Not talking at 2yrs old - any success stories?

[clare40]

My gorgeous ds is saying only 3 or 4 words - he has just turned 2yrs old. He understands instructions and makes it clear what he wants from pointing or leading me. He is so engaging and funny! We have been referred to Speech and Language Therapy but have a long 18 weeks wait.

I was wondering if anyone had been through this? Please could you share your story? When did your dc start talking? I'm so anxious!

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

I had two late talkers out of four. Both had some input from SALT. One is now a superarticulate 13 y old who recently won the school so debating competition. The other is a chatty 9 y old who is confident in expressing herself and doing fine at school too.

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

So debating? Is that any different from regular debating?

[sesamechoc]

Hi clare40,

DS1 was talking fluently at 26 months and DS 2 was only saying mama and dada at age 2. Like you, i was very anxious and went to the GP . Although she referred him for another ear test and to SALT, she said that he was completely engaged and understood everything and that from her perspective both my dc were at opposite extremes of the normal developmental curve which was probably why i was so aware of Ds2 delay but she said he was still within the norm. His ear test was normal and by time we got the SALT appt 16 weeks later, we cancelled it cos he was talking fine.

Now 3 and 3 months and is extremely articulate!!! I would suggest having a rpt hearing test because once I knew that was normal, I relaxed and went with the flow more...

[clare40]

Thank you for replies - they are very reassuring! I have no doubt, like your dc, that he is a clever little boy! He has had a hearing test which was fine.

[chocolatecrispies]

My dd is 29 months and still doesn't say much more than 'mummy', 'daddy' and 'no' - but is really good at communicating and making her needs known, plus understands everything. I think she will do it in her own time - my SIL didn't talk until she was 3 and now she is an architect...

[soundedbetterinmyhead]

I was in a similar position to you 9 years ago with DS at the same age as yours. I was referred by the HV with an unspecified wait for SALT and I ended up paying for private weekly sessions with him whilst waiting for the referral to kick in.

I am so glad I did because after 8 weeks, my private SALT completed an assessment outlining her concerns and I am sure this made a difference getting DS seen quicker.

Once we were in, he had fantastic help weekly from SALT, OT and specialist playgroup (sadly closed now due to cuts), learned Makaton and went to a mainstream nursery at a children's centre where they signed alongside speech. I did parents' courses in Makaton too.

I remember at the time wishing DS had been deaf, because at least then, he could get help/hearing aids/learn BSL. In our case, people couldn't tell me when he would develop speech and I worried very much that he just wouldn't.

He was diagnosed with Speech and Language Disorder but managed in mainstream primary and is now looking forward to starting high school with no extra help. He now has just a lisp, but I am sure that without all the help he would have many more problems, including behavioral linked to his frustration. He has no SEN, it was just the speech and language.

I know there are arguments about buying your way up waiting lists etc etc, but at the time, I wanted to do the best for my child. NHS SALTS are fabulous, there's just not enough of them and 4 months is a lot to a 2 year old, IMO.

Also, completely ignore anyone who tells you that Einstein didn't speak until he was 11 or whatever. Einstein was an extraordinary freak of nature.

[Boomerwang]

I want to know this... when babies grow up they are given huge windows for progress, things like learning to walk are from something like 9 months to 18 months. Can the same be said for learning to talk? I don't have money to spend on speech therapists, but my 19 month old can't say a clear word apart from 'no'. Do I need to worry or is it another 'average' gap thing?

[Cluelessat30]

My DD was like this a year ago (age 2), hardly uttering a coherent word and communicated with gestures, grunts, whatever it took. Fast forward a year and she hardly shuts up!

[soundedbetterinmyhead]

Boomerwang - what does your Health Visitor say? With DS, it was quite specific things that he just couldn't do along with talking - blowing out candles or blowing bubbles was one, or sticking out his tongue and moving it from side to side or up and down. I am not at all a SALT so this is only from a mum's perspective. Maybe speak with your health visitor if you are concerned. For every story like ours there's another like Cluelessat30 so there seems to be no way of knowing if it's going to be a problem.

[Marrow]

At 28 months DS only had three or four words but now 4 months later he has a big vocabulary and talks constantly and very fluently. It really was like a switch was flicked on one day. I think he had just been absorbing everything and decided to miss out two and three word phrases and went straight from single words to fully formed sentences.

According to my mother I barely said a word until after my third birthday. I really wouldn't worry about your DS. I m sure he is taking everything in and will suddenly start talking one day, probably before you get your referral!

[clare40]

Can your toddlers blow? I don't think my toddler can! I suspect there is something going on - like verbal dyspraxia.

[Cluelessat30]

I think my DD could blow at 2. I'm sure I remember her wanting to blow bubbles then getting frustrated as she'd hold the wand too close to her mouth or something. But she'd get the occasional bubble. She needed help with blowing out her candles at 2, so not v strong blowing. HTH.

[DwellsUndertheSink]

OP my foster child arrived with 13 words at 2y3mo. 6 months later he has over 300 words and is developing syntax around them.

Talk, talk and talk some more with your little one. Some kids are just slower to pick things up than others.

Use lots of repetition too...

"oh look, heres Teddy. Teddy is hungry. Give Teddy a biscuit. Teddy is eating the biscuit. Hungry Teddy! Teddy likes biscuits."

When they take off, its amazing. Ours started very slowly - about 30-50 words after 2 months, then a sudden surge in words to about 200 after about 4 months, then he stalled for a bit, now sudden surge again developing the syntax around words - personal pronouns "I do it!", prepositions, adjectives etc. I guess he has around 300-400 words now, if not more. He is still behind where he should be I think, but closing the gap rapidly. Just started nursery, so speech to pick up more again.

[firawla]

clare if you really worried about verbal dyspraxia pm me i can give you some info to some facebook groups and a couple of speech therapists who speclialise in it if you wanted? (some of the non specialising ones not always as good?)

my youngest two both have speech issues. youngest is 2.4 and has only a few words, not very clear, but does now understand instructions and can point etc so quite similar to yours? the next one is 3.10 and at 2 he had only a couple of very sounds which were similar to each other and not really any proper words. he does have verbal dyspraxia (and asd) and over the past year he has had loads of input from slt (both nhs, private and more in nursery) and he is doing really well! year ago when he was diagnosed wouldnt have imagined how much progress he could have in a year. he still has a long way to go, but i really have seen how much all the speech therapy and support hes had has made a difference. it doesn't happen straight away, at first when we start slt it was all about attention building more than speaking (it still is, alot of the things that ds works on) and i wondered how much impact it would really have, but it does help - only once we have got further down the line ive started to see it.

good luck with your ds!

[hardboiledpossum]

my ds had less that ten words at 2. now at 2.5 he has a huge vocabulary and speaks in sentences.

[mummyxtwo]

Ds1 only said a few words at 2yo although he understood a lot and recognised colours. His talking rapidly improved after that age and by 2.5yo he was saying a lot more. I think he didn't start talking until he decided he had a lot to say! Some boys can be a bit lazy in the talking department I think. He is now coming up to 5yo and talks non-stop!