[ap mom]

DS is 15 months; he babbles constantly but doesn't say any recognizable words yet. Some mamama's, dada's nd nana's but they don't seem to be tied to anything/anyone yet. He understands what we say and follows simple commands & identifies objects when asked.<br><br>
I'm not usually one to worry about "timetables" but should I be concerned? It seems that all 15 month olds I know are talking up a storm.

 

[LolaK]

If you are really worried you can get an early intervention screening for free. It is a pretty simple thing, you can probably get the info from your pediatrician if you go to one.

 

[sbgrace]

My son started speech therapy around that age. It was though that time when both boys started talking.<br><br>
Big things are if your son is pointing (to show you things as well as indicate what he wants) and other non-verbals like waving, head shaking, etc. would also be reassuring. If he was pointing by 12 months, has a wide range of sounds, and understands everything I really think you can breath easy for a bit.

 

[sallyg6]

I could be remembering this wrong but...<br><br>
I remember my DD not saying much until right at 15 months when her vocabulary all of a sudden took off. By 18 months she had a HUGE vocabulary!<br><br>
I think it's a good sign that he understands what you're saying. The words will come soon enough and then they'll never stop!<br><br>
Sara

 

[Ashersmum]

I know how it is to be worried about this issue. Ds didn't say a word until he was 22 months old (not even babbling). I really think that in most cases kids just learn at their own pace. In the end I sought professional help through the regional center and he had speech therapy for a few months until he was signed off with no problems at all. He is now surpassing his peers in communication and elocution. From what you say in your post your son is babbling a lot. From what I learned this is a really good thing - it shows an interest in communication and if he understands simple commands then he probably does not have a problem with hearing. I would suggest contacting your regional center for an assessment to put your mind at rest. In the meantime I highly recommend signing with your child to eliminate frustration. The 'Signing Time' series on DVD is great. All the best.

 

[DevaMajka]

My ds didn't talk until he was 18 mos, and then his only word was "aarf" (we had 3 dogs. lol). He had said a few scattered words, but definitely not many or consistently. He understood a LOT of what we said.<br>
Oh, and he had some signs that he used regularly.<br>
He was closer to 20 mos when he had 3 words. At 23 mos his vocab exploded, and I stopped counting at 30 words in a matter of days.<br>
He is 32 mos now, and I can't get the boy to stop talking. lol. Big old conversations, and big words. lol<br><br>
If YOU feel in your gut that there is a reason for you to worry, then look into speech therapy. Both dp and I felt in our guts that ds was developing just fine, and was just going to talk later than average.

 

[Tiffany_PartyOf5]

I know what you mean, my DD is turning 2 on May 2 and says "Mama", "Dada", and "Nana".. She normally says mama for me, dada for dh and nana has no real connection. She understands everything and grunts and points when she wants something. If you ask her to go get something, 9 times out of 10 she will.. and that 1 time is usually her just being hard headed lolol.. She also has a 4 year old brother who likes to talk for her, so that doesnt help.. I dunno, I guess she will just talk when shes ready... or when brother goes to preschool in August LMAO

 

[usolyfan]

My dd is 15 mos. and doesn't say any clear words. She babbles non-stop, points, whines, shakes her head no and grunts all in an effort to communicate (which she does quite effectively with these tools). However, she has no spoken words as of yet. I am not too worried about it though. With the amount of non-verbal communicating that she does I really feel she will eventually find her words.

 

[ani'smommy]

DD didn't say anything except Mama and Dad at 15 months. Even by 22 months, she only had a handful of works. By 24 months, she had over 100.

 

[Kay11]

Wow, here in the UK 15 months is considered quite early for more than a couple of words, and even then they don't have to be "real" words. Dd has been talking in sentences since about 13 months (she started saying recognisable words really really early though) and most people who meet her are shocked, or think she's really tiny for her age!<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> Ok, she is small for her age, but it sounds quite weird anyway.<br>
Personally I wouldn't worry if my 15 month old had no words. By 18/19 months, yes I'd start listening really carefully to be sure I'm not missing some, but I wouldn't be really worried until a good few months later than that.

 

[eepster]

You mentioned that your DS babbles alot and understands what you are saying. It could be that he has "words" but just isn't making them clear enough for you to understand. When DS asks to nurse I'm the only person who recognizes that it is a "word" to everyone else it just sounds like babble. I've always been good at recognizing words I used to work in a store and when ever a customer had a thick accent that made them hard to understand they would send them to me.

 

[Jenlaana]

When I saw this thread I thought someone had re-activated my old one. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"><br><br>
When my DD was 15 mos she did not talk. 16 mos she did not talk. 17 mos she did not talk.<br><br>
Now at 18 and a half months she says ball, kitty, daddy, shoe, stuck, ut oh, and ahh chew (pretend sneezing) No, she doesnt say mommy <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> She understands a lot of what we say too and can react when we ask her things. (i.e. brianna please give me whatever)<br><br>
Dont worry. The advice I was given was not to worry at all until 2 years and most kids really explode language wise during that last part of the 1st year. Kids develop differently and it sounds like your child is just doing their own thing. I had heard that some kids develop verbal skills first and some develop motor skills first, and my daughter could climb mt everest without a harness before she could walk, lol.

 

[stlmomof2]

Just wanted to chime in and say that my 18th month old only had a few words at 15 months (and my husband and I were being VERY attentive and liberal about what we considered words). Around 16 months, her vocab explosion hit (gradually in the course of a week and then rapidly after that) and I would say that she has around 200 words now. Unlike some of the people posting, I wouldn't say trust your instincts, because my personality is such that I worry about almost EVERYTHING about Alex and I definitely truly believed that Alex had a speech delay. Now that she talks a lot, I worry that she's malnourished.

 

[NicaG]

My ds had maybe 2 words at 15 months. I was a little concerned, but he used a lot of signs, and he appeared to understand a lot, so I waited. By 18 months, he had 9-10 words, which was at the low end of normal development. I discussed it with my pedi, and we decided to wait until ds was 2, then reevaluate. Last month (at 23 months), I called Early Intervention and scheduled an evaluation. Ds has a fair number of words, but his pronounciation is virtually unintelligible to anyone outside the family, and his pronounciation is inconsistent. We found out from the evaluation that his expressive language is roughly equivalent to a 14-18 month old, and we're starting speech therapy next week. He appears to have an oral motor problem. I don't mean to worry you at all, because lots of kids don't start talking until later, and they're fine. But in our case, I'm glad we kept our eye on it, and I'm glad we got an evaluation.

 

[blumom2boyz]

Like all the pp's said, I wouldn't be overly concerned at this moment. Ds3 is 16 months and just recently started saying "words" that I could actually recognize. Ds1 really didn't start to talk until 18 months, which I think is a pretty normal time for most kids. My neighbor has her son in speech therapy and she was telling me about the testing he underwent. One of the things he didn't pass is that he couldn't follow directions or inidicate he understood what she was saying/asking. I think as long as your babe is babbling and can understand you, you don't have much to worry about!

 

[Cardinal]

My son is turning 2 next week...<br><br>
at 15 months he only had about 3 words.<br><br>
Now he has well over 120 words. (He is still slightly behind what the ped says is desirable for this age, but it's a huge improvement.)<br><br>
We see a speech therapist 2x a week for 30 minutes at a time. We go through Early Intervention. My only advice is this: don't wait if you think your child might need therapy. here in little rock EI is very slow. It took almost a year to finally get a therapist for my son. I love the therapist now and things are going well. Sometimes it just takes a while to get the ball rolling, and to find a therapist. (In our area, there are not a lot of speech therapists, and most were booked when we applied initially.)

 

[mclisa]

I'd get screened. Give yourself peace of mind.<br><br>
When he is busy with a toy, does he respond to you if you call his name?

 

[DebHibb]

I also suggest the screening. It doesn't hurt, and shouldn't cost you anything. My oldest suddenly started talking a bunch at 16 mos, so when my 2nd DS wasn't talking at 15 mos (or even 16), I wasn't really worried until he was around 17 mos., still had no words, and was still drooling. He likely has an oral motor delay (possibly caused by his thumbsucking habit that we can't seem to break <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/irked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="irked">: ). The part that always seemed odd to me, was that my youngest seems 'smarter' than my oldest was at this age - i.e. he understands more of what we say, listens better, etc. I thought he'd be an early talker, but that's not the case.<br><br>
It probably wouldn't hurt to wait another month or 2 though either, and see what happens, since most early intervention groups won't qualify your child until they are a bit older (around 18 mos). Keep in mind though that the process can be a bit time consuming. I made my first call about 6 wks ago, and his first appt is next week.

 

[Logan's Mom]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>ap mom</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7944200"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">DS is 15 months; he babbles constantly but doesn't say any recognizable words yet. Some mamama's, dada's nd nana's but they don't seem to be tied to anything/anyone yet. He understands what we say and follows simple commands & identifies objects when asked.</div>
</td>
</tr></table></div>
Same with us. Just went to Pedi and he said that "receptive" language is more important now (understaning) then being able to say words. No need to go to a speech therapist now in his mind. Also got my son's hearing tested (that is the first thing they want to check with speech probs) and he can hear fine. He turned 15 months on the 24th so I'll wait a few months and see.

 

[katerkat]

At 15 months, my son said mama, dada and cat. At 18 months, all he said was mama, dada and cat. At 20 months, he said his first sentence (no, let go! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"> ) At 21 months, he started saying a couple new words every week. At 22 months, his language exploded. And now I can't get him to stop talking. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink"> A lot of what he says is still pretty unintelligible, but he's working on it. (Of course, he says "sit" with an sh- sound. That's always fun!)