Toddler Not Talking - Cibolo,TX

I too went through this with my son and used ECI and now see a private Speech Therapist. What is odd though is that it's all boys I am reading about on here. My son was also diagnosed with SID and a speech delay. I simply adored ECI and so did my child, he looked forward to playing with them. Don't wait for a Dr. or a school system to finally realize that you should take the next step b/c it can drive you crazy wondering what you are doing wrong.
____@____.com

Hi C.. I have a two year old that just started talking. (He was two in July) He wasn't saying much other than Ma and Da. Now he is picking up everything. My doctor was a little concerned that he wasn't talking yet, but he understood everything that we told him so we ruled out that it was hearing problems. I say just be patient a little while longer and see what happens. There is nothing wrong with my son. Just being a toddler and talking when he was ready.

Hi C., my sister has a little boy who is 2years old 6months and he just started to to talk like mama,daddy,papa, things like that. my mom says boys develope there skills late. So try not to worry.

You should always follow your mother's intuition. If you sense there might be a problem you should take him to a speech pathologist and let him/her examine him. That way if there is something wrong you can correct it early. If nothing is wrong you will at least get some assurance.

M.
SAHM of 4 year old and 2 year old boys

My son was very similar...He's almost 3 now, but when he was about that age his older sister talked so much we thought he was never going to have an opportunity to try it out on his own! He started by just say uh-huh or no to everything, but we eventually got him to start developing his speech more by playing games with him. My husband would act out an animal and we'd ask him to guess what it was...If he didn't say anything we'd say, "Is that a cow?" If he gave us his "uh-huh" then we'd say, "Can you say cow?" It took a while, but now I'm happy to say he won't shut up =) He really started talking at 2 years...so I think you're safe to just wait and see.

Follow your heart here please. My son at 3 was jabbering couldn't understand anything he said. Dr.'s said relax but here lets do some tests. Test after test we went, specialist after specialist and childrens hospital after childrens hospital. To find out that he has sensory integration and it affected his speech. I am not saying your son has this. Just sharing my experience. I thought it was strange that he didn't talk clear because we to were doing all the same things as you. He understood what we were saying he just wasn't connecting the speech on how to respond correctly to us. We ended up putting him into speech classes and occupational therapy and wow within a year the boy was talking. Was a blessing! The sooner you can help them when the are younger the better- any occupational therapist will tell you that. My suggestion is to get a 2nd opinion but follow your heart because you know your son better than anyone!
Hope this helps, C.

Good Morning C.,

My son just like yours. I did not feel his speech was up to what other children's were when he was around the same age. At first our doc. was not concerned however when he turned 2 years old and went for our yearly check up he suggested that I contact ECI (texas Early Childhood Intervention Program) this is a not for profit group that will come to your house and will evaluate your child to determine if he is delayed or not. Should they feel he is delayed they will set up a schedule were they come to your house and work with him one on one and talk to you about what you can do to get him to communicate. The fees for this service depends on your income level and/or if you have insurance. Most insurance will pay for this service if they won't it is around $50.00 per month and this is if they come in once or five times a month (depending on your child's needs). This is service is only for children up to the age of three. My son and I did this for about a year and I think it really helped him. I have a couple of other friends (Moms) who have also used this service.

Contact information: www.eci.state.tx.us or 800-250-2246.

Good luck

Hi... you said that he gets by very well using non verbal gestures... maybe that is the problem. If you are able to anticipate his needs without him using 'words' then he doesn't have to use them. Maybe, the next time he wants a cookie/snack... and he motions for it.. instead of getting it for him, ask him to use his words before doing so. I think you have a perfectly normal child who just doesn't 'need' words right now so he chooses not to use them.

#1, You are right to worry.
#1.5 call Easter Seals, ECI etc and get them out to evaluate your son NOW. They can start some evaluations and services w/out an MD's Rx, and the sooner the better if needed.
#2, Find the best pediatric developmental specialist you can...research the net, the area, who the military will pay for, and get your child there. This will give you a more thorough evaluation and ask them to evaluate everything affected: speech, occupation therapy, physical therapy, coordination, communication, information processing, expressive and receptive speech, neurological issues, etc. EVERYTHING, at one time, because going to multiple appts is exhausting and you are already tired w/ the 2 children, and w/ enough to worry about w/ your husband in the military, stateside or not.
#3, You will either find out that your child is doing just fine, and is a little guy who wants to control his interaction with the world, or there may be other issues at hand that need assistance. Most of the issues have been touched on: ent w/ ear tubes, hearing, sensory issues, processing issues, autism whatever.

Here's the point. FIND OUT NOW, while your child is young. If there is anything that is delayed, or not clicking for your child, the earlier you start with effective loving therapists, the easier life will be for your child. At 20 months, the frustration w/ poor communication is going to escalate and your life will be extremely chaotic. A child at 20 months who is hyperactive and non-stop can be "just a boy" or he can be a boy who needs the constant and specific input to his sensory system to make sense of the world. There is so much that goes into how our children learn, process, feel, and communicate, that if one is out of sync, the others are significantly affected.

Get the appointments, get the evaluation. An incredible book to read is "The out of sync child", and it will give you much food for thought. My prayer is that your family is safe and healthy, and that you are not overwhelmed with a very busy toddler and a young baby. It is very easy to think it is better to wait and let nature take it's course, and that so many children do this and turn out ok. The issue is, what if your child is not one of the one's that turn out ok? Forewarned is forearmed. Get the information so you will know what you need to do, or not do. If there are activities to help your child, you can get them and the military has some exellent resources and coverages. If your son is just fine, then there is nothing to worry about and you can just spend time to find appropriate outlets for his unending energy. By the way, get a swing set if you can.

Hi,
Unfortunately I do not have any advice, but I can sympathize. My 17 month old son is not talking either. Every now and then it sounds like he's trying to say things like, kitty or bobo(for his toddler injuries:). When he's sick or sleepy I might get a drooning "maaamaa". Otherwise, its babbling that I desparately try to find meaning out of. I hear that, on average, boys tend to develop language a little later than girls. Overall, it sounds like your little one is on track developmentally. Don't worry too much :)
J.

I have been there, done that with this particular issue. Please, call Early Childhood Intervention in your area. You can call your local school district to get their contact information...I think I just looked in my local phone book. ECI is a FREE state program that will asses your child and give you inhome support! IT is that simple...FREE and they come to your home!! My son recieved speech therapy and occupational therapy. They came twice a week and gave me tips on my particular situation and made sure I had all the information I could ever want! I DO NOT BELIEVE IN WAITING WHEN IT COMES A CHILD'S MILDSTONES when there is a lot of free and convienient help out there. Your question is exactly why the program was developed and definately worth the phone call!! You are welcome to e-mail me at ____@____.com should you have any other questions. Take Care-A.

My son is 19 months and we are going through the same thing, not saying "dada" or "mama", etc. I have heard the "he'll talk when he's ready" approch from many. I am a SAHM now, but we will be moving in 6-7 months and I will have to work and he will probably go to a babysitters. So for this reason, I got him into speech therapy so I can work with him while I'm home and maybe get him talking some before we move.

In speech therapy, we do a lot of naming objects, looking at books, etc. Of course, he never says the words back to us. The therapists have told me you can't make a child talk, but you can at least make (by manipulating his hands) do sign language for a word. Sign language is a BIG part of the therapy. We teach him signs for "cup", "eat", "milk", "more", and many others.

The theory is that children will take the easy way out, and once a child learns that saying a word is easier than signing it, then he will say it. If you are like me, you don't care if he signs or says a word, you just want a way to communicate with your son. I was afraid of having to learn to sign, but it's really not that hard, as you are learning with your son as well.

One of the things I've learned in therapy is don't give your child something unless he does something for it. For example, if your son wants his cup, he may point and say "uh uh", while mine just grunts, and we know what they want, so we give it to them. That rewards this behavior. Instead of giving him his cup, take his hands and make him do the sign for cup, while saying cup, and then give it to him.

You can find sign language books and videos at the library, Barnes and Noble, places like that. There are many that are made for parents and babies to learn together. If you want to get him into speech, you have to have your Dr. write a precription for it. There is a group in town called Easter Seals. They do at home speech therapy, physical therapy, etc., etc. The neat thing about them is they come to your house in your childs surroundings to do the therapy. They also take your finaces in account. They can get it to where, depending on your money situation, your "copay" is minimal or nothing. Your Dr. has to call and let them know you want therapy, they come to your house and get you in their system and evaluate your child, then if they decide you need services (which I'm sure they would for him, he sounds just like my son and we are in it). Then they get a prescription from you Dr. to see your so however many times a month they feel appropiate..

I know I've written you a novel, but I was in your same situation, and I wanted to share what I've learned. I hope it has helped.

My son didn't talk either. He was 26 months before he said mama. My pediatrician wasn't concerned either. I didn't let that stop me, though. I read on the internet that late talking could be normal, but it could also be a sign of reading difficulties, dyslexia, etc. If everything else is developing normally--fine motor skills, etc. he is probably fine. You can contact ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). Before they turn 3, they will evaluate your child for free. I called them, they came out to our house and worked with my son. They said he was about 6 months behind in speech, but that is wasn't a big deal. They said they would work with him if we would like. We had a speech therapist come and work with him every other week. It has been a year now. He no longer works with the speech therapist. We joke with her that we are sorry we had her come, because my son talks non-stop now. I would do it all over again though in the same situation. I feel like having him evaluated and working with the speech therapist made me feel better and help us learn techniques to work with him. Depending on income, ECI is free. It maybe a small charge. We only had to pay $20 for the month (2 visits). We had read to him every night, talked to him constantly, taught him sign, everything and he didn't talk. If it makes you feel better you can have him evaluated and decide from there. It gave me piece of mine. Even though my family and friends kept saying, he will talk eventually.

Well, I did have a similar situation and was told pretty much the same thing you are being told now. Give it time! My son played with Hot Wheels like most boys but didn't even make the Vroom noise! Well, once my son reached about 2 1/2 and still wasn't talking well (clearly), I took him to the public school and had him tested. He was placed in speech therapy at the age of 3. He was in speech classes until 2nd grade when he finally caught up. As it turns out, he has a very mild case of dyslexia which can be associated with delayed speech. My kid is great and now 14! Because of all the extra work he has always had to do to catch up his work ethic is extraordinary. He now excels in sports and the coaches can't believe how much effort he gives on every play. I think it is due to his mindset he had to develop at an early age. He no longer has to have any modifications in school work. It wasn't always easy. We spent many extra nights at Sylvan, but I think we got there.

Your son may not have any of these learning disablities, but I wouldn't wait much longer. I would take him to your public school because they are required to test him if you think there might be a problem.

My e-mail is ____@____.com

Hello C.,

first relax, don't over think things. 20 months is still very young. And be very CAUTIOUS of people telling you there is something wrong with your child or that your child might have "AUTISM". An oral language delay is very different from AUTISM. You are a stay at home mother who probably follows your child around the house and anticipates all their needs, right?? If your child is following directions and using other language like body language and facial gestures they are probably fine. Many infants/toddlers who stay at home while growing up do not speak as early as other infants or toddlers do who are in daycare centers for the simple fact that mommy knows exactly what they need and want and gives it to them before they ever need to ask for it. I had this problem with my daughter. she would not speak. But she is as sharp as a whip. Keep up the socializing of your child. I noticed once I put my daughter in a daycare, she totally opened up like a flower and bloomed. It helps them alot. she still had a little problem with some aspects of pronunciation but the schools are good and should test them and give them speech therapy for free. In Texas you can go to your school district (even if the child is not in school yet) and request for the Speech Language Pathologist to test them for Oral Language Delay. If the test shows a need for therapy they will offer if for free I believe! My school did! Your child is young and does not really feel like they need to speak their mind yet. Don't stress yet. Yes he will get their eventually, but you can do things to help him along the way....I am sure he understands you force him to talk to you, if he just motions with his hand that he wants his cup from the counter, tell him "mommy doesn't know what you want, can you tell me." A daycare is a good enviroment. I use to be so surprised at all the other children in daycare who were so young and talking up a storm...it is because they always had to speak for themselves.
Good luck and you know your child better than anyone, if you get an answer you don't believe go to someone else. A Nurse told me once, "maybe your child is Autistic." which she should not even mention to a parent, but she did. Then a doctor told me, "what is wrong with that nurse, can't she see that your daughter is intelligent just very shy." God Bless you guys!
A.

I have a nephew that did not speak as a toddler. I was not close to him, but from what my mother said, he never said more than ma', da' and uh when he wanted something. His pediatrician also said that this was normal for some children and were suggesting that because his older brother would speak for him, he would not develop his speach. He was like this till he was 3yrs and finaly my brother and sister-in-law took him to s speech thereapist where he had regular sessions He is 7 yrs old now and a little chatter box. Personally, I wouldn't wait that long and get him some help. try getting him to see a different pediatrician. Express your concern with him/her and maybe they will recommend a speech therapist for your son.

You said he does the "uh, uh" thing when he wants something, I assume he points in the general direction of the item. I did not go through this with my son, he did everything early. My suggestion though, is that when he does the "uh, uh" thing and you figure out what he wants, say it by name to him, several times and enunciate the word, encouraging him to call what he wants by name. I recall it used to frustrate me when my son would gesture to something and I could not tell what it was. When I figured it out, I would ask him to say it before I would give it to him. He learned quickly and even if he gave me some off the wall, but close enough word, I would praise him and he would get the item. If your son wants something bad enough, he will try to ask for it.

my youngest child was/ is a late talker. he is now 2 1/2 and does have some speech skills, but is a very quiet boy. His Pedi says he is OK. If he does not get more verbal he may go to speech therapy, but his hearing is intact, annd he is an intellgent young boy. I have a bad habit of giving him what i know he wants... i have been told to make him say what he wants....milk....juice....dog...etc. OH he also says his name is Josh when asked...his name is Dalton. :)

Hi. My husband (when he was little) quit talking at one point. The doctors said it was because he was around adults the majority of the time. He understood and comprehended everything, but could not express himself. He wanted to talk, but the words that he tried to use were to "big" for him and he didn't know exactly how to put them into sentences. Another way to look at this (and I got it off of Judging Amy)....is that maybe he just doesn't have anything to say yet. An old friend of mine has a little girl that didn't actually start speaking until she was 3, I think. She knew how, just didn't want to. I would just give it some time and not force the issue. The more you dwell on the subject may make an impact. Hope this helps in some way.

My son was very similar. We went thru Child Find to have him evaluated and they assigned us a speech pathologist. The service cost us nothing be/c it was thru the county. Of course I worried profusely, but he started talking in full sentences shortly before his 3rd birthday. Now he is in the gifted and talented program at his school. The speech pathologist was so wonderful and I think she actually helped him to advance beyond his peers. It was a blessing in disguise. My advise is don't worry but do call the pediatrician's office for info on services in your area.

Dear C.,

As a mother to three boys now, I've noticed that they are slower to pick up language than girls. With my first son, my mother kept mentioning how my sister & I would say certain words at 18 months old, and I kept wondering why it wasn't happening with my son. Now that I have three boys, I don't worry about it. I know they will talk up a storm later! Babbling seemed to start closer to 2 years old, rather than 18 months. I hope this is an encouragement.

Blessings,
R.

Supporting you as you nurture your family.
www.NurturedFamily.com

Your story is almost exactly like mine. My son is 18 months and doesn't speak. he started walking at 11 months and will follow directions. I'm in the same boat and also unsure what to do. His ped doesn't seem concerned. I am putting him in daycare for two days a week and hope that being around other little ones will help.

My son was seen by ECI also and the only other suggestion I haven't seen that they told me was to switch him to straw cups. It develops a different set of muscles in the mouth. And of course talk to him all day about everything you do. I was so tired of talking that I couldn't wait for him to go to bed so I could be silent for a while, but it helped.

I work at a child care center that houses a therapy center for disabled children. We do OT, PT, and SPEECH therapy. I am a lead teacher in the child care portion. I work with kids from 12-18 months, and I have a 17 month old (and a 6 year old but that's neither here nor there). Anyway, there are several kids in my class that cannot form any actual words. At this stage, I don't think that it is very uncommon. However, if you are concerned, our center can do an evaluation. Our speech therapist is VERY good and VERY nice. I believe that the initial evaluation is free. If you would like more information, please let me know and I will get you all the details.

Hope this helps :-)

A.

Hello, first of all it's easy to say don't worry, but that's what mother's do. My little girl now 4 didn't talk until she was about 26 months maybe 28 months. We had her in speech therapy by about 15 months. She too developed every other skill on time or before she should have so her not talking was really bothersome. Needless to say the therapist and all the test showed she was fine and would talk eventually. The one thing we got out of it for our other kids was this: The therapist explained to us that kids/babies/ can only really learn one thing at once.... and master it. Like walking, crawling...talking. and any outside stress can put off that learning...and they will revert back to what they do know. So here was our story. My daughter was 10 months old and starting to say all her coos...and one day she said da da and we just went nuts...then she said it a couple of other times...THEN.. I got put on bed rest and we had "to her" strangers in the house taking care of me. Then one month later our son was born and she just put off talking until later. Now of course we can't get her to be quiet..haha. When i read you had a 1 month old that is what came to my mind. Even the stress of mommy being pregnant... So if you have had him checked and they say he is fine, just know he will eventually.

HI MY NAME IS F. DE LA CRUZ AND I HAVE A NEPHEW WHO HAD A SIMILIAR PROBLEM BUT THEY COULD NOT DETECT OR MY SISTER DID NOT DETECTED EARLY MY NEPHEW HAD EAR LOSS HE HAS AROUND A 25% OR HEARING SO I REALLY RECOMMED FOR YOU TO TAKE HIM TO PROFESSIONAL HELP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE ITS BE TO TAKE STEP AHEAD THAN TO RISK

Hi C.,

I would recommend contacting ECI, for an evaluation/assessment. These services are provided at no cost to you, if your little one is less than 3 years old. Their website is: http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/index.shtml

i wouldn't worry too much about it either. my little brother for many years didn't talk, mostly because his older brother talked for him. now that he is 9 we can't get him to shut up!

try getting involved in a playgroup with other kids around his age. if you are close to new braunfels i can give you a refrence to a great playgroup i have been a part of for almost a year.

my son started with a few words early, that weren't terribly clear and then back pedaled and hardly used any words for a few months leading up to his second birthday, now just a few months later he's repeating EVERYTHING. every kid develops in different ways and sometimes kids who are developing physically drop the language part for a while and then pick it back up again and may flounder on some fine motor while concentrating on the language. so i guess what i'm saying is don't worry too much. you're doing the right thing by keeping tabs with your pediatrician, and reading/talking to him.

Hi C.,

When my kids didn't talk by 2, I called the local ECI (early childhood intervention) to have them evaluated for speech services. You can call sooner. It will give you some peace of mind. They've seen tons of kids and know what to look for as far as a true delay. Hope that helps!

S.

Have you tested his hearing? I'm an audiologist and often children may have hearing loss which may impair his ability to fully learn expressive speech/language development. He should of had a newborn hearing screening performed at birth (State requirement), did he pass that test? Was it an ABR or an OAE?
If he has receptive language skills then I would think he should be able to develop speech skills. Has the doctor looked closely into his mouth, see if everything is properly developed for speech? If you are still worried after all those options, then call a Speech/Language pathologist, they can assess his speech/lang. development and then recommend tx if needed. Good Luck!

I have been working with children with Autism now for over a year and have been working primarily with early intervention which is language development. I have a ton of ideas for you. Email me at ____@____.com and I'll give you my phone number so we can chat.

K.

I also have a child who has had difficulty talking. I suggest that you contact ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) It is a free service, (or atleast it used to be free...we used them 2 yrs. ago) They will evaluate your child and will offer the speech services or whatever is needed. They will do the evaluation and therapys at your home. At the age of 3 your child will qualify for services with the public school. ECI will also help you with all the paperwork and stuff.

S.

C.,

I went through this with my oldest son (second child.) We could tell early on that his speech was not developing at the rate his older sister's did despite all our efforts to work with him. At his 18 month check up, his pediatrician suggested we have his hearing tested and she made sure he didn't have autism. (He had said about 10 words once by his first birthday, then quit and only said mama, dada, and one or two more words at 18 months.) His hearing was fine and the audiologist recommended speech therapy.

I am an educator by degree and am a strong advocate of therapy to help children, but for our child at this age, it was absolutely the wrong move. It was a lot of pressure on him, the specific therapist (they are not all like this) blamed me and said that I should put him in day care so he could get more attention and socialization and that I needed to take away all his books, toys, food, etc. and only give it to him when he asked for it by name. (He was almost 19 months old at the time.) We did speech therapy for a little over a month before moving to another state and saw no progress. The new pediatrician advised us not to find another therapist and give our son a little time. At about 22-23 months my son's vocabulary launched for no obvious reason. He is now 3 1/2 and we still have to remind him to slow down and speak clearly when he gets too excited, but he is very bright. (He is learning to read and write now.)

Most likely your son is just a late bloomer when it comes to speech and his strengths lie in other areas. Encourage him to make a sound for something ("wa" if he can't say water) but don't worry just yet. If he still isn't talking by 24 months, talk to your pediatrician about hearing tests or some other options (sometimes children can hear sounds, but they are muffled so it is hard to tell there is a problem just by observation. Other children have weak tongue muscles.) He might need some speech therapy if it doesn't resolve itself by age 3-6, but not this young. I have known parents delay much needed speech therapy for years and it is much easier to teach a 3 year old to say mama than it is a 6 year old.

You may never see this with your daughter. My first and third children were early talkers and late walkers. Just encourage speech and don't feel guilty for something that is most likely either genetic or a personality trait and he will outgrow with time.

Best of luck,
S.

I know EXACTLY what you are going through. At 23 months my son was still not talking. He had the same scenario where he followed directions and I knew he understood, but he would not even babble like you say your son does, he would only make a sound like a monkey when he wanted something. What concerned me even more was that he had in the past said dada and mama and even a few other words, but only a few times and at 23 months he no longer even said those words or made any kind of word sounds, only what I call the monkey noise. We had tried everything we could think of to try to get him to talk. At the time I was really becoming concerned about autism as he had said words in the past, but would no longer say them so we went to the pediatrician with these concerns and she set him up for a hearing test and he passed that so she then set him up for speech therapy. It took about about a month to get that started so when he was 24 months old he started speech therapy, still not saying any words or even making any babbling sounds. The therapist started by teaching him sign language, he learned that and then he started to say some word sounds, then he started saying actual words, then they started working on sentences. Within six months, maybe even earlier he was putting words together and making short sentences. He is now 40 months and speaks at the same level as most of his peers. I would HIGHLY recommend a speech therapist as that is what really seemed to help my son progress. We saw the therapist twice a week for about 8 months and I am so glad we did! You may also try a video called "Baby Babble". This video is made by speech therapists for children having trouble talking. I bought this video for my son and it did help him, but I really only noticed it helping after he was doing speech therapy as well, but it is worth checking out.

ok, my 2 year old just messed everything up. sorry if you a portion of this twice.

No, do not ignore the issue. My almost 5 year old did not talk until he was 4. Here is what you can do.

At his age call Homespun. I'm sure the number can be found online. They provide free testing and will come into your home to do speech therapy for free if he quaifies.

At 3, you can go to the public school system and have him tested. (This is what I did.) Then depending on how severe, (my son only spoke that of a 1 year 11 month old at 3 years of age) they will provide speech therapy (2X per week?) or he could be enrolled in PPCD. This is pre-school for children w/disabilites. They label speech delays as a disability. It was a shock to me to hear it- so be prepared. Anyways, PPCD is a half-day program in the public school. Much like Pre-K. He will receive Speech Therapy as well as be in a classroom w/a teacher who will work w/him.

But, if this happens check out the class first. My son was in a mainly speech-delayed class for 1 1/2 years. It was great. All the kids were on the same congnitive level and there was not a lot of special-needs kids who needed a lot of individualized attention. Then we moved, and the PPCD class at his new school was all severly handicapped/retarded children. I don't mean anything bad about them, but it just was not an environment my son will get the attention and help he needs because they need so much more help. So because of his disabilites he qualified for Pre-K and receives the same services, but is in a classroom w/more children that are on the same "wave-length".

The speech therapy has been great. At our last meeting the therapist told me he was pretty much on avg. level of speaking after only 1 1/2 years of therapy. I highly recommend looking for help if you think there may be issues.

I never had a problem with my son's speech being delayed, but he was a "lazy" talker. When he would point at something and grunt, or whine for a cup or food, I would not give it to him unless he repeated the word for it after I said it, and eventually we added "please" to any request. I especially wouldn't give it to him if I knew that he knew how to say the word, such as cookie, juice, milk, ball, etc. Still, at four years old, when he's not feeling good he'll just point, but I'm sure that's just kids.

My 2 yr old is slow in talking as well. We did not have this problem with my older daughter, who talked around 1 yr, so I was very concerned. Our pediatrition led us to a local group who came out and evauluated our toddler at about 18 months to see if there was a problem. Fortunately they said she passed the tests and would just start speaking when she was ready. She is now 2 and says a few select words, but not as much as I would like. We read and talk to her as much as possible, and try to expose her to shows and toys that encourage talking. She is very bright and Im hopeing Ill get the Gettysburg Address someday soon. Ive desided to not worry and let nature take its course. Just wanted you to know that its not uncommon and there was someone out here going through the same thing. GOOD LUCK!

Hi C.,
I don't think that it's much of a problem. My daughter didn't start babblin' till just before her first birthday. After that I would try to introduce her to one word per week. After about a month she said cookie, mama, and other words that I had been teaching her. So you might want to try that for a bit. GOOD LUCK!

CJR

Hello! I was in a similar situation with son. He was about 6 months old and was not progressing like he should and would not talk at all. I let the peditrician know my concerns and he did not same concern at all. Well something happen at the time we were on Medicaid so I went to another peditrician and she referred me to ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) We went through a school called Brighton School and they came out and evaluated my son and he needed to work on his gross motor skills and he was not talking and so they recommended for him to do speech therapy. Well my son did not start talking until he was over 2yrs old. They are wonderful! Now ECI will only see them until they are 3 yrs old. They are on a Sliding Scale. My son is now 4yrs and is still receiving Speech Therapy because of Articulation. But I am very happy that I made the choice I did and got another opinion and was referred to ECI. If you like you can email me and I can give you their information. Hope that helps some.

D. G.

Hi, C. - it is not unusual at all for a 20mo boy to not be saying much yet - girls usually always start before boys. I would just relax a little about it - i was always told my son did not have to speak much because he did not have to - i always knew what he wanted before he even had to say anything and did it for him or got it for him - lol. They are smarter than we are sometimes!
L.

Hi C.,

I'm not an expert, but I have a suggestion: Omega 3 fatty acids supplementation. We use Nordic Naturals, which are available online and also at Whole Foods. I give our 15mo daughter Nordic Naturals cod liver oil (which has strawberry natural flavor) and the Omega 3-6-9 capsules & she loves it.

I researched Omega 3's while I was pregnant, and found out that they were also helpful in late language in toddlers. I take them myself.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Have you tried getting his ears checked, or talking to an ENT(ears nose and thoart specialist or try a new Dr? Have you considered having him checked for speech theropy?
I have two sons and each of them has some speech delay. The doctor didn't seem to worried either, but I changed doctors and she had them checked out and found them speech delayed.But it seems its better to check than wait till it gets worse. If you need more info let me know. Please let me know the outcome.

It maybe that he needs more routine interaction with children of his own age. I know my daughter has barely started saying complete words and I honestly feel it's because we enrolled her in school/daycare. She attends Primrose over by 290 & 1960. She started attending school in July and in a month has made alot of improvement. She's learning by watching other children. This has also helped with her potty training.

Hi C.,

My son was the same way at 20 months. Very active with no vacabulary. He is now almost 3 (Oct 9) and I cannot get him to stop talking. We kept reading to him and called everything by name when we handed him something. He was around 24 months when he started repeating everything we said. We also started him in Montessori around that time and they did a lot of singing. He loved that and I think it helped his speech. I would give him a few more months.

Good luck!
A.

I went through (and am still going through) the same with my son (now 27 months). We did seek intervention because my aunt (who has a double masters in English and Special Education) advised us to. She stated that therapy will NOT hurt and that children who attend speech therapy at their ages often read better, have a larger learning capacity, as well as having a tendency to articulate better as an adult. My suggestion would be to lean towards intervention, especially if you feel like you have done everything advised at home.

We went through the ECI (early childhood intervention). It is on a sliding scale basis, and they are very helpful and will come to your home to perform services (our therapist actually sees my son at his daycare-I work full time at Texas Childrens Hospital). Its great! You can go online and search for the main number as my doctor referred me to the one in my area (we live by Hobby Airport). I hope this helps!!

I agree with Dawn, if you give a child what they want without them asking for they have no reason to speak and will continue to use baby talk. Another think that my pedi told me when my kids were young was that baby talking to kids is a bad thing you should talk to them like you would any one else. I deal with kids all the time and I have been blown away by the 2yrs i come in contact with. You can hold full conversations with them, one little girl was using these big words and I was like WTH, her mom told me that she reads to her kids daily starting from birth. But it would be good just to have your baby checked out just in case.
Good Luck

Hi C.!

With all the info you have shared my suggestion would be for you to take your son to an ear/nose/throat specialist and have his hearing checked.

My son was late in talking, too, and we discovered that he had difficulty hearing things clearly. Therefore, he repeated exactly what HE heard.

I don't want to alarm you and make you think your son maybe deaf or have severe hearing problems, either. My son merely had difficulty with fluid buildup in his ears and needed the tubes. Another thing we discovered during his examination was that his adenoids were completely blocking his nasal passages which made it difficult for him to pronounce words.

Solution? They inserted the tubes in his ears and removed his adenoids.

Hopefully it's as simple as that for your son, too. I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.

Best wishes!

hi C., I agree with Michelle, I am a speech-language pathologist and parents usually have the right instinct. They don't always follow it and it is easy to want to beleive that everything is going to be okay but early intervention is the key. Some kiddos do just start later than others but therpay sessions help both the child and the parents focus on speech and language and definately don't slow things down. Try ECI or a private speech therapist and get more information. You still have a choice at that point. You want to make an informed decision and the more information you have the better.

Hi, well first a little about me. I am a SAHM of 4 children, ages 3, 5, 7, and 9. Both my boys were late talkers. It seems very common for boys to be late talkers. I let nature take it's course with both my boys. The 9 year old started talking, but still had speech problems. Later to be found that he was literally tongue-tied. He has greatly improved his speech since his frenulum was clipped.

My 5 year old is a different story. He was very much like your boy. Walking at 9 months, running at 10 months. He was physically strong and very high energy. However he had very poor balance. A physical therapist diagnosed him with Apraxia this past summer. That is a condition common amongst stroke victims, but also seen in children. It is where your brain knows how to say something, but when it sends the signal out to your mouth the signal gets messed up.

I'm not suggesting your son has this same problem. Just thought I would let you know a little about my situation. I would not be overly concerned right now. If around 3, he is still not talking as much, I would suggest looking into getting him evaluated by the local school system. They have early bird programs, which will give your son a jump start on speech and school.

At the moment, I would suggest to force him to give some kind of audible sound when asking for something. For example, if he brings you the milk carton with a cup, ask him to say "cup of milk, please." Now he may not be able to actually say that right away. But make him atleast attempt to say it, before giving him a glass of milk. That is something my son used to do. He would just get stuff himself, or he would take me to what he wanted. I let him get away with that for far too long. We might not be in the bind we are in now, if I would have started earlier with that kind of stuff.

Sorry so long.
Nicole

Hi C., I too have a 20 month old son who doesn't seem to have the verbal skills that my 3yr old daughter had at that age or before. He is in preschool now and REALLY seems to be helping!! Literally in the past few months his verbal skills have soared. I really suggest trying some type of preschool setting where he is around lots of other children. I think you may notice a huge difference in your son and your daughter with the verbal skills... Maybe it is just a "boy thing" also... I will keep you posted on my sons progress, Hope this is helpfull.. Good Luck!!!!

We went through the same thing with our son. Your inquiry explained everything that Elliott was, i.e. gross motor skills and energy, walking at 10 months etc. He too did not say momma or dada. They did a hearing test on him and he passed with flying colors. His pediatrician recommended that Elliott partake in a Keep Pace program. It is a government funded program (no we are not lower income people) and it is set up for children/toddlers who are delayed in their speach. There was a therapist who worked with Elliott on a weekly basis. By the time he turned 28 months he was up and running with his speach. I can not believe the similarities in your story with our son!! Check with your pediatrician about the Keep Pace program.

Good luck!

C.,

Your son sounds just like something I went through with my son Adison and am still somewhat going through today. He is now almost 2 1/2. My son is a twin and was born premature. His twin talks on an average to above average level, but Adison has always been a bit behind. When Adison was about your son's age I became concerned because he only said a handful of words. I went to my pediatrician and he too did not seem concerned. It just bothered me so much that I couldn't just rest on that. So I went online and found a program called "First Steps" (I lived in Mississippi at the time but I am sure Arkansas has something similar). They will come out and do a FREE evaluation and a free hearing test (which I found out he has excellent hearing so luckily that was not the case). He tested at his level on gross and fine motor skills, etc... but was indeed 3-4 months behind on his speech. Every state might be different, but he did qualify for FREE speach therapy. My therapist was great- she would come to my house or wherever and only met with him twice a month. She didn't feel he needed it anymore than that because he wasn't too far behind. I know though that some of her patients she saw a few times a week - it just depends on the severity of the delay. We only saw her for about 4 months and Adison improved SO SO SO MUCH. He was almost where his brother was and when she did his re-evalutation he was actually a few months ahead in some areas. I have noticed recently though as he is now older, he is not progressing as quick as I would like so I am considering calling the Arkansas sponsored program and get him re-evaluated. I think sometimes certain children have all the capabilities if not more but just sometimes need the extra push. Price (his twin brother) has a much more aggressive personality as well as his sister who is just 1 year older. Adison is the quietest and most reserved out of the three so he sometimes just lets the others talk for him (which I try to discourage).

Here is a link to what I "think" is a program similar to the one we were in in Mississippi:
http://www.arkansas.gov/dhhs/ddds/FirstConn/index.html

If not, I am sure they can direct you as to where you need to go. It could be that everything is fine and the fact that you feel he does understand what you say is an EXCELLENT sign. Adison seemed to as well but he just needed that extra push to get (what I call unlazy enough) the words out. Meaning that his cognitive and intellectual development is just fine. BUT trust me STARTING EARLY is the BEST THING YOU CAN DO!!! Waiting until his 3 or older just makes the process even more difficult and timely. Adison's level went from about a 16 month old to a 26 month old in just 3 to 4 months.

Good luck and please email me if you have any questions!

I had a similar problem with all 3 of my children. My oldest didn't talk until about 4 years old. Don't sweat it out yet. Give it more time. He'll come around. In the mean time, see if you can get him more interaction with children of good talking ability.
sincerely,
T.

You might want to have his hearing checked if you haven't done so already. My son is hearing impaired and did not speak well untile the age of 4. If hearing is not the problem, you may want to try not giving him things he asks for untile he can repeat a simple name for that object. As a mother, you probably know what your child wants with out him saying much of anything and you could be responding to non verbal requests from him, unwittingly encouraging the problem. Just encourage him to repeat simple words before you give him what he wants being careful not to get to a point were he gets frusterated. Good luck.

at 20 months i wouldn't worry too much about it if his pediatrician is not overly concerned. of course you know your child best and if you truly feel something is wrong, seek a second opinion. my main concern is that you said "he gets along very well by non-verbal commands like "uh-uh" etc". i feel this may be the thing slowing him down.although the fact that he is communicating is a positive sign. it shows he can articulate what he wants, even if he does not choose to do so verbally. with my son i just would say what he was trying to say when he would nonverbally communicate. for example: he points at his cup and grunts to indicate he wants it, i would say " do you want your cup", and i would pick it up and show it to him, if he showed that it was in fact his cup he was after, i would say "ok, here is your cup" and hand it to him. this way he is learning his word associations and the proper sentence structure for the things he wants. sometimes you can even ask him to say the name of the object in question, or the activity, whichever it may be. if he can pronounce the words at least part of the time, but just refuses to actually verbalise his wishes, he may just not be ready or possibly feels pressured and uncomfortable with it. my son doesn't like to do anything until he knows he has it right. before he started walking he practiced falling over and over before even attempting a first step. and i personally didn't formulate a sentence of any kind until i was a full two years old. my mother thought i had a hearing problem or something, then one day i just spit out an entire paragraph of words she didn't even know i knew. so basically what i am saying is, it probably isn't anything, but you are the mom and you are the best judge of whether or not there is a problem. if you feel that something isn't quite right, seek a second opinion.

C.,

DO NOT WORRY!!!! My son, now 9, did not talk until around age 3. My mom always compared him to my nephew who was talking very young. It was very upsetting. Well, now my son is at the top of his class. He gets straight A's and reads at a 7th grade level. PLEASE don't worry. Every child is different.

B.

This descricption of your son sounds exactly like what my son was doing at the same age. The best advice I can give to you, is to call your local ECI (Early Chilhood Intervention)(their number shouls be listed accordingly). They will send an RN to your home to assess your childs needs and, if needed, do speech therapy in your home. It is a state funded program, and the cost is minimal, based on your income. Therapy is done until the child turns three, then he is assessed again to see if he needs to be put in therapy throught the school district. This worked great for us, and by the time our little boy turned three...there wasn't much he couldn't say. And, now, at 5 yrs old, we can't shut him up!
Good luck to you and you little one!

C.-
I would have him evaluated either by ECI or a Speech Pathologist.

A common cause of toddlers not talking is that they are not hearing everything correctly. My sister had a lot of ear infections when she was little and this affected her speech to where she had to have some speech therapy...My neighbor's little boy (who is now 3) had the same problem...He was not making coherent words and they discovered he had ear infections even though he never tugged on his ears or had any indication that there was any problem. Maybe take him to an ENT? (ear, nose, throat doc)..Good luck with your little one.

P.

Hi,

You must seek professional help for that as soon as possible.

T.

Hi-
I had a similar situation with my son, who is now 24 mos. I have a daughter, who is now 4 1/2, who began speaking very early and I assumed my son would do the same. However, every child develops at their own pace. He began saying inteligible words right around 20 mos. and has increased his vocabulary dramatically since that time. It was almost as if he began speaking over-night! Now he speaks in short sentences, and repeats everything we say to him. We did not do anything differently with him than with my daughter, and just let nature take it's course. Just keep reading to him, singing songs together, and repeating words over and over to him and I am sure he will begin speaking. Maybe the birth of your daughter so recently has also set him back a bit- just because he is not getting all the attention anymore? Anyway, it sounds like he is understanding most everything you are saying to him and that is what is important.
Good luck!

My daughter was the same way. She walked at 8 1/2 months, is very active.She enjoys puzzles, outdoor activities. Daycare or playgroups will help alot. You may find that once they have some other children to play with, you may not be able to hush him. =) Has his hearing been tested? If you are really concerned try contacting your local early childhood intervention program. You should be able to get this info from your local health department or from the military hospital( if you live on base or use their hospitals.) They will evaluate him and tell you if everything is ok or not, then work with him until he turns 3. If he still has a delay, generally the public school system will take over and he can attend speech therapy at an elementary school. That is what my daughter is doing now. She has a very wide vocabulary, but leaves out lots of consanants in words. Like a-ull for apple, bu ur fly- butterfly. He is probably right on track, but they're professionals and can let you know if he has a problem and how to treat it. Best of luck and let me know if I can help you in anyway. =) -mommy of 3 yr old w/ speech delay

Hi C.,
This problem is a lot more common than you think. I have several friends who share your experience, and in many of the situations the speech developed slowly by the time the children started Kindergaten. In the cases that I have seen, the delayed speech had nothing to do with these childrens' level of inteligence. They were exceptionally bright children, and the majority of them were exposed to languages other than English at home. I know that the state of Texas has an early intervention program in place that you might want to ask your pediatrician about. The local elementary school, or your daycare provider should have a contact person for you to call. I've spoken to a few parents with children in the program, and they think it is effective. I hope it helps you to know that many children eventually overcome this problem.

R.A.