What Is Normal for a 2 Year Olds Speech Development?

I wouldn't be too worried about this just yet. At two and a half my son didn't really talk at all. We knew it wasn't a hearing problem because his comprehension skills were really good. We would ask him to do something or go get something and he would do it. We started doing Signing Time with him just so he could communicate with us. That worked really well. I think his problem was that he would try to say words and I couldn't understand him, so I didn't know what he was really trying to say. The signing helped him tell me what he was trying to say and then I could tell him how to say the word. After about three months of doing this he was speaking in full sentences. It's so hard to know what's normal development because every kid is different. Good luck!

He's a little young for the doctor to have been so alarming. If he is adding words to his vocabulary, he's fine. If the words are audible to a stranger, he's especially fine. Age 24 months is the VERY BEGINNING of any doctor even coming close to hazarding a guess about speech--for a doctor to scare you like that, when he's actually talking (and not mute), sounds a little wacky to me.

p.s. Skip the pre-school and just find other little boys for him to play with. It's EASY to find such kids.

Go through the school district for the speech evaluation! The school districts should cover 100% of the costs because if you can't communicate with a child by the time they get to school you're not going to be able to teach effectively. Please just don't ignore it though- my cousins boy is 3 and a half and still can't talk and they're just now trying to look for help- it's really hard on them. good luck- and way to be on the ball! good mom!

I was concerned about my then 22 month old and an on staff therapist at her childcare if she didn't start speaking more at 2 to be a little concerned. She started babbling full sentences soon after. I think all kids develop differently and I would get a second opinion before making great,costly decisions that may not be necessary. What is in your gut always counts for something too. Good luck.

Hi B., I would not worry to much. It sounds to me like he is doing just fine. I have had five children and they all started talking at different times. Right now we also have a 28 month and he doesn't say a whole lot either, but like yours he understands everything that we say. I know that the words are there he just doesn't want to say them just yet and that is fine with me. We never baby talk him and are constantly say things repetitivly to him so I know that it is there and he will break out soon. Good luck and don't worry to much lol

My feeling would be to start with the preschool - all kids have their own schedules and as long as he is understanding you and has no hearing issues I doubt this is a big deal requiring speech therapy. When my son was 2 I think he could only say a few words clearly but he understood everything and could follow complex directions. It's definitely something to keep an eye on but his vocabulary can grow exponentially in a short time so don't get too hung up on the number of words he should have.

B.,
My oldest has global developmental delays (fine motor, gross motor, speech, etc.) partly due to a late diagnosed thyroid condition. When she was 9 months old, her doctor recommended that we have her evaluated to see what professional thought. I kept putting it off because of a lot of reasons (feeling embarrased that my baby wasn't "normal", doing what other kids were doing, being a bad parent, etc.). I'm not proud of that reaction but that's how I felt. Eventually I did get her evaluated and she currently has therapists come to the house to do speech therapy (amongst others). Our insurance covers part and the provider agency (Foothills Gateway in Fort Collins, CO) covers the rest.
My point is, yes, trust your gut but don't let any feelings of being a failure as a parent keep you from trying to get your little guy help if he needs it. There are lots of state sponsored programs so hopefully you could get the evaluation done for free (your doctor should have info on that). I hope I'm not projecting my experience onto you.
Best of luck on whatever you decide to do.
Peace, M. P

20 words at 2 years old I think is really good. I wouldn't worry at all. Toddlers develop differently and yours may be focusing on gross or fine motor skills right now. My first born could only say 10 words, I think, when he turned 2. He is now 3 and speaks 2 langagues extremey well. My pediatrician had concerns as well. I went to speech therapy just to make her happy, but I knew deep down, that my little boy was doing just fine. I think that Doctors over-react at times, they all went our kids to fit the same profile and it just doesn't work that way. Good luck!

Call your local school district. My daughter had/has a speech delay because of ear trouble and qualified for state funded classes. It only occurs during the school year but it is outstanding. I saw hug improvement in my daughter's speech within just a couple sessions.

Good luck.

Hi B.,
I went through the exact same thing with my then 2 year old son. At his 2 year checkup his pediatrician asked if he was able to say 200 words. I told her no then she asked if he was able to say 50 words and again I told her no. She wanted to know if he could put 3 words together to form a sentence. Again I told her no and that the most my son knows is probably 10-20 words and his pronunciation was not very good either. We did the audio test which he passed. She said I should just keep a watch for his development and that if he wasn't forming 3 word sentences in 3-5 months she recommended I contact Child Find. I was so worried and concerned. But after receiving many responses from other moms I decided to let him develop on his own. I didn't contact Child Find or get a 2nd evaluation. Eventually he started talking on his own about 6 months later. He's now going to be 4 in September and does not stop talking. Before starting therapy you may want to wait a few more months to see where he is at. Good luck!

Hi, i have 3 year old twins. one has had speech delays since born. I found the infant toddler program through health and welfare will do screenings for free and have licensed therapist come to your home for therapy visits.They are wonderful too. There is no income limit. We are over income for all other services they offer. Infant toddler program is different. We had private insurence and the services were free. My son also had physical therapy for 1 year. I didnt know where to get helpm for my son and we had a 1,500.00 deducable for each family member. I was so nice to have them come every week I didnt have to drag all three children to long appointments every week. Then try to figure out what to do with the others during appt. times.I was told theriptws can be very expensive. The program is for everyone even peoplre that make alot of money and those that dont
good luck on your quest!
J.

I see you received quite a few responses and lots of places to go for help. I just want to say don't wait. Get an evaluation at one of the places suggested by the others. If there is no issues, great! Now you know. If there is an issue that needs to be dealt with, early intervention is vital.

If you can afford the preschool, go for it! If money is an issue, I have some recommendations for what you can do at home.

Be sure to talk to him about everything you are doing around him as this will help him learn more words. Encourage him to use words when asking for something or informing you about something. He is probably giving you physical cues that you have learned the meaning for, therefor nixing his need for verbalizing his needs.

I have experienced this with each of my children at one time or another, but I figured out what I was doing pretty quick as I had others around to help point it out. Doing what I stated above helps drastically and, if incorporated every day, can nix the need for a speech therapist at all.

Make it a GREAT day!

S.

were you concerned at all about it before talking with the doc? and are your fears about what others might think? or about your child is not communicating? Trust your mom gut. if you feel a deep concern over it yourself, then look for more answers. if you feel guilty that you don't feel concerned stop and remind yourself that you have intuition for your child. and trust your own instincts. I think waiting a little while is a good idea. also one thing I know my sis did was to write down for a week all the words her child was saying and she soon realized that he was talking an awful lot more than she had realized he just didn't speak that often but his vocabulary was well over the development stage. so that is a thought it would also be useful if you do go in to speak with someone about speech therapy because you will have already found patterns. the standards are just guidelines. not all kids hit them at that exact time, it's an average so some will be ahead and some behind not meaning they are slow, just not at the same pace as the "average" child at that age. and depending on which studies they are using to back it up those statistics vary quite a bit as well.
trust yourself--you will know what is best for your child.

I'd suggest taking him to preschool. Some preschools test kids for speech. I don't know if you have to make under a certain amount to qualify for free testing or if the testing is just free for everyone. My nephew has speech problems and had testing in preschool and kindergarten. I think you should wait and let the school check him. Save the money if you can and it might clear up with socialization. He might see how other children speak and catch on.

Hope this all helps.
R.

I wouldn't stress for awhile....my daughter is 15 months and doesn't say much. She is like your little man in that she understand everything we say and ask of her.
I too stay home with her and while we talk to each other during the day I think "only" kids at home with just mommy, don't speak as much right away.
Your idea of enrolling in preschool is great or just some play dates. That is what we are considering for our daughter.
If he is talking he clearly know how and what to do, he just needs more time and interaction with others.
Good luck...

When my son was 10 months he was only growling, not many other sounds, I went to Child Find here in Idaho.

They did in the next few months the tests at no cost to us. He had fluid on the ears. And four ear infections just after his first birthday.

He got tubes put in at 16 months and with in a week had 7 or so words, he is now 21 months old and still only has around 20-40 words, but he knows lots of ASL signs, so he is not as frustrated trying to tell us what he wants to.

If you feel he needs looked at call 211 and they can give you the information for your state about Child Find.

If you are not worried wait a few months and see.

Trust your feelings, pray and you can ask if your feelings are right. You can get answers.

S.
mother to Kai (21 months)
www.HomeWithKai.com

We just went through the same thing with our little girl, same age. She had about 20 words at her 2 year checkup. I had some signing time dvds from when her sister was the same age. We watch them together and I make a big deal out of doing the signs and saying the words. It really reinforces saying the words with the signs. I also started singing lots of nursery songs to her. It's taken a little while, but 4 months later she has increased her vocabulary a lot. She sings a lot of the songs on her own all day long. She loves Disney's Little Einsteins as well, and she only needs to watch an episode twice to have it memorized and be saying the lines right along with the characters. It was definitely worth it to just work with her on my own! I'd say try that first, if it doesn't work then you might look into the therapy or preschool.

http://www.childfindidea.org/overview.htm

"The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires all states to have a comprehensive Child Find system to ensure that all children who are in need of early intervention or special education services are located, identified, and referred" (From the Child Find website)

Hi B. -

You need to contact your local school district's office or go on their website and ask them about Child Find and how to contact them to get your son evaluated. Please don't wait! All of the testing and evaluations are totally free to you and do not require any kind of an income test, etc. The purpose of the program is to identify pre-school age children who are in need of special services like speech, behavior, etc. before they enter the school system. They work with kids as young as 18 months old.

If you have trouble getting information from the school district, the Colorado company called Development Pathways at ###-###-#### might be able to help you locate resources in Utah. They are the ones who test and coordinate here in CO.

I had my son evaluated when he was 2 and he received speech therapy in our home every week until he turned 3. At 3, they will test your son again and they will place him in an appropriate setting like a small speech group with a speech therapist or even preschool.

Good luck to you and your little guy! A note of encouragement - your son is just exactly as smart as you think he is! My son is incredibly intelligent, resourceful and intuitive but he also has problems with processing speech. He's made incredible progress and I am very happy to have found this program.

B.,
Have you tried going thru your local school district administration and or Child Find. It would not cost you. Not sure how your school district handles it but they should test / place him.
Good luck and hang in there and make his use his words as often as possible.
L., wife of 23 years, step mom of 3 mom of 2 and grandma of 6

The same thing happened at my sons 2 yr check up, but he only knew about 10 words. I waited a few months, but then contacted jordan valley child development center, it is in the salt lake valley, it is through the school district. A speech therapist came to our house twice a month and my son went to their infant toddler pre school class once a week and he loved it, the teachers were great.(It is only $20 a month for us, but everyone is different, I think the most it is for a family is $100 a month, they work on a sliding scale) My little guy also got very frustrated because he couldn't communicate. He just turned 3 and is talking more, but is still behing, he will be starting preschool in september and they will be working with him to improve his speech. I have enjoyed the program and so has he.
~B.

I am no expert, but my feeling about this is that therapy is probably unecessary at this point- at least at that cost! Remember that often stated fact that Einstien couldn't talk until he was like 5? His teachers thought he was slow. People develop at diffent rates and have different strengths. I think the fact that you say he understands much of what you say to him is a good indication that he'll be fine. My son is nearly the same age and for awhile I was worried that he spoke so few words- then almost overnight he started talking up a storm. Maybe your boy will suddenly hit that point and just take off. A little bit of delay doesn't seem to me like panicking over, but just something to pay attention to.
That said, watch and see how he does at pre-school- see if his teachers also voice a concern. If they have the same advice without you telling them of your concern, then I'd give it more credence. And work with him at home. My younger brother had speech therapy as a little one. He is learning disabled. As a kid, I had to help him with his "homework" from therapy. It involved a lot of listening to tapes of himself speaking and practicing saying things aloud along with a tape. That was 30 years ago, so I'm sure things have changed, but I bet you could look up some research about the types of activities that foster language developement and implement them at home- read aloud a lot to him, ask him questions about what you are reading/the names of objects, etc. . .
good luck.

I agree with the person who suggested to call 211, which connects you to the local United Way building. Each city in Utah does have a program to help evaluate a child's development. The evaluation is free. They will tell you whether your child needs help or not. If I were you, I wouldn't be to concerned, especially if the words your child is saying are clear and if you play a game that I call the word/object find game with him and he does well. The game is fun for two year olds. You ask them to show you certain objects in your house. Use words you generally use to identify the various objects. Then you can also take your son to a park and do the same thing. You can see if he will repeat the word after finding the objects. If he finds the objects fairly easily and repeats the words. You then can add those words to his normal vocabulary. You may be surprised at how much your child knows, because you did say that your child is smart and understands most everything. Good luck.

My advice: don't worry too much right now! At my son's 2-yr check, the doc said he should be saying 20 words. He only had a handful of actual words, though. After realizing that hearing and comprehension weren't issues, and listening to him "talk" the doctor wasn't too concerned. She said to just keep an eye on him over the course of the next few months to see how he develops. He's a boy. He's two. I try not to expect too much from him! If he's not speaking much by the time he's three, I'll pursue other options. As it is, he communicates just fine. He gets his point across, we understand him, and he is gradually adding new words to his vocabulary. If your son had 20 words, it won't be long before he has 50, then 100, then more. One of these days you'll be saying, "Can't you be quiet for two minutes?!?!?!?" Been there, done that with my daughter...not too anxious for my son to start talking and asking questions incessantly! Good luck and don't stress too much! (If he feels pressured, he may not want to talk)

You can do speech therapy through the school system. It is free if you go that route. However, I wouldn't worry yet. My nephew didn't speak much until he was older and then started saying full sentences. He may just not be interested in talking much. I have had many doctors and each one handles things so diff. I also had a dr. that wanted every small problem checked with a specialist. I found I was spending a lot of money for no reason. Sometimes a little patience is the best solution.

I would defintely have him evaualated by the Early Intervention program from your local school district. My kids were late talkers and I noticed it sometimes causes them to "have fits" when they struggle to communicate their wants and needs. He doesn't sound very far behind, but if free speech therapy is offered through the school district why not take advantage of it.

I'm surprised your doctor didn't tell you things you can do yourself at home!

When I took my son to his 18 mo. check up, I was a little worried about his speech. The doctor said that we usually don't immediately think of all the words our child knows, and sent me home to write down all the words he said for a few days. He said I'd be surprised, and I was.

The other thing he said was to try a "game" with him, to see if he was capable of learning words. The most important part of this "game" is to not frustrate the child. Here's what you do. Before you hand your child something, hold it out of reach and say its name (for example, "cracker" or "truck"). Say it about 3 times and see if your child will try to say it. Reward an attempt with praise and by giving him the object. If your child shows frustration, just give him the object and try later. My doctor said that if my son didn't learn any new words that way, then we'd look for a problem.

A HUGE thing that relieved my worry was when the doctor said that animal sounds count as words in his vocabulary. So count those, or teach him those with fun books, wooden puzzles, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, etc. My son knew all the normal animals, and then some, so that really boosted the number of "words" he knew.

After you do all of that, if you're still worried, then I would look into programs for him. But I think there is SO much you can do on your own, at home, especially now that you know there isn't a hearing problem!

(FYI, my BIL had a hearing problem, caused by sinus problems and ear infections, when he was young. He only said "uh" for truck by the time he was 3, and has problems still at age 17 because he lost some valuable years. So the fact that your son doesn't have hearing issues is VERY good!)

In UT there is a federally funded program called DDI Vantage that is much cheaper (free if you qualify) than private therapy. I would think most/all states have something similar. While 20 words does sound a bit behind, it doesn't sound like a major concern. Sometimes they 'explode' in the next 6 mos or so.

When my daughter was that age, she didn't have many verbal words, but lots of "baby signs" and understood everything and would follow directions, she just didn't say much. Our Dr. suggested that we get her into daycare part time because she had stayed home with my husband until then and hadn't gotten sick, and we all agreed, that I spoke FOR her. So we started preschool, and she really enjoyed it and improved. One of the things that I think baby signs taught her because she always would "try something else" to get her intent accross, make a sound, or motion. I would also have her "tell me a story" about it if I could understand a specific word. We still ended up in speech therapy for better enunciation. BUT I recommend that you DO shop around for therapists, she initially went to the one recommended/through her preschool that cost money, had poor accounting (couldn't give us a statement of costs/claims etc.) because our insurance did cover SOME of the costs. BUT then when insurance said that it wasn't going to pay anymore, because 3+yr could go to the SCHOOL DISTRICT for this therapy for free. (We didn't know! you should check your area) So of course we transferred her to the other/free therapist and she made improvements leaps and bounds, we had homework words/sounds to work on etc. and now she'll be going into Kindergarten and probably not continue with speech. She still has her trouble sounds, but everyone knows she's super bright. I think that a lot of it is that she can't wait for her mouth to say the word to keep up with her thoughts. We never made any sort of "deal" around going to speech as "special ed" or anything, and I hope that you don't either, we have lots of very smart adult friends that went through speech therapy, one family has big sloppy tongues that they have to "teach" to go to the right spot in their mouth etc...
Enjoy your son, know that it's normal for him, and that no matter what you do, you are a good mom for being there for him, and daycare a couple of days a week may be a great transition for your family and give you both time to do things on your own.

you don't say where you are, but several people have referred you to Early Intervention for a free evaluation and services if your child is found to have delays in speech. Every state has such services. If you are in CO, every county has its own agency. Early Intervention is skilled in doing such evaluations and there is no reason to pay for such services before having it done by the federally funded agency. I'm actually quite upset your doctor did not refer you properly -all pediatricians should know about this. If you are in CO you can get info on where to go at www.p2p-co.org, our statewide parent to parent organization.
And if your child is found to be delayed, insurance will cover at least part of the cost, btw.

take care, S.

Hi B.~

You might consider having the Center for Hearing, Speech and Language perform their KidScreen. We have had them come to our preschool and conduct evals the last couple of years. You can also go to their center. I think the Basic Plus eval is $30 and provides a good preliminary screening by speech and language specialists. Their Web site is: http://www.chsl.org/index.php?id=QLZ79SGEE

H.

It surprises me that at 25months they would be concerned only because I had the same concerns about my son at that age ( he is now almost 4)and he was speaking only a handful of words which only we (his parents) could understand. I was told not to worry, that it was normal. My oldest son was speaking paragraphs by the time he was 18 months so it was hard to believe 10 words at 2 was "normal." I was told that within 6 months his vocabulary would probably explode. And it did. He is now almost 4 and right on track. It wouldnt hurt to have him checked out but I feel from my own experience that giving him another 6-8 months before you put him and you thru all the stress might pay off just as well.

Check out ChildFind. You can fill out the initial paperwork on-line after going to Douglas County Schools web site - early childhood development. You'll see ChildFind listed there. They'll take your preliminary information and schedule an evaluation with your son. They're very professional and make it fun for your child. (I've had 3 of mine go through the evaluation process and qualify for speech therapy. They all thought it was a lot of fun and asked to return!) If your son qualifies, they'll set up a treatment program. If not, you can always have him retested in 6 months. If you live outside of Douglas County, contact your school system; they should be able to tell you of a similar program for that district. Good luck!

Try to contact DDRC (developmental disability resource center) or Childfind...ask your pediatrician for a local number. Childfind provides FREE evaluations for children under three, and if your child qualifies, he would receive free services, also through 3 years old. Childfind works with local school districts. My daughter, now 2 1/2 also had speech delays. We could not afford the eval or the therapies from private companies, but our ped. recommended Childfind, and we have been thrilled! Let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to try and help!

K.

preschool is a great option for getting a second opinion from a qualified educator with lots of experience with this age group. I think the doctor was a little over zealous in his diagnosis and I bet you'll think of more words that he's using that you forgot to count at the visit. Einstein didn't really talk until he was almost eight- so don't worry! other parts of his brain are demanding resources now but vocab will catch-up soon enough.

write down the words that he says over the course of 2 weeks. You still won't get them all because kids sometimes stop saying words they know.

Talk to him ALL the time. Talk to yourself aloud when he's around.

Repeat any word or sound he makes. and tell him good job.

Let him watch lots of TV. I know, I know...but PBS kids is fantastic for building up vocab.

after a month, write down every word he says over the course of 2 weeks again. If you're happy with the improvement then you're fine. If not, then look into speech therapy. A few months won't set him back too much.

Hi, B.-- I'm sorry you're so stressed. My best friend is a speech/language pathologist for Weber School District (right near you) and I often hear her recommend that concerned parents call their school district and ask for help finding services for their child. I suspect you're in Davis School District, so you could find that number in the phone book. Typically, families can receive early intervention services at no cost, and everyone the child works with is fully certified. If any kind of therapy has been recommended, it seems important to go for it. My friend says working with preschoolers is one of her favorite parts of her job because the earlier any trouble is identified, the more quickly she can help so it doesn't haunt them when school starts. Also, everything the therapists do with the kids is like a fun game--most kids really enjoy going to speech therapy. (It's a line of work that attracts excellent, patient teachers who must be very sensitive to their students' needs.)
Consider skipping preschool in favor of some early-intervention therapy and then doing extra things at home and going on educational outings, such as to library story time or the Treehouse Museum or an occasional play group, just because a preschool setting might be stressful for him if he is still learning to communicate effectively.
Best wishes!

I first would try some socializing before you go to speech therapy. It could be that he just doesn't need to talk. My son is extremely smart, but he refuses to talk unless he absolutely has to. I wouldn't worry to much yet. Have play dates or send him to preschool and have him repeat certain words you say to him.