[bamagirl]

I can't take much more grunting, whining, shrieking, screeching, pointing and crying!!!! Oh lord help us....we repeat and tell and point out and tell some more. He jabbers and follows directions REALLY REALLY well!!! However, he doesn't get most sounds I am making with the words nor does he try to say the end of all the words.

What do I do?? When should I worry?? When he came home last year, we took him to the audiologist(sp?) and his hearing was better than perfect. But now I just don't know how good it is. He had LOTS of sinus and ear infections from Dec - April....could that be the cause??

Someone please give me some advice!!!

[LadyTink]

Gabriella does not talk very much either. She makes sounds, but really only says two words (dog and Dora). At her 15 month check up, I mentioned this to the dr and he said just to give her a little more time. I am getting very impatient, though. Hopefully, someone can give us some advice on this.

[mommytoEli]

i'd worry now....just to be cautious. get a referral to the speech therapist and have him tested. then get a referral to the ent and make sure that he doesn't need eartubes for all his infections. it could be nothing, it could be something. but i think you will feel better if you take him in. ethan had some speech delays b/c until he got his first eartubes at 6 months he couldn't hear....i expected it to happen. they still made me go to the sp.ther. and he was fine by the time we got our first appt when he was almost 2. we just took eli to the speech ther. and he is just a little behind, but she had us teach him a few baby signs. we have a LOT less grunting and clicking now that he picked up the sign for eat pm me if you have any questions. ear tube surgery (don't make me write the real name b/c i don't think i can spell it) is really simple and so not a big deal, and such a relief. in the 6 months between ethan's first and second set he had FOUR infections...now with a set back in...nothing! love it! in the meantime, get a book about baby signs....maybe if your son can express himself he'll be a lot less frustrated.....which means you'll be a lot less frustrated good luck!

[bamagirl]

GOSH, isn't it AGGREVATING?!?!?!!? I know he "knows" but he can't seem to convey it!! Gabriella is a only 3 1/2 months younger than Luke and at his 12 month check up he was doing almost everything that 24 monther. Then at his 18 month, he WAS doing everything that a 24 monther does EXCEPT talk!! HELP!

[CashCrew]

Kristi my son had so many hearing tests between the ages of 18mo - 2.5yr and he was failing all of them. We were told he couldn't hear certain sounds at all. He had started in speech therapy before this and she noticed that he did so much better when he wasn't stuffy. He was put on very strong decongestants and then the test was repeated and he passed with flying colors! They said hearing for all kids is moderately affected by congestion, but for some it is worse. Since he had had allergies/colds almost nonstop his first 2 years of life, he was very behind in speech because he wasn't hearing us. He is still behind but is doing so much better now that we have his allergies under control.

I wouldn't worry too much since he is understanding so well.

[CashCrew]

I agree to get to a speech therapist just because it certainly doesn't hurt! All of my kids were late talkers and they heard English from birth! We did get evaluations and saw speech therapists though just to be on the safe side!

[grommy]

Til he starts talking the baby sign language is extremely
helpful -- great dvds (signing time) check at your library.
cuts down on the communication frustration -- we had a
screechin, yelling, throwing everything 11mo arrive home
once we found these videos within a week the
signs kicked in and we knew what she wanted -- duh.
more food, drink, sleep, all done.

Our little guy had lots of ear infections and we changed his formula to soy and that cleared things up within a week and we were amazed he started babbling
more. Minimal diary for him. (yogurt/cheese). Still not the biggest yapper in the house but he has tons of sisters to compete with!!

[hbrown24]

My daughter said about 3 words until she was almost 2. Now, about 4 months later, she says complete sentences and speaks very clearly. It was like one day, BAM! She's a talker now and I can't get her to stop! I'm not saying don't be concerned because I was too, but some kids take it all in then once they get it, they definately get it all at once.

[wildboyz2]

Hello, I am a speech therapist. First how is his hearing? Does he have a lot of colds/allergies? If he has had a lot of ear infection or colds/allergies then the first route is the Peditriatian and ask for a referral for ENT. You'll want to make sure his hearing fine before doing anything else. Secondly, how many words does he have and what specifically is doing sound wise? As young as he is, as a SLP, I would be more concern about vocabulary than the way he says it. He more than likely is frustrated about his lack of communication and baby signs is sometimes a sanity saver. They are able to communicate wants and needs and you are able to understand what they want. PM me if you would like a little more info or any suggestions. Melody

[CurlysGirly]

Just checking to see how old your son is. I wouldn't really wait either because there is so much you can do between now and your next well baby visit. Most docs will tell you to wait it out because boys talk later, etc. I think it is better to be proactive.

My 1st suggestion would be to contact your state's Help Me Grow program for birth to 3 year olds. They will be able to provide services to you, most being free of charge and most often coming to your house. Speech is usually a weird thing to get insurance to cover (believe me, we pay $90/week for one on one that is not covered by insurance and some consider that cheap).

I agree with the Baby Signing. We took a class at our local YMCA and it was great. Just knowing some simple signs can really make things easier. Kiddos get soooo frustrated when they can't get their point across....I mean just imagine! You could also try pictures. I kept pictures of common wants (juice, fish crackers, etc) and when he was mad because I didn't understand we would get out the pictures. You can get easy pictures at google images and print them.

HTH!! PM if you have any more questions or need help finding your state's Help Me Grow program.

[Mom2to]

I pulled out a developmental screening and checked the language section. Since you aren't concerned about what your little guy understands (receptive language) but with what he can say (expressive language), I will only post the expressive language items for 1) a 16 month old and 2) an 18 month old.

1) At 16 months: Does the child say say four or more words in addition to "mama" or "dada"?

2) At 18 months: Does the child say eight or more words in addition to "mama" or "dada"?
Does the child say two or three words that describe different ideas together such as "more juice" or "see kitty".

These are just screening questions but I thought I'd post them. If his expressive speech is less than other developmental milestones it might be hearing or just something related to how his expressive language is developing. Just an FYI, speech evaluations can be obtained free through the local early intervention program. I am sure some folks may find benefits to a private speech eval if but the local early intervention folks in my area are really good with the toddlers. I think evaluations can ease the mind. If something is up there is really good help available. If it is nothing then we get peace of mind.

Best Wishes.

[saranbr]

Your timeline was nearly identical to ours!! And our little girl barely talks either. I know her receptive language is excellent, between seeing what she understands and comparing her to my nephew who's verbal ability is well beyond his months. I also know her hearing is EXCELLENT-- she 'communicates' with the cats meowing outdoors at the french doors and, according to DH, hears me open the garage door in the morning coming home from work. Yet, she has about three-four words. Her pedi isn't concerned. I'm not concerned either- she's the type of kiddo who does things perfectly when she's ready and not a minute sooner.

BUT-- if you think there is any issue with your guy's hearing-- get it checked out!!! If he needs tubes, etc, then that needs to be addressed pronto. My brother didn't talk until he was 3+-- in large part cause he wasn't hearing cause of ear infections. That's not fair to the little guy!

[DPline]

I had my son evaluated through our school system when he was about 28 months because he still had only about 25-30 words. He tested at the bottom of the 'normal' range, but high enough he didn't qualify for services. Fast forward to now, a little over a year later, and he vocabulary is huge. He still has a lot of enunciation issues, but he is understandable by everyone. You just really have to pay attention sometimes.

Have your son's hearing checked and call your local school district and have him evaluated if it will put your mind a ease. It is easy, and the people who worked with my son were wonderful.

My daughter, who is six month younger, did and does, talk circles around my son, And my older son was talking in full sentences at 2 year old. So I felt SO much better when Daniel was evaluated and they told me my other two were way ahead and he was barely behind.

Good luck!

One additional thought - something they had me do was make a list of words he said. They didn't have to be said correctly. I just had to know what he ment when he said a word. You might try this. I would have said my son had MAYBE 10 words until I made the list and came up with at least 25.

[wildboyz2]

By the way how many words does he have (even if he mispronounces them)? By age 2 years, kids typically have 50 words in their vocab.

[WVUMom418]

We brought our daughter home at 14 months old, she had an ear infection when we got her home and in the next 3 months constant infections. We had her evaluated by an ENT and tubes put in 4 months after she got home. At her 2nd birthday she was saying very little, now only 1 month later she talks constantly putting 2 or 3 words together. Her most used saying is "I do it".

I do notice that she is very shy and hardly talks around anyone but our immediate family.

I would definately get an appointment with an ENT as soon as possible as you have mentioned ear infections.