2 Year Old Does Not Say Much

I work in a day care. We refer parents to Child Find. You can find info about Child Find on the internet. The people in this organization are very good at assessing children and helping the children and the parents. Child Find is a free service.

We spend the first couple years teaching them to walk and talk, then spend the next 15 years telling them to sit down and shut up. Some kids seem to absorb a lot of information and then start putting it together in complicated ways seemingly out of nowhere. See what his Dr has to say. But talking at 2 is an average - a lot of kids don't have a lot to say till they are older. Ask him simple questions. Do you want the red shirt or the blue shirt? My son liked to point and grunt at first, but I got him to give me one word answers, and once he got started, there was no stopping him.

I have a stepson with a speech/language delay. Believe me when I say you WANT to talk to your ped. about it. Tell him/her all concerns about it, developmental concerns and successes, tell the ped. that he says letters and numbers, and that his language seems behind to you. Get them to schedule an evaluation, there is absolutely no harm in an evaluation, but there is a HUGE harm in not starting speech therapy immediately if there is a problem.

There probably isn't, but the point is, what if there is?

:) Good luck!

My daughter didn't say much until she was 2 1/2. She used a lot of jibberish with inflection, but there really wasn't any coherent communication. She knew her ABC's on sight, numbers, etc, but her communication was way delayed. She pointed a lot, would follow directions, and was very vocal, just with no coherency. If you are concerned, I would certainly take him to a speech therapist or contact ChildFind (in VA). Every school system in the area has some equivalent program.

You can wait to see if it gets better, but I TOTALLY understand how frustrating it is to want to communicate with your child (not just their receptive skill, but 2-way communication). Even before we started services with the County Public Schools we saw a speech therapist for several months (at the recommendation of our pediatrician). What was most helpful about getting extra help was the therapist taught us, the parents, how to teach her to talk. My husband and I are both intelligent, with advanced degrees, but nobody had ever taught us there is a better way to talk to a young child (clearly our degrees were not in child development!). Childfind takes a while to qualify for, so I would check your health insurance if it covers speech therapy (mine did).

Like I said, you can wait-it-out, but if there are resources around to help, why not take advantage of them?

Good luck!

Definately mention your concerns to your doctor. However, I have always heard and believed that as long as your child is progressing in some developmental areas, not to worry too much. He may not say much, but he is verbally responseive (e.g., you ask him to sing) an dhe can follow directions, then I think you are good - he is hearing, he's got good receptive skills, he can talkm, and he is socially engaged.

I have a 27 month old boy and I was concerned at 2 also because while he seemed smart, he was talking alot of jbberish. He could say some words, but the girls his age he was around were talking full sentences. Also, my older son talked really well sooner than he. All of the sudden, in the past 2 weeks he's been putting all kinds of verbs and nouns and sentences together. Needless to say I feel relieved but also pretty foolish that I was so concerned. If he can say the alphabet and numbers and sing songs, he is fine. Everyone does things in their own time.

My older son didn't even want to consider potty training until the very last minute (almost 4) and he was done in a weekend. The younger one has now been peeing in the potty for 5 months. To each his own!

Good luck.

Many times just after I got concerned that my baby may not be able to do what he could, he suddenly improved a LOT.

In your situation, I would act like the jibberish were real words and clearly enunciate the closest sensible sentence I could think of back to him...

"AAAee paa o rrrrr" --- Yes, honey the airplane's over there.

If he does the point and grunt to get things, I would sometimes play dumb. When he points to the sippy cup on the table, pick up the nearby spoon, then the apple, and then the bowl. Say OH! you want the spoon? And repeat spoon. Don't get too frustrating -- just show him that using words for things is more efficient than pointing and give him some clear, repeated vocabulary words.

Good luck. I really hope you don't need child find, but I've heard they are fantastic with screenings.

Every kid is different, my best friends son only said 2 words until he was 3 and now the kid wont shut up! My 2 year old has been talking forever, but he has a big sister that has talked since birth(almost). The only advice I can offer is stop stressing and remember einstin didnt talk until he was 5 and we all know what he did with his life.

sounds like hes WAY too busy learning and taking the world in to be bothered with something as simple as speaking :) my youngest brother didnt say much until he was 6... and now hes going to an ivy league collage; he graduated head of his class. he was always very, frustratingly slow with the simple things (speaking, potty training, walking, etc), but constantly blowing out minds with the difficult things hes always picked up naturally. if your son already knows his abcs and song lyrics, sounds like hes just way too smart for the easy stuff!!

More of the same here... just to add to the pile, but frankly, it's comforting to read all the others who are in the same boat.

My second son is 28 months old... over the last few months, he's really had a language explosion. At his 2 year check, the Dr. started asking questions about his speech and she ordered an audiology consult because he didn't have very many words at that time. I didn't actually have a good count as to how many words he was saying and went home to write a list that night. It turned out that he had plenty of words, after I actually took the time to write them down, and I never did go to check his hearing. Since then, he's really been doing great... new words all the time.

Check with your doctor and go with your gut instinct... you know your child. I like all the suggestions on how to help him use his words, though! I think I'll use some, too! ;)

Good luck.

Sounds normal to me. Actually, he sounds more advanced that my daughter was when she turned 2. Now at 2 1/2, her vocabulary has increased so much people are amazed when they hear her speak.

I know of a boy Vic's age who doesn't speak nearly as much. So, I'd say your son is doing fine. You'd be surprised how quickly his vocabulary will increase. Just keep talking to him.

L.

I read Einstein was almost three before he started talking. Get your son checked by all means, to ease your mind, but he's probably just fine. All these milestones are just averages, don't worry if your kids don't hit them right on the minute and day they're "supposed" to!

[Ladies, I live In Ohio now and will probably switch over my zip code so I can chat with local ladies. It's been nice talking to you guys and maybe we'll see you again in four years! -S. Kav]

If your instinct is telling you something is wrong please listen to it. You are the mother God gave this child to you. Now, take note of other things; does he make eye contact with you? Does he play with certain toys and only those toys? Has he had other words and now has reverted to just Mamma and dada? Is he okay with touch or does he draw away from you?
It is good that you are seeing the doctor soon. Not to worry you but You should bring up the question of autism so it can be ruled out.

Early intevention is the key for things such a developmental delay and autisim.
good luck
mj

Julia,
We are going through the same thing. My DS will be 2 at the end of the month and he doesn't speak clearly enough for anyone else to understand. I recognize his sounds but... He's got tremendous receptive skills and physical skills but we're waiting for the breakthrough. I did contact Child Find (I live in VA) and we had a consultation to see if he needed therapy. We were told he could have therapy but after discussing his progress, I declined. I think it's more common for children this age to be a bit slower in their communication skills. Some children are more advanced (usually girls) and we hold all kids to such high standards. You could get him screened and go from there. good luck.

I agree that words are not so important as general communication skills. Does he point to things he wants you to look at and does he look at things you point at? Eye contact is major. Does he seem to understand what you are saying or just repeating what is heard. I don't want to freak you out, but there is a manifestation of autism that involves something called echolia (sp?) which is the repetition of things heard. Again, it's communication skills that are the question. If he can communicate himself to you and seems to understand what you are saying to him, don't worry. Certainly mention all nuances and quirks of his development to your pediatrician. There may be some sort of program she'd recommend, even without diagnosing your son with something scary.

My son was diagnosed with Austism Spectrum Disorder at 21 months old had has been in various therapies for the past month. I am already noticing an improvement. It's worth finding out about.

You didn't say if you did more than have his hearing checked. I.e, have his ears, throat, etc. checked by an ENT. Sometimes there are underlying problems. My children both had somewhat chronic ear infections. My son's expressive language didn't kick in until about 6 mos after he got tubes in his ears, my daughters at about 7 months after. Also, how is his receptive language. If you asked him to go pick up a block across the room, could he do it? Receptive language comes in earlier than expressive.

Also, you clearly are concerned. I saw by your profile you live in MD. Call your local county Child Find. It goes by various names depending on state/county. They will do a developmental assessment. It is a free service for county residents. (although in some areas they may do a sliding scale fee). I know from friends in Montgomery County that it can take several months to set up an appointment, so do it now. Your pediatrician should be able to give you the number or you can find it on the web.

Our daughter (now 3 1/2) was the same way. She used sign language a lot at that age. Her speech erupted at 2 1/2 yrs old. After that she was adding new words every day. It is great that he knows his alphabet and can sing songs! I don't think it anything to worry about.

B.