21 month old DS not talking

[Treehuggermama5]

My DS will "talk with his mouth closed" for anything he wants. He makes this "Ghn ghn ghn? GHN!" sound for everything he wants to say. He'll say mama, dada, anna, and makes two animal noises but rarely uses them. He will say "AH" and "Buh" and duh-kuh-luh, etc. So he has many of this vowels, consonants, etc. but he just doesn't talk! I am wondering when I should worry. I taught him the sign for "more" and he can use it but he won't. He has a 4 year old sister. I want to throw that in because everyone I've talked to says that makes a difference. At what point does one consider speech therapy?

[curiouscanadian]

Speech delays - whether real or imagined - are such tricky things. No one wants to make a big deal over what may turn out to be nothing but if it were my child, I'd get him evaluated and see. If it's not anything to worry about, well, no harm done, but if it is something that could be helped along by therapy, well, then earlier's better than later.

A lot of people say to wait and that you may just have a late talker (and that may very well be true) but I feel that it was because of a family history of "late talkers" that my now noticibly speech-delayed 4yo nephew didn't get attention sooner. (A great aunt didn't talk until almost three and my BIL said his first word at 2)

My DS will "talk with his mouth closed" for anything he wants.

This in particular caught me, I would think (while admittedly knowing nothing about it ) that speech therapy addressing even just this issue could help a bunch.

Good luck!

[pbjmama]

My ds had 5 words at 22 months, I would say your ds has 5 now. I had my ds evaluated at 22 months and because his receptive language was good he was not 'delayed'. I would recommend starting the evaluation process as it can take time. The standard is 50 words by 2, my ds didn't have nearly that many at 2. I had him re-evaled at 26 months and he had a 35% delay and at that point I decided to get him a couple of months of independent therapy, between that and using the skills the therapist taught me I felt he was back on track. He is 4 now and has articulation problems but that is a whole separate issue, his language is on track now.

[mamadelbosque]

Sounds like my ds1 at that age. We did nothing. At almost exactly 2 yrs he *exploded* - seriously between 24-26 months he went from like 3-5 words (mama, dada, no... thats about it) to uncountable 3-5 word sentences in like, 3 months. It was incredible. We missed playgroup for about 2 months and when we went back, ds1 said 'more pudding please' to one of the teachers an she didn't know who that was!! Cause' she'd never heard him say more than like 'no' before!!!

[confustication]

I have a 2 yo with a very significant language delay- he is involved with speech therapy as well as other therapies, and having him evaluated by early intervention was the BEST decision I could have made for him. I really suggest getting in touch with your local early intervention folks and requesting an evaluation. They can give you better feedback about your child, and they will help you access services if there is a delay.

[chiefmir]

this sounds very similar to my nephew, who is now 31 months. He started speech therapy just before 2 yrs old, when he was speaking about as clearly/with as many words as your DS. He has made h uge strides. His vocabulary is still limited (about 55 words) but the words he does know he is now using in 3 word sentences. i second the suggestion to check things out with early intervention- they'll be in a position to determine w hetehr or not there is an actual delay. good luck!

[funnygrace]

I agree with posters in saying that you might want to get him evaluated to ease your mind and to get early help if he could benefit from it. We did have our 18 mo old evaluated by our regional center for free. (He went early because of a cleft that put him in a high-risk group.) He was evaluated at a 9-month-old level for expressive language and 26 month-old for receptive language. He had a few months of speech therapy that was fun for him. But in the end, I think he was simply a later talker. He was signing, but he started vocalizing and saying words around 22 months. We quit the therapy at that point. He is now 24 months and has hundreds of words, repeats everything we say, sings, tells stories, knows his colors, counts, etc. He is still a bit behind in making 3+ word combinations and he can be difficult to understand, but everyday is a new level of development. How does this help you? I don't know. But I liked hearing other's stories when I was worried about my son's speech.

[Treehuggermama5]

Thanks so much for all the responses. My next big question is how to get him evaluated. What website or group should I be looking for? I have looked up speech therapy before but the results were very confusing! Do I go through our family doctor?

[EdnaMarie]

I would go through my family doctor. I think at 21 months if he has unusual speech habits and very few words, like you mentioned, it's worth a speech and hearing evaluation. They are painless so at least you will be reassured. You don't ahve to make a big deal out of it. It's just like any visit to the doctor. You may have a late talker, you may not. But at least you will know that he's hearing and that he's understanding, which are the most important for language formation. Good luck!

[pbjmama]

Your local school district has an early intervention department. They may call it something else but if you call the district they will refer you to the correct people. Going to the doctor is fine but I think it is just an extra step in the process that can be skipped.