18 Month Old Boy Seems Delayed

I would definitely get a second opinion. Is he hearing OK? Better to find out what's going on now while he's young. If he needs early intervention it's better to do it younger than to wait. Good luck!

I agree with you doctor that it is too soon to tell. There may be a delay or not. My son did not say more than a few words until he was 2.5 years old. He could comprehend directions and understand everything we were telling him. Apparently he just did not want to hear himself talk. Once he did decide to talk, he hasn't stopped since. My daughter on the other hand was putting multiple words together by 10 months. They are just complete opposites.

Both of my boys said very few words at 18 months (I think my second said 5 words). Does he understand and respond to what you are saying? Does he try to repeat sounds you are making? Those were questions my pediatrician asked when we talked about language delay at that age. Both of them really had a word explosion between 18 months and 2 years old. I was worried with my first - tracking every word he said for about 6 months. Now, at 5 years old he has a great vocabulary.

Call Early Intervention services in your state - they are free to children under 3 years old. He can be evaluated and they can determine if he needs help - speech therapy, occupational, etc. At 18 months my daughter wasn't saying much either, but she gestured more. You don't need a pediatrician referral to get Early Intervention involved. If it turns out there is really nothing to worry about, then there you go. Or they can start working with you guys to help with any delays he may actually have.

I was in this exact situation. I called Early Intervention directly, even though my ped said to wait. They evaluated him, he did qualify for services (he had a speech delay), and is now catching up by leaps and bounds with the help of a therapist who comes to our house once a week. And, it's all free. I highly recommend it, and you are right, there is absolutely no reason to wait.

Most communities have an Early Childhood Intervention program, or a "Child Find" program. I would contact your local school and see if they can tell you who to contact.

You are right... you want to get started now to get as much taken care of before he goes to school.

I would start with Early Childhood Intervention. It's a free service until the child is 3 so that would be worth your time. It would be a good second opinion since they deal with children that age all the time. Best of luck.....

Find the Early Childhood Intervention program in your area. An eval and services will be free to you until he is 3 years old. Then if he still needs intervention, it will be handled by the school.
If your intuition is telling you something is not right I would go with it.

Relax. Boys mature slower, and they aren't very verbal. Since he is pointing, you could easily do what any therapist would do: talk and talk and talk. So say the word, say it again, and then give him the words :water, water? do you want water? then say "momma water please."

There is a verbal explosion in the next few months. The Dr is waiting to see what happens till then. There is a serious verbal explosion at 18-19 months, and then again at 23-34 months.

Don't worry. Just keep on reading and talking to him. He is too young to know if there is a problem.

My daughter didn't talk until she was 22 months old. Only a few words could I recognize like Ma and Da. Then when she was 22 months I started to figure out her words and she was talking clearly in complete sentences by the time she was 2. Some kids just take longer. She is now in kindergarten doing great. I would wait a few more months. When did you start talking, when did his Dad start? My daughter didn't point or wave much and she is fine. My younger daughter was the opposite and she also turned out fine. That said, you have to trust your instincts. I wouldn't be worried just by speech milestones. Is he meeting other milestones? Can he hear you? Is he walking? Does he smile when he sees you or when he gets something he likes? Best of luck.

Call Help Me Grow and get him evaluated. It is free and you don't need a referral from your doctor. As a Speech Therapist, I really don't like doctors telling parents with concerns to just wait it out. There is so much that can be done early to help a child catch up! I hope this helps!

You need to contact your local family and childrens services. they will help set you up with someone or at least refer you to the right agancy who will evaluate him. They will probably ask for a Dr refereal, and seeing that he is delayed it shouldn't be a problem. from working in child care I know the earlier you get help the better for the child. You are doing the right thing. It may be as easy as some speech therapy and learning sign language so the two fo you can comunicate. I have watched amazing transformations with young kids. Occupational Therapists are also amazing and the results so worth it in the end!

good luck

I would wait for 3 months then get him evaluated if nothing improves on it's own.

Hi, I would not wait until his next appointment. If he does have any problems, early intervention is so important. It can be much more effective to get help before his delays start to effect other areas and cause more difficulties. I would recommend setting up an appointment with an SLP or check out the governments zero to three website.

Also, just read a previous post and to clarify, there are many ways to detect if there are problems at this age. If your dr is not taking you seriously, I would see someone else.

I think it is a lot to expect a an 18 month old to be using full sentences. Every child is different. Now my son who is 23 months old will say words but not very clearly. I think at 2 he should be further ahead and will address this with the pediatrician next month at his check-up. I would say by the time your son is 2 if he has not progressed then of course an evaluation would be a good thing.

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His speech sounds fine to me, but I am obviously not there every day seeing his every day comminucations. He is still old enough to be evaluated by ECI if you really have concerns, it is free through 3 years of age. It really is better to catch things early.

These kinds of "problems" are not that easy to fix. Boys are slower than girls anyways. Yes I saw something delayed in my son around 18 to 24 months old. It can be hard to test kids at a young age for some things because they need to be cooperative in the process. I had my son tested for hearing problems at 2 and a half to 3 years of age. We started speech therapy in our school district at age 3. In Ohio the school districts are responsible for testing beginning at age 3 and up to age 21. My son was tested in the school district and then we supplemented at Cleveland Speech and Hearing. At age3 he was diagnosed with speech delay. And as he got older and they were able to do more testing because he was more cooperative they modified his diagnosis. He had a expressive and receptive language delay diagnosis at one time and then an auditory processing disorder. At the fourth grade level he was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. I am sorry if I sound irritated but it does make me mad when people see kids as being able to be fixed. My son is 13 now and I have been traveling this road for many years and I have come to realize that yes my son is different but he is also special. He is a caring and loving individual who exceeds academically in school. He still struggles a little with speech but he has great friends. This has been a process of many things coming together for him to be where he is. He is a typical classroom with no accomodations other than speech and organizational skills. It has been a great experience for me and taught me that we all have our quirks and that we are all on the autism spectrum in some way. I know there are some things that can be a quicker fix like maybe needing a hearing aid or a tongue tied but I realize that is what school is all about helping kids grow and learn. Continue to discuss your son's development with your doctor and if there more things that you are noticing then make sure you bring them up with your doctor or ask for a hearing test. Again I am sorry for my sensitivity to this subject.

I am going to give you my recent scenario and another parent's concern and hope the examples motivate you to take action for your child.

My child has been ill with the same symptoms since 8 months. Finally, after tiring of hearing her Ped say, it's due to daycare, etc, I responded,

I don't feel my child's health is getting the proper treatment and care. The doctor immediately referred my child to specialists, the same specialists she talked about referring months ago and never did.

Be assertive, don't wait. Think of early intervention. You don't want to wait too long and it becomes harder for him to learn verbal skills.

At one of the playgroups, a 4year old's mother waited too long to have her child screened and as a result the child gets frustrated with the help she is now finally getting because it's harder to adapt from being accustomed to a learned way of speaking that the child is already comfortable with although she is underdeveloped in speech.

Unfortunately, sometimes doctor's avoid escalating care because of insurance company conflicts of interest. That is my opinion.

I agree that it would be best to have him evaluated. You can do that thru the school district. It's called Early Intervention in some states. Just call your school district main office and ask for the number. In Portland, the evaluation and treatment is provided thru the office called Multnomah County Educational Service District. There is no charge.

This service is provided by law thru the federal No Child Left Behind law. You can google it to find more information. Many moms have written about their experiences on this site, too.

Your description is quite similar to the way my grandson was at that age. His pediatrician said to wait and see which my daughter did until he was 2 1/2. That left only 6 mos for evaluation and treatment. Not enough time.

There is another program that kicks in at age 3 but it's not as intensive. The Early Intervention program, if treatment is indicated, comes to your home. They provide a social worker to work one on one with you to learn about your child and how to best help him.

My daughter learned some different parenting skills that helped her to manage my grandson's anger and frustration.

Many mom's have asked the same question and many moms have told of their experiences on this site.

You can also have him evaluated by a developmental pediatrician. My daughter finally took my grandson to one when the school district services were not enough. This was covered by their insurance.

I would advise you to get an evaluation or another opinion at the very least ....better to be proactive than have to catch up in hindsight....your instincts are on target, you are with him everyday, so find out so that you can put your mind at ease...

http://www.ohiohelpmegrow.org/

http://www.olrs.ohio.gov/topic-ei

I am having the same issues with my 16 month old son. Maybe its a boy thing. Is he your first child? I can say something to my son like go get your cup and he will go get it or he will bring it to me when it is empty. He also points at things that he wants. I am concerned also about his developement and everyone just tells me he has no reason to talk everyone does it for him. He has 3 older siblings under the age of 6 so i guess they could be right. My doctor suggested doing first steps with him. Oh and does your son have alot of ear infections? My son did and then she noticed that he had some built up ear wax deep in his ear and once she cleaned it out he seems to be mummbling more now and starting to say momma.

My daughter was also delayed in speech. The schools will test your children for you usually at a very young age. My daugher ended up with an auditory processing disorder that I am still dealing with. I would sugest you check out your states resources and begin testing early. A lot of places with pay (headstart) for child care with specialist services. The earlier the better. You know better than anyone. You are there with him everyday. If you feel there is something it does not hurt to have it checked. Good luck!