Using - then losing - words

[thehighernest]

Hi mamas! I was thinking about this after reading the what counts as a word thread and wondered what you all thought about how normal (or not) it is for a toddler to use a word, then lose it, not repeat it again for months.

DS is now 17 months and thinking if this is an issue I need to bring up in seriousness at his 18 month appt.

At 11 months, he would point to and then say, clearly, "dog" and "duck" - then that was it; he hasn't repeated the words since back then.

He has done this over the months with several words, sometimes just saying them once -- like when he walked outside, pointed to a car and said "car" -- and sometimes repeatedly, like "outside," "mas" (for more), "this," "that," "up," "cracker," "bubbles," etc. This was probably closer to the 12 to 14 month stage.

Right now, the only thing he says is "no" in response to any question, even when he shakes his head to mean yes (or no, it doesn't matter). But he simply does not use any of the words he used in months past.

He doesn't say "mama," ever, except when he was in the babbling stages and used it without any context/meaning.

He babbles often, especially at night as he's drifting off to sleep, and his receptive language appears to be large, identifying lots of things in books by pointing, but he just won't say any new words or even more troubling, the old words he used months ago.

How typical is this? Or isn't it?

[Abraisme]

It all sounds pretty normal to me. Many (if not most) kids learn things and then stop doing it for a while. To them they mastered it and now they need their brain power to learn other things. Also, my DS didn't even say mama until he was 2. Yes, his language was a bit delayed, but he was totally fine otherwise. He's not a totally normal 6yo without any learning issues. Each kid is different and progresses in their own way. If you're having trouble with communication you might try sign language. It really helped us relieve a lot of frustration.

[pbjmama]

It doesn't sound abnormal to me. I would worry if he was saying words alot and the never saying again, making combos and then stopped. His language should pick up quite a bit in the next 6 months.

[physmom]

I agree that it sounds normal. DD started speaking on the early side but she'd always say a word a handful of times and than stop. This went on for months and months. Finally at one point it just clicked for her and than she started revisiting the words that she knew before. She still doesn't speak a ton during the day but will speak more first thing in the morning and right before she goes to bed (at bedtime she can actually be quite the chatterbox!).

There are some words that she still hasn't integrated into her every day vocabulary that she's spoken before but I figure that will come with time. My mom said I did the same and then one day I just took off and started speaking in sentences, so maybe that's what will happen with DD? One thing that did help was we did baby signing and I think that helped to reinforce the words that she knew and she would sign during the days, even though she wouldn't speak. We've backed off a lot now, although DD still signs to us often but normally while saying the word at the same time with a few exceptions of longer words that she doesn't have the oral skills to speak yet.

[crunchy_mommy]

18mo DS says tons of words only to leave them behind a day or two later... it's like he thinks, "OK got that down, moving on to the next thing!" However he also has hundreds of words that he does use on a daily basis, and often the old/forgotten words will come up again months later. I do know it's normal for them to learn something & then seemingly forget/ignore that skill for a long time (DS's doctor also mentioned this being normal).

Does he sign at all? Or attempt to communicate in other ways? (i.e. DS will go "hmm-hm-hmm?" in a certain intonation to mean, "Where'd it go?") I think as long as he's attempting to communicate somehow, I wouldn't worry about it...

[thehighernest]

He definitely finds other ways to communicate - it's almost like he can manage so well without talking, he figures, what's the point? Lol.

We only did a bit of signing...the only one he still uses sometimes is "all done."

He points to the things he wants, makes sounds/grunts, shakes head yes and no, etc. So I guess he's getting by!

[GoBecGo]

i think it's normal. my dd could COUNT to 30 at 14 months (an, doo, free, foh, fift, sis, seben and so on - i have a video of her doing it). She stopped and then, it certainly seemed, relearned how to do it at about 20 months. She's 4 now and still a bit shaky past 16 or so. i wondered at the time if acquiring language had reordered her cognitive processes so much she could no longer access her pre-verbal knowledge..?

nak

[lkmiscnet]

Our 15 mo old DS still hasn't said what I consider to be a first word, which I define as knowing what it means.

He says, dada, dad-ee, dog-gee, gee (presumably for cookie, but has also used this for cheese), so I still can't say for sure that he has said his first known word as it hasn't been obvious.

He too used to babble "mama", but hasn't said it in about 4 months. In fact, when I say it, he responds with "dada". It has had me worried somewhat because even when he is imitating our sounds, when I try to get him to say mama, dada is what comes out.

So, he seems to have "lost" saying mama, like your little one has lost other words, though your LO is much more advanced with language skills than our LO.

Not sure if our situation is the same as yours, but somewhat similar.

[Girlprof]

Your DS is probably just fine. Still, I always say that anyone who is worried about something like this, should bring it up with their ped. Especially if you've got an appt coming up anyway. What's the cost to discussing it? The doc should bring it up anyway.

I got a lot more sensitive to this stuff when our daughter turned out to have a gross motor delay. I kept thinking all was fine but my mom was really nudging me to ask the doc about it and she was right. Our daughter started physical therapy and is doing great now but I'm so very glad I asked at nine months instead of waiting.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by lkmiscnet

He too used to babble "mama", but hasn't said it in about 4 months. In fact, when I say it, he responds with "dada". It has had me worried somewhat because even when he is imitating our sounds, when I try to get him to say mama, dada is what comes out.

So, he seems to have "lost" saying mama, like your little one has lost other words, though your LO is much more advanced with language skills than our LO.

DS babbled mamamama from about 7-11mos. He then went on to say at least 50 other words (which I define too as clearly knowing the meaning) and then FINALLY around 14 mos said mama. He did the exact same thing as your DS, I'd say "mama" and he'd repeat "dada"... So we had the same issues even though DS was a fairly early talker. I think this is common because I believe I posted about it several months back since I was worried, and many said their kids did the same thing.