My Daughter Is Almost 16 Months and Does Not Talk

I was worried too about my daughter mainly because we taught her sign language and at 20 months she still wasn't using any words. We thought because of signs she would never talk, but she finally started out of the blue one day at 21 months. She's now 22 months and starting to form sentences! I'm a member of a mommy group and the mom's all told me that it will just happen one day and then in no time they will be holding conversations and now I see what they were saying. So, give it time and try not to panic. Most of the kids in our group didn't talk until around 20 months either so maybe she will start around then too. :)

My husband practices medicine; he says it's very common for a sibling (second or third child, etc.) to be delayed in talking. But, if you're still concerned because of the prematurity issue, it couldn't hurt to find/ talk to a good pediatrician who focuses on developmental milestones at each well visit.

Don't feel bad...our son is almost 3 years old and he still don't talk at all except for little words like bye bye, cat, mama, da da. Give it time...all kids arent the same. Hope this helps.

Hi C., There is a great screening at the hospital that you can go to. They test hearing, verbal skills, large & fine motor skills, etc. Its a comprehensive test to give you a baseline for your child. If they do find any areas that require improvement, you may be eligible for state funded classes.

I went through something similar with my son at around the same age as your daughter. All of his playmates were talking up a storm and he wasn't. We decided to be patient and continue working with him. Now he is a little over 2 years old and he is beyond many of his peers with regards to his talking. Try not to get discouraged. : )

thanks! A.

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I have a 3 year old and 18 month and my 18 month is just starting to talk a little. My 3 year old started when he was around 13 months. We were not concerned but our MD suggested we take him for free testing at All Children's just in case. I did this last month.Just like your child, he understood everything they were asking, but would point to things instead of talking. He scored high above in many catergories, but was at about 15 month speech. They told me this was normal and not to worry. They told me if at 22-24 months he still was not talking much I could have him screened again. Within in this past month he is really starting to talk, still less than my 1st at this age but I know he will catch up quickly.A lot of people refer to this as the second child syndrome; where the 1st child does all the talking for both children. I would not worry. Good luck

LOL - We have 2 girls that are 5 years apart. Our second had no need to talk, as the oldest was ready and willing to do all the talking and interpreting for her ... she is now 4 and TALKS ALL THE TIME (even in her sleep).

I came from a family of 4 kids and was the oldest. I remember my mom telling people that my brother didn't need to talk as his sisters knew what he wanted/needed and we took care of him.

Your little one sounds like she has the world on a platter like mine did! :)

I have an 18 month old and a 3 yr old. Like you my 3 year old was talking by 18 months, maybe not great but he talked, my 18 month old only says mama dada maddie (our dogs name) and anum (adam) thats it, and it can be frustrating because he points and whines all day long. But our pedi insists that he is just fine, he will talk when he is ready, if you ask him a yes or no question he will shake his head yes or no, they just encourage us to ask him yes or no questions, and then once we know what he wants start telling him about it....just hang in there it will happen