Will my 2 year old talk again?

[Hohohole]

I know no one can say for certain. My 24 month old stopped talking 4 months ago, he only had 5 words beforehand. He is currently on the wait list to be assessed for autism. We are getting speech and language therapy and on the wait list for other therapies. He's only been seen in the last two weeks.

He babbles all the time but no words. He is the happiest little fella always smiling at me and loves when I sing to him and is so smart. He imitates me in actions to songs but not every time.

I'm reading the two hanen books and have signed up for the more than words course. We are on the wait list for a private assessment (12 weeks waiting time), I don't know what else to do.
I'm so worried he will never talk, my heart is breaking.

I've also started him in creche for a couple of sessions a week and have his name down for a ASD specialised playschool for when he is three pending his assessment. I narrate my life simply with him and do structured activities around his speech and language which he enjoys. I use the same words during our routines. I don't pressure him at all it's all done in a fun way.

My brain is just fizzing from the moment I put him to bed to the moment I nod off. I feel as if I'm not doing enough but I don't know what to do.

I'm so sad that he might not ever talk to me and can't come to terms with it.

[RowboatsinDisguise]

Have you considered a toddler signing class? Tiny Talk run toddler classes now but I’m sure there are other providers. We had a child with a similar speech regression/delay in one of our classes and he did pick up some signs and use them to communicate at home.

It sounds like you’re doing loads already though. You never really know what is going to happen with such young children.

[Mybobowler]

OP please don't worry! My 20 month old doesn't say a single word, and no one seems particularly concerned at this point. There's a huge range of normal development, and some children just talk later than others. You really don't need to start worrying that he'll always be non-verbal or that you'll never be able to have a conversation.

You sound like you're doing a wonderful job encouraging him to speak. I know it's hard not to worry (I also get stressed about my DD's lack of speech) but try not to panic - chances are, he'll get there.

[Mabelface]

My eldest son was similar. Said a few words then lost them at a similar age. He turned 3 and started talking really quite quickly. He has aspergers syndrome and is a functioning adult.

[peakygal]

Don't worry OP. My DD now 7 was like this. She was diagnosed with Autism at 2 and a half years and we were told she will probably always be non verbal. Fast forward to now she is the biggest chatterbox and even speaks in her sleep 😂

[BrokenLink]

Your concern for your boy shines through your post. You mention he regressed and now has no words, but what is his understanding of your words like? Does he point and wave? Does he respond to you pointing? Can he point to pictures in a book? Can he follow simple instructions like "get your ball"? Where there are signs of understanding, the prognosis is good for the child catching up. Can you get your child to follow your agenda, rather than just pursuing their interests? If you can, that is a good sign. It's also very positive that your son is happy and smiley. I have known many children who are very delayed with their speech and the vast majority get to where they need to be, eventually.

[Hohohole]

Thanks so much. You don't know how much better that makes me feel. He does point to words and pictures in books so that I'll read them out. He doesn't wave and rarely answers to his name.

He understands a good bit. If we're at at door and I say knock he'll knock on the door, if I ask him if he wants milk he'll run to the fridge. He understands, up, upstairs, downstairs, daddy, drink,outside. Loves when I call him a cheeky monkey,loves to make me laugh. If he's doing a fun activity with his dad he will try to catch my eye to smile at me.
He obeys when I say no (90% of the time), he's easily distracted and always wants to play with me. He'll look when I point about half of the time.

[BrokenLink]

That all sounds fabulous. Everything you describe are signs of him understanding your language and having social skills. The chances are that he will speak, but it may be a long time. The next step will be to request a hearing test to make sure he can hear as well as he should. Give him lots of opportunities to speak by asking questions for example "would you like an apple or a banana?". Avoid any pressure to speak. Eliminate as much background noise as possible, so he has the best chance of hearing clearly. Make listening fun by making funny noises and laughing together. Sing lots of songs with hand actions. Teach him "ready, steady, go", so he learns to do an action on the word "go".

[justanothermamma]

@Hohohole

I used to work with a little boy who was 3 and non-verbal. We had a laminated chart with velcro strips on and a bag of 'actions' which he could choose and velcro on.

He would ask for a juice, food, if he needed the toilet or wanted to play. We incorporated this communication with Makaton too. So when I 'read' what he'd put on the chart, I asked him to confirm whilst doing the Makaton for those actions. Over time he began to use Makaton more often.

Communication isn't always words, as hard as it might be to accept the possibility that you may never have real words - you can still communicate together and it sounds as though you have a lovely relationship in which to build that communication.

Thinking of you x

[Hohohole]

I've been waiting on a audiologist appointment for months. I'll chase it up again today.
The speech therapist said he wasn't ready for pecs. I had bought a photo printer in anticipation but she said he's wouldn't get it. I was trying to teach him makaton during lockdown but the speech therapist told me not to.
Thank you so much for all your helpful advice and support it means so much.

[movingonup20]

Dd has no language at all until nearly 3, developing proper sentences at 4.5. She's autistic and at university.

Look up aba therapy, it's not widely available in the U.K. but the techniques can be done at home - I believe this is why my dd, originally told she would never talk etc is studying for her masters.

[steppemum]

My friend's son was like this.
he had 10 words, and then stopped talking. He did get hugely frustrated and had regular melt downs. It was a veyr difficult time.

My friend happens to be a signer for the deaf. She was encouraged by the SALT team to use signing with her son. She used it in a way called 'sign supported English' That means you speak the English sentence, and use the signs at the same time. So they get both. He very rapidly picked up the signs, 50-100 within months. he signed badly, really hard to pick up what he was signing unless you were Mum, but that is just like a child says 'ing' and Mum knows it is the word they use for drink.

he was assessed for autism, (the assessor refused to believe that he could sign by the way) he received a diagnosis of autism, and moderate learning difficulties, and because he was non verbal, as he headed towards school, he had a 1:1 who had to be able to sign.
At age 4, he suddenly started talking. his pronunciate was poor, and very hard to understand, but it was like a dam bursting, and he 'caught up' with all the language he had missed.

He needed speech therapy for quite a long time, as well as pronunciation, he struggled with some language constructions. He is now 14, and his pronunciation is still a bit unusual, you can hear from his voice that some thing is a bit unusual. He is now home schooled, and studying for GCSEs and is a fantastic young man.
Yes is he autistic, and will probably always need someone keeping an eye on him, but he is a lovely lad.

I am convinced that signing with him helped to build and teach the part of the brain that is related to language, so that he was then able to add speech in too. I think it is a really helpful step for kids who ar enon verbal.

[Hohohole]

Brilliant I'll look into aba therapy thank you.
He is never frustrated and has never had a melt down. I don't think he's cried for more than 3 minutes in his life. He did all the actions for twinkle twinkle little star this morning. I'm delighted!

[fedupandlookingforchange]

I started talking then stopped when I was a toddler, when I started talking again it was in full sentences. I was very deaf from glue ear and another issue and my mother thought that I knew I wasn't saying things correctly so stopped.
Had speech therapy when I was school age as still was having speech issues and grommets in. I've no speech issues now as an adult but I do still having hearing problems that slightly impacted on day to day life.

[Laurie01]

My DD was similar, I think she had so much going in her brain and so much to say that she just stopped, then stuttered for a bit and couldn't get the words out, now I can't shut her up!