hearing checked?

I know everyone is going to tell you to get him evaluated, etc.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that.
I'm older. My own sister didn't talk for the longest time. I've known lots of little kids who are very bright and comprehend everything....they just don't spit things back out like it's a foreign language tape you listen to and repeat everything you've heard.
Some kids take every single little thing in. The more you talk to them, the more they understand what you're saying and then one fine day......
they start speaking like a seasoned pro.
I, personally, think you are doing everything right except for the fact that you might be worried too much about your little one repeating what he hears. If he understands everything that's going on around him, HE isn't thinking it's a big deal.
"Mommy talks and talks and I listen".
PLEASE don't take this the wrong way....but maybe you're just worrying too much because you're comparing him.
My sister, the non-talker, went on to receive college scholarships. Another little boy I used to take care of is a scientific genius. No joke. They absorbed every single thing.
Little kids learn things differently and sometimes the really intelligent ones aren't the most talkative in the beginning.
They're too busy listening.
Don't try too hard. Don't be too quick to assume something is wrong.

That's just my personal opinion. No offense to anyone.

My son didn't talk alot at that age either.. I spoke with his doctor when he was about 2 years old and he told me that kids that are talked to in 2 languages sometimes take longer to talk! And ooh was he right my son is almost for and he is a chatter box! Give him sometime..

Sometimes if we don't give them an opportunity to speak they don't have to bother speaking. If he wants something, for instance a drink put his cup on the counter out of reach, let him ask for it, same goes with food. Don't give him the remote put it up where he can't reach it. Oftentimes we speak for our children w/out even realizing it or finish their questions. Good luck.

My oldest didn't speak much until he turned 3. He's also bilingual (Portuguese/English). He's 4 now, and he talks like nobody's business. lol My two-year-old doesn't say much yet. Just give your kid some time.

I suggest that you have him evaluated by Early Intervention team at your local school district. They are required by Federal law to evaluate and treat any condition that would be a handicap to learning once they're in school. There are services available that are not available after the age of 3 and so I urge you to do this now instead of waiting to see if he will just be a late talker.

My husband and I are Italian and live in an English-speaking country. Our son also started to talk "late" due to being exposed to 2 languages at the same time. The advantage to keep on speaking to him in Spanish, when at home, is that when he eventually starts talking he'll be fully bilingual! :) Keep doing what you are doing and don't worry ... pretty soon he won't STOP talking! :) Best wishes

If you are using both English and Spanish with him that might be part of the problem (or the whole thing). I have heard of kids hearing both and then they are delayed in saying it but not at all in understanding both. you are doing a great job teaching him what is waht and he is obviously understanding. Have you said : "(insert sons name here) says it" or "(insert sons name here)'s turn" you can do this with other things too like rolling a ball or picking up a block so her knows what "turn" means. Monkey see monkey do turns into monkey hear monkey repeat. =0)

I've only skimmed through the responses...a lot of good ones :). My 2 cents...I have a 3 year old that is currently in a special ed. preschool for a language delay. My first two children were excellent communicators...fairly conversational by the time they hit 2. So...when my 3rd child was BARELY saying mama and dada when he hit 2...I was mildly concerned (I figured it was probably just the way he was developing...not a big deal...they all have their own timetable)...but at the same time...I didn't want to overlook anything and regret it. I finally decided...really, how much can extra interaction hurt? I was slightly worried about him being labeled or...I don't know...As a mom, there's always a million things to worry about! That being said, it has been GREAT! Maybe it's just been his 'time to blossom'...I don't know?...but he's doing excellent! He only goes 3 times a week for a couple hours...His teacher is wonderful...it's a small class...etc. The other 2 things I wanted to share...I was told once that them hearing multiple people saying similar things...helps their language more than hearing 1 person say a lot...interacting with kids that talk a lot helps in this way. Also...I second the whole pausing and letting him respond thing :). Best of luck! It sounds like he'll do just fine! (And if he does need extra help here and there...which it doesn't sound like he will...That's ok too :).)

I just asked my pediatrician the same question this last week as my little guy is 17 months and says only 5 words, and he says them randomly. He told me that as long as my son is responsive to me, able to look me in the eyes, and can follow simple directions, he is fine. He told me that children typically focus on either motor skills or communication. This is quite true as my little guy was walking, running, climbing, etc. quite early. He also told me that around 18-20 months late talkers typically have an explosion in speech, where all of a sudden they start talking, and sometimes it's in sentences. Finally, the doctor told me that if he doesn't start talking by 2 years, then to return to him for a referral to a specialist.
If you are attempting to find a way to communicate with your little guy, then I highly suggest that Baby Signing Time DVD series (there are four of them). It teaches your child simple sign language so they are able to express their needs/wants in a way that you can understand. Our son probably knows about 20-30 signs, and he is getting better at it daily. Our doctor said that sign language can significantly reduce tantrums, and also has been reported to boost IQ.

Hello, Every child has their own way of learning. Some learn one thing faster than others and others learn something else quickly. My oldest grandson (now 15) didn't really talk much until he was around three years old. He really didn't have to. He had a bunch of grownups doing it for him. Now he is in all excelled classes and getting almost straight A's. I have a granddaughter who is 2 1/2 years old and has Down Syndrome. She attends special ed classes and one day a week can attend the "buddy class" as well. I babysit her on that day (and other days) and attend with her. Part of the time is for parents and care givers to go to the Speech Teacher and learn some techniques to help children learn to speak. There are children there with many different difficulties. One thing she said recently was that we tend to do the talking for our children. Also, that we sometimes do too much talking and they are overwhelmed. She suggested one thing that made a lot of sense. When you are using the flash cards or reading a familiar book stop and allow the child to fill in the name of objects or parts of the story. My granddaughter talks a mile a minute, but most of it is very hard to understand. For her this is quite normal. We are really not worried about it. She will learn to speak clearly. She can do everything else a child her age can do and has so much wit and happiness that we are just as happy as we can be for her.
Good luck with your precious little boy.
K. K.

I think he is fine, at his age. The important thing is that he is making talking noises. Boys tend to talk "later" anyway. My boys did not talk as early as other babies we knew, but they developed just fine, and you would never imagine any problems with them talking now at ages 5 and 6. Also, with 2 languages, I have heard that kids talk a little later. My brother's wife is Vietnamese and they have taught their 2 children Vietnamese and English. They are close in age to my 2 kids and they did not talk as early or as clearly as mine, but they are fine now and speak both languages very well. I marvel at them, to be honest. I think the best thing you can do is stop worrying about your son talking. You can certainly prompt him to repeat you and to speak to you, but don't stress about it. He will pick it up in good time.

If you are worried you should contact the school district and ask if there is any way someone can asses your baby. I wouldn't be too worried though my soon to be 4 year old did start talking til last year he would just baby talk as well, someone came to asses him and they said that because he was very physically active it is ok because their brain is doing more work in that department. What she did say was to talk to him in clear complete words ( no baby talk) also my son would point to things so when he did that I was told to say the name of the object out loud to him. For example if he pointed to his blocks I would say "blocks, you want to play with you block, ok here are your blocks, after you are done you have to put the blocks away." Oh and another thing to do is sing to him, any kid song really, they will love it and it will help them make an effort to try to say some words from the song. If you see no progress don't worry just keep talking to him he will start talking when he is ready. Enjoy your time now cause my son now will NOT stop talking lol. God luck and hope all goes well.

He'll be fine He is processing two languages, he already understands both of them. Keep talking to him in Spanish and English.
My friend is Brazillian, she talked exclusively to the kids in Portuguese, the dad talked in English. THey were all late talkers but they are all fluent in both languages, with no thick accents.
In fact, the oldest finds Spanish too boring so is taking German in HS.

Then there is my very English only child who didn't speak for 30+ months. She wouldn't even say M.. She did fine too and is now 13.

I haven't read all the responses either, but I wanted to just add my two cents. I have a son who is now 8-1/2 who was speech delayed. The pediatrician and friends said "don't worry, he'll grow out of it." I wish I hadn't listened to them. While it's true many children do grow out of it, if you wait for assessment you are losing precious time for intervention if there is an issue.

Somebody suggested you call the school district. Your son is too young for that. You should call your local Regional Center and take him in for a speech evaluation. It's one appointment that will probably last 2 hours, and it will ease your mind. It won't cost you anything.

From my own experience, mom's intuition is the strongest indicator when there is an issue. I wish I had followed my intuition earlier. I have spoken to so many mothers who have said the same thing. If you're concerned, check it out and ease your concerns.

By the way, my son ended up with auditory processing disorder. This is a neurologic hearing issue (here's some info about it: http://www.squidoo.com/capd). I'm not saying your son has this, just pointing out that the causes of speech delayed are so varied that it's difficult to know without professional input. There are issues where the child has trouble forming speech, hearing and processing speech or even just the speech centers are immature in the brain.

The suggestion of sign language is an excellent one. My son loved signing time and even at 8-1/2 he still uses sign language. When he was little we didn't know the cause of his speech delay, and in many ways sign language was the bridge that helped with his communication.

Hi Krys,

Your son sounds very smart and very normal. He will start talking when he's ready. Clearly there isn't a hearing issue. If, however, you want to help him along a bit more, may I suggest putting him with kids his own age for a few hours, a few days per week.

I wasn't a stay at home Mom and at 18 months our son moved from being with his Grandma to going to a daycare. I can't express to you how quickly he picked up talking because of all the other kids around him. He HAD to start talking and communicating because everyone in his world was now talking to him. They were all on the same level (or thereabouts) and it's like they just help each other along. Suddenly, he was a little chatterbox.

A few months after we put our son into daycare, we met a really nice couple in the park who had a little boy our son's age. She was a stay at home Mom who had just moved to the area so didn't know anyone and hadn't had any luck with Mommy groups. She asked how we got our son to speak so well and I told her about our daycare. She enrolled her son 2 days per week. At the beginning, he wouldn't speak at all, but was clearly very smart and could understand everything people were saying to him and would just communicate by pointing, grunting, etc. Within a few months of going to daycare and being around 'his people' (i.e. kids his own age), he too is a little chatter box.

I highly highly suggest getting your son around kids his own age for at least a few hours a few days per week. Whether it's a few 'in depth' group play dates, or a daycare type of atmosphere, I think it will really help.

Best of luck,
S.

Completely normal for a bilingual baby! My son is also bilingual, almost 3 now, and it is amazing how much he speaks. I guarantee you that in a couple of months he will be saying about 5 new words a week.

Relax, sounds like you are doing everything right mama!

I think you're doing fine, your son is normal, and you don't have anything to worry about : )

I've read that bilingual children often do speak at a later age rather than sooner, which really makes sense as they're processing twice as much information. The suggestion for when the child is learning to talk was for one parent to speak only English to the child, the other only Spanish (or whatever the other language is) to avoid confusing the child.

Since he is speaking baby talk and what you call gibberish I believe he IS talking, he just isn't saying lots of words clearly yet. My little guy is almost 27 months, and he didn't speak much until he was about your son's age, just basic words quite clearly, but did lots of baby talk and interacting. I've just always responded like I understand him. He's always loved cell phones and has been talking on them since he was a little over one, babbling like crazy. Recently he's been talking up a storm, trying to use all the words he knows in long sentences, it sounds like he's telling stories. He's very animated and talking fast so we really have to listen to catch his meaning sometimes ; )

I would suggest at this point in addition to pointing things out to your son and telling him what things are to ask him questions that require him to speak the words, rather than going and getting the item or pointing to them. Ask him if he wants the ball or the truck and encourage him to say the word. Ask if he wants juice or water, etc. He may point, but say the word to him anyway, and if he says the word, even if it's baby talk say, "yes, ball " (or water, whatever the word is) in a clear voice so he knows the correct pronunciation.

Don't compare him to other children his age, he'll develop on his schedule for everything in life. (We have twins in our family and it was so interesting to see them develop different skills at different times. it really pointed out the fact that each child is different.) Talk to his pediatrician at his next checkup. If he's not talking more by the age of 2 ask his doctor if you should be concerned and if so what you should do.

I am a linguist and I can tell you that children who are raised bilingual start speaking just a little later than kids raised with only one language. It's not a bad thing! They just have more grammar rules to sort out in their heads before they're ready to use spoken language.

Also, your son is the perfect age to start signing. Kids gain control of their hands long before they gain control of their mouths, so signing is a fantastic way to communicate until they're ready for spoken language. You don't have to become fluent in sign language, just learn the signs for some of the most common things in his life, like favorite foods, (milk, cheese, etc.) toys, (ball, car, etc.) a handful of verbs (eat, want, etc.) & adjectives (hungry, happy, etc.). That's all you need. You will be AMAZED at how much is going on in his little head and how much he wants to communicate with you!

There a terrific video series called "Signing Time." You can buy it or your local library might have copies. They're really fun & easy.

Congrats on raising your son to be multi-lingual. What a tremendous advantage that will be for him!!

I love that your son is "bilingual" and it is not unusual for bilingual kids to be late talkers. My first daughter was like your son. Had her own language (and we only spoke english - no bilingual stuff here). We got her "state services" when she was about 21 months old. It was pretty basic stuff, just a therapist playing with her and doing all of the things that you have outlined in your post. The helpful thing for us was sign language. We learned some basic signs for: Help, Eat, Drink, Milk, and a few other "needs" based signs. It was really helpful and cut down a lot on frustration for her (and me!) Shortly after that, when she was almost 2, we went on a trip and saw lots of new things and she started talking in sentences after that.

Turns out, my daughter is a perfectionist. This is how she does everything - Writing her name, learning to read, I thought she totally was not getting it and then one day we were at the library and she read a whole new book to me. She just works things over in her brain until she feels comfortable and then she makes a huge developmental jump.

Your boy is probably fine, but if you deep down think something is wrong, there are state services available to you. You can ask your pediatrician for a referral and evaluation (all free before age 3!)

He sounds completely normal for a bilingual child. I'd really encourage you to try to read to him at least 20 minutes a day. It really helps a child learn to speak. Picture books are great or very short board books in both English and Spanish. Keep talking to him all day long. Boys are a little slower in learning to talk than girls so be patient. By age 2 my middle son's language just exploded and finally he was talking in complete sentences.

From what I'm reading,it sounds as though you're doing more teaching than talking/conversing. Try to speak normally without over simplifying your sentences. And speak with proper grammar. Also try to have your son ask for things. Don't give him things before he has had a chance t ask. Tell him what he needs to say and be persistent. I.e. tell him, "Say....I-want-some-milk-please."

If he shows efforts in saying something, it's a start. So long as 2 words are coherent.

My son from 19 months old until almost 3 years old had speech therapy from our local "Early Childhood Intervention" organization. Its free. I just called them myself and made an appointment. Referral from a Ped. is not needed. It is for kids from 0-3 years old only.

My son was speech delayed, and very similar to your son. Everything else, he was fine developmentally and even advanced.

My son is also bi-lingual. 2 Languages spoken in the home since my kids were born.

My son, is now the MOST talkative one in our family and has an astounding vocabulary for his age. And very good self-expression.

Einstein did not talk until 3 years old and he is a genius.

If you are concerned, I would call your local ECI organization.
They are VERY good.
My son LOVED his speech therapy.

Another possibility (one that doesn't mean there is a "problem") is that he is bi-lingual. Often, bilingual children are slower to speak. If he is understanding you and cooperating with what you say, then he probably hears you and understands the meaning. I probably wouldn't worry too much just yet. Some kids talk later even without being bilingual---and your boy is bi-lingual.
BUT as with all things, if it concerns you, then you should ask his pediatrician about it at your next visit.

Updated

Your son says more than my son did at that age. I think he only said dada, more, and I think that's it. He didn't even say mama until 2 weeks after he turned two. Some kids are late talkers. My son is 3 and doesn't shut up but he does have speech issues. He has a hard time pronouncing things so it's difficult to understand him most of the time. He gets speech therapy, paid for by the state (maybe your son qualifies for it where you live). Try prompting him to communicate with you. Like if he is pointing to a banana, say ' oh, you want a BANANA' (and emphasis the word banana).... same thing for anything else he is asking for (make sure he is looking at you - that was very helpful with my son). Speech will come, and when it does you'll wish he didn't talk! ;)

you just wait. Once he starts he wont stop. My littler brother didn't start talking until he was 3 shortly after he wouldn't stop!!!
Maybe you could use basic sign language with him. I use some signs with my 13 month daughter. Milk, more, eat, bird, fish..

Good luck