When to worry about a kiddo not talking - Page 2

[pbjmama]

My ds said his first word around 16 months, only had 5 words at 22 months. I had an EI eval at 22 months and it didn't do any good because he wasn't delayed enough - his receptive language was 95%. I had him eval'ed again at 26 months and then he had a 35% delay. He never did qualify for the under 3 intervention program. Then his articulation started lagging as his language caught up. This year (he is 4) he will be going to a 4 morning a week intervention class. I wonder if he would need it as much if he had received the services I believe he needed when he was younger. Anyway, that is just my story. At 16 months I would keep an eye on it but she really sounds fine. If she isn't saying close to 50 words at 2 I would seek an evaluation.

[AislinCarys]

I wouldn't be very concerned.

I like the toilet roll sign - DD used one for that too (rolling arms, because that is done in a song, and you sing/say roll), and she started using it for toilet roll and rock'n roll (other song)!

I thought signs counted - at least they do in Sweden - at that age. It shows that they understand the words.

If she has signs instead of mama and daddy, that would be an easy explanation. Otherwise I'm thinking of what the baby signing instructor said - that she was wondering why her little one wouldn't sign back bottle, then she realized that her child never had to ask for it, it was just there before she asked for it! When she put the bottle on the bench and said nothing (experiment), her child signed it! And I'm thinking of DD, who never pointed, asking what something is called. I only noticed when my friend's slightly younger child started doing it - ALL THE TIME. DD has just always listened, and usually much later) used the words she'd heard. They have very different temperaments.

I don't think you need to worry at all before 18 months, at which time I think some words (including signed) are expected.

Unless, as others have stated, there are other things that are worrying you.

[Kelly1101]

Originally Posted by treeoflife3

well she does do repetative sounds mixed in with her 'other language' babbling. She actually did go through a mamamama phase, she just never called ME mama. she has made the dadada sound a couple times as well, but again, not calling anyone that and just making the sounds. Once in awhile I think she might be calling me mama but I'm pretty uncertain. It seems less like random sounds, but she isn't trying to get my attention or tell me anything.

she makes lots of consonant sounds and I've honestly heard MOST letter sounds and most letter groupings come out of her mouth on multiple occasions. it just doesn't turn into anything resembling real words.

My 15-month-old is like this. She actually has "what's that?" (with pointing), and variations of "cat" ("cat" for something she likes, "cat-cat" for a cat, "hey cat" for hello). She doesn't say Mama or Dada, although she has SAID those sounds, she doesn't really say them to mean us. She babbles with a lot of variety and has no trouble understanding things (she'll respond to, among other things "get your duck" "hands up" "come here" "where's the cow?" "bring me a block" "put it on your head" etc). She can identify many simple things (like if I ask her to point to a tree). She just doesn't say the word. Something I noticed early with her, though, is that she is not a "mimic" like I think is common with babies. She will mimic sounds and actions only when she feels like it, seriously. Most babies will clap if you clap, etc,-- she will just laugh at you and keep doing whatever she wants. So I think she's just inherited the hard-headedness that runs in my family

[tankgirl73]

I would not worry, and I would not bother with an evaluation until age 2.

My daughter at 16mo had no spoken words (but several signs). Maybe mama, I can't recall for sure. Around 16mo is when her first few words started... "shoes" was first lol... but that was it for a good while.

Around 20mo or so she hit her 'explosion'. She had close to 100 signs, and started adding 3 new spoken words every single day!!!

She's now 3.5yo, won't shut up, and is one of the most articulate kids you'll meet. She's actually quite advanced, in terms of pronounciation, vocabulary, and usage.

I honestly believe that most kids who do EI don't really need it. Sure, there's no "harm" because it's kind of fun, but it's... well, it's creating a culture where it's believed that it's needed much more than it is, and creating a lack of trust in our children's natural development, and a skewed idea of what is "normal".

You hear so many stories of "no words at 16mo, so we started EI, and at 20mo she started talking so much, therefore the EI worked". But you hear just as many stories of "no words at 16mo, we did nothing else extra, and at 20mo she started talking so much." In other words, I think that much of the time, the kids just start talking because they were going to talk around then anyway, EI or no EI.

16-18mo is still well within the normal range for talking. Later than most? Sure. But that's why it's a RANGE. And it sounds like you're doing everything you "should be" doing. She's able to make lots of different sounds and understands the concepts of words. Those are the two things she needs, and she's got them, so now it's just a matter of her putting it all together in her own time. I honestly think you just need to relax and trust her natural development, which seems totally normal and on-track. Speech is an instinctive human skill, it's extraordinarily rare for a young human to not develop it completely self-driven (barring of course issues like autism, but that certainly does not seem to be the case here).

I even think that speech intervention for older kids is over-used. Do some kids need it? Probably. But most issues being dealt with in speech therapy are really quite normal and folks will grow out of them eventually... you see very few adults who still have those articulation issues, and not because they all had speech therapy.

My older son was a very early talker, so it was odd for us when DD was so "late". But we never worried. My younger brother did not say a WORD until he was THREE. By that age, my parents were indeed starting to worry. Then one morning he came into the kitchen and said "hi mom, could I have some breakfast please?" We figure he was just waiting until he had the WHOLE THING figured out and didn't want to fiddle-faddle around with babytalk and incomplete sentences... And now as a very successful adult he's still very much a perfectionist.

[peainthepod]

I wouldn't be concerned, no. My son is 21 months and has maybe 20 words, several animal sounds or sound effects, and a repertoire of perhaps 5-10 signs. He communicates very well, and can identify many, many objects and body parts when asked, but I still consider him mostly pre-verbal. He gets what he needs through pointing, facial expressions, signing, or just because his dad and I know him so well and anticipate his needs.

I've noticed he's more verbal with our new babysitter and other people he doesn't know well, which reinforces my suspicion that he doesn't talk much with us because he simply doesn't need to. He also says words once or twice and then never says them again...but he uses them appropriately, and often they're words we never specifically taught him. I've drawn the conclusion that he's something of a perfectionist and wants to be able to do things perfectly before doing them on a regular basis. He was like this walking--he would practice when he thought no one was watching, and then go back to crawling when he was the center of attention. Then one day he went from almost no cruising to walking perfectly, with few stumbles. It's just his personality.

If he doesn't have a language explosion by age 3, I'll start to worry. But until then, I think he's doing just fine. If you're worried, mama, by all means schedule a consultation with a specialist. But if you're not worried and are only asking because other people think you should be worried, I'd give it some more time. No one knows your kid like you do.

[NicaG]

My ds was a late talker. I was pretty mellow about it until he was about 22 months. At that point he had maybe 15-20 words? And a bunch of signs. I got him evaluated by Early Intervention (in our area, they don't do speech evaluations until around 2 years old). He was borderline but qualified for speech therapy. I'm glad we got the evaluation, and ultimately I'm glad he did the speech therapy, and he had access to a great integrated speech therapy program at a local university preschool, so it all worked out. On the other hand, it was a lot of worrying and stress for dh and I, and I'm still not convinced that speech therapy achieved anything that time wouldn't have achieved. And along the way there were a lot of theories about ds having other motor planning/sensory issues. I'm not sure that was the case, and the constant speculation/evaluation was stressful. I still believe he was just a late talker. He's 5 now, no speech issues. So anyway....this is a lot of rambling, but I just wanted to say that Early Intervention can be a very good thing, but be prepared for a lot of theories about your child, and be prepared to trust your own instincts and hold your ground about dc's progress and issues.

[Peony]

DS is 15 months and doesn't say or sign anything. He can understand some simple things, and his hearing is fine. My other two kids were late talkers as well. If he doesn't say something by this fall then I will call but right now I am not worried about it.

[JudiAU]

I wouldn't worry about it. Lots of threads on this were the kids spoke on the later side and then spoke really well. I think closer to age 2 is of course.

DS didn't have a single word until 17 m and knew the entire alphabet by sight at 22m as well as all colors etc.

[confustication]

I would make it a point to help her find words- at least for a few things. A favorite toy- put it out of reach until she gestures, or as she advances says something to get it. Keep using the sign, but also support language development, and reassess at 18 months or so. If she doesn't have more language at that point, you should probably consider evaluation.

Keep in mind, I say this as the mom of a 24 month old with no words. He is involved with EI, and I wish I had requested an evaluation earlier- it took 3 months to really get services rolling for him.

In our case however, he did not babble- he's always been my little quiet man- and now we're really having to help shape his world so that he needs to ask for things in one way or another.

[treeoflife3]

Originally Posted by confustication

I would make it a point to help her find words- at least for a few things. A favorite toy- put it out of reach until she gestures, or as she advances says something to get it. Keep using the sign, but also support language development, and reassess at 18 months or so. If she doesn't have more language at that point, you should probably consider evaluation.

Keep in mind, I say this as the mom of a 24 month old with no words. He is involved with EI, and I wish I had requested an evaluation earlier- it took 3 months to really get services rolling for him.

In our case however, he did not babble- he's always been my little quiet man- and now we're really having to help shape his world so that he needs to ask for things in one way or another.

I've tried doing things like that and once in a while she'll make up a sign (thats how we got tooth brush and toilet paper) but mostly she'll just keep pointing and signing please getting more and more frustrated til she is completely melting down. She has ALWAYS been a pointer. She figured that one out fast and happily added a please as soon as she learned that sign (and now does thank you as well without prompting) but she simply refuses to make up signs or sounds for anything special to her. once in a really rare while she might sign blanket if she doesn't know where hers is but usually she will just melt down pointing and signing please if she can't get something she wants. If I make one up she'll take it on.. but thats only signs. She won't use her voice. We've tried getting her to say things instead of signing... but that leads to meltdowns too.

she does it with food too. she often won't even go to the kitchen to ask for food or a drink. I can only tell she is hungry because she starts to nurse more and have to stop her and ask 'do you want food?' THEN she will sign food and go to the kitchen.

ETA: the food thing is outside her normal meals/snacks. sometimes she is hungrier and refuses to share it with me even though she CAN

[confustication]

We have similar struggles- it's really hard to help non-verbal kids find words when they are really good at other forms of communication- or when they are not really driven to do so. She's younger than DS, and I wouldn't worry yet, but I would certainly remain observant.