To ask for your very late talker success stories?

My little one! Didn’t start talking until 3 months before their 3rd birthday, totally silent before then, no attempt at talking. Now, they’re turn 3 tomorrow (so this is all very new for us!) and my god are they making up for lost time!! Pronunciation still a little off, but now talking in sentences, explores words every day, copies etc. No ASD, but did have 11 brain surgeries before their 1st birthday!! We’ve been under the care of paediatrician and SALT and they were both really relaxed about no words before 3 - I think it’s something that parents get more anxious about than the professionals! Having said that, there were things we did (though who knows if it helped, maybe they just talk when they’re ready).

• talk LESS. The SALT we had said I talked too much (almost constantly) and that I was filling in the space for my child where there might be an opportunity for them to talk
• Choices. Don’t make it too easy for your child - when handing them something give them a choice e.g. do you want milk or water? Then, be really patient and wait until they indicate a preference
• play ‘sabotage’. If your child is playing with a toy, or getting ready, eating dinner etc then gently ‘sabotage’ an element of the game. For example, if your child is playing with a toy (ours was always cars) and it makes a noise, then switch the noise off. Your child will probably become frustrated and hand you the toy to fix. Then, you model what to say ‘you want me to turn it on? On? Toy on. On. Toy on’ so your child can see the language they need being modelled
• create language maps - repeat the same key phrases over again in a simple way e.g. if your child needs a nappy change always use the same short phrase (ours was ‘clean bum time’), and this can be for almost everything that’s in their daily routine, really model the language.

Our child was/still is utterly obsessed with books, and we read to them accumulatively 60-90 minutes a day which I think has also helped. I’m sure there are other things we did, I’ll go back and peruse the notes we were given and update if I do!

it’s so hard, I worried so so much and you long to hear your little ones voice, I so understand. Stay calm and positive, it will all be ok!

Dc3 didn’t talk until nearly 3 (she’s not autistic) as she rarely had to. She had speech therapy in reception class, she’s in year 3 and thriving, exceeding in all areas, a great friendship group, talks & giggles her way through life.

It’s very difficult, OP.

My DB was a late talker, not speaking more than a few words until well after his third birthday.

He caught up fast.

He went on to a STEM PhD from a top university and a fabulous career including many lecturing invitations.

My 9 year old didn’t say a single word until he was 4, and he’s literally never shut up since.

A friend of ours didn't say a word until around school aged apparently. He is almost certainly autistic, has never had a partner, and his manners are a bit rough, but he has an independent and full life.

My husband spoke very little before aged around 2.5 and he's done pretty well in life, quite clearly autistic and very probably dyspraxic but as long as you don't mess with his routines and you're willing to sit through the odd monologue about his special interests, he leads a very "normal" life.

DC1 (pretty but not 100% neurotypical) refused to speak until nearly 2.5 when DC2 was born and suddenly we weren’t making the effort to understand the mysterious noises & pointing. Went from non verbal to full sentences in a couple of weeks out of pure necessity.

DH was non verbal til nearly 4.

Husband, didn’t speak until he was around 4. He has a successful career and is a great husband and father, I suspect he is on the spectrum though.

My autistic DS didn’t talk at all until he was 4. Once he started, he started talking in full sentences and it turned out that he could also read. We never knew!

My sister now in her 30s didn't speak till she was 7 (or nothing comprehensible that made sense to anyone other than her)
She is autistic and has LD and still has huge challenges but is now very verbal, in fact her conversational skills are so good they often lead to professionals significantly underestimate her difficulties (not literate, can't cross a road, live in any way independently)

My son didn't speak until he was 3, he wasn't using full sentences that could be understood by most people until he was 5. He has seriously made up for it now and can talk for hours!
He's autistic and was diagnosed when he was 5.

My extremely clever uncle didn't talk until he was three. After that he was the youngest to pass all sorts of exams and was applying for jobs in his early twenties where they said he was too young and couldn't possibly have the qualifications but he did.

My ds non verbal until passed 3 by 3.5 he was talking. He is on the pathway for autism and now at 7 very gifted in maths, slightly behind on handwriting/reading and socially very young. He is awesome.

My DS15 was a late talker... almost silent until he was around 3. He's also autistic. He is now the most verbose and eloquent young man I've ever met (admittedly biased) and is confident speaking in public too.

My eldest didn't speak until 4. Five years later, he just asked me what 'anti-disestablishmentarian' means

Following! My son is just over 2.5 (31 months) and has over the last month started copying and mimicking so many different single words. He was completely silent before then! We were referred to speech and language a while ago and had our first assessment over summer. We have been told to work on language as being functional rather than just repeating (so instead of just saying the word finished, we're to use to in context after a game or dinner which is working pretty well!) Also learning to point (as he doesn't point or gesture) he's also on the pathway for ASD.

What we found helped a lot was scaling language back to its most simple basic form. For example if my DS was playing with a car id chat all about the car and what colour it was, how fast it was etc. But it's like learning a new language - if you go to France and somebody just talks at you in French, you won't understand and find it very overwhelming. Where if the French person speaks slowly and uses single words to start with, and by pointing to that object, it's much easier to retain. We also try not to ask too many questions and leave lots of pauses and gaps to let him try and fill the space (with no pressure)

Also Yakka Dee on CBeebies has been a massive hit! It's 5 minute long episodes of the same word being repeated but with different visuals. My son has gone from saying one word to almost all of them, he loves it! Worth a try!

None of mine spoke until between 2.5 and 3. One of my grandchildren was completely non verbal till a month before he was 5. Now 7 and doesn't shut up
Oh and no autism

My sister never spoke a word until she was 5. My parents were told she was deaf and dumb ( 60+ years ago) One day she started talking in full sentences and basically never shut up again until she died 50 years later. She could talk the hind legs off a donkey. They never knew why she choose not to speak or take notice of any sounds until she was 5.

My eldest didn't say a word until 3 and a half. We went through speech therapy and nothing worked. Then he just started chatting, he was just waiting until he had figured it out! No SEN, even though I was leaning towards that. My speech therapist did say some kids just like to know everything first. Very quick speech progression once he spoke though.

Look I don't want to rain on your parade but your child will follow their own trajectory, I have a non verbal 14 year old and I used to cling to these kinds of threads but ultimately your child is very young and may well develop speech or maybe not gey the ball rolling with assessments and reach out for aa much early intervention as you can.

My son didn't talk until 2.5 years, selective mute in primary, barely spoke in secondary and college, did a degree and masters, now doing a PhD. Talks a little more now but not much.

Mine was over 3 before they spoke. Went from barely anything to chattering my ears off within 6 months. They caught up very quickly. Suspected adhd/asd.