Toddler at 26 1/2 Months Still Doesn't Talk at All

My son did the exact same thing. He is 5 now but we ended up going for speech therapy and OT for two years. Before I was able to get an appointment I bought some DVD's called, Baby Bumblebee. They helped tremendously and he absolutely loved them. They helped so much I was really blown away. And to make you feel better, I just read AGAIN the other day how late talkers usually have a higher intellegence level so keep that in mind. Good luck!!

Do you have older children or is he around older children? Sometimes when others do all the talking for a child they just have no reason to talk. Also, make him ask for things like drinks, toys, etc...But children never used to talk much until they were close to 3 years of age. Children today just seem to learn everything so much faster. I honestly wouldn't be worried about it. He will talk when he needs to and when he is ready.

My son only said about 3 words, didn't even babble. I called Early Intervention right after he turned 18 mos. The therapists come to the house and evaluate him. Please don't wait you still have time. I am so happy I followed my gut that something wasn't the way it should be and called. My son was diagnosed with mild developmental delays and speech delay. He has been receiving services for the past year (Speech, Occupational and Developmental therapies), on a weekly basis, the improvements are wonderful. I currently enrolled him in Pre-K also with the help of Early Intervention, he turned 3 in July. Everyone told me boys are slow talkers and just to wait I'm glad I didn't listen to them because my son got the help he needed to start talking and communicating. He will continue to receive speech therapy in Pre-K once a week and privately if he needs it. Good luck, Bernie

I would have him evaluated to see if he can get speech services. At 24 months my son only spoke about 25 words. (at age 2 the "norm" / "expected" is about 50 words). My qualified for speech. He got it for 5 months and is now de-certified :) Maybe your son just needs a little extra help. good luck

This may be "normal" for him, but as a general rule, most 24 month old kids can use about 50 words correctly.

I would say, just to be on the safe side, you might want to have him tested. It's one of those things that if you get it checked & it's nothing, great; but if it's something and you wait much longer, it's get worse, and he may not be able to "catch up". Here in Ohio, until the child is 3, the state provides helps (Help Me Grow), but after 3, the child is rolled into the school system's jurisdiction, and that's a whole other ball game....

IT is definitly a reason for concern. You son could have an auditory processing disorder or something else curbing his ability or desire to speak. Im Jacksonville, FL we have a service called Child Find. It is a FREE service that helps with all speach and other developmental issues a child might have. Call them and they can help you find a center in your area. Your child will also qualify for FREE preschool at your local elemtary school where the highly trained teachers can help him work on his speech therapy daily. Children with early speech problems that are given treatment through preschool often are better readers and do better in the classroom than their peers because of the early focus on phonetic sounds and learning experience. It will help him so much once he gets to kindergarten and best of all, it's free. Get him tested ASAP since school is starting now and you will want him in a class at the beginning of the year. Call today. He also has a higher chance of getting through his speech issues before elementary school so he wont be embarassed when asked to go to "speech" class during school in the fourth grade when the kids might tease him. Help him now and he will have a much happier, easier time later. The speech assistance will also help you and your family realize ways that you may have been enabling him to not speak. Most 2 yr olds have to ASK for juice, cup, blanket, toys, snacks, etc. MAKE him ask you, even an attempt. Always have basics available, meals, water, but anything special that he wants, but doesnt need, make him ask you for it with simple words. Juice...please. Even if it sounds like...duuu pee. Encourage his attempts and reward him.
Good Luck

I wouldn't worry too much; my son didn't begin to start talking until age 3 and even then he didn't have full conversations until age 5. Now he can talk with the best of them!

There are a couple things you can be doing as parents though. My pediatrician, Dr. Brian Thornburg, actually sent out a newsletter about language recently. This is a quote from him:
"Parents who engage their young children in conversational give-and-take help their offspring gain a significant leg up in terms of language acquisition. The boost to childhood language proficiency appears to be predicated on allowing children to engage in so-called "serious" conversations with their family members -- dialogues that permit them to make meaningful contributions to the subject at hand. The study revealed that parents who encourage their kids to contribute to conversations are preparing their children for gaining a natural proficiency in this particular sort of linguistic skill. Additionally, parents who read to their children, tell them stories and initiate conversations on interesting subjects also give their kids a head start in being able to acquire the kind of academic language skills they will need throughout their education."

If you want to research it more, I recommend checking out his website (http://www.thornburgpediatrics.com/articles/meaningful_co...) or even emailing him (____@____.com), he's very open to helping in any way possible. Good luck!

My nephew lived with us at around that age, and didn't talk til he was about 2 1/2. He knew all his animal sounds from shortly after a year. I read to him almost constantly, and Lord help me if I tried to skip a page in a familiar book. At about 18 mo, I put the TV on Sesame Street. Within two minutes, he was digging through the toy box, looking for his Sesame Street books--he recognized the characters. At 18 mo he also knew some of his letters. But up til 2 1/2 he probably didn't say more than 3 or 4 words, of which his favorite was NO. But once the words started pouring out of his mouth, it was in sentences, and he wouldn't shut up! He is now about 22. Was in some gifted programs in school. Is now going to college for computer drafting. BTW--this child was a crack baby, and 3rd generation drug baby. He was quite hyper, and oppositional when young, but very, very bright!

I am a Pre-K Speech-Language Pathologist- Please get him evaluated! It is easiest for him to "catch up" when intervention is started early. The gap grows the otder he gets. You can go through your local Early Intervention program for free evals and services (if he shows a delay) or go through your peditrician. If the doctor suggests a "wait and see" approach, don't accept it. It seems your gut is telling you to worry, so listen to it! At worst he qualifies for speech-language therapy. In my opinion that is great! You can catch any issues and resolve them before school age. Please go for an eval. Good luck! N.

No, it is not odd. My daughter was about 28 months before she really started talking. With my son he is only 24 months and he is full of it all ready non-stop. My nephew is the exact same age as my son and he only says a couple words too. I would give him some more time. Make sure you are reading to him and when he points to something he wants same the name of that object. Also, you might want to try flash cards with him. Both of my kids love them. At bedtime we read a few book plus do at least two decks of flash cards.

Mine did the same thing for a while. Stop responding to his pointing at objects and tell him you don't know what he wants, that he needs to use his words. That's what got mine talking at 18 months. I was SO frustrated with his pointing and grunting - I almost yelled at him and said "Whatever it is that you want, you can have, but just say the word and stop that grunting!!!" Clear as a bell, the kid said "Cookie"! And that was the start.

Like you, I had checked with the pediatrician and she said we'd schedule some tests if he wasn't talking by 18 months. But she said most kids with significant problems are delayed in more than one area.

During all that time when my son wasn't talking, his brain was developing in other ways. Your child is probably way ahead in other areas as well. Do you do play groups or story time at the library, or other situations where he will be with other kids who are talking? He may not be talking to you because he doesn't need to - you anticipate his every need, you know his signals. How about some musical tapes with fun, repetitive songs? I got one for my son that had his name in it - all kinds of things about taking a bath, playing, going to bed, etc., but they all said his first name in the lyrics. The musicality made it more "interesting" than conversation too. The repetition and personalization encourage both of you to sing along. It might help, couldn't hurt.

Get him to a SLP immediately. He is delayed. He could have Apraxia or some other kind of delay or disorder. He is not processing language very well and maybe he does not have the motor skill to get thoughts out of his mouth. Have him evaluated for occupational therapy as well. I have been down this road myself and am not judging you but urging you not to wait one more day. When sp/lang comes in late, it does not come in properly. This is the foundation for all future school. Also, it's a much better idea to private pay for a SLP then go for the free stuff which is barely any help at all.

My son did not really speak until he was 2 1/2. Not uncommon for boys. I stopped allowing him to point to what he wanted so he had to speak to communicate. He was frustrated at first but suddenly, he was talking alot. If he reached 3 years old and still wasn't speaking, my pediatritian was going to send him to a speech therapist but we never had to go. He was speaking plenty by then. Good luck.

My oldest son who is now 5 will be 6 in September didn't start talking until he was a little older than 3. I thought something was wrong. We had him at a preschool that offered "speech therapy" for 12 weeks for him and it helped. Don't be discouraged about it. There's a lot of things that every child takes a lot younger than the one next to him to learn. My son took 1 day to potty train. After hearing it will take weeks to train a boy. He started walking at 11 months. Now he's starting Kindergarden in Advanced Kindergarden. He reads, he writes, he talks as if he was an adult. His communication skills are extremely advanced. I beleive it has to do with us talking to him like a child not like a baby and reading to him and taking our time with him. He will eventually be talking so much you wish he'd be quiet (smiles). Every child is very different. Good luck! :)

My daughter did not talk till almost 3 years old, then when she did, you could understand ever last word. She didn't want to talk until she could do so perfectly. She is now 7 and in the gifted and talented program at school. She reads on an 8th grade level. If you look back at history, many of the most famous inventors, scientists, and mathematitcans were late talkers. I would talk to your pediatrician and if your child does not exibit any other delays or signs of autism, I wouldn't worry.

My niece was the same way. My dad used to make the comment that he'd never seen anyone who could get exactly what they want without saying anything at all. We had to get to the point that when she'd point, we'd have to play dumb and ask her what she wanted. She just turned 3 in June and is just now starting to say much of anything. I found it rather odd, considering that all 3 of my girls were talking fairly well by the age of 2 and then that the 2 boys I babysit regularly were both talking complete convos by 21 months. Hang in there!

Mine is similar to yours. He doesn't seem to be much interested in talking but physical activities. My son (24+) can kick ball, ride tricycle, climb anywhere etc. He is in speech therapy now. We have not seen an immediate improvement yet. Unfortunately, today if a child doesn't speak at age 2, they scare parents with developmental disorders like autism. Keep an eye on him, see if he interacts with his peers, makes eye conract with you etc. Does he bring objects to you to share his experience? Does he smile at you? You should look at such things if your child doesn't speak. If you have any concerns, you can get him evaluated by Early Childhood Intervention in your state (may have different name). I also suggest that you share your concerns with his ped. He/she shoul point you to the right direction. Also, keep in mind that some children just start to speak later than others with no good reason.

There is a program that is funded by the state and USF called FDLRS (fiddlers). They identify children - from birth to age 21 - who have, or are at risk of, a disability (like a speech problem). Once they identify that their is a risk or is a disability, they work with the parents to provide the type of assistance (speech therapy in your case) they need to overcome the disability. I used this program for my son, who was also speech delayed and had speech problems. Best part - it's free and funded by the state.

Below is the website to the overall FDLRS program:
http://fdlrs.mysdhc.org/

I would spend more time with him reading stories, getting a book with the alphabet, teaching him words from there. Its good to have him around other children maybe at a play centre where he is around children his age. Also if you are doing the answering for him, if he points to something, Stop!! Ask him what he wants, say the word to him and hopefully he will catch on.
Children that are the only child sometimes have a harder time with words because of adults speaking. Again spend time reading, stories that have a picture and have him say it. You have to be repetitive for him to catch on, and he will. I would say if this doesn't work within a couple of months', then have him re-checked by your Pediatrician. Good luck!!

It's not odd but I would call an early intervention service in your state. Yes, at 24 months, the baseline is saying 50 words. He may catch up, he may not...why take the chance? My son said 20 words at 2 and pointed and reacted but he had other issues that I did not notice and were very much a concern. He also had massive wax plugs in his ears and it wasn't until after he was evaluated that I even considered getting his hearing checked. After 4 months of therapy he is barely delayed at all in any area. Don't wait any longer.

A., I just read over some of the responses of people saying not to worry. They mean well but they are not helping you. Fine, don't freak out, but do not just wait and see. Can you really live with the guilt of wasting this precious time if your son really needed the help?

This may be a little far for you, but we went to http://www.childrensdiagnostic.org/cdtc_early-steps.html located in fort lauderdale for a full evaluation. We were eligible for additional funding if your insurance does not cover it.

Hopefully there is nothing wrong, but if there is early intervention can be helpful. If f there is nothing wrong, hearing it from professionals generally sets my mind at ease.