20 Month Old Son Not Talking Much

I would not worry! I have seen many of my friends go through the same problem. Some children just take a little longer than others. Every child does things on their own time. You didn't mention if you have other children, but usually when they are around other children more they pick up faster. There are child care givers that offer a mom's day out program or maybe have an extra one or two play dates a week. Good for mom and child!

My youngest son is 3yoa and he is just started really talking. We did all the testing that his pediatrition recommened and he passed everything. He just wasnt ready to talk now he never stops. Sometimes it is a heraing problem others it is just he s not ready. Dont worry hell get the hang of it

My son was about the same at that age; he's now 4 and he talks non-stop! If your son communicates his needs to you through non-verbal methods (ie tugs on your pants when he wants something) and you are sure his hearing is OK, I would give him a few more months until speech therapy. Also, make sure you are not anticipating his every need before he has a chance to 'ask' you...
if you don't already, start reading to him before bed or whenever you can.

Hi C.,

I have gone through something similar with my little girl. You need to contact an agency called "Child Find." They will put you in touch with a case worker who will arrange for a medical evaluation and then speech therapy. You need to contact them as soon as possible because it takes time to get things rolling. The great thing was they connect you with the state programs that pay for everything. My little girl was able to get speech therapy and also occupational therapy for issues we were unaware that she had. The state paid for her therapy until she turned three. After that, I put her in a preschool for a couple of days a week. Now she's 4 and she's talking up a storm now.

Also, we learned sign together and it was great because she was no longer frustrated that she couldn't communicate and it was just plain fun signing to each other. We taught ourselves from a website I found that has a "dictionary" of sorts for ASL (American Sign Language) http://commtechlab.msu.edu/SITES/ASLWEB/

I hope this helps.

has the Dr look in his ears. I if not I would try that to. My 4 year old did not talk until her turned three. it turned out there was so much presure in his ear the aduioligist said he was hearing like he was under water. They put tube in and that week i could not belive how well he talked. So I would ask about the ears first.

If I where you I wouldn't wait. My son had the same problem and I took him to be evaluated privatly and through the early intervention program. It was the best thing I could have done because I started him with therapies early and i think it really made a difference.

Hi, my daughter is 21 months and she isn't talking either she says the same 3 words your son says. my doctor also told me that if she doesn't start talking her was gonna send her to a specialist but I think she is just gonna talk when she is ready if your son understands you and can hear I am sure he is fine. I wouldn't worry yet!

I don't think you should worry yet. My brother didn't utter a single word until he was 3 years old. Then he got up one morning speaking in full, intelligible sentences. He graduated from high school this year in the top 3 percent of his class. Maybe your little boy just doesn't have anything to say yet.

My son was progressing similarly to yours, so I talked to the pediatrician about it and he said to do the following: get my son more interaction with children his own age (they learn differently from kids than from adults), encourage him to use words to get what he wants at home, and get his hearing checked.

My doctor said to get his hearing checked first to see if the ear infections were affecting his hearing, which would in turn affect his ability to learn to speak. Thus determining who and what type of speech therapy he would have to go to. In addition, the insurance company won't pay for speech therapy until a hearing test was done anyway, so we had to do this step. I got his hearing checked and he passed that with flying colors.

In the meantime, we enrolled our son in daycare for 3 half days a week so he can play with others. This seemed to open the floodgates to lots of words. So, we encouraged these words more at home and made him ask for things using words and helped him pronounce things better as well.

Needless to say, we continued having our son go to daycare and have not had to move forward with any speech therapy as he is progressing very fast. The biggest challenge is making him use his words at home which is sometimes hard to maintain as its usually easier just to give in to what he wants when he points for things.

Good luck!!

Every child is different but I can also tell you speech therapy will not hurt any child. Also if he does happen to need speech therapy it can be covered by the state until he is 3 years old which is a plus after that you have to pay out of pocket. So if the Ped says you might want him to see one I would go ahead and do it.

I just wanted to say hello. I don't really have advice on the baby not talking much,only that my pediatrican told me once that don't cater to the noises they make, make them ask me for stuff. If you ignore the noises they make, for like wanting a drink, etc. etc., they will start to talk more because they will have to. Play music (childrens music)especially the classical music, like the mozart for math, that is geared towards baby brains. Also, I read about your 6 year old daughter that lives with her father in NC and he is making it hard for you to see her. I understand what you are going through and it is hard. I have twins that just turned 7 and me and my ex seperated when they were turning 3. I lived her in Fl and he moved back to Ga. After about 5 months, he asked if they could come visit for a week while he was on vacation and I said sure. (everything was cordial..we were only seperated). Well when the week was up, and I went to pick them up, he never showed up, refused to give them back, 3 months of court and they felt I was only wanting them to spite him, so they let him keep them. Talk about a bomb explode in my heart. I was a stay at home mom, since they were born, and the judge did not care. I did get to have them for a week each month until they started school, and now just certain holidays, and a few weeks in the summer. Even after the court order, he makes everything so difficult. They want to stay and tell me we want to live with you, but they are not old enough yet as per the judge. They have to be 12 now. I still have a hard time with it. I feel so guilty, because I want to be a part of their shcool and It is not easy with the distance. I have a 14 year old daughter that lives with me, and they are so jealous and dont understand and is pure he** every visit. He is still difficult, but I bite my tongue so much, because I dont want him to make it harder for me. I am sorry for what he puts you through, just thought you would like to know, that you are not alone. Take Care.

Sincerely,
T. C.
____@____.com

My daughter is 23 months old and talks in full sentences and has been talking well since 12 months. But every child is different. I think reading to them and talking to them normally (not baby talk) helps a lot! He should be saying more words at this age so try working with him on saying new things and make it a fun game for him.

This is my first time on here and I saw your request. I also have a 19 month old little boy and a 6 year old girl. Kody is not really talking too much either. He says Mama, Dada, baba, and bye bye. I have also thought that maybe I have something to worry about. So I wish that I could give you some advice but instead maybe you can let me know or vice versa if you find anything out.

Hi

I definitely think that when they are ready they will. My son is 22 months old and he says very few words. If you know that his hearing is well that I wouldn't worry about it but if the doctor want take that precaution of a speech therapist it wouldn't hurt anything.

Boys tend to talk later than girls. I wouldn't worry just yet. If he is still not saying much by his second birthday I'd make the appointment just to be sure.

Listen to what your doctor says - speech therapy is not a bad thing! It can only help your child - and the earlier it is started (when needed) the better. It is not something that he will not enjoy - as long as you have a therapist who specializes in early childhood - it will be fun and beneficial for him. Good luck!

Childrens diagnostic and treatment center. My best advice do not wait and dont take it lightly it could be terrible for your child later if you do. Use preschool and any therapy the county is willing to give you.Early intervention is critical, anything caught and treated early can make a world of difference.

M. B.
Mom to an autistic 5 year old

C.- I think the earlier that you intervene the better. I would take him to see a speech therapist now. Also, try sign language. I checked a book out from the library and was amazed and how quickly my son picked it up!
good luck
K.

Hi, well, i had the same problem with my oldest son who know is 7 yrs old. He was three years old and had the vocabulary of a one year old. We did take him to the speech specialist, who confirmed our concerns, however, due to some problem with the insurance he never ended up going to the therapies. But, in my case i assume it was because of the two languages (he`s bilingual) and sometimes that confuses kids. I do suggest that little my little, start teaching him things, and ask him to repeat it, if he points at something dont give it to him, just ask him to say it first and also NO BABY TALK!! hope i helped!!

M. P.

My son had that problem but it was due to the fact that he had had recurrent ear infections and had a build up of fluid behind his ear drums which caused him to not be able to hear well which in turn made him not want to talk because he could not hear the sounds clearly..The day he had tubes put in his ears he went home and that night said momma clear as day where before it had been ma ma at best..If your son has had ear infections then have his hearing checks by a ENT to make sure he is hearing ok..Otherwise if that is not the case he will talk on his own time..Some children talk early others wait awhile especially if they have older siblings that will talk for them so that they don't have to talk or even if they have adults that will figure out what they want without them having to actually say what they want..Hope this helps
K. Gainesville

My best friend's son did the same thing and he needed speech therapy. She says that the sooner you get the therapy, the better. They are less likely to be behind. He has been in therapy for a little over a year now and is doing well. I think you should at least go see the therapist.
E. from Miami, mom of 2 girls (4 & 2).

I"m worried with this as well. My daughter is 16 months old and i know she should say some words, and all she says is Bobo (dog's name), and daddy... or at least is sounds like it and she uses it when she's calling either one of us. I think she's just being lazy though. I'm taking her to the doc next week and see what he says. May be h e'll pick up more words very quickly, i heard kids can do that and just one day start spitting them otu left and right! Good luck!

Hi C.. Quite honestly, if there isn't any type of baby talking going on in the home, and you speak to him as though he is your equal....basically using correct grammar, he will talk in due time. There honeslty isn't anything wrong with him in my opinion. When my daughter was his age, she was the same way....very limited speech. She is now 27 months and she still has her rambling moments, but for the most part she is speaking full sentences....approx. 2-4 words sentences which is normal for her age....sometimes even longer. She is actually going through the stage where she is repeating everything I say as soon as i say it, so she is learning. If you speak to your son and he can follow most of your commands with no problem, then it is only a matter of time. Don't sweat bricks, he'll be fine. Just speak to him like you do your equal, or an older child and if you ask him or tell him to do something and he doesn't understand, then just go and show him. For ex. go get me the remote. If he is confused than get up and show him what you mean. He will than learn your commands as well being in the process of learning words and sentence structure. That is the way she learned and now even though she uses sentences, she's not a rambling child as of yet, but she knows what to say if she wants something. Don't use baba for bottle if he is still on one or anything short of what the item really is called. Call it a bottle or a blanket a blanket, not a blanky. He'sll be fine. Keep me posted ok? And let me kmnow how things turn out. I'm very interested in knowing. Take care.

i don't think it is time to worry yet. kids hit a point that they suddenly learn many words a day, he will hit that point soon enough. I think doctors are TOO proactive these days :). I used to watch a 2 1\2 year old who only said cookie and mam-ma....then one day she just started talking, now she wont shut-up at 3 1\2 ;)

I have a friend who has the same problem with her 18 month old girl and they told her the same thing. I told her that I had another friend who's daughter did not talk much, and she asked the doctor, and they told her it was because her daughter did not feel the need to talk much because she knew what her daughter wanted without her having to verbalize, so she started making her ask for what she wanted. I don't know how often that helps. My friend was a stay at home mom so she was always with her daughter.