Help My 19Th Mo Old Talk

Sign Language really helps them with talking, I know it sounds weird and you might think that well maybe my child will depend only on sign language and that's not what I want! I thought the same thing but it really helped! I bought my son baby einstein videos with the sign language and he really loved them, he's five and he still watches them! Good Luck!

My little brother talked REALLY late, was in tons of speech therapy, and has grown up to be a very intelligent man. There is always hope. Stay positive!

You sound like you're on top of it and already doing everything you can do. I bought the Baby Einstein videos for my little boys and I believe it helped them talk sooner and really gave them a large vocabulary at an early age. They even have "Baby's First Signs" and things like that if you want to elaborate on the signing which might be a great idea since you'll be able to communicate in the meantime..until he starts using his words more and more. I do not think learning how to sign will developmentally stunt him from talking later...only help him communicate now faster and easier. I'm not an expert though, that is just my opinion. Let us know how it goes.

*As Jacy mentioned, a "speech delay" is so subjective, UNLESS it has been clinically deemed that your child has developmental issues/delays...such as Dysphagia or Apraxia. MANY boys, talk later anyway.

Einstein & Mozart did not talk until 3 years old. MANY "geniuses" were late in talking.
So, if a child really has a "speech delay" depends....the Speech Therapists, per the assessments, gauges how many words per the age, a child speaks (even partial words counts)....then from this, they see a quantitative degree to which a child is "delayed" in speech. THIS is what they did with my son, after an OVERALL developmental assessment, of the whole child.

My son, I have speech therapy for him because it is "free" AND as a Mom, I felt it would arm me with known techniques to educate myself on it. BUT, my son REALLY enjoys his speech therapy....and he LOVES his Speech Therapist... he knows, its something just for him, and it's special. AND, he enjoys learning from them. So, it's positive. And he is "proud" of his talking accomplishments. He has gotten less shy about talking... or even trying. AND it is also just a reflection of his 'natural' progression of talking... but the Speech Therapy does help and provides quantitative and qualitative "results." At least for my son. And his Speech Therapist is very good.

Don't be paranoid, don't be impatient. It will come.

My son sees a Speech Therapist, twice a month,...since he was about 19-20 months old. My son is now 2.5 years old. We use the tips they give us. It works... per each child. Each child is different.
The grandson of my daughter's teacher, also sees a speech therapist and he is 2.5 years old too. He has a different "progress" than my son who is the same age.

Our Speech Therapist says, that "boys" OFTEN talk later. It is gender based. She says that about 80% of her clients are "boys."

Don't rush it. DON'T compare your son to others. DO NOT be self-conscious about it. Just be proud FOR him. I used to get comments from other Mom's about "how come your son doesn't talk yet.... is something wrong with him?" No.. there is nothing wrong with my son. He had an overall assessment and he is even 'advanced' in several developmental areas. He is just delayed in talking. So what.
AND he is also bi-lingual, competently, in each language.

Each child will progress differently.
Remember, that "talking" does not have to be "perfectly" articulated either. Even singing is 'talking.'

Rest assured, it's fine. Don't alarm yourself unless his Speech Therapist is.

You do NOT need "products" to speed up his talking. Just use the techniques that the Speech Therapist uses, and duplicate that... because, CONSISTENCY and repetition is important. And as a Mom, you will learn from them, how to help your son best per HIS situation.

All the best,
Susan

boys are gennerally slower talking then girls are. my twin nephews are 2 and still only say about 5 words - dada mom poop eat and no. now on the other hand my 25 month old daughter has a 3 year old level speech ability. she also still babbles a little. i read to her every night and alot of her toys talk. if she points to something i say what it is then ask her to say it. i ask her to find things in picture books and she does.
i dont think your son has a speech delay nor do i think have these kids parents think have a speech delay do. what i did was talk to my daughter a lot! i would point things out and say the name. also my personal opinion is that i find it hard to believe that i dr can diagnose a child under 3-4 years with a speech delay since babies develope SOOOOOO differently.
i never really talked as a toddler because i was frusterated that i couldnt form a whole sentence. also in like 6th grade i was tested for being slow because i was failing classes. come to find out after hours of testing i was above average and not being challenged the right way.
i think your just impatiant with your child not talking. also another thing i did with my daughter was a NO baby talk rule. this is how i see it if your child can understand baba why cant he/she understand bottle. but anyways thats my opinion and you will do anything you feel is best with your baby. if you feel he need speech therapy (that you can basically do at home) then put him in it.

I'm glad you had him evaluated. Did they notice any other areas of concern? If he is pretty normal in other areas of development, I wouldn't be too freaked out about it.

My first daughter was the same way. I did some speech therapy with her and taught her signs, had her hearing checked etc. After she was FULLY 2 (like, maybe 26 months old) she started talking. The first thing she said to me was "Hat wet" because her hat was, of course, wet. After that she said 3, 4 and 5 word sentences within the same week. She is 7 years old, and I now understand that it is her personality that caused the delay. She is a perfectionist, and not one to jump into a new activity until she understands what is involved. Don't worry. He is still very young and he has lots to think about right now. The sign language will help him to communicate his needs to you, and his speech will come.

I would cut out or cut down on wheat and dairy. Really cut back or eliminate milk and substitute with something else like rice milk. Also, put a 1/2 t. of cod liver oil (Carlsons is great) in his juice or a smoothie or something. The EFA's really do wonders for the brain and speech.

Hello, I would suggest that you continue in the direction you are currently in. Our second child (who is now 39) was later in talking than his older sister. One day, he just started talking in perfect sentences. Our oldest grandson, who is not 13 was also slower at speaking in sentences and didn't speak clearly was very bright in other things. He is now very articulate and in excelled classes. He just didn't see the need to have a lot of conversation. He does now and has quite a sense of humor. I guess I want to say, it will come.
Good luck with your precious son.
K. K.

Please have his hearing checked. If everything is okay, then just talk, talk, talk. Engage him in conversation; Talk about anything and everything!

Also, my daughter's school class had these really great "phones" for learning reading. It was a piece of PVC pipe (about 4 inches) with a PVC elbow on each end. When you talk into it, you can hear what you say very clearly (sound goes from your mouth to your own ear with no echo). It may be a fun "tool" to help him practice!

I know it's difficult to wait when you think he should be farther along in his development. It's your job as the mom to pay attention to these things. However, I have a little story for you... My girlfriends son didn't walk until he was 2 (seriously), then he only had 6 words in his vocabulary until a few months after his 3rd birthday. He understood everything and could play games and follow directions, just didn't really speak. After his 3rd birthday he began to develop his vocabulary and caught up very quickly. He is 5 now and in kindergarden. His school and parents are trying to figure out what to do with him because they just discovered that he can read and do math at a 3rd grade level.
My point is that he has been working at his own pace all along and he is doing very well.

I have 6! The first girl talked full sentences at 12 months!! The first boy talked at almost 3years OLD!!! Each one has their own time line. Each one started at different times, the last one (16months) does not talk! I don't care she will catch up to the rest of the world soon enough! Sounds like your doing fine, take a breath and don't stress quit so much. He is awful young to be this worried, they should be talking before Kindergarten...:) HAVE FUN, this stage of life is WAY TO SHORT..enjoy it.Give him a hug and kiss, he will be talking before you know it, and some days you will wonder WHY????

HI Sarah,
My husband is a speech Path. and he said that speech is developmental and especially if your son has a speech delay things will take that much longer,so just be patient, everything that you are doing is great. The parent's biggest job is to be a cheerleader, just support your son and keep the love flowing, he'll do great!!!!

good luck
L.

Hi Sarah,

There's a lot of good advice on the other posts. A piece of advice that our speech therapist provided was that I hadn't heard before was to start using a straw cup type of sippie. From a face muscle standpoint, the regular sippies work against a childs mouth. The straw sippies, or just straws in a cup help strengthen the correct muscles and teach control necessary for forming words.

Hang in there! There are many kids in the same boat. Most are just natural late talkers. My daugher is 2 1/2 and finally starting to increase her words. She now is able to learn at least one new word a week and we are excited!

First thing to remember is this has nothing to do with how smart he is or will be. I was in the same boat. My son started the speech classes at age 3. I asked constantly about help. Finally I met someone who knew about speech classes for little people. Your son is still really young just do what the teachers tell you to do. He'll pick it up really fast. I also enrolled my son in pre-school at age 4 this is when he really toke off. They were ok with him talking baby talk because it was at least speaking. Pre-school got him to sing and that made my heart sing. I had my daughters work with him on the Phonics game at age 4 also. We figured that if he learned the sounds of the letters and then learned to read he would understand the word correctly instead of the baby talk way. (woggy for froggy) type thing. This did help. Sometimes we hear things diffrently then they really are. That's why we have to have people repeat things sometimes. So it makes perfect sense that our little people do the same.

You asked what more can you do. I say, go for play dates, find some mommy and me classes for his age. Do park days, swimming classes. Anything you can to get him in social situations where people will talk to him and he needs to speak for himself. This is where they learn that others don't understand what he wants without him using his words. Mommy and daddy give in and have learned what he wants. Others don't. If he want's a candy at the store make him buy it. This helps with shyness also. Though yours is still a little to young for that yet.

He'll catch on fast you'll be surprized. My son started talking at three. By kindergarden the teacher had no clue he had ever needed help in the first place. He spoke like a big kid with no baby talk, and could read many words. All the ones he talked baby talk we taught him the correct words. He's a straight O student. O is for outstanding,the highest in grades K thru 2nd. He'll be a 3rd grader next school year. His favorite subject is Math. He amazes me how fast he adds in his head.

Good luck to you, it sounds like he has a great caring mommy. Happy Mom's Day to you. J.

Sarah, Have you had a formal evaluation done of your childs hearing?
My son was delayed but he also was having alot of allergy troubles. Had fluid on his ears, but wasn't having ear infections. After this was discovered, he had tubes inserted and his speech improved dramatically!
I would suggest a GOOD hearing eval. Not just the raise your hand if you hear a sound type.
D.

Hi Sarah,
Your child is fine :) My child went through the same problem with our now 15 year old son. He was three years old when he still was not really saying much words. Sometimes when two parents speak two different languages (my hubby is a Texan and I'm islander), can also be the cause of the speech delay. But our son at three years old loved everything about Barney. That was like his teacher, and he picked up and started off from there, plus, we decided to use one language (english) in the house for his sake. As a psychology specialist, children will never be on the same page. There are children that are on the fast speed than others, some may delay their progression than others, some mature faster than others, some develop speech faster than others, but that does not mean that there is a seriousness in them. My son who went through it, now 15 yrs old, he still has his own pace on things but he makes A's and B+ at school. He takes his time on his homeworks but he well prepares himself and end up with great grades. Then his younger brother, our now 14 year old, he developed speech so much earlier than our older one, he is always quick on things, he never slows down, he developed and progressed so much faster than the older one. His homeworks and school works? Teacher reports he scripples last minute's notes, poor handwriting, takes him less than an hour to finish his homeworks then disappears from the house, the messy one of all three (we have seven children. five boys and two girls. three grown and left for the military and three more at home, one died at birth. my husband retired from the military and I joined). So this 13 year old gets the most restrictions because his room is messier than the other two, the first one to disappear when I lay out the chores, making B's and C's, etc. The only time he kicks up A's is when he knows football season is around the corner and he knows he doesn't want to miss football (Bop Warner Football League). Then our youngest one. He started spitting out words very clearly at 19 months old. Just like yours. He just won't stop talking for five minutes...The only thing that quiet him was Barney...lol. We go walking to my older boys school, he talks, come home, won't stop, etc. He is now 11 years old, a school President, never dropped from straight A's, and always participating with youth functions, library employees calling to ask for him because he is there after school helping other children with their homeworks, and the employees there organize other upcoming events. It scares me. Everytime I turn around he is needed for something...a fast paced kid...lol. It's a lot but know that every children has their own pace on things. Watch what their favorite thing to do like tv programs, take him for walk and watch what he likes to do while outdoors, take him for a ride and watch what excites him, then you work it from there. Let him listen to music, determine what he likes to hear, what his favorite books are and work from there. But if you force him to do something he does not like to do, you will be more worried because he will rebel...lol...Just let him take his time. I did the same. I just stepped on the side since and watch, and let them go with their own flow. Our messy child, started decorating his room, his bed fixed, room vacuumed, etc., before leaving the house, and his chores done. Why? He didn't like his $10 allowance while his brothers get $30 every pay day. So he knew what he had to do...lol...It worked for me :) you will be fine :)

The best thing I did was constantly talk to my daughter. Starting from the day she was born, I always talked to her about EVERYTHING - what I was doing, what I was seeing/smelling/tasting, I would tell/read her stories, etc... I also used to have "conversations" with her, even before she could talk. For example, if she giggled at something I would say "Oh you think that's funny huh? Yes that's right! Oh I know!" and so on, and then I would "answer" her whenever she made any kind of sound/gibberish. She is now 2 and 2 months and speaks better than most 3 year old kids. She not only speaks in full sentences, but in paragraphs now! (sometimes veryyy long paragraphs about; what she did today, who was there, what she ate, what she saw, etc, etc, etc... LOL)
Trust me, once your son starts, he won't stop! ;) Just keep talking to him and he'll pick it up real fast (Speech therapy will also be great I'm sure! It helped one of my little cousins out a lot!!)
Good Luck!

Sarah,

My oldest child was speech delayed. In spite of early intervention, he didn't start talking until he was over 3 and that was after we started private speech therapy. What early intervention didn't mention is that we weren't just dealing with a speech delay. My son has autism. We got services from them for about a year and they never mentioned that he might have any other issues besides the speech delay. Needless to say, I'm still very pissed about that. We could have been doing a lot more a lot earlier for my son if we would have known what was going on.

That said, my son loves the www.signingtime.com videos and I like them too. They are one of the few shows geared for kids that adults don't think are totally annoying. My son frequently would learn a verbal word and the sign at the same time. The visual representation of words really helped him. Other than that, I had to learn to talk to my son non-stop. A total running monologue "I'm getting the milk - see MILK - out of the fridge, I'm pouring you a cup of MILK" and on and on. Basically you can't talk to a kid who is language delayed too much. And start labeling everything as you touch it or use it. Go through your kitchen when you are making lunch an name everything. Hold up an apple, show it to him and say "apple." My older son is 5 now and he's constantly following my 2 year old around and saying "Wyatt, see, apple, say apple." LOL Because that is what he heard from us for years.

The good news is that my son is now basically fluent but still hard to understand. He has a speech impediment beyond the problems caused by autism. And after 3 years of appropriate therapy and 1 year of crappy services from early intervention, he's definitely considered "high functioning." He's a bright, happy, social kid.

So in addition to EI, private therapy, signing with your child and talking to your son constantly, I'd highly recommend asking every professional working with your child "Does my son have any other issues we should be concerned about." Because if he does, the sooner you start working on them the better. And for whatever reason, many professionals don't volunteer information for fear of offending their clients (or in EI's case, for fear of having to provide more services). So you have to ask.

We put my son in a daycare center setting to help his language skills. That really didn't help. All it did was overwhelm him and the other kids taught him nice things like hitting, kicking and biting. A small, in home daycare with slightly older, highly verbal kids can do wonders for a child with language delays. He'll learn faster from other kids than he will from you.

Good luck to you!
T.

I agree with the previous posters. My middle son is 20 months old and he barely talks. He can he just chooses not to. Until about 2 weeks ago I didnt know he could talk other than a few words. His older brother was saying 2-3 word sentences when he was 18 mo. All kids are different. You cant compare your son to other children.

Hi Sarah,

My advice to you is to allow your son the space he needs to learn at his own pace. He is still very young. Your anxiety is something that he will undoubtedly pick up on. Just relax, know that there isn't one 'right' path for all kids and trust that he will get what he needs when he needs it.

Good luck,
G. B.
www.GilaBrown.com

Been there done that today actually!! My son and I just got home from his appointment with EI. We have been in the program for a few months now and today we were able to meet with the Audiologist. My little dude can't hear! The most important thing is that he is able to communicate what he wants. Check his ears. I thought we were OK because the ENT said that there wasn't infection so he was sure David could hear just fine. The little bitty ones are tough to test and unless they show signs of dramatic hearing loss the ENT is happy. But if everything sounds fuzzy then it comes out of their mouthes fuzzy! Our action plan is to put tubes back in his ears to releive the pressure. When he hears better he'll speak better. I have lots of tricks that I'm sure you already know. Speak to him where he can see your lips at his level. Sing to him a lot. Repeat everything he says correctly even if you know he didn't say it right or even close. Our best results have come from school. We switched him to Montessori school instead of day care and it has been amazing. They are really focused on helping kids learn on their terms. Most schools have a 2 or 3 day program as well as a full week. We really love it and feel like it has made a real difference.

Hi Sarah... glad you asked the question. Sounds like we're in the same boat. My 19-month old is just about to start speech therapy, too (we finally had our last meeting yesterday and are now waiting for the therapist to contact us for our first appointment). Just wanted you to know you're not alone out there and I believe any help we can get is a good thing.

19 months is much too early to be so worried. Many slow talkers end up as very articulate adults. By four,he probably will be fine.
B. v. O.

Does he use a pacifier??? My daughter used one ALL the time, and she didn't really start talking til she was 3, then her little brother started talking, and we took her "binky" away cept at night, she WOW, she's not been quiet since....all kids are different, and I'm sure your son will start talking soon, 19 months is still pretty young....