To talk or not to talk that is the ?

[Rhiannasmomma]

My daughter is a little over 24 mths old and she says some words but at the last appointment I took her to her dr informed me that since she was not stringing more then a couple 2 word phrases together that we should get her developmentally examined.. I am not sure if I sure be concerned or not.. The last thing a mother wants to think about is that her child needs special attention.. also isnt it to early in her life to know that.. I mean everyone says that different children learn at different times and stages.. but she doesnt seem to want to repeat things we try and say to her... I have tried everything. I have tried those baby einstein videos.. and she still doesnt like to repeat things..I dont know if I should go have her checked out or just give it a little more time.. SHe seems to be a very smart little toddler in everything else and seems to be up to her level on all area except for talking.. She still just trys to gesture or point..I dont know if I am to blame I mean i stay at home but I also work from home? Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get my toddler to talk more and repeat what we say? any advice is appreciated.. or if anyone else has a child close to her age going through the same thing and what the have been doing to get through it would be helpful,...

Thanks a concerned mom

[mommyofgb]

My DD was also a late talker. I think she was stringing some things together by 2, but barely, if any. I remember her first 2 word combo: ''baby crying.'' Does she seem to understand the things you are saying? Can she follow directions well such as ''go get a diaper and bring it to me.'' How many words would you say she has? My dd followed directions very well, but she was behind in verbally. I had her assessed by Early Intervention at 30 months since her peers were so far ahead, but she tested as average. That was also when she started speaking in fuller sentences: ''Mommy, I want my doll now'' was her first full sentence at 30 months, just out of nowhere! At 3.4 months now she is 100% on par with her peers and even ahead of many! I think getting an assessment is a good idea by a Speech Language Pathologist just to rule out anything. It's great that she's pointing and if she seems social, I actually find it very surprising that your pediatrician would want her developmentally assessed to be honest. I good piece of advice from one of the SLPs at EI gave me was to narrarate everything you do throughout the day, point as everything and also offer her choices: ''do you want your pink shirt or blue dress? Apples or oranges?'' All those things help with both receptive and expressive language.

[Wolfcat]

My DD is 21 months. She doesn't talk much... maybe says a dozen words altogether. But she has understanding and makes attempts to communicate. She has no indications of a physical problem, so I'm not going to worry about it. She'll prolly do what so many do: just up and start quoting Plato one day... lol Besides, in this family, you're lucky to get a word in edgewise, so it's no wonder...

[Erin77]

We have had such a good experience with assessment and EI that I recommend it if you have any doubt. The evaluation is like a game and playing for the child, so there's really no downside and you can always decline services if you disagree with the assessment. For me, it gave me extra reassurance that I was doing everything possible for him.

[fizgig]

I think it is generally a good idea to get late talkers evaluated by a professional.  There are a million reasons a child can talk late and, by and large, the earlier you catch most of them the better.  It is entirely possible she is just a little behind and will catch up and it sounds like there isn't anything else going on but it can be hard to spot other issues some times. 

That said, you should also listen to your gut when she is evaluated.  A bad eval can also really hurt you and your DS which is why you should listen to your inner-voice if an evaluator says things that don't seem right to you. 

[Mom31]

My dd talked late /walked early- my ds talked early and did not walk till 18 months. :) They both are at the TOP of their class... I would go ahead and do the eval- you may learn a few things you can do to help.

[mommyofgb]

I also wanted to add, don't overlook a hearing test. Many kids who aren't talking actually have hearing problems. And the fact that she isn't imitating your words, might mean she just isn't hearing you. I would also explore that option as well.

[foxsmama]

My DS is 25 months old, and only has about 3 verbal words. (he is hard of hearing)

He babbles constantly, but nothing we can understand. Does your daughter know any signs to communicate with ? Early Intervention is a great resource, my son receives speech and language  therapy through our local branch. 

My brother and I were also late talkers. My mum says that neither of us said an understandable word until age 3, and then started speaking in fully articulated sentences! 

[Xavismom]

My DS is 27 mo. Up until 2 weeks ago, the only words he really said was 'mom' and 'dad'. I will admit, I'd been previously worried about it, and I have actually posted about it several times here at Mothering. Ok, I was more than a little worried to be honest. My DH was completely unworried though, and was actually quite annoyed at me for being worried, as he didn't start talking until around 3 years himself. We decided we would wait until he was 2 1/2 before having an eval.

Out of nowhere, about 2 weeks ago, DS said about 60+ new words in ONE DAY. A few days ago he started stringing words together, and new ones too that he had not been saying before. The past two weeks have been a crazy whirlwind, since he started talking, I have discovered he knows all the colors, most numbers 1-10, and most of the alphabet, and I have never tried teaching him any of it, except for the colors. Like I will try to put on some blue socks, but then he tells me, NO! Green! so we put on green ones. And he points out letters on books, magazines, etc and tells me what they are?? I don't even know how he started doing this, it came from nowhere.

Anyways, I'm not even sure what kind of point this post makes... I am a worry wart by nature, and my husband is much more intuitive, so I guess his gut instinct on this was right on. And if your gut tells you everything is fine, you may just have a late talker like my DS.

[LindsayDawn]

I just wanted to say I hope my DS will be like Xavismom's. My son is 21 months and only babbles two things - "mahmuhmomama" or something for me, and a similar "dada" concoction for my DH.  He's a very physical creature -- has always been ahead in crawling, walking, climbing, running, he even walks up stairs like an adult by practically doing the splits with his little legs. But not a word out of him. 

[star*mora]

my older son didn't really start talking until he was 3 and walking until he was 19mths. he could read the alphabet and say numbers before 2.5 but words...forget it. both my boys were preemies and with my older son i was tired of the assessments from earlier in his life and the overdoctoring so i just left it alone. kept reading to him, singing and chanting and there was nothing wrong with him. he is just a cautious kid and is doing great in junior kindergarten.

my younger son was a late walker too - 18mths - but started talking in sentences by 15mths....it's a crapshoot. i felt my older son could make himself understood and understood me and dh so i didn't go the assessment route. ymmv but i wouldn't do the assessment unless you feel it is necessary. you live with your child, and she seems to have communication skills. she just may not feel ready to express herself verbally

[Xavismom]

Originally Posted by LindsayDawn 

I just wanted to say I hope my DS will be like Xavismom's. My son is 21 months and only babbles two things - "mahmuhmomama" or something for me, and a similar "dada" concoction for my DH.  He's a very physical creature -- has always been ahead in crawling, walking, climbing, running, he even walks up stairs like an adult by practically doing the splits with his little legs. But not a word out of him. 

This is exactly how DS was too. He reached all of his physical skills very early. He was running at 10 months, and his dexterity and fine motor skills at 1 year were unbelievable! He could do all kinds of puzzles and tasks at a much higher level. I knew he understood me when I spoke to him, but he wouldnt talk! I was worried he either had a speech impediment, or was possibly autistic, because my DH is a high functioning autistic.

We think now he was just too busy doing the things he considers fun, like running and climbing and puzzles, to bother to use words. Yesterday we had some new ones too, outside we saw a car drive past, and he said 'Green car go go', and we also had 'more yogurt me mom'. It just blows me away because less than a month ago, all he would say was Mom and Dad!!

[help007]

My older son will be 4 this April, and my younger son is 2.5.  When I see videos of DS1 a day before his second birthday, he is barely spitting out one word at a time, of the 5 or 8 words he knows.  By the time DS2 reached his second birthday, he was talking in complete sentences.  My pediatrician said that since DS1 was very interested in books (by 24 months, he could sit in my lap for all of The Lorax, or 3 or 4 Frog and Toad stories), he didn't need testing (since he'd already had a hearing test).  By the time he turned 3, without any intervention apart from daily reading that we did anyway, he was talking in sentences and using complex language that few kids in his class knew. 

There is absolutely no harm in screening (we had an OT screening for DS1 for physical issues), please go for it if you can.  However, you know your daughter- if she is interested in communicating, and she is interested in books and stories, she is doing great.