To be a bit concerned about DS not talking yet?

[Natsku]

He's 17 months next week and he doesn't say a single word, not even mama/dada directed at us but he does babble a lot. He doesn't try to copy words either.

I wouldn't be that worried if it wasn't for the fact that his understanding seems to be behind too, there's only a couple of simple directions that he follows which may be he just follows them because he knows the routine (e.g. going to sit on the stairs to wait for me to put his shoes on when I tell him to as that's what we always do when we go outside) but if I ask him things like "give me the ball" or "pick up your hat" he has no clue, just stares blankly at me or wanders off. He does understand when I say it's time to change your nappy or it's time for a nap though as he always laughs and runs away when I say those.

Relevant info - bilingual home, he did fail a hearing check once but then passed a later one, can point to things but doesn't do it much, normal eye contact etc. and sociable (so no concerns about autism), he pretty much just communicates by screaming or grunting at me until I figure out what he wants. I did try to do baby sign language with him but he doesn't get it, doesn't try signs or seem to understand any.

Baby signing can take months for them to pick up. Though at 17m I'd be taking him to the GP to get a referral for his hearing and eye sight and maybe for any early interventions he might need.

Use a treat like chocolate to bribe him to talk
Don’t do what he wants until he says the word
Relax no one could understand my ds until he was 6 as he was unclear

If he failed one hearing test but passed another he could have an intermittent hearing loss e.g. glue ear. Take him to your gp and ask for advice.

If you're concerned the best thing to do is go to the GP, preferably a paediatric GP. Have you mentioned this to your health visitor? My son didnt start talking until after he was 3 (due to previously undiagnosed health issues) and I found my health visitor was the biggest support with where to turn whilst waiting for the GP referrals.

I'd probably go back to the GP about hearing just to be on the safe side and discuss with HV any concerns about delays. I wouldn't worry about talking on it's own though. My DS1 was almost 3 before he said any words and then they all came out at once!

Jeepers, referrals and things at 17 months? I don’t think I’ll stay on this thread as it will just make me worry. OP, my DD is 21 months and says ‘bye’ and ‘ta’, that’s it . I’m not worried (but worried at the same time if that makes sense). I figure she’ll get there eventually and I have no other concerns. I don’t think I’d worry yet if I was you. I also think the fact your family is bilingual would play a part. My understanding is children from bilingual homes learn language slightly slower as they are learning two.

Not saying it is autism OP, but my younger DS only had 10 words aged 2.5 (he improved and is very chatty now) and is perfectly sociable. He's currently being assessed for ASD. So I'm not sure you can entirely rule it out (sorry)!

Meh, still fairly normal. I know loads of 18mth olds right now and many of them have no words, including mine. And I’m certain mine is smart and communicative and frankly a genius so I’m not worried😉

I’d definitely get his hearing checked again. My dds have autism. One isn’t sociable but the other is really friendly. Have you tried withholding what he wants to get him to talk?

No words (even badly pronounced ones) at all at 18 months merits a trip to the gp according to nhs guidelines (which I can’t find sorry).

Ds2 was like this and gp referred him to audiology and speech therapy. He’s 6 now and has caught up but has done a lot of speech therapy. No other developmental issues have shown up with him though over the years, he’s fine.

I would absolutely get him checked with the GP. I know every child is different, but at 17 months they should have at least 50 odd words and be putting them together to form simple sentences.

Wow 50 words with sentences at 17 months, think that’s scaremongering a bit!

My DD had maybe 10 words at 18 months, growing to about 100 at age 2 and since then her language has exploded and she just can’t stop talking! Our entire lives are narrated by her!

In all honesty, I get why you’re worried. I was too. But I would leave it a few months before worrying about referrals. I’d be amazed if a GP or HV referred you before age 2 anyway.

My son is bilingual and didn’t start talking until 22 months. I wouldn’t worry about him not talking at 17 months. But it may be worth talking to HV or GP about him not appearing to understand what you’re telling him. I was an early years teacher and not understanding was more of a concern than not speaking at this age. And please try not to worry, he is still young and even if there is an issue, it is very likely to be fixable

I mentioned it to the child nurse (not in the UK) when I took him for his MMR at 15 months but she wasn't worried then because he was babbling so much but she said they expect 10 words by 18 months. DD was late to start talking but this feels different, her receptive language was great so I was never concerned, following instructions etc.
I shall have to ask about the hearing tests again, he's not the greatest with responding to his name but I've been putting that down to just not wanting to but maybe it's his hearing.

@ContessaIsOnADietDammit I suppose of course I can't rule it out completely but it doesn't seem likely to me right now at least, but it is in the family (my brother is on the spectrum) so the chances are a bit higher

jizzle - I have known a lot of 17 month olds and can only think of one who would have been able to do that!

Op - my daughter is 23 months and only has a small handful of words. I’m not worried yet

I have heard that children in bilingual homes can take longer to talk as they're learning two languages, not one. I don't think you need to worry just yet!

Yes check out glue ear it comes and goes

Use some albas oil in his room as this helps

Have you tried withholding what he wants to get him to talk?
Yeah but he just gets really upset and I don't have the heart to push it

Definitely get him checked out hearing wise. But children in bilingual households often do start speaking later.

There’s a wide range of what is normal but if you feel his understanding is an issue also then he should be checked especially as he has failed a hearing test.

at 17 months they should have at least 50 odd words and be putting them together to form simple sentences

As a former early years teacher, I did not see a single 17 month old who was forming sentences. OP please don’t let this comment worry you

50 words at 17 months definitely seems a lot! Not worrying about that, it's 10 words by 18 months that they are expecting here

And I'd be happy with just one or two by then, just so I know that he CAN talk

It's quite normal for them not to be talking at 15 months. But you should take him to get seen if he doesn't have any words by 18 months. And this (below link) suggests that he should be able to follow simple instructions by 18 months as well.

Bilingual children only tend to be a couple of months behind their peers and overall should not develop outside of normal language windows, just possibly on the later side within them. When he starts speaking and you're counting numbers of words, count both languages rather than just the one the assessment is done in. Of course being bilingual doesn't insulate a child from a speech delay and early intervention is still important - so if you want him to be seen don't be fobbed off with "it's just because he's bilingual" - the research doesn't back that up.

www.talkingpoint.org.uk/ages-and-stages/12-18-months/things-look-out

From same site (without links back which is why I've sent separately) this is useful:

licensing.ican.org.uk/sites/licensing.ican.org.uk/files/pdfs/My-15-month-old-child-is-not-saying-many-words.pdf

I worked in nurseries and I’d say that 50 words at 17 months is not the norm. Well certainly not in the settings I worked in anyhow. M

Both my DD and DGD didnt babble and didn’t have any words until around 19/20 months. When they did start speaking though they made very quick progress and were speaking in proper little sentences by about 2. Trust your feeling about this though and speak to your HV or GP.