20 months...only a few words!!!!!!! Should I be concerned?

[shademan]

My daughter used to talk up a storm.  Great talker at an early age.

My son though, is about 20 months and he basically laughs at us when we try to get him to talk.  Da-da-da-....Banana, Ninee, and SOMETIMES mama, though that's rare.

He jabbers sometimes with the most hilarious and incomprehensible language you ever heard.

And he does respond to everything we say.  We can tell he understands us well.

Do some kids just choose not to talk?

I wasn't too worried a few months ago, but I'm starting to get nervous as he doesn't really seem to be picking up any new words?

[wrenb]

My 21 month old son is just the same. He understands a lot but only says "na na" (banana), "ne ne" (necklace), "Daddeeee", please, and uh oh. Most of the boys I know this age have similar vocabularies. It's only the girls who seem to have lots of understandable words.

[pbjmama]

Given that he has some words (even though very limited) and his receptive langauge is excellent I wouldn't worry yet. If he gets to be 2 and still isn't gaining words I would look into early intervention. Also wondering if he has every had his hearing tested? Always a good precaution to take when wondering if speech development is appropriate. I don't believe that some kids choose not to speak. Not being able to communicate your needs is extremly frustrating. I think if children can speak they will. Obviously there is an exception to every rule but I think those exceptions are often kids with other outside factors going on. 

[Mrs-Mama]

DS was slow to speak, though understood plenty and was plenty interactive and communicative with us.  I can't remember how many words he knew at 21 months, but it wasn't many.  I do remember that he had just barely 50 words and had just started putting two words together at his 2-year appt.  The dr said that is the minimum they look for at 2 years.  Six months later he was talking in sentences and his vocabulary had grown exponentially.  DD has been talking in sentences since before she was 2, and I always tell DH that had we had her first, I would have been a nervous wreck about DS's speech.

[Peony]

DS is 21 months, doesn't really say anything and is in speech therapy weekly. But up until recently he wasn't showing that he understood much of anything we said, and didn't babble until late, etc... He also has long "conversations" in his own language, so funny to listen to. My girls were both later to talk but not this late and by the time he was 18 months and not understanding nor talking, I knew it was time to contact EI. Some children do just take longer and others need more assistance. 

[shademan]

Thanks for the tips.  I really think my son is very smart, as he has shaken his head yes and no for a long time, based on what we say.  He clearly understands us, so I don't think that he has hearing problems, but I appreciate the tip and that might just be something to check just in case.

My spouse swears that a few weeks ago, my son all of a sudden said (as clear as day) "juice" and then smiled.

He's a pretty sneaky thing, so I'm still thinking he's holding back, but who knows.  I'll try not to worry about it until he's 2.

[lkmiscnet]

Our DS is 21 mo old and still only says maybe 8 correctly pronounced words and hasn't added anything new to his vocabulary in several months. He is consistent though in making up words for things, or at least trying to say them correctly (like "dat" for light). He also knows a few sign language words.

However, he understands much more and can follow many specific instructions (i.e. put your shoes in the closet).

I read in the What to Expect the Toddler Years book that so long as they are progressing (ie. comprehension and following instructions) and seem normal in every other way, that some kids are just slow to talk and one day, the switch goes off and look out!

Our DS was a 5 week early preemie and was hearing tested when he was days old and everything was normal. He has bascially lagged behind in most everything (motor skills, walking, etc), but eventually catches up and is normal in every way. We did check into Early Intervention, but he was deemed normal by the case worker that visited over the summer.

He seems really smart and clever from what we observe about him, so we are not worried and his ped is not concerned.

It's tough to not compare to other kids the same age, but all kids progress through stages at their own rate.