Speech - Sullivan,MO

My daughter didn't say a word until she was 18 months,then out of the blue she spoke in complete sentences
Who knows what they are doing in those little heads
Don't worry she will talk when she is ready

At 15 months my son wasn't saying many words either (or any). We have had a few hearing tests over the past few years at St. Louis Children's Hospital Audiology department. At 15 months we started looking into First Steps - the Missouri program for services to kids who qualify. My son didn't qualify for speech therapy (you need a certain % delay and although he was delayed it wasn't enough) so we elected to do private speech therapy which wasn't covered by our insurance. We did private speech therapy from 18 months until he started preschool where he qualified for services for free through the school district (provided by Special School District of St. Louis).

I wouldn't wait to have a speech therapist evaluate your child. My son is 5 and still has speech therapy. A hearing problem was never found but we continue to test him periodically. The speech therapist helps me learn how to help and support him so that he continues his progress. It turns out that he also needs occupational therapy for fine motor skills.

Your child may be within the normal range still but I would recommend a professional taking a look. The earlier you get on top of any problem the better. Speech therapy certainly won't hurt - even for kids without a speech delay. You could wait but why? There's a downside to waiting, and no down side to getting started in finding out what's going on. Good luck.

E.,
My little man was the same way. Parents as Teachers can help give you ideas to get him talking...just playing games and pointing things out to him. They can also get you help if he doesn't start speaking (which I doubt will be the case). My little guy is talking now...much more than he was. I had him tested by the county, but he wasn't behind enough to qualify for assistance. They also sent me a packet of things to do to assist him. My advice is #1 try PAT...they are great for seeing you through all your kids milestones up til they enter Kindergarten. #2 Read to him, point things out to him repeatedly. #3 Relax and know its really not that unusual.

Good Luck!

Good Morning E. ( love your name) Zane is 2 the 23 of this month, he says momma, daddy, nana, papa, bubba for brother, Emme(gr mama in TX), shoe, truck. but that is about all he will say. He hears great and understands everything we say to him but he won't use words. He is the last gr child, so he's the bay. His mom thinks it's probably all of our faults since he is the baby we haven't forced him to speak his words. I dod flash cards with him and he carries a few around with him. E Elephant, B ball and that's it. I didn't or wasn't able to work as much with him as I did his brother Corbin. Zane will not sit on your lap to read or play word games, I can get him to repeat the abc's up to H and then he stops.

We haven't looked into PAT as yet, but I think it is time for his mom to ask anyway. He has his 2 yr check up the 27th so will be interesting to see what his ped thinks and suggests.

I adore this little guy but he is one little corkier with a terrible temper. *Laughing* some days it makes me wish I liked beer....lol

God Bless you and your little one E.
K. Nana of 5

Hi Ester,

It is not uncommon for little ones to not speak. Do you allow him to point and make noise and then attend to what he wants? A lot of parents do this and don't realize they are. Try telling him to use his words when he is pointing instead of just attending to him. This will encourage him to talk.

Good luck!

N.

Chill out. 14 months is very young. Some children hardly speak at all until age 2, and they are fine. Just keep talking to him/her where s/he can see your mouth move. S/he will get it.

E.,
Dont worry about it,hun.Kids talk when they want,not when we want.My 22mo old is only saying a few words and making a few animal noises.Her hearing is fine,too.I would just make sure you talk and read to him/her alot. Some of the others mentioned P.A.T. Absolutely. I love our ladies.They give great ideas and suggestions.And they can also help with awareness on what and when to actually worry about something. :) Dont stress it.

some kids just take longer to talk. If there are not a lot of other kids around then they can take longer. My first child took longer to talk and walk but my last one (#4) was walking and talking before a year old. I think she was just trying to be like the bigger kids. Maybe take him/her around some other children on a regular basis. If you are still concerned you should be able to find some DVD's that encourage speech development. If they say mama or dada then I think everything is right on track. Keep practicing with your child too. Out of the blue they seem to just start talking and you won't know what hit you then!

E.,
get a consult with a speech therapist, my grandson was the same, and he is now 3 1/2 with a vocabulary of a 6 yr old!

14 months is a little young to be worried about talking. My oldest didn't start talking to he was 2 years and he hasn't stopped yet. It's doesn't reflect future intelligence because my son is in all advance placement classes and he started school a year ahead of everyone else (age 4)

My daughter didn't talk until closer to 18 months maybe 22 months. then all of a sudden by her 2nd birthday she was talking like she had done it for years. people still exclaim at how well she speaks for a 3yo.
I would think that you could know if your own child can hear if she responds to your words, not by talking. I was concerned for my daughter way back when she was not talking, so i spoke really softly (a yes or no question)near one side of her head and then the other to make sure both ears were working.
She was just busy observing, taking it all in, processing and then spitting it out all at once like a pro.
Another note, to make life a little easier is to do some sort of sign language with your little one. SO many babies pick it up around a year old, but mine didn't get it until maybe 17 months.

Who did the hearing test? If you didn't take him/her to an ENT I would recommend going there. My kid had the same problem but was undiagnosed with fluid on the ears...even though he wasn't having ear infections he couldn't hear anything (basically like he was hearing everything being underwater). It wasn't officially caught until the speech therapist from our infant/toddler program caught it and the only reason why he did was because he had had it when he was a kid and all three of his boys had it.

So, my recommendation would be a good ENT...I can highly recommend Dr. Pamela Nicklaus at Children's Mercy in KC...she was the one that ultimately put in my son's tubes and she was AWESOME!!! Great and compitent staff as well!