[mturner]

I have an 18 month old son who says between 3-5 words. He mainly points to what he wants and makes grunting noises. I know he can hear because he will get things that we ask him for and he can point out his body parts. So, the dr. is not worried about his hearing. The only words he can say are Mama, Dada, ball, book and maybe one more. The dr. thinks at his next appt. at the end of Mar. if he is not talking more that we should get him evaluated by a speech therapist. Anyone else have a child who is 18 months and not saying very many words?

Thanks,
Martina
Mommy to Ella, Nicklaus and waiting for Joseline

[JustBarbara]

Hi Martina - well, first off I would not be worried. At 18 month checkup DS was saying mmm 10-12 words and that was being generous . My ped was not concerned but agreed to make a 21 month appt and if no words were flowing that we would get DS evaluated (his hearing has always been fine). At 21 month cu ... I told the Ped she was absolutely right - there was nothing to be concerned about. DS had 30-35 words at that point - five weeks later and we are over 100 words and I frankly have now stopped counting! I DO note when I hear him say a word for the first time ... he has said 'no' for many months but always 'grunted' to yes ... but 3 weeks ago he said YES!! So now if he grunts I ask him what he means and he tells me YES. His newest word ... Kiss. Remember also that boys tend, I say tend, to be a little slower than girls in verbal development.

[CEB]

Does a 20 month old child who is saying less than your 18 month old count? My guy (home for 12 months now) says mama and dada and calls everything else ba. He hears and understands well, and actually can communicate his needs and wants fairly well, but no talking. He does not try to imitate words, but does imitate sounds (I had a cold last week, and his imitations of me blowing my nose were quite frankly hysterical). At his 18 month well baby check up, the pediatrician said he thinks he is fine, but if not talking by 20-21 months, we might want to have him evaluated. Now my family has a long history of late talkers who end up being quite productive citizens (my cousin did not speak a word until 3.5 and he now has a PhD from Stamford) so I am not totally flipped out. Still, I called our county health department for and early intervention evaluation, and expect to schedule it within the next 2 weeks. If you are concerned, I recommend getting the free early intervention evaluation. It does not hurt anything to have that done. Bottom line, you are not alone.

[SKL]

Just wanted to chime in to say that my older daughter completely stopped talking for a couple of weeks while adjusting to her new nanny, and now the words are just coming back slowly.

If your baby is working hard on something else, that may be a reason for him to let talking take a back seat.

Might want to encourage him by asking him to "use his words" more often. We have a video (can't remember the name off hand) - something about baby first words or phonics bla bla - but it's pretty good because it focuses on about 100 words, stresses the first sound of each word, and perhaps most importantly, encourages babies to "use their words" to get what they want. If your child understands basic English vocabulary, this might be helpful, and if you want to PM me, I will look up the name of the DVD.

But I do agree with other posters that you don't need to "worry" yet, especially since your son is communicating.

[Pipercub]

I think some kids are verbal and others excel in other areas. My first daughter...at 18 months she only knew three words mama, dada and baba (milk). It was as if she had ZERO interest in learning more. Those three words got her everything she wanted. She is now five and not at all delayed in any functions. Speaking early just was not her "thing." On the other hand, my second daughter is 19 months and knows over 60 words (she's a freak of nature or something...i joke). She also uses sentences like "Baby Happy No!!" (Screamed with the implied meaning of "I'm not happy!" Heaven help us!)

I just want to encourage you not to panic or worry if your doctor goes ahead and gives you the referral to a speech therapist. Slow to speech is not a bad thing, and some times it's good to go ahead and talk with them to be reassured and have the peace of mind that talking to such an "expert" can bring. {{{Big Hugs to you!}}}

[Helenesmom]

Our daughter just turned 18 months, and has been home since 15 months.

Our pediatrician was not concerned about the delayed speech, but did recommend we have her hearing tested (which was fine), and get a developmental eval.
Most states offer this service, and if your insurance does not cover it - it should be FREE.

We have had the tests done, and she is about 25% delayed for her age, but is making slow progress.

The herapist recommended using "Melissa & Doug" puzzles to reinforce basic words, and they seem to be helping. You can find them at most baby stores, but they are cheapest at Tuesday Morning's if you have those stores near you.

In addition, the therapist reccomended taking pictures of everyday items your child uses, to help them focus on word association.

For example: if your child is pointing to the table and clearly wants something on it, you can use pictures of the items on the table to help them identify the object and use words.

Part of the delay also comes from the fact that she did not know what things were until she came home to us.

That's what we are working on so far - just a little everyday - and we are making progress AND having fun.

[giovanni7460]

Nada. Not one word. He grunts, groans and for the most part screams most of the day. Early Intervention is coming in 2 weeks. To be honest Giovanni never spoke until almost 3. My bio son is 21 now. He didnt speak eighter until he was 3. Daughters on the other hand havent stopped from about 12 months until just about now. ha ha
Patty

[Michelle Smiles]

My 17 month old says mommy, daddy, puppy, baby and meow (which in her world is what the puppy says). She has said these words for months and has no interest in learning new ones. She also knows about a dozen signs. I haven't been too worried - I figure once she starts talking she will never stop!

[mturner]

Thank you all for you help. I did tell our dr. that I wanted to see how he was doing with his words at his 20 month appt. I do know boys tend to be slower than girls, but I just wanted to see if others had children that were not saying much. I do tell my son what things are and I daily try to get him to ask for things. He does communicate with us (through noises he makes and pointing) and we can understand what he wants. So, I am glad that my son is not the only one who is not very talkative. My 29 month old daughter now she can talk our ears off! Thank you all so much for responding to my post. Your responses have helped me very much. I will give my son a couple more months before we consider early intervention.

Martina
Mommy to Ella, Nicklaus and waiting for Joseline

[kerriv]

Where is your child in other milestones? My daughter is 16 months and says a few words but very inconsistenly. However, she's also not walking yet but has been working on taht for about 3 months with cruising. Her EI people said not to expect much language development until she is walking.

[TerriBB]

Flora maybe had 5 words at 18 months...she's 25 months now and is very slow to talk. (Yikes, the other girls in her class talk in sentences...not us!)

Does your little one understand instructions? How are the gross motor skills? I was once told by a baby doc that it's either walking or talking, but not both at once!

Remember too that you changed languages on your child!


Our son was slow to talk due to many ear infections...now he talks endlessly...and talks for his sister.

[ChristyQO]

Our DD also says next to nothing! She says mama, dada, puppy, meow, baby, tickle, uh-oh and toe. Our Dr. said as long as she is also babbling, no need to worry and we would look at it again at ther 2 year check up.
She has also been late in all her milestones... crawled at 13 months, walked at 17.5 months.
What a contrast from our DS who was speaking in 4-6 word SENTENCES at 14 months!!

[tmlewis]

JUST HAD to chime in here......CEB.....I cracked up with your message...our Darin is just like your child!!!!!!!
Yet he loves to imitate sounds, actions....the other day when watching "Mumble" (you know the movie Happy Feet)...that he imitated Norma Jean at the graduation......= "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH".....otherwise he just jabbers and is so serious and if sittig on my lap he turns my head to make me look at him. SO VERY CUTE!!!!!

[arthymom]

dd came home this summer at just about a year and for months only had a few words.

She will be 18 months on Feb. 1st and just in the last month has begun to say a bunch of things like ba (ball), cac (clock), gata (cat in Spanish), mama, dada, mas (more in Spanish), baby, and a bunch of animal noises.

But seriously it all came out in the last month (like after 17 months). I too was worried for a while.

I think it sometimes comes in spurts...I know for us, dd had ear infections and was teething for a while and when that stopped the words came out.

Best wishes,

[DeeVee]

Carolina had gross motor delays, for which she received EI therapy. I also had her speech evaluated, twice so far since they were evaluating gross motor anyway. They have come up with no significant delays, though it seems to me that she has so few words at 22 months. It doesn't help that her brother acts as her "interpreter" (mommy, she wants a cracker, mommy, she's saying she wants more juice, etc).

One thing I learned is that any syllable they are using to communicate something counts as a word, even if you are the only other person in the world who understands it. So, "ba" for ball, or "ba" for brother, or "ba" for sheep (since it's what the sheep says), count as three words. Does that make sense?

I would wait a little longer before having an evaluation. You've received some great advice about how to work with him (puzzles, pictures) and I don't think an evaluation at this age is going to tell you much that you haven't already observed. Hopefully he will be talking your ear off before long!