My 18 Month Old Still Not Talking

hi L.!!

I was in the same exact situation!!! When we had our 18 month appointment my son only had about 5 words, otherwise he was a perfect little 18 months old, walking, babbling, etc. the doctor referred us to the Regional Center for testing. They are super nice there but after testing him they told me he had severe Autism and had to be in an intense program right away.

I FREAKED out because there was absolutely no sign of anything like that. So i spent about $1000 and went to a well known specialist in Orange County and the specialist told me that he didn't see any signs of Autism in him, there might be some speech delay but nothing more than that. You can't imagine my relief!!!

So my advice is meet with the regional center, but make sure you go at a time when he is well rested and fed, do it when he is in a good mood, becasue the minute he doesn't do what they want him to do like respond to them it seems like its a negative mark.

When i scheduled my appointment with the regional center i didn't know and i thought first available would be good becasue i wanted to know and help my son as quickly as possible, so we went at 5:30 before dinner time at the end of the day and it didn't go well. And they also asked me questions like does he carry things around the house, does he look at ceiling fans, how does he do in new situations...and i didn't know what they were looking for and i answered their questions wrong...i mean which kid doesn't carry cars around with them or trains, but he wasn't obsessed with them, he would leave one and pick up another, he would look at fans but it wasn't think blank look and staring like possessed you know? I didn't know these things...live and learn.

..so with the second opinion we opted out of the intense program and still agreed with the speech therapy they offered, it was free, why not, and he did great within 6 months we were caught up and exceeded expectations and did not qualify any more. oh thats the other thing, your son has to be 30% delayed for him to qualify for the program, FYI.

I hope I didn't freak you out oo much and this helps.

Now he is 2.5 years old and i wish he would be quiet :) So go to the regional center, take their advice and anything they will give you for free but i'd make sure your son is in a good mood when they do the testing, and remember you know your son the best, and take what they say with a grain of salt.

Let me know if you have any questions.

H.

Hi L.. My name is J. and I have a 25 month old son. He was born premature and was delayed in speech. I was told by his physical therapist that until a child completely masters walking, much of their mind space is taken up concentrating on walking, but after that their speach will take off. For us this was very true and at 18 months he began with single words and at 25 months he speaks better than many other children his age. He went through the RCOC program and they also told me they aren't concerened about speech until a child is two, but will eval starting at 18 months. All this said, I wouldn't be too concerned, but as a mom, I would probably still go in and have him tested, to be on the safe side. Good luck! If you want to chat more, feel free to email me at ____@____.com

if his pediatrician isnt worried that is probably a good sign. but first and foremost always trust your motherly instinct! (if you already are) just keep talking to him in a normal voice and enunciate your words clearly to him, about everything you guys do together and everything you see when you are with him. as long as he is trying to copy your sounds, he should be on the right track! everybody takes their time with one thing or the other.

also, i did see an article on the news right before christmas about children under the age of two who watch television have stunted speech. however my two yr old daughter speaks in clear full sentences (and even corrects my husbands grammar!) and has been saying words since she was four months old, and we all watch TV, so I really think it just depends on the child.

Our son was a late talker and my dr also suggested an evaluation at 18 mo. I contact Regl Center of OC and loved it. They determined that he needed speech therapy, he was in speech therapy for 2 years. Regl Center made everything very easy and explained the various steps along the way. Our son had speech therapy at Newport Language. We were really pleased with the therapist. When he turned 3, he no longer qulaified for RCOC, so he then moved to Saddleback School District's speech program. Saddleback has some wonderful therapists . Overall this was a wonderful thing. Our son is now 5 and speaks very well, you'd never know he had speech for 2 years. We also taught him sign language early on, and that was a blessing. He became less frustrated and was able to let us know what he wanted. Highly recommend it. Hope this helps and good luck.

Hi: I know exactly what you are experiencing. My grandsons had/have the same problems and also went through the Regional Center of OC. My oldest grandson did not talk until he was 3 1/2 years old. He is now in kindergarten and speaks very well although still has speech therapy once a week at school for some of pronunciation of some sounds. He's also a computer whiz with an advanced vocabulary. His 2 year old brother says "yes, Mama, Mo (for No), and this". That's all. He is in speech therapy also. Both boys had 100% comprehension and are very bright. It seems to be a boy thing as their 4 year old sister is a typical kid. The boys also have underlying health issues that have never been completely explained and may be related to the late speech. The younger boy has immune system problems and is often sick. There seem to be some metabolic issues in both boys. They are both bright, happy and loving kids. It was very frustrating for the older boy when he was unable to express himself. He went to ICEC which taught him some sign language which released a lot of his frustration until he could talk. The Regional Center has been great. They may advise you to see specialists to check for any other problems. There is a wonderful book called Late Talking Children by Thomas Sowell that may be helpful to you. Some kids, especially boys, take longer to talk. Good luck!

Hi L.,
I totally understand how you feel. My son is going to be 19 months on 2/4 and he is also not talking. He began to "talk" at about 12 months saying things like "dada", "mama", "ba" (ball) etc. but then he stopped when he figured that the few signs that he was using was working to get what he wants. He started babbling again about a month ago and is a lot more vocal now. My pediatrician told me not to worry about it for now and to call her at around 21 months if he still wasn't saying anything. She would also refer me to the Regional Center. I am not too worried, since he can totally understand simple or even complex statements like "We're leaving, please go get your shoes and jacket" and he will have no problems following those instructions. I say, just hang in there and see how it goes. I have heard so many things about boys being late speakers....so....we'll just have to wait!
:)

V.