17 mos and language development?

[T-man's Mama]

How verbal are children at this age, generally?

DS just turned 17 months, and was born almost 4 weeks early fwiw. He says: mama, dada, and kiddee (kitty). Beyond that, not much other than babbling.

He has demonstrated a broad level of comprehension, though, and can point to various body parts or objects upon request, and follows simple instructions easily.

He has also been watching Signing Times videos frequently, and has begun using the following signs: more, eat, milk, all done, and one or two others. Does this sound developmentally delayed?

We've got an 18-month wbv coming up so I'm sure it will be a topic with the ped. Just wanted to hear your thoughts.

[LadyCatherine185]

I think the "average" at that age is between 10-50 words. I wouldn't consider your DS delayed, especially since he was born 4 weeks early. There is a wide range of normal..

[pbjmama]

Sounds right on to me. My ds maybe had 1 word at that age, my dd had probably around 20.

[AllyRae]

There is a wide range of normal here. My little girl is 19 months old (but born at 36 weeks as well), and she didn't say anything until around 15 months, and then started with sentences (although the words aren't really all that recognizable unless you know her. : ). I know other children who just pick up one word at a time. At this age, comprehension is the most important thing...with developmental delays, you often see poor comprehension as well. And the fact that she's also signing means that she is using expressive language.

Our ped said that even for a 36 weeker, you have to use the adjusted age for 2 years. So, your little one's speech only needs to be on track for a 16 month old at this point, and it sounds like it very much is.

[physmom]

Sounds normal to me, especially with the 4 week adjustment. At 16 months (assuming your adjustment) DD wasn't talking much but was very into signing. Keep up the good work!

[crunchy_mommy]

Sounds normal to me. My 18mo has hundreds of words (plus sentences) but the pedi was shocked & said most boys only have a couple words before age 2. My brother didn't talk at all until he was 3 or so (though he does have some learning disabilities -- but he can talk just fine now!!) Also I find it's very subjective & if you pay close attention he could be saying more than you realize. It's very common for DS to say a word or phrase 10 or 20 times before I realize OHHHH he's saying his friend's name (or whatever) -- the pronunciation isn't always great & if he says something out of context it's harder to decipher. It sounds like your DS is trying to communicate & has some words plus being technically a month behind, I don't think you need to worry!!

[T-man's Mama]

Thank you for all the replies! Crunchy Mommy, that is *amazing* that your son had hundreds of words at this age! I can't imagine how surreal that would feel to carry on conversations with an 18 month old. But I do have a friend whose DD also has an extensive vocabulary at this age. I do agree that DS is probably using words sometimes that I am just not picking up on. Also, I wasn't sure whether to count signs as "words" -- I mean, they serve the same purpose! At any rate, he's probably doing just fine.

[justKate]

No, not developmentally delayed, especially adjusted for the 4 weeks.

At 16 months, DD could say "mama, dada, baby, bye" but not on demand. She could sign "more, eat, up, please."

This month (18 mos.) she had a vocab explosion--signing "more, eat, up, please, help, sleep, hot, yes, bath, thank you...." And saying "hi, bye, mama, daddy, baby, no, nana, tv, outside, ready, nigh night, pee pee," the list goes on. It'll just happen one day and you'll think, "who ARE you?"

[nia82]

You can talk about it at the WBV, but I don't think it sounds worrisome. DS said mama once, yes like three times and kitty a couple of times, only recently. Neither at the 18 nor 24 WBV were they worried. He is being raised bilingual. He understands about 300 words in each language, adding to 600. He can follow three step commands, understands everything, and even surprises us with understanding words we didn't teach him, but he picked up hearing them. The doctor felt it is absolutely not worrisome as his understanding is extremely good, especially since he is a boy, was 3 weeks early and bilingual. My dad and DH's sister didn't talk until age 3, and that was with one language only. SIL is a straight A high school student and my dad an engineer, so I don't worry at all about this.

[kriket]

If your kid is delayed, so is mine DS is about to turn 16m and he says thank you, bye, and keykey. That's it. He signs milk, juice, more, mama and potty, and makes sounds for potty and dog. He tries to sign I love you, but his hands don't quite do it.

He understands a lot. We were playing a game and I told him to get a ball, put it in the hole, and push a button, and he followed all the directions (one step at a time of course)

I think there is about to be an explosion of language between 18m and 24m. I've been trying to show him a lot of signs too. I have heard that boys start talking later, so I want him to at least have signs to express himself!

[eleonrauis]

Sounds normal to me, especially if he understands what you are saying to him. My DS was just starting to say his first words at that age and didn't sign at all.

[happysmileylady]

My dd uses like 5 words regularly...and she's 21 months. She comprehends a LOT can follow directions etc. I think she can say more than she lets on though...like I am pretty sure that she can say cracker (ca-ca) but the other day when I was eating one and she wanted one I tried to get her to say it and she outright refused, throwing a full on temper tantrun.

[treeoflife3]

My 17 month old knows somewhere between 20 and 30 signs (we've been working since around 9 months) including four she made up herself.

She only says hi though. She has JUST started to mimic the 'da' in daddy but only once in awhile... otherwise no words for her.

She makes a decent amount of animal sounds though... kitty, doggie, fishy, monkey, cow... dinosaur, lion, tiger, monster all have the same sound of course though haha.

She also can follow lots of simple directions and knows a bunch of body parts and is very good about pointing at things.


but yep... only says hi.

[YayJennie]

My 17 month old (who was born at full term) is almost exactly like yours. He says mama, dada, kitty and doggie. He has a few signs (all done, help, thank you, bottle and drink) but seems to understand everything I say and will follow complex instructions (go get your stool, bring it over to the wall, then turn on the light). I think he's perfectly normal and healthy

[MissE]

sounds normal to me too. DS wouldn't speak until way past his 2nd birthday. He did say "mama" or "ball" or "Marty" (our dog) but that was about it. He is now 3.5 years old and while some of his friends are way ahead with the talking he's definetely improved. He can sing all the short kid-songs and he can tell stories, even if it's messed up and not making a whole lot of sense sometimes.

DD however started saying words as early as 12 months old. She speaks in 3 or 4 word sentences by now (she just turned 2). It amazes me every day. Today she counted and started singing the ABC (she didn't make it past the F tough ). I'm sure it's because she is the second child. DS talks to her a lot, we talk to her a lot more than we did to DS (I believe) and I guess she's just trying to keep up. Plus she's a girl...she's a natural born talker .

Dont worry mama.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by T-man's Mama

Thank you for all the replies! Crunchy Mommy, that is *amazing* that your son had hundreds of words at this age! I can't imagine how surreal that would feel to carry on conversations with an 18 month old.

Yes, it's so cool! Though he is my first so I don't really know any different. But he's always been ultra-high-needs... I seriously think I'd shoot myself in the head if he couldn't talk to me. Even with his excellent communication it's still hard to keep him happy!

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by T-man's Mama

Thank you for all the replies! Crunchy Mommy, that is *amazing* that your son had hundreds of words at this age! I can't imagine how surreal that would feel to carry on conversations with an 18 month old. But I do have a friend whose DD also has an extensive vocabulary at this age. I do agree that DS is probably using words sometimes that I am just not picking up on. Also, I wasn't sure whether to count signs as "words" -- I mean, they serve the same purpose! At any rate, he's probably doing just fine.

we sat down and wrote out all of DS's words at about 17 months and he had around 150, plus a few signs. His ped was also surprised at his 18 month WBV and said that he was pretty advanced verbally. There really is a wide range of normal at this age. Now at almost 2, he has probably 300-400+ words and speaks in 5-7 word sentences, and speaks very clearly. Most of his other "friends" the same age are not doing that, so I don't see my DS as the norm.. and I have to remember this when my DS2 gets this age if he is not talking as much!

[Girlprof]

Signs definitely count as words.

[c'est moi]

my ped said she's only concerned if there's less than 3 words at the 18-month appointment. signs and made up, but consistently used words count too!

[T-man's Mama]

Originally Posted by c'est moi

my ped said she's only concerned if there's less than 3 words at the 18-month appointment. signs and made up, but consistently used words count too!

Good to know. Thanks!!