23 month old...not talking!

[blessed.mommy]

My DS1 will be 2 in April. He has used words before like, mama, dada, bye, hi, cracker, cup.... and it seemed like he only used them one and was done with it. He would say mama and dada all the time...all day long. Then he just stopped talking all together. We talked to his pedi about it and she recommended we go to speech therapy. They're supposed to set up an appt. for us with a IE person...but we haven't heard anything back yet.

Should I be worried? Or could this be normal? I'm beside myself, thinking he's autistic and so on...

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Is he vaccinated?

Just wondering.

[justKate]

Does he get a lot of colds and/or ear infections? Kids (especially under 3 years, per our ENT), can have retained fluid in their ear canals that keeps them from hearing (and consequently, speaking) clearly. Even if they don't have an "ear infection" this can make them feel like they're under water in terms of pressure and sound. Children can also have malformed ear canals that contribute to the retention of fluid until they grow some (and make more room for that fluid to drain through the Eustacian (sp?) tubes. Since you're obviously concerned enough to see a doctor, maybe you should ask for a referral to an ENT to rule out fluid retention before you to the speech therapy.

As always, just my 2 cents. I would rule out fluid retention first because speech therapy is going to get you nowhere if the kid can't hear properly. Good luck!

[Tummy]

My very first thought after reading the first sentence was, IS HE VACCINATED AND WAS HE FINE BEFORE 18 MONTHS OLD?

Have you thought of your son as being a Crystal Child? Many crystals do not talk til 3.

Speech therapy for a 2 yr old? I personally find that to be quite extreme! I can see a 4-5-6 yr old having speech therapy for issues, but a toddler?!?!?! He is very young for therapy IMO!

Now, do you and he have ANY issues communicating? When he needs/wants things do you know exactly what it is he is in need/want of? If the communication between the both of you is not an issue, I would not make an issue out of him not using words at this time. Give him another 1 1/2 to 2 years and then worry if things are the same.

My daughter is 21 mo old. she had much more of a vocabulary 6 mo ago than she does now. On the other hand she uses MANY signs. I do not in any way worry about her vocabulary, or lack there of. She will learn at her pace and I cannot in any way force it before she is ready. Same concept as potty training.

I would not worry at all.

[ErinYay]

Originally Posted by Tummy

Speech therapy for a 2 yr old? I personally find that to be quite extreme! I can see a 4-5-6 yr old having speech therapy for issues, but a toddler?!?!?! He is very young for therapy IMO!

How many of those 4-5-6 year olds wouldn't need to be in speech if they had been to a speech therapist at 2? I'm not saying you're wrong, but early intervention is "early" for a very good reason.

(I'm not saying mamas with older kids in speech were in any way negligent, of course. Sometimes even very young children need extended help, but for lots of kids, earlier is absolutely better.)

[blessed.mommy]

Thanks for your responses ladies!

Yes, he is vaccinated. Both our boys are.
As far as communication between us...it's rough. There is A LOT of screaming, crying, whining, grunting, reaching, pointing from him. Unless he brings me his cup that's empty, I pretty much don't have any real idea of what he wants...so it turns into a guessing game. I can ask him if he's hungry and if he wants breakfast or lunch or snack and if he does, he'll go sit in his high chair...I've started trying to teach him the sign for cup when he hands me his cup or I fill his cup and give it to him....

[Honey693]

I'd try and get an evaluation. DD had 2 kind of words at 12-13 months and we had an evaluation done. Turns out she has the verbal abilities of an 8 month old so we started speech. I'd much rather catch it early then wait until she's years behind.

[sbgrace]

Spectrum kids would struggle with communicating nonverbally too (things like pointing--especially to show you stuff they like--, shaking head yes/no, etc.) I'd be less worried about autism if he is a good nonverbal communicator (and pretend playing to boot). I would pursue speech therapy as you're doing and certainly get a hearing test. It is concerning that he was talking and stopped but it could be something as simple as hearing.
Here is a really good "could it be autism" online evaluation tool to see if maybe that should be on the radar. But there are lots of other reasons a child might not be talking at his age. http://www.childbrain.com/pddassess.html

[JBaxter]

Does he sign at all? Ds3 didnt say many words at 2 and we stared speech with him I really think it helped. I think Nathan had about 7 words , lots of screaming. We did speech and the feingold diet and could see a big difference. He was about 4 1/2 when he graduated.

Yes we saw a drop in words at18 months. He stopped progressing in speech developemnt. We stopped vaccinating.

[blessed.mommy]

Thanks ladies! I think I'm going to have to call his pedi and see when they plan on doing is evaluation. He had his appt on the 4th of March and I'm wondering if they may be waiting till he's officially 2 to do the eval....hmmm.

As far as stopping vaxing...hes up to date on all of them (except Hep B & Chicken Pox which we did not get).

[sapphire_chan]

The EI folks should be able to recognize the sort of speech problems that come from hearing issues such as fluid in the ears.

I agree that, while all children on the spectrum are different, being frustrated that he's not getting through to you doesn't sound typically autistic.

[Tummy]

Originally Posted by ErinYay

How many of those 4-5-6 year olds wouldn't need to be in speech if they had been to a speech therapist at 2? I'm not saying you're wrong, but early intervention is "early" for a very good reason.

Perhaps what I said did not come across correctly, or I got the incorrect impression myself.

I do not understand the concept behind taking a toddler (who is in the same age range as many other non-talkative toddlers) to a speech therapist... Um, lets see if I can say this right.. How does a toddler that does not speak (by choice or because of being special needs) receive therapy that MAKES THEM SPEAK. I am not understanding the concept/process perhaps. I have a gf who has a daughter in S.T. she has difficulty speaking. I get that concept, but do not get how a speech therapist is going to get a child to speak.... does that make sense?

Perhaps my post came off wrong due to my lack of exactly what I was trying to say.. My apologies!


WTS:

I agree with having him evaluated... but strongly suggest trying ASL. My 21 mo old and I sit at the PC every day, she on my lap, we go to many ASL sites and learn a couple new words every day. I let her watch the video of the 'word', ask her to do it, I do it, then I do it with her-using her hands. It works really well for us. I will then throughout the day ask her the words we learned earlier and help her with them if she is not signing it properly, but 8/10 she get it. She seems to REALLY enjoy it

[betsyj]

How does a toddler that does not speak (by choice or because of being special needs) receive therapy that MAKES THEM SPEAK. I am not understanding the concept/process perhaps.

It isn't just about speech. Speech therapy involves helping a child learn about communication in all kinds of ways. Communication isn't just talking with your voice. There are so many variables in learning to communicate and speech therapy addresses all of them-from palate or oral sensory issues to special needs issues.

Glad you are getting a referral OP. I would be worried because he stopped talking-that kind of regression would bother me.

[mamamillet]

Originally Posted by Tummy

Perhaps what I said did not come across correctly, or I got the incorrect impression myself.

I do not understand the concept behind taking a toddler (who is in the same age range as many other non-talkative toddlers) to a speech therapist... Um, lets see if I can say this right.. How does a toddler that does not speak (by choice or because of being special needs) receive therapy that MAKES THEM SPEAK. I am not understanding the concept/process perhaps. I have a gf who has a daughter in S.T. she has difficulty speaking. I get that concept, but do not get how a speech therapist is going to get a child to speak.... does that make sense?

Perhaps my post came off wrong due to my lack of exactly what I was trying to say.. My apologies!


WTS:

I agree with having him evaluated... but strongly suggest trying ASL. My 21 mo old and I sit at the PC every day, she on my lap, we go to many ASL sites and learn a couple new words every day. I let her watch the video of the 'word', ask her to do it, I do it, then I do it with her-using her hands. It works really well for us. I will then throughout the day ask her the words we learned earlier and help her with them if she is not signing it properly, but 8/10 she get it. She seems to REALLY enjoy it

Because a 23 month old should have words (7-10) and should be using them to communicate on a regular basis. By two, children should start putting two words together. Signing is great as a transition but unless there are other issues kids should have some verbal skills by two!

Your gf that has a daughter in speech is getting help with the "speech" part. A toddler needs help with the "language" part. Toddlers should have language skills first is receptive and then comes expressive.

[fustian]

Originally Posted by blessed.mommy

As far as stopping vaxing...hes up to date on all of them (except Hep B & Chicken Pox which we did not get).

Well since there's just as much evidence linking speech delays with not vaccinating your child as there is with vaccinating your child I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it.

Sigh. Nothing like pulling out "it's your FAULT because you filled him with POISONS" to reassure a worried parent.

In your shoes I would be worried, yes, although not overly so due to his ability to communicate with gestures. But then, I'm a worrier (aren't we all?). How long have you been waiting to hear back from EI? If it's distressing you you could try giving them another call to see where you are on their list. I'd push for the EI appointment ASAP just to put your mind at ease.

[BetsyS]

There are different schools of thought on this, and I think you have to go with your gut.

My oldest ds was not talking at 2 years old. Maybe 5 words? Maybe? But, like your son, he would say a word for a while, then it would be gone. He was also a bit slow to communicate. He was close to 2 before we *knew* that he understood most of what we said (even simple things like "no" or "cookie").

My pediatrician is very, very (very!) laid back, and he recommended just waiting until age 3 and seeing what happened.

At 2.5, my ds had a few more words, but still not many.

I worried a lot, but at my gut level, I thought he was okay. I was totally planning on having him evaluated/speech therapy at age 3.

Between 2.5 and 3, he had the language explosion that most commonly happens around age 2. It was like a switch flipped, and he started talking. And talking. And talking. And talking. Now, he's 3.5, and he talks non-stop morning to night. I look at him in amazement sometimes that he's the same kid I worried so much about.

All that to say--go with your gut, and do what feels right. If you want him evaluated now, then do it. If your gut says that he's okay, then wait until he is 3 or so. I think either way has merits.

[JBaxter]

get the eval.. the BEST thing they can tell you is your child doesnt need services. But in all my reading if your child does need services the earlier the better. I have someone I know who's ped was very laid back and kept telling her to wait ... he would grow out of is issues... GUESS WHAT he didnt so instead of getting servics at 2 they waited till 5 Yes it frustrated me to see a child who COULD have had so much help not get any.

[sweetcheeks]

Your DS sounds a lot like my oldest DS and my 22 month old DS. DS1 would say words every now and then out of the blue -- say them once and never say them again. He had this gibberish he'd talk in but he was *so* frustrated he couldn't communicate effectively with us. His language comprehension was great, he understood everything we said, he just couldn't communicate back. We were referred to a speech language pathologist for an evaluation sometime between 2 and 2.5 yrs of age. Well, right before his eval, which was a couple months before his 3rd birthday (long waits for SLPs here), he woke up one morning and started talking in complete sentences! He literally woke up and said, "Hi, mama, how are you?" I think he was just trying to sort it all out in his head before using it, KWIM? It was crazy... my MIL had always said DH did the same thing when he was a toddler and I thought she was full of you-know-what until DS1 did it too!

DS2 seems to be following in the same path as DS1, he mostly grunts, screeches and yells to communicate but everynow and then, we get a word out of the blue from him. I'm not worried as my gut tells me he's just trying to figure it all out like his big bro and that it will all come in due time. If we're still at this same place a year from now, I will start looking into some kind of speech therapy.

[mamadelbosque]

I wouldn't be too worried. My DS1 (now 3), had essentially *zero* words till right around 22-24 months old. Zero. Not mama, dada, nothin. Then around 22-23 months he had a handful of words (mama, nurse, dad, no! that was about it. maybe dog). Around 24-26 months he exploded. Seriously he went from 3-5 words to too many to count, and 1-3 word sentences. A year later, (he *just* turned 3 a week ago), he's totally 'caught up' and if anything surpassing his peers. Its amazing... part of me almost doesn't remember what he was like before he talked, but once he got around to it, it just came super fast. A friend of his (3 months younger), was in ST from around 18 months, and is slightly behind him - honestly, it seems to me like they've basicly progressed at the same speed.

So, I wouldn't worry too much, not yet. If he has any words at all, he's as 'advanced' as my ds was at that age.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I would get the eval. My mom worked in EI for 20 or so years. The great thing about EI in most states is that it is free, and they come to your house, and work around your schedule. EI is from birth to 3, once they hit three, its through the public school system, which may mean you have to go to the school, and its more on their schedule.

ST for babies/toddlers/kids is usually play based, it usually around developing ways to communicate be in pointing, signing, voice, communication board, augmentative communication device etc. The also do things to check out receptive language skills, which may be delayed or not etc.