Toddler - Buffalo,MN

Hello, I have a friend who did not speak until he was 4 and then suddenly he decided to talk. He is now a very successful man who is in his early 40's and in fact speaks very well AND gives Public Speech classes! If I were you I would first bring it up with his pediatrician and see what he thinks. Do you have a list of all his words and when he said them? I kept track of all my sons new words in a journal. Kids do start talking at different ages. and it does not necessarily mean they have speech impediment. If the pediatrician recommends that you need to have a speech evaluation, then do it. There are so many times I have called the pediatrician to report something I have found abnormal and he has said: no that's ok, kids are different. I also have a niece who did not walk until she was 22 months old and they did all the tests and she was fine and is now a blossoming 18 year old who can walk, run, swim... no problem.
One more thing. Is your kid in a bilingual household? Sometimes, when kids are spoken to more than one language, they take a little longer to talk but then they start talking both languages at the same time. They are taking the time to assimilate. and you know, maybe if you take it easy on him, like not try to make him "say"the word and instead you just use the word, then he might not feel he is being forced to do something. Toddlers are smart little creatures, they want to take control and that's one very good way :-) Whenever I want to correct my 4 year old I just try to use the same word in a sentence that sounds as if I am just following the conversation so he doesn't think I am correcting him and usually he repeats it again correctly. Hope this helps. I would call the pediatrician and ask for his advice.

Does he talk when you're not working with him? If not and even if he does but he only sats a few words, I urge you to get a speech evaluation. You can do this thru the school district free of charge. My grandson was not talking at 2. He was evaluated and began speech and occupational therapy at 2 1/2. At 3 he received less therapy because Federal funding is reduced in the program for children older than 2. For that reason I urge you to make an appointment raw.

My grandson has apraxia of speech which means he isn't able to form words. There is something neurologically missing between his brain and the muscles in his face that would allow him to form sounds. He's now 7 and still has difficulty speaking so that we can understand him. He's getting more therapy now and I do wonder if he'd received more help earlier he'd be further along.

If you have insurance I suggest that you also make an appointment with a developmental pediatrician who will then organize various evaluations and treatments if he needs them.

How do you know he knows more words. If he talks when you're not working with him, I suggest you stop trying to get him to say specific words. Could you be in a power struggle with him? Or does he know words' meanings but doesn't say the words? If the latter is the case it is important to get a speech evaluation.

mine is 2 1/2 uses less than 20 words and they are hard to understand most of the time. I suspect mine is hard of hearing because he doesn't try to communicate. he has tubes in his ears but when insurance kicks in in december I am getting his hearing tested.I am also putting him in speech. examples of why I am doing this. he doesn't respond to my voice but does to male voices. He sometimes folllows directions but not with me. I have a low pitched voice. the men have a deep voice

. When he calls static our cat it comes out aic he leaves out the st and the other t to make static. when he says whats that it comes out ats at. he leaves out the wh and the th on whats that. I know from an older child and how little he is talking compared to his brother he is way behind. My oldest was behind when I put him in speech at a younger age. When his brother got tubes his vocabulary went up about 150 words in a week but hard to understand. my oldest when he said foot ball before speech come out hubababa. I am seeing the same pattern in my youngest. normal I see as dink instead of drink. my 2 yr old wont even attempt to say drink and I use it every time I give him a drink. he wont attempt to say eat. and eat in his brother was said and came out right.

you need to at least get his ears checked for fluid and or hearing loss. and also have him evlauated for speech. yours is about 6 months younger than mine but this is what I am seeing in mine to make me wonder and it gives you an idea of what you are watching for. deafness runs in his family and my gut tells me my 2 yr old is hard of hearing. he is just way to behind and hard to understand compared to his brother and his brother had ear and speech problems. he babbles alot but doesn't talk. and words he knows he seldom says. so this gives you an idea of when to worry. find a speech scale and see how he rates on it. I know mine is not right. I have been through all this before so I have an idea of what I am looking for.

I would mention to your doctor and also, if you are concerned, call your school district's Early Childhood and Family Education department and tell them you have speech concerns. Doctors and ECFE will have you start with getting his hearing checked, but ECFE will come to you (for kids under 3) and evaluate him. If it turns out that there are concerns, Early Childhood Special Education will come to you to help him with his speech. ECSE services are part of your public school districts and already paid for with your taxes. Take advantage of it; it's a great program. My child's been getting speech therapy since 18 months and it's going great. He's leaps and bounds forward from where he started. I look forward to us exiting the program at the end of the year.

I have a niece that was just like that only she was 3 and did not talk much at all, well she talked but nothing that you could understand. Now that she is 4 she talks all the time and does very well. I just think some children aren't ready yet, but once they start look out! I would say something to your doctor about it on your next visit but I bet he just isn't ready to talk quite yet. One other point is to be sure you are not talking for them, I see this happen quite often.

I think if your gut is sensing something is wrong you should take him to the doctor. They can help you sift through this. Though no one wants to get the news that something is wrong with their child - it is far worse to be wondering and questioning about it. If he's fine then you can stop worrying - if he needs help then you can start down that path and both of you will be better off for it. Don't be afraid to ask. Call your doctor and tell them your concerns. If you don't get an answer that you are satisfied with keep asking questions.

My son said 5 to 10 words when he was 23 months. Though he has a bilingual environment. Now he is almost 29 months old and his vocabulary expanded. Every week we hear new words. Though I am still concerned because he is a bit behind and I actually contacted Early-On program to schedule an appointment with the speech person. She came and saw a lot of good things but was concerned that he does not use a word when asking what is this. She still is not sure if he needs to be evaluated or not. I am waiting for a second opinion by another speech pathologist. My son can say now about 100-110 words. But he also is very shy. He also would not all the time "perform" on request; my daughter was the same way when she was his age. I do worry a lot about my son and his speech, though a lot of people say I should not. For my piece of mind I decided to go and check it out. So, do the same.

Some kids are just wall flowers they will bloom when they are ready.
My daughter is 16 months old she babbles like crazy but she watches everything, but she does not "say" much but yet says so much. Weird I know you can hear sounds but not words.

My oldest was a manipulator. He would not show me that he knows it but will show everyone else when I am not there.

My Middle did not talk, nothing for the longest time then boom full words, trying to take on the whole English language over night.

If you are truly concerned take him to a speech therapist and have him evaluated, it cannot hurt.

my son is the same, he is seeing a speech therapist through the birth to 3 program. get him evaluated by his ped and take it from there.

Instead of trying to get him to say words, stop anticipating his needs and doing things for him before he asks. Wait for him to come tell you he is hungry, etc. Don't let him pull you around by the finger, either. Just say "use your words", and don't get over enthusiastic when he does start talking, as that kind of shuts off their internal motivation to learn/speak/develop on their own.

Maybe he feels pressured or too much on the spot while you're working on words with him. If he talks at other times, and that's how you know he knows more words, then I'd guess he doesn't like performing on command. Lots of kids don't, especially if mommy seems anxious or strained.

If you keep language development light and fun, read to him often, play games and invite him to direct them, and pretend you're not noticing his talking all the time, he might loosen up.

If that doesn't help, or if he simply never speaks, then an evaluation might be wise.

Since he is almost two... when he hits two I would talk to his Peditrician about this at his annual check up. It could be a hearing issue. My 20 month old says dog, cat, good girl, thanks, welcome, hi, bye, night, Mommy, Uhoh spaghettios, OH man, No, yes, Daddy, Paw, Maw-maw, Violet, Gabe, Alex, Want it, dropped it, milk, cup, apple juice, bottle, more, bath, medicine, aspirin, water, ice, cheese, eat, diaper, all clean, all done, apple, banana, cracker, bite, mouth, stinky butt, stinky feet.... well more then I can come up with.

According to babycenter he might be a little delayed - definitely something to bring to your pediatricians attention just to make sure all is well. Here is the quote from their page:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_developmental-milestone-talki...
19 to 24 months
Though he probably says about 50 to 70 words now, your child may understand as many as 200 words, many of which are nouns. Between 18 and 20 months, he'll learn words at the rate of 10 or more a day (so watch your language!). He'll even string two words together, making basic sentences such as "Carry me."

By the time he's 2, your child will use three-word sentences and sing simple tunes. His sense of self will mature, and he'll start talking about what he likes and doesn't like, what he thinks and feels. Pronouns may confuse him, which is why he might say "Baby throw" instead of "I throw."

That said... my son won't "parrot" words on request. If we say, "Josh can you say medicine?" He will say, "Yea." and walk off. Yes, yes he can say it... that is what we asked, right? ;) So it is possible he's just the strong silent guy. Better to have it checked for your peace of mind and so you can address it if there is something causing an issue. Hearing problems are SO SO common. I had a coworker that her son was nearly mute, he had tubes put in and it was like a flood of words from him over night. Total chatterbox!

Good luck!