Does this sound like a speech delay or am I just being paranoid?

[plantnerd]

D is 15 months old.  He babbled and cooed as a baby, understands what we say, and spends a ton of time wanting to be carried around and told what things are.  He will point and go "ehhhhhhhhh" to everything in the house, yard, store, etc, which is his way of saying "what's that mom?".  He can point to objects and body parts when named, follow simple directions, and is very expressive with gestures.  At 11 months he had about 5 words; da, cookie, all done, uhoh, and mamamamama.  He started walking at 1 year and has zoomed through to running, climbing, kicking balls, driving his car, walking up and down stairs, and spends all of his time on the go.  Since walking started he says less and less of his words, and more whining and the "ehhhhhhh"/point.  Now the only things he says regularly are cookie (meaning food) and all done (meaning tv is off, done with dinner, toy fell on floor, etc).

I'm not concerned with autism as he is a very socially interactive child and communicates very well non-verbally, but I am concerned with the "losing words" and not making any attempt at speaking.  At his 15 month doc visit one of the checklist items was "says 5-10 words" and I just had to give a blank stare.

I hate to label him a late talker at this young of an age.  Part of me wants to have him evaluated for a speech delay, and part of me says to wait and see.  The internet has not helped, as everything I read says early intervention is key, speech delays are very serious indicators of cognitive problems,  etc etc etc.

Those of you with late talkers, what has your experience been?

[APToddlerMama]

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Edited by APToddlerMama - 3/23/11 at 3:24pm

[APToddlerMama]

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Edited by APToddlerMama - 3/23/11 at 3:24pm

[plantnerd]

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Great, wonderful.

[lovemyryguy]

I don't know much about autism or losing words, but I can tell you my experience.  

My son is now 2.5 years old, and had a very small vocabulary until around 25 or 26 months.  He also did the "ehhhhhhh" thing.  Super annoying.  He used it more for " I want that" so most of the time I had no idea what he was saying.  We had to have him SHOW us everything.  There was a lot of standing on the counters and stuff.  My pediatrician (homeopathic family MD) assured me at his 2 year visit, its normal for boys to talk later.  I can't remember for SURE, but I think my son also stopped using some words a bit for a while.  He kept his core (basically mama and doggie) but would use a new word for a while, and then stop using it.   

I certainly wouldn't worry about a speech delay that young.  I know its frustrating, especially if you know girls around the same age, they usually have a MUCH larger vocabulary.  But it also sounds like your son is putting a lot of energy into more physical things rather than vocabulary.  

[Llyra]

DD2 did this. She said a lot of words between like 10 and 12 months, and then stopped talking entirely for about four months, except for two nouns-- pepper, and cat. Then she started up again, around 16 or 17 months, suddenly with full sentences. Just like that.

She's four years old now, and a normal, bright kid with no developmental problems or anything at all.

So just another perspective.

My DD1 was also a late talker. She didn't say a single word until 19 months. She's a gifted first-grader, now, with no social issues. We figured out, eventually, that she has some oral motor control issues that she needed a bit of help with.

My feeling is that if you are the least bit concerned the best thing to do is contact EI and ask for an eval. The eval is free, and in most cases if your child qualifies, the services are free or very inexpensive-- it's based on your income. Here in NJ, we have a solid middle-class income, and our services were free of charge. They come right to your house. You have very clear rights that are spelled out clearly. You don't need to be referred-- just get the # for your state and call. I did, with my other DD, and it was extremely reassuring to have other expert adults involved in helping me figure out what was normal for her, and what was an issue.

[1blueheron]

Originally Posted by Llyra 

DD2 did this. She said a lot of words between like 10 and 12 months, and then stopped talking entirely for about four months, except for two nouns-- pepper, and cat. 

So, my LO is kind of in a phase like this....used about 10 words intermittently starting very early, now uses a couple signs, says just a couple of things, and seems to have shifted her focus to making animal sounds!  I have a friend whose baby is doing the same (minus the animal sounds).  IMHO, word loss being a "medical emergency" sounds pretty alarmist and is not something I've ever heard before relative to this age.  I'm no expert but in our case I'm not the least bit worried that there are any developmental issues, especially because her comprehension vocabulary is good.  And she makes an awesome crow sound.  

[beebalmmama]

Personally I wouldn't be concerned. It sounds like he's moving right along and possibly refocusing on physical large motor skills. My ds (almost 16 months) was not a babbler as a young baby but started babbling a few months ago. But then he stopped the couple of words he had been saying (mama and dog) and was whining and pointing a lot too. But within the last few weeks he's really picked up on more signing and is saying dog again. But the main thing I see is that he seems to be comprehending a lot more with signing and words.

My ds 1 at that age didn't have 5-10 words either and seemed to be talking earlier than ds 2 is so far. I think 5-10 words may be an average, but not necesarily indicative that something is wrong.

[kismetbaby]

I'd keep my eye on it, but I wouldn't be freaking out yet.  My DS didn't really loose words, but he definitely didn't have hardly any at 15m (mama, dada and maybe one other). He's now 17m and just in the past month or so he has suddenly had this explosion of language. In our case, I think b/c he was a late walker he just focused on that first and then once his walking was really stable then he started to get the language.   And he still does the "ehhh, ehh" stuff a lot, even when he can say or sign what he wants.  easier I guess.

[APToddlerMama]

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[ellemenope]

Language loss is specific to ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in that in no other developmental disorder or SLI (specific language impairment) is language loss a feature.  I believe this is why it is such an huge red flag for ASD.

But,a small amount of language loss also occurs in a minority of normal developing toddlers in those first few months of language acquisition.  I would even predict that the type of language loss you are describing occurs just as much in neurotypical children (if not more) as it does in the ASD population, which I have read is anywhere between 15% and 30%.

From your description of your son I would say that you have nothing to worry about at this point.  He is social and using prelinguistic communication. He is using three words. The loss of the words 'da', and 'mamamama' or 'uhuh' or the lack of speech development in a 15 month old jsut does not warrant any concern.

[A&A]

I'd take him to an ENT.  At that age, my dd needed tubes in her ears, and then her language acquisition exploded.  (She did the same thing your ds has done--lost a few of the words she had.) 

[Surfer Rosa]

My DD was an early talker, and my DS (now 2.5) a "late" talker. He seemed to understand lots (multistep directions, what we were talking about) but for whatever reason, his speech didn't start to take off until 26-27 mos. In retrospect, I can think of several reasons why ( older DD doesn't let him get a word in; his pointing and grunting and motioning was pretty clear; time constraints)

I was concerned, but I also know each kid is different, and I couldn't compare him to my DD, who did not follow a typical speech pattern.

I decided to wait til just after his second bday because I know there is often an explosion then, and since our doctor had tested his ears and hearing, we knew it wasn't a structural thing, and he is very social, so I wasn't concerned that it was ASD. He did lose words occasionally, but it often happened in conjunction with other developmental milestones being mastered, and then they'd come back. My doctor was not concerned at all, but he did ask what my mom's instinct was: did I feel it was something more? My gut said no, just that it was his style.

No, at 31 months, he is talking non-stop, and using a really extensive, specific vocabulary. I can't believe it is the same kid as last summer sometimes! When I started to worry a little, I made more of an effort to slow down and get him to talk (instead of yes/no questions, getting him to use specific words, repeating phrases, etc.) I don't know if it worked at all, but it helped me feel like I was doing something.

If your gut thinks it's something more, and it would ease your mind, you could investigate EI options, but I hope it's unnecessary.

[tzs]

there was a thread awhile back when my kiddo was about 15 months old about losing words. i think what i got from it was that it was happening across the board at that age. i know my dd would lose some words but it was pretty clear to me that she was just so into learning the label for everything (pointing and making me name objects) that she would pick up a new word or two and another would disappear. soon after it seems like we've entered into a language explosion. so i just chalked it up to her learning so much in such a short time. 

oh...and at 11 months i don;t think we had much of anything. at our 15 month visit our ped just wanted to know that she was babbling (maybe mama and dada) and it wasn;t until our 18 month visit that she asked if she had words. i told her there were maybe 10 consistent words and i was told that was right on track (for 18 months.)

[Lisa1970]

He sounds fine.

People only seem to post when their children are doing things that are way above and beyond. So I would not worry about others posting about their children's first words, because the ones who talk on average won't post, as they have already been hearing from all the early talkers' moms. 

I hope that helps.

[Lisa1970]

Oh, and my family is full of late talkers. Then somehow, once they start talking, they just seem to talk on and on and on. I have a cousin who was barely talking when she was 5 yrs old. Yet, she went to college on full ride (national merit) and graduated Magna Cum Laude and started grad school this past year for her doctorate. My latest talker is my one most successful in school. I had one child so speech delayed, yet, academically advanced, that when people could not understand him, he would spell the words!

My 18 month old does not say much. I am not worried. People in my family have tended to be more in to the maths and sciences and less in to the language careers so that is all. 

[vikki b 88]

I know it is so hard - they all develop at such different rates!  My sister in-law is a Speech Language Pathologist and a Mom.  She has created a great site that may help you called Speechtails (.com).   I am currently using the program with two of my daycare children and am having great success.  I love it most because there are tons of tips to help.  Give it a look!  Vikki B, Indiana