My DS's talking is not progressing, Should I be worried?

[FertileMertile]

My DS1 is almost 21 months and im getting really worried about his talking. He doesnt seem to be picking up new words and kids around his age or even younger seem to be so much more advanced.

He will only say about 8 - 10 individual words max and they are stuff like mum, dad etc. He does babble alot tho.

I think im doing all the right things like pointing out things like plane/train etc when we see them. He does seem to understand pretty much everything I say to him and will follow instructions tho.

I have expressed my concerns to some of my family members and they all say 'oh dont worry' and 'he will talk when he is ready' but its kinda hard not to worry :(

Its really starting to get me down and having a 5 week old on top of all this doesnt help.

Any advice would be appriciated :)

[Bunnyhugs]

I was getting worried about my DS at about the same age too. I thought I'd give him til Christmas that year (he would have been 26 months) to really start to make progress and at about 23-24 months, his speech just took off. It was like something just clicked with him.

I'd keep going the way you are, pointing things out etc etc 'Look! there's a plane. Can you say Plane?' that sort of thing.

My nephew was late to start talking too, around 2.5yo but now at 4.5 you can't shut him up :laughing:

[Areca]

For them to not be delayed at two years they need to be able to say twenty words...this includes, mama, dada, no, bubba, ta etc etc.

At 21 months DD1 couldn't say much more than mum, dad, no, and ta. We have it on video when she came to see DD2 at the hospital the day she was born and she couldn't even say baby. She certainly didn't string two words together or anything like that. She turned two and her language exploded. She started adding several new words to her vocabulary daily, started putting two words together and then started saying sentences.

Don't worry yet...there's still plenty of time for him to get there. A friend of mine's son grunted for everything and at 2 wasn't saying anything....but at 2 1/2 he is on par with other kids his age.

[MimiGrace]

As long as he is communicating with you (non-verbal) and understanding you when you speak to him, i wouldn't be too worried.

E is 27months, and he still only speaks a few words and babbles, but he clearly understands you when you talk to him, and will give clear communications when he wants something (ie, pull you over to the tv, and point at the button, give you a drink to open/fill for him + nodding and shaking his head appropriately etc)

They all learn in their own times. he'll pick it up soon, and you'll be praying to shut him up ;)

(HTH's :thumbsup:)

[melbryan]

My 20mth old say nothing but babbles all the time points to things and babbles away. I can't distinguish any words but my DS1 didn't talk till 2 1/2 I even took him to speech therapy waste of time really they talk when they are ready try not to compare your kids toothers I know it is hard. All kids develop differently.

[ManekiNeko]

Your his mum you know best if your instinct is telling you something listen to it not everyone else. I had a similar problem with my DS at aroun 15 months where she started dropping words she already knew or mispronouncing words she hadn't had a problem with before. All my family and in laws treated me like I was crazy and well all kids are different. I didn't listen to them I had her checked out turns out she had large adenoids which were constantly causing ear infections which made it difficult for her to hear. As soon as they came out her speach improved alot. I would much rather have her checked out and be told nothing was wrong then get a few years down the track and find out something was and I could have helped her earlier.

[Penthesilea]

There is a book by Sally Ward called Babytalk. In it she recommends that you turn off the background noises, because small children find it difficult to distinguish between background and foreground noise. She suggest you spend 15 mins a day, with all tv and radios off, playing with your child with the child leading the play. Just talk naturally and repeat what they say, don't ask too many questions, just play what the child wants to play and have a normal conversation. She says that your child's speaking will improve.

Worth a try.

[Penthesilea]

Oh, and when you read books to your child, make sure there are no background noises in the house (tv, radio) interact with your child about the book, ask questions, and speak clearly. Often reading books together can be an introduction to a lot of new words and concepts.

[delirium]

I wouldn't worry yet. DS is 2 in a few weeks and up until about 2 weeks ago he only regularly said about 10 words.

Then all of a sudden he has come out with all these new words and has gone from a few single words to 4 word sentences :yelclap:

I've noticed boys tend to speak later, but often will just one day start talking heaps more.

[Mrs Little]

Your his mum you know best if your instinct is telling you something listen to it not everyone else. ...
I would much rather have her checked out and be told nothing was wrong then get a few years down the track and find out something was and I could have helped her earlier.


I agree! Something didn't sit right with me with my DS right from the word go, in relation to his speech. People kept telling me i was worrying too much and that he'd catch up. He's now nearly 4 and his younger brother who has just turnned two is speaking better than him! I finally got my GP to listen at the beginning of this yr, and he sent DS to get his hearing tested first. That came back with 100% fine. Then he sent DS to a developmental pead, who would determine if there was a speech delay for a child of his age. First thing the pead said.. "Ok, your son has a serious speech delay that needs immediate attention!"...DERRR!

That same morning, before DS saw the pead, his childcare teacher (whom i don't believe is fully qualified at all) kept saying to me that she didn't understand why i was pushing things...there was no issue he was fine...! Turns out my son has a speech delay of up to 2 yrs!!

So i agree...it may very well not be anything, and you may be concerned for no reason. But what is the harm of getting him checked out? These tests are non invasive, it will put your mind at rest. AND ...IF...by some chance there is an issue..it's been picked up as early as possible and will be dealt with at a younger age!

Motherly gut instincts are normally very intune..

Goodluck.
Mrs Little.

[Poppetfish]

Make a referral to the Developmental department at the hospital. You can self refer, you don't need a doctor to do this. It can take up to 1yr to get help. If there is something wrong, u are on the list and if he does start talking, you can always cancel.:yes:

It has taken us 6 months to get answers and we are lucky. If i listened to family and in-laws we wouldn't know that DS has Autism.

Good luck and i hope nothing is wrong.:)

[summerbub]

There is every chance that there is nothing wrong - especially if he understands your instructions. However my DS was diagnosed as speech delayed at 14/15 months. He saw a speech therapist, but what I found to be really useful was the book already mentioned Babytalk by Sally Ward :yelclap:It cost $30 but so glad I bought it. You only need to to read the chapter that applies to your son's age.

Found that the way I was talking/playing with him was not helping him at all. It only took small changes in the way I spoke and interacted with him to see a vast improvement. At 2 the developmental paediatrician said he had the language/speech of a 2 1/2 yr old.

I am using the suggestions made with DD and already her speech is vastly better then DS was at the same age. (But it could just be different children, different strengths!).

The book is really worth a look (esp the case studies)! I am not connected anyway to the publisher:laughing: but it just changed my relationship with my son so much and has given me so much confidence in my parenting. Hope all goes well for your DS and as some others said - it doesn't hurt to get him checked out etc rather then find out later on that he has lots of catching up to do.

[mim1]

My ds had 12 words at 12 months, but by 14 months he was only saying 6 words. Yep, he'd regressed. We knew he'd had fluid in his ears, but he hadn't had an ear infection for 4 months. Hearing tests showed a slight defect, but it was that in combination with the speech problem that meant he needed grommets. Within a day of having grommets he was babbling (we hadn't noticed that he didn't babble as much as other children) and he'd picked up 2 new words. He then learnt new words each day and his language exploded.

You are saying that your ds's speech is not progressing, so at some point it was but that's slowed or stopped. That for me is a concern. Go to your GP and get his ears looked at and get a hearing test. If your GP recommends it then go to an ENT surgeon to organise grommets. Speech delays should be treated early to prevent long term problems.