19 months - late talker??

[3missys]

Hi!

Someone may have already posted a similar thread but my 19 month old daughter only says "Mum" and "dad" and "juice" spontaneously. She is very intellegient in other ways. putting shoes on and understands things you ask of her etc but these poxy "guides" says she should be saying 50 words!!? She can say a few more if we ask her, dog and ball etc but probably onlu amounts up to 6-8 words in total.

If she points to things we say what it is nd ask her to repeat it etc but not sure if she is just lazy?

My HV says not to worry would like to hear of other mums experiences.

Cheers!
Sarah xx

[Piffle]

my dd was non verbal until age 3, she is now nearly 5 and can talk the hind leg of a donkey

No need to worry yet, by 2.5 I'd say if no further advances then seek an expert opinion.

[hippmummy]

Hi Sarah - your HV is right 19 months is too young to worry. It sounds like she understands loads, and she can say things if you ask and thats the important thing.

Soon you'll be wishing she would stop!

[lizandlulu]

my dd is 20 months and sounds alot like yours. she can also sao mum, dadda, hiya, ba for ball, dig for dog but not much else. she also understands everything i say. im not worried, just know she is a little behind other kids.

[3missys]

Hi!

Thanks for your reassurances. I am not mega worried but when you read these guides they make you slightly worried even of you weren't before. I have decided to throw all my guide books away now!

Cheers guys!

Sarah x

[mummytosteven]

She sounds absolutely fine - at this age the fact she understands and points shows she's doing great. As Piffle says, if she doesn't improve, then get a speech therapy referral.

[3missys]

Thanks! I am sure when she does start talking she will be a right Miss bossy boots as she is now with her limited speech, so I suppose I should enjoy what "little" she does say while I can!

Sarah x

[moondog]

Don't worry.
I'm a speech and lang. therapist and perfectly normal.

[JARM]

My dd2 s nearly 21 months and still only says mamma, dadda and boo!

I am worried, especially as DD1 was talking a lot earlier, but im not prepared to look into it until she is 2.

Its very annoying though because she does understand everything you say to her, just is too lazy to talk!

[Rantmum]

My ds was only saying a couple of words at 19 months, and I was worried about it he didn't start to really say more til closer to 22/23 mths. Now, less than a year later it is hard get him to stop talking! It is easy to be concerned because, as with all developmental stages, talking happens quite early for some children and quite late for others. If you feel that you would like to do something to feel like you are helping your dd's speech I would recommend the book "Baby talk" - it suggests that you spend about a half hour everyday in quiet play, eliminating all background noise, where you follow your lo's lead in play and talk about everything that your lo is playing with as they play with it. It is great advice because children pick up words that matter to them first, as you know. But really don't worry! Completely normal!

[mumfor1standfinaltime]

Hi,
Ds is 2.5. he only started to 'get interested' in talking when he was 2 and has only just started to string words together.
I really wouldn't worry.
Things which helped us were large picture books - just sitting and looking at pictures, pointing and naming things in the book every day, he soon got the message and now points at most things and says what they are (I know you say you do this, but just keep it going!) I would say he now learns several new words each day.
I also found it just seemed to 'happen'!

[Rantmum]

Yeah, I agree with mum41 about picture books - also rhyming books are good. Ds loves Dr Zeuss books and can now recite them as I read - the rhyming really helps him memorise words.

[3missys]

Wow, all great advice. Will stick with the naming of objects etc and quiet play. It is nice to hear about other Mums experiences of talking as the few Mums I do know have babies that spoke quite early on so I was feeling a little concerned.

Many thank yous to you all!

Sarah x

[lucyellensmum]

3missys, i have similar concerns about my DD, she is 2 next week, still only says about 10-20 words. She is having SALT and has improved with this, i have started other threads about it elsewhere.

Could i very delicately suggest something though, it is something the SALT pointed out to me and has worked. You mentioned that you ask her to repeat words back to you, they did say that isnt the best way as it puts the LOs under pressure. I was doing it all the time. I dont want to sound patronising or suggest you are doing wrong so please dont take it the wrong way. What i did find really helped though was offereing choices all the time. It can be a bit laborious and didnt seem to me like it was working at first but things like "would you like juice or water" "banana or orange" etc etc. It really does work. Also, giving the words is meant to help soon, so if DD is pointing at a cat, instead of saying "is that a cat?" (bad to ask q's all the time as they often just answer yes or no - i was really bad at this and SALT said she was going attach an electrode to my hand and shock me every time i did it (jokingof course)) so, instead of saying is it a cat, say is it a cat or dog - My DD responded to that really well. It does sound like your DD is doing fine though, actually, i think i should listen to my own advice too

[kittywits]

My 18 month old says mama, hot and finished. She's busy being active. It'll come, don't worry

[lucyellensmum]

3missys, the quiet play etc sounds like you are on the right track, going by my experience and again, what the SALT said

This mothering lark is a bit of a worry isnt it

[3missys]

Hi!

Thanks lucyellenmum! I@ll go easier on her repeating words and be more forthright with the choices. I do do that now but I suppose hadn't really appreciated the fact this way they still hear the words plus allowing them to have a choice at the same time! Will try this, hadn't heard of SALT but will look more into this if her speech does not improve anymore!

In fact only this afternoon she said what I thought was "book" when she wanted her favourite book to read, so hey, thats good!!!

Many thank yous once again!!!!!

Sarah xx

[suezee]

my ds is exactly the same,was beginning to wonder myself actually......have got his health visitor coming next friday for an assesment just to put my mind at ease x

[3missys]

UPDATE! Just thought I would let you all know that after following all of your advice in the little space of time since posting this thread and giving her the "choices" my DD1 is now saying actual words such as dog, cat, ball, gurt (yogurt)! Amazing. Would recommend that if any other mums are worried about late talking in their DD's to try this method (see lucyellensmums post).

Cheers!!

Sarah xx

[Philomytha]

You're not alone. My son is 19 months too and doesn't say any words at all, not even mum etc. When he had to go to hospital a month ago (for something totally unrelated) I mentioned this to the paediatrician, and she said that so long as he was communicating in some way then I shouldn't worry. Since he understands words I use and is fine at pointing at things and gesturing and making nonverbal sounds to get his message across, I'm trying not to let it worry me. Still, I might try some of the suggestions on this thread.