Our 2-1/2 year old is not talking

[SweetSue]

He's bright and alert, but most single words are unintelligible,
and no sentences, or multiple words.
Most communication is "mmm" to get your attention.

He will follow orders, so we assume his hearing is ok.
But we don't know the quality of his sound reception.

He knows colors and shapes and objects and people.
He laughs and feeds himself with a fork.
He spends a lot of time playing alone
with necklace beads, magnetic Balls and small toy trucks.

If you have similar experiences or encouragement,
I'd greatly appreciate your words.

God bless you,
Sue

[cj'smommy]

I talked to our Ped about this because DS#2 was having some language issues as well. She said as long as it's not frustrating them, she doesn't worry about it until they're almost 3. We knew he could hear us, and he would follow simple directions, knew his colors etc.

My first DS didn't talk until he was almost 3, and it didn't seem to bother him one bit. We could still communicate with him and figure out what his needs were. We knew he could hear us, and he would follow simple directions, knew his colors etc. Not long after he was two and half, it was a talking explosion! He hasn't stopped since.

DS#2 was trying to communicate at 18 months but would get extremely frustrated. He would try and try to tell us things but we couldn't understand him which would result in EXTREME upset behavior, self inflicted pain as in biting himself, pinching and biting us, and banging his head or running into walls. That is when we decided to have him evaluated and lo and behold he has oral motor issues and they belive Apraxia of Speech.

Does your DS get frustrated when trying to communicate with you or is he pretty happy?

[Aridel]

I would call Early Intervention and ask about an assessment. Depending on your state, the process might differ a little bit. Generally they are a free/low cost program which sends people out to your house to test your child and see how they are doing. If they qualify - by being behind enough - they can get therapy at your home to help with speech. A lot of pediatricians will say "Wait until 3" or "Wait until 5" and it makes me absolutely furious, because children don't magically start talking at three, and if parents are concerned earlier, it should be checked out. Mama's concerns at 2 are really related to if a child has needs later.

I would also suggest a hearing test. As you said, it sounds like there is good understanding but it never hurts to check the quality. Some kids have fluid in their ears, and if it's not infected it doesn't hurt and you might not even know it's a problem.

With all that said, it sounds like your guy is a happy kid, and I hope everything goes well for you! A lot of kids either talk later or need a little push to help them get started. One suggestion which may help, is to give him choices between two things. That way he is more intelligible, because you know he is saying one of two things, and he gets to practice using language to get what he wants/needs.

[SweetSue]

Frustration

Only when his older Sister takes his toys

Other than the speech 'problem',
he seems very normal and all most too happy and content.
I'm jealous of him

Thanks for the reply,
Sue

[OMama]

What you have described is clearly a speech delay. I would get an assessment done with a speech pathologist. Delays occur for many different reasons -- some are benign and correct themselves. Others do not, and children definitely benefit from help. Early intervention can work wonders. That is good news that he seems happy and "normal" otherwise, but I would still definitely have him looked at and hopefully you can start working with a speech therapist soon.

[suburbmom]

I would totally second the recommendation regarding Early Intervention. My nephew is very similar to your son. He is however 3 1/2 years old. We started the process with EI when he turned 3 and it's not going anywhere. The county is so backlogged that it's going to take us 2 months for a meeting regarding his IEP after all his testing has been done. He has severe speech delays and will need some therapy. But it is taking us 6 months so far and we are still waiting. It doesn't hurt to get him assessed.

[sbgrace]

He sounds like he's a happy soul!
I would have him assessed. Some kids just suddenly talk but I would say much larger percentage with this type of delay have something else going on and don't just start talking after three. Those things might include hearing problems, autism spectrum stuff, apraxia of speech, and many other things. Some are easier to work with than others.

As a parent I would want to know what's going on. Does he respond (turn to look at you) consistently when you say his name?

How is he communcating with you? Does he point to what he wants? Point to show you things? Any sign language type communication? If he's pointing, waving, shaking his head yes/no and the whole range of non-verbal communications I think there is less concern about autism. Not "no concern" but definitely much less. In that case while waiting for evaluation I would try to learn some signs with him if he's not already signing. And speech can look for apraxia and the like or just general expressive delay. If it is just general speech delay, he communicates well non-verbally, and his receptive (understanding) is at age level all that usually means things are easier to work with. Given that his single words are hard to understand and he does mmm mmm and yet understands what you're saying--you might look into apraxia of speech. He may be having trouble making his mouth coordinate to say what he wants clearly. Or maybe there is a motor issue.

Either way I'd have an evaluation at this point.

[SweetSue]

Thanks for the responses

Well written
and well received.

Thank you very much,
Sue

[A&A]

I'd also get his hearing tested formally and not assume that it's ok.

[DaughterOfKali]

I had Early Intervention come to asses my son when he was that age. It was free and my son loved working with the speech therapist.

[RedOakMomma]

Just chiming in to say that EI has been GREAT with my sons! It was all play-based, and in our own home, and my kiddos loved it. I'm still friends with two of the therapists, and they come over to see our boys now and then.

I'd get EI involved, and once he's getting therapy make sure to sit in and see how the therapist works with him. You can learn some great strategies for your own play time with him.

[harpertrance]

my son did not talk until he was 2.5, he has PPD-NOS though. Get his hearing checked, maybe he has problems with hearing?

I also agree on the EI assessment, even though my son was 3 by the time we got them, they referred us to the school district which go the ball rolling for us

EI helps with speech

[Rowan Tree]

Sounds just like my DS1! He's 2.5 and was just last month diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech. We have him in Speech therapy, just met with EI 2 weeks ago and just got him evaluated in our state's children's hospital for the Autism Spectrum on Monday. It was a 5 hour evaluation and though they didn't place him on the spectrum, they did discover he had some hearing loss in his left ear. The test doesn't show how severe it is, so we have to go back in one month for a more in depth test. I NEVER considered him having any hearing issues! He always responded and followed directions so well, heard distant sounds, etc. After talking with our speech therapist today, she said even the slightest hearing loss in either ear can effect a child's ability to mimic sounds correctly, though in his case he definitely has some motor difficulties (Apraxia). Feel free to PM me anytime.

[SweetSue]

Thanks one and all

You have all been very helpful.
It's good to know we're not alone.

Thanks again,
Sue