To ask when your child started talking properly

[whatisay]

My son is 2, will be 3 in January. He is always talking and says a few words but nothing too recognisable. No short sentences or 2 words together. He is very good at ABC and counting up to 10 and understands instructions etc.. HV has mentioned getting him assessed for autism but his nursery are saying he's doing well as he is. No issues or signs regarding autism. Just wondering at what age do i need to consider this?

I'd have his speech and hearing assessed. My daughter had a speech delay due to a hearing issue, and her speech therapist said by three she should have about 200 words, with about 2/3 recognizable. She had like 10 words at three. She went to speech therapy for a year and by the end of that year and was on par with her peers. Now she's 9 and won't shut up. 😁

My son is the same age, also 3 in January. He doesn't really say many sentences but can say 2 words together confidently. My older son was probably similar to yours at that age but his speech progressed quite quickly when he started nursery at 3.4yrs and he caught up with his peers (although I see your son is already at nursery). Personally I wouldn't worry too much if experienced nursery staff who work with him day in and day out do not see an issue. I was told that some boys do talk slightly later. Perhaps ask the nursery staff what activities you can do at home to help him progress in his speech?

Hmm. So my son will be 3 in January. He speaks in full sentences and increasingly other people are able to understand him. There are some sounds like ‘s’ he can’t say clearly. There are a few kids in his preschool girls (interestingly all girls) whose speech is unbelievably clear.
An autism assessment wouldn’t be made on delayed speech alone, would it?!

My eldest son is severely autistic and is non verbal. When my middle child was 2 she still wasn’t talking, like at all. She went to speech therapy and had her hearing checked. I was worried but not overly so as she has no other red flags and understood everything we said and could follow instructions no problem. She finally said her first word at 3. She wasn’t completely clear until about 5/6 years old. She’s 13 now and has just been diagnosed with dyslexia. At this age understanding is more important. My youngest was very verbal at 2 which was a change!

There is a huge range of normal and children do all develop differently. but to be honest, I would be a bit concerned about a nearly 3 year old who was only speaking in single words. My children varied quite a bit - the girls were quicker to talk than the boys- but they were all talking in at least 3 or 4 word sentences by 3 I think.
Autism wouldn't be my first thought though, unless there are other concerns. As the previous poster suggested, a hearing test us probably a good idea, along with an assessment by a Speech and Language Therapist. Your little boy may well be absolutely fine but if there is a hearing issue for example it is much better to get it dealt with early. Maybe have a chat with your GP about it?

6 and half as he was non verbal due to many disabilities
He's 9 now and you can't have a proper conversation with him.

I know many children in our disabiled group that are non verbal and even 3 teenagers

DS will be 3 in December. He uses 2-4 words in a sentence, plurals and is starting to include tenses. We can mostly understand him. I'm not sure about other people because he is growing up abroad but speaking mostly in English. He understands the vast majority of instructions and the things said to him (and sometimes not said to him, when DH and I are talking).
He does, however, also still mix languages and drops in the odd word in his second language. That's apparently normal.
His language has really come on since he's started in the toddler room at nursery.

Totally agree with a pp suggestion to try speech therapy. A good speech therapist can make a huge difference.

It really depends. wide ranges. My ds is almost 3.5 and speaking full sentences with quite a big vocabulary. I would say he starting speaking in sentences from 2.5. my niece is 3 and only just started talking properly. so it really varies.
Our nursery does hearing and eye, speech tests every year though so stuff like this is picked up quickly. But I would check that.

It could be completely fine, OP. On the other hand, I know someone whose DS was only talking in single words at the same age, and she was repeatedly fobbed off by her GP and made to feel like an over-anxious mother. Eventually, it turned out that he had a (relatively easy to fix) hearing problem that meant he couldn't hear anything clearly.

So I'd say accept any tests or assistance that your HV proposes, just in case. But don't worry yet - I've heard anecdotes about kids whose speech spontaneously took off around that age.

I would definitely get in touch with your HV again. My DS is 3 in a few weeks and speaks in full sentences with a wide vocabulary. He can't pronounce certainly letters yet (c,k sounds and g sounds) but it's easy to understand what he's saying (to us andd others outside his immediate circle)

It could be something to do with his ears and hearing that needs investigating. If he's doing fine at nursery then I wouldn't worry about autism. What do his nursery leaders say?

My DD started putting words together about age 2. Shes now 2.5 and speaks in full sentences. This seems to be on a level with the majority of her friends.

I think a hearing, speech and language assessment is a good idea. Strange to leap to a suggestion of autism if the only sign is delayed speech.

Where I am, if two words are not being put together by 2 years, speech and language accept a referral. Definitely ask to see someone for an assessment

My middle child was similar. He entered nursery age 3 with 2 words at a time. By half way through the first term of reception class he had caught up and the speech therapist said he had a vocabulary "in advance of what we expect of his age"

It was like he'd suddenly thought "oh! I do need to do this talking thing after all!"

he is autistic.

@wornoutboots how is he doing now?
One of my twins is 2.5 and going through the diagnosis process now and sounds exactly the same. I can't imagine how he will be in a few years! Nobody else can tell but I can, also it's a bit of a giveaway that he can read 3 letter words but not put 2 words together!

Tbh I would worry more about understanding than speech.

DD1 could speak in simple sentences by 18 mos. Her vocab was massive.

DTs are 20 mos and can say about 10 words in DT2 case and probably half a dozen in DT1 case. It will be a good while before sentences happen.

But they understand simple directions and answer questions "shall we change your nappy?" "Nope!"

So I have faith that they will get there in terms of speech production.

Do you worry your dc does not understand?

MacabreMannequinFun
He's an intelligent 6 year old - can usually do his 9 year old brother's homework after a very brief explanatio..
He does have some social issues due to the autism, but he's clever, funny, has a lovely best friend, caring, loving, and makes me smile so often!

He understands certain instructions. We will ask him to find the letter 'B' and he will find it with no hesitation. Wouldn't understand if I asked him if he needed toilet. Not potty trained. No other signs of autism that why I was shocked when she said. I'm going to ask about a speech and language referral and hopefully that helps.