Any Moms with 19 Month Old Boys Not Talking Yet?

Hi D.,
There is a WONDERFUL remedial therapist in Prescott, Joan Treadaway. She will let you know if this is normal or not. She has worked miracles with children.
Sorry I don't have her contact info.

My son didn't start talking until right around his second birthday. I had started to get worried. He did this weird thing when he babbled where he wouldn't open his throat. But then, all of a sudden, he just started with real words that sounded just like every other kid. After that, no problems. My nephew was the same way, minus the throat thing. And the same with my friend's son. All of them, right around the second birthday the words just came flowing out. They are all about a year apart, so by the time my friend, who's son was youngest, started to worry, I'd seen it twice. And low and behold, two-year-old blabbermouth.
I know it's freaky, but just try to calm down and wait. There will come a day when you wish he never started talking ;)

Had to add my 2 cents...my son did about the same thing as your son. At 18-19 months he was jumping and starting to balance on one foot. He was physically hitting all the milestones and sometimes ahead, but his verbal skills were behind the "average."

My pediatrician didn't seem worried about it at all. She explained that sometimes regression happens. Anyway, at 30 months, my son went from saying only a couple words, amongst his babbling, to increasing his spoken vocabulary to 10+ words and putting 2 word sentences together. Now, he's almost 36 months his vocabulary increases every day.

Every child is different. But, if you are still concerned (perhaps there's some history of someone in the family that has had hearing problems from very young or speech delay, etc.) then certainly a trip to the doctor would certainly help eliminate any medical reasons.

My son (who is now 3 1/2) had 5 words at 2 years. Our doctor recommended we go through AZIP (a state run program) to have him evaluated. By the time we finally got a speech therapist to come out, he had already started talking. It was literally just one day he started repeating words that I said (he had never done this before). After that, he was adding to his vocabulary at a pretty dramatic rate. When he was close to 3, the therapist reevaluated him and they found him to be within the normal range. He was what the speech therapist called a "classic late talker". I think speech wise, he's still slightly behind his peers, but it's nowhere near as dramatic as it was a year ago. I'm guessing within a year or so we'll never know that there had been a problem.

In my research, it seems to be more common in boys to talk late, although I don't understand why. I now have an 18 month old daughter who is as the opposite end of the scale vocabulary wise, and I have done nothing differently with the two of them. I think the key is knowing that your son understands what you are saying. For instance, if you ask him to do something (get his shoes, throw something away, etc.) does he do it? It was always obvious that my son understood what was being said to him, he just never talked back. Once he did start to speak, I would manipulate him in a way. For instance, he loves grapes. So I would sit him down and put the grapes in front of him but out of reach, and he couldn't have any until he either said "more" or used the sign for more. Before you do this, just make sure he has either the words or signs for what you want him to ask for, otherwise it will be very frustrating for both of you.

I'm sorry this was so long, but I agonized over this for a year, so I wanted to share my experience. Good luck!

Hi D.,
I'm a mom of 2 boys, and did baby sign with both of them. They both started using the signs effectively by 19 months, and talking slid in second.

I had a speech therapist tell me once that once an infant "learns" a word (like mama or papa) they will stop using it for a time, almost like they're making room for new words.

Good luck!
t

Probably what concerns you most is that he said words and is no longer saying them. My son did the same thing. By 2 years old he was barely even saying Mama and Dadda - things he had said around 18 months. He is now 2 1/2 and beginning to say complete sentences. Although, I am often times the only one who can understand him. He has trouble with making a lot of sounds. Up until now, it was more like mumbling and whining. The most important thing is that your son seems to understand words when you tell him things. As for his speech, it will come later. He may need a little assistance from a speach therapist which may come in the form of a free state funded early childhood intervention program. Your peditrician can write up a referral if he is still not talking at his 2 year well visit. Best wishes!

My son would say single words, juice, toy, cup etc...but never in sentences or he'd only say "milk peeze" while holding his cup out until he was two and a half. then one day he just started adding more words together and suddenly was talking in complete sentences. He wasn't fluently verbal until he was three and a half. He is fine and communicates quite well now...for a 12 year old boy! He was also very imaginative and would play for hours making weird noises and stuff. (still does)

Hi D.. I just wanted to respond to you to let you know that my first son was 22 months old before he uttered his first word. I was starting to get very concerned about him. All the other kids in his class were talking and starting to put words together, but he would just point and grunt. Then one day it just happened! The floodgates opened and he hasn't stopped talking since (He's 4 years old now). I hear it is very common for boys, especially the first born, to be later at starting to talk, so don't worry. It's also common for them to have words and then stop using them (mine did that a little bit too). One thing our pediatrician suggested when I had myself all worked up about it was get him board books with photographs of common household items that you can look at and name (there's a huge selection at B&N in the kids section). That really seemed to help him a lot. But my advice to you is to please don't worry. He'll talk when he's ready. The lack of silence in my house is proof of that! =)

Have you discussed this with your doctor ?? A friend of ours have a child that did something similar and they found that he was having seizures in his brain ( I forget the name for it - not a stroke though.) But it caused him to babble nonsense instead of talk. After surgery he is doing much better. I'm not trying to say that he has that. However,my point is that you should discuss this with with your doctor to rule out ear infections, autism, or even a meeting with a speech therapist if your doctor deems it necessary to see if this is considered normal for his age. It's good to keep your doctor informed so they can help you better.

My daughter is only 6 months old so I don't have PERSONAL experience with this BUT a good friend and two of the boys at daycare had the same problem. In all 3 cases it turned out to be fluid in the child's ears causing the sudden issues with speech- the hearing is muffled so they speak less. 2 of the 3 kids have gotten the tube surgery and are both starting to chatter a whole lot the more and third little boy is scheduled for the surgery soon. I could be way off base but thought I'd mention it since I know of 3 kids with the same issue and resolution! Good luck :)

Don't panic! My 3rd son was 4 before he put two words together! He is dyslexic, but at 14 is working at grade level, is an actor and loves writing stories for film. We've homeschooled the whole way which has made a difference I'm sure. He talked a combination of ewok and klingon for years. We laugh about it now. We did teach him sign language which also helped with the communication. Best wishes and if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.
K.

I have a 21 month boy who is just now starting to say words. So far, he is saying mama, car and ball. I have 2 other children (girls ages 6 and 3) and they did not start saying their first words until they were about 18 months old... and now I can't get them to be quiet! LOL As long as they understand what you are saying to them, the language development is there... so no worries. Also, if your child is communicating in other ways... pointing to what he wants, facial expressions and other body language then that is also great. Don't worry... he'll start talking soon! I promise!

If he hadn't yet talked at all, I would say all is fine and encourage signing with him. But because he used to talk more and there's been a regression in his speech quantity and quality, I would have it checked out, as that is a big indicator of hearing loss/issues. Good luck! Hopefully all is well, but you want to be sure.

I think both my sons did this. They started talking and then just kind of stopped, but then one day, they started talking again!

I would be worried if he was not making eye contact with you. To my understanding, children with degrees of autism stop looking at you and that is a form of connecting and communication.

None-the-less, whenever I have a concern, I usually bring it up with my pediatrician.

Don't freak out but my best advice is to do what we were late in doing. Seek out the Department of Economic Securities and ask about the Disabilities Department for services for your son. My son entered the program around 2-1/4. He has speach and a little development delay. He is now in a special preschool. THe Disabilities Department here in AZ sent three therapists- occupational, speech, and development out to our house! They made wonderful progress but told us that it would have been better if we acted before then. I didn't know any better since I was a first time mom and dismissed my husbands concerns. Bad mistake. Don't worry, if he gets help now that doesn't mean that he'll be 'marked' as a special needs child. It doesn't work like that unless he gets diagnosed with autism or such. There have been many success cases in which by the time they are in Kindergarden all is normal. These services in my state are state and federally funded and cost nothing!!

While all children develop at different rates, there are some basic things to watch for. If a child stops using particular words, but is still learning words that is ok. If a child learns words and then regresses (goes back to babbling) that is concerning. There are other things to look for as well. Someone already mentioned eye-contact, that is good if you really understand how to measure eye-contact (you need to measure it across people, not just the parent(s), you need to be aware of truly where your child is looking, etc).

I know not every kid has autism or other developmental delay, but as a mom who has three kids that have autism, it is worth making an appointment to discuss the concern you have about speech (as well as any other unusual or non-typical development or regression).

One of my children also benefitted from tubes in his ears (he had constant fluid behind his ears).

While development will look different in all children, there are some basic thresholds that are recognized.
1 yr that can't sit up or roll over
2 yr old that doesn't put two words together 'daddy bye-bye" (please and thank you don't count as part of those words)
2 yr old that can't walk
children that regress (go backwards in development)

This isn't the time to "freak out", but it definitely is the time to check into it. Talk with your pediatrician and call AzEIP ###-###-#### if you continue to have concerns or if your pediatrician recommends it.