20 month old has stopped talking.

[Hohohole]

Our 20 month old was really coming along with talking but in the last 2 weeks has stopped. We've been at home for two months so wondering if this could be part of it. He's still saying a few words but hasn't increased and has stopped saying some words. I've been doing flash cards and talking to him all the time. He must be sick of the sound of my voice. The only new word he's saying is no.
Any advice?

We were sure that DT1’s lack of speech was a hearing issue as he never responded to his name, seemed oblivious to lots of sound... took him for a hearing test and he turned around for every sound, i was shocked! The HV can refer him for a hearing test.

Much more important than whether he can speak at this stage is whether he can understand words - how’s his understanding? Children who don’t understand that words have meaning won’t be able to learn to talk, at best they’ll mimic words but not use them properly. So working on his understanding of words is really important (another reason I suggested the book above).

It may be nothing at all to worry about but regression should definitely be checked out so I’m glad they’re taking it seriously.

Audiology isn't running atm due to covid but if you are referred you will be on waiting list for when things restart. You can encourage him to communicate by offering choices (hold two items one in each hand so he can reach our point) and listing favoured items in sight but out of reach. But don't do flashcards or pressure to talk.

He understands somethings like asking if he wants a bottle and he'll walk to the fridge, he'll stop if I say no, he'll pass things to people if I ask, he runs if I say go go go. I'm a very anxious parent anyway so I'm always beside him attending to his needs, he never needs to ask. He'll bring me books to read for him and loves to sit on my lap. I'm getting that book, thank you for the recommendation.

He makes great eye contact and is still playing with toys in the same way.

You can get GP to have a look at his ears. I'm not in UK but here if GP thought glue ear was probable it would then be referral to an ENT (ear/nose/throat) consultant for follow up. They treat in various ways.
Please don't worry yourself or feel awful for him. Just keep putting language in by talking to him, and accept and acknowledge any communication that comes out e.g. if he points for a drink, "oh a drink of milk?" etc.
You are on the ball to be concerned about this, following up and asking for advice so with you as his advocate he will be fine.

Just saw your update saying he never needs to ask. Maybe try letting him ask, it's called communication temptation. For example put a toy he likes just out of his reach, or put a snack in a lunchbox that he will need you to open etc and wait for him to indicate he wants it. However he gets the message across, praise him for it.
Obviously stop if he becomes upset or is unable to communicate his need somehow.

He doesn't seem to be hearing from his left ear, I made loud(ish) sounds by both ears and absolutely no reaction on his left side but he did react when I did it to the right side. Could this be something?

It definitely could be something but what I’ve discovered is, if your child is neurodiverse, it’s actually very difficult to tell if they can hear something / understand something because they may not react as you’d expect (as with DT1 and his hearing test. Or DT2 has a visual impairment and they think he is missing vision on his right hand side but he sometimes still reacts to visual stimuli on his right which could be because he can hear a sound from it or something else). I used to think it would be quite easy to tell if a child has a sensory impairment but it is actually much trickier than I thought.

The not knowing is so difficult - hopefully it’s nothing to worry about :)

How is ur daughter now?

Hi, just wondering how this ended up going as I'm going through the same thing right now

Any updates on this OP?