Should I worry?

[Logan's mommy]

I took ds2 to his 18 month check up last week and the doc seemed mildly concerned that he only says a few words (dog, what's that, and Spongebob... the kids LOVE him!) I've been trying not to freak out about it. But she said that if at two he's not saying more that we would have a speech evaluation done and maybe start going to speech therapy. Is she over reacting, or am I under reacting?

[Centura]

Well, No doctor has said anything about my son, but thats because he hasnt had his 18 month checkup yet, but he is 19 months, he also only says maybe a handful of words, "night night" "bye bye" "up" and a few "home made" words, like nene for food, or Ohma for Thomas the Train. Personally, I am not the slightest worried, he comprehends VERY well, even more complicated sentences, he can point to a number of objects when asked, like "where is the chicken" or follow commands like "get me the ball", "put it in the sink" etc. As I have been told over the years the number or quality of words are not as important as the comprehension and understanding of language, if they understand, its just a matter of time before they can wrap their little tounges around the words. I'm not about to worry quite yet, and remember, they grow so FAST, in the 6 months between now and his 2nd birthday, he is very likely to have learned tons more!

[laughymama]

At 18 months my son said about 6-7 words and NEVER regularly. No one ever acted like this was out of the ordinary.

He turned 20 months and just kind of exploded with a vocabulary. It was shocking, honestly. At 18 months though? You would have been lucky to get him to say even his most frequently used word on a daily basis.

[nolonger]

my ds had a "language explosion" too. I didn't take him for an 18 month checkup and basically avoided situations where EI was likely to be recommended because I wasn't concerned, considering how ds has approached other milestones, but I was aware that it was available if he had needed it.

[pbjmama]

Mild concern as in lets note how many words now and see how many at 24 months, yes. Anything beyond that no, unless there are some other significant issues. My ds had 5 words at 22 months and because of his receptive language that only counted as a 5% delay in my state. You are generally looking for around 50 words at 2.

[Logan's mommy]

He understands language and follows directions very well, so I'm not concerned on that front. I've been trying to get him to say "up" when he wants me to pick him up, and "more" when he needs more in his sippy.

Ds1 was a bit of a "late" talker, too, but now he's 9 and is never quiet I figure ds2 will start talking when he really has something to say.

[~cassie~]

At my youngest son's checkup, she asked me if he had 3 or more words. My youngest is incredibly verbal and at that time had well over 100, but my oldest was one of the later talkers and he was at 3-4 at that age. I think as long as theyunderstand and are making steady progress, then it isn't much to be too concerned about.

[sbgrace]

If a child is understanding directions/your speech and communicating nonverbally (pointing, shaking head yes/no, etc.) I would just keep an eye on things. That a sibling was late to talk and then caught up completely is further reassuring. If non-verbals are missing or severely delayed I'd be concerned no matter the age.

[treegardner]

DS doesn't have many words, but understands everything, and is very communicative non-verbally. Our pedi said as long as his comprehension is good and he is trying to communicate, even if non-verbally, then it's fine.

[sarahtdubb]

If you feel like your LO is understanding and communicating, I wouldn't stress. At 18 months my son had ZERO words. Our ped said she was expecting a language explosion soon so we could wait a few months. He said he first words at 22 months... and things really did explode from there. Now at 27 months, he is speaking in full, complex sentences, and people sometimes comment on how well he speaks! I always think its funny since I stressed about it when he was younger.

[lmk1]

At 18 months, ds had ONE word (ball). The ped wanted us to send him to eval, but we didn't. At 2, he had 10 words. He's almost 2.5 yrs old now, and he speaks in sentences (not always clear pronunciation...toddlerese); knows all his letters, colors, some shapes, his numbers 1 - 10. Unless you feel that something else is wrong ...I wouldn't freak out. If you do a search, you'll see how many people post this same question all the time (including me when my ds was that age). There's a huge range of language acquisition...