Delayed toddler, should I worry

[AsdaSmartPrice5]

DS is 22 months and is yet to talk. He babbles but doesn't actually say any words. I've recently taught him to wave goodbye and he will copy me and his sister if we clap, so he does do that. He's quite placid and plays independently and is very smiley, giggly and affectionate. But still, he doesn't talk. My DD started talking early so this is unknown to me. He puts objects in his mouth/licks often and doesn't point at things he wants either, which I've read is a red flag for Autism. But then, I've never taught him to point and if he wants a toy or his water on the side, he generally just goes and gets it himself so I don't know. I phoned his HV today as I'm quite concerned but she didn't seem too bothered and gave me some tips to get him talking but they won't investigate further until his 2 year check. I'm confident his hearing is ok as he responds to loud noises and will turn and look at me if I call his name (unless he is engrossed in Peppa Pig, then he ignores me!) Should I be worried? The HV said this is very common but of course you worry when it is your own and I am wondering about Autism etc. Any advice appreciated. I should probably add, both my nephew and my brother didn't speak until they were 3, not sure if this can be hereditary?

Anyone? X

Hi OP. I tend not to worry about stuff at all. My son is almost 15 months and he has never pointed at anything. He has 4 words: mama, dada, shoes and the name of our cat (he majors on the last one). He sings all the time.

Apparently you need to worry if they don’t point by 18 months. But I just try not to constantly look things up about this stuff because I reason people simply couldn’t do this in the past, they didn’t and very often things turned out OK.

I hope that helps a little.

It could all be perfectly ok but I'd have a go at the m-chat test to see if they say that there are any concerns.

Does he do anything to draw your attention to something he's noticed?

My understanding is the pointing is a flag because it indicates that a child is developing a theory of mind: they realise you don't know what they want/want to show you, so they have to point.

I wouldn't think 22 months sounds that late with talking. I get why you'd worry (as you say, you over-worry when it's your own). But it doesn't sound odd to me.

@SarahAndQuack yep it’s a major milestone called “shared attention”. I can see why it’s important, for sure.

There's a useful guide here too on what they should be saying and understanding at this age.

Don't worry too much about what they should be doing at 24 months as 2 months can be a long time.

Contact your health visitor and ask for them do do his 2 year ASQ ASAP. Service can be different in different parts of the country sadly. Until then look at Tiny Happy People and iCan along with the communication trust. I would try to avoid worrying about red flags for autism now (easy to say I know) but as a guide by 2 years normal development would indicate a child having around 50 words and joining two words so keep working on labelling lots of things for him and keep your language simple and repetitive. I’d recommend checking out the tips for Speech Development from Leeds community healthcare on youtube too.

Also too add that some language delay can be hereditary in some cases yes.

He sounds similar to mine (2 yrs, issues identified at 18m). We're waiting for SENCo to see him at nursery.

Does he go to nursery at all? Our nursery has been great in getting the referral sorted and backing up our observations at home

@Piglet89 - sorry, I wasn't trying to explain it to you (we cross posted as it happens). I actually meant to say, maybe he doesn't point but if he does something else with the same purpose, that might be reassuring?

DD never pointed, that I remember. I never showed her. But she would grab my arm to show me something or stuff like that, so I could tell she was doing the same bit of development that'd be covered by pointing.

One of my contemporaries said virtually nothing until,3+ he went to Cambridge to read Natural Sciences and ended up in a very well paid job
Don’t worry too much OP

Hi, I have been through this too. My son is now 30 months and has just started saying much more, every day we get at least one new word if not 5! Its so exciting every day at the moment seeing what the new word is - hes very fond of noise words (can't remember the term) so splash, boom, splosh, ouch etc
What i will say is despite my worries - and unfortunately we couldn't access support as he turned 2 in May so all services were stopped - he always understood what we were saying and what he's saying now is in context not just random. The main thing he doesnt do now is action songs so he knows his head, shoulders, knees and toes but can't do them with the song. Oh, and he started 'singing twinkle, twinkle about 2 weeks ago. On the plus side he's physical movement is great, running, jumping, kicking, throwing, climbing - hoovering and polishing are some of his favourite things to do. He's so good natured as well and loves people - im so proud of how well he's coming on. He has also just started a couple of sessions of playgroup so don't know if that's had a big impact

My eldest didn’t utter a word until 23 months.
At home he never really pointed but i would ask him to show me things, what he wanted if he could when he used to be upset or frustrated. He would most of the time but not all. When out at groups etc people would ask if he was behind or unable to talk.

He started saying a few words about 3 months after his 2nd birthday and by 2.5 was saying more.

He is 6 now and still not the most talkative of children at home or school.

His sibling who was 12 months younger started talking at 11 months and Dc3 was about 22 months before speaking a word, Dc4 is similar.
Maybe worth pressing HV as your concerned. If you don’t already lots of rhymes, talking to him.

All kids are different and meet their ‘milestones’ at very different ages.

Just to add, he didn't point really either and just got things for himself but he's doing it now so I think it just takes time sometimes

Haven’t RTFT but I would worry just yet.
DS was a little younger than yours, granted (only by a couple of months) and we sort of taught him to attempt to say a word if he wanted something. So let’s say he was grunting and point at his water we would ask him to say water. He would an effort to make a babble that sounded like the word and then pass it to him. It’s like something clicked then, he learned language was a useful tool and within a few months his vocabulary exploded. He is now a very chatty 3 year old!

All 3 my boys were delayed talkers and only one has asd. They were all picked up at 2 year check and had early aslt intervention.

There was a great thread on this a few months back. I will try and find it.

One of the things I hadn't realised was that sounds count as words. So for example Dd can make every animal sound going, but not name them, that counts. She's now happily moved from moo to cow, etc.

My toddler got referred to early intervention with a 'delay' when he was barely 12 months because he wasn't copying, clapping, waving or pointing. He's now 16 month and does all of the above and has two words. If you're worried ask about being referred, we probably didn't need to but the sessions wouldn't of done him any harm and had things not turned out differently it would of been good to have in the system at a young age.

Is this normal re speech, aibu topic 8 sept.

On app and rubbish at links but lots of good help on that one.

My DS was discovered to have severe hearing loss. He's now jot a hearing aid and speech therapy and completely woken up.
I didn't think he has hearing loss bit it wasn't until the health visitor noticed that he got tested.
Too young to say how NT he is but his speech has improved soooo much with the hearing aid. He seemed so much in his own world before but now he's so present

Just wanted to add one more thing. My DD didn't point either but it turned out she needed glasses and could t see a bloody thing poor love

If you’re worried you need to book an appointment with a GP and speak to someone who knows whether or not you should worry. In the nicest possible way, a load of anecdotal stories on the internet are irrelevant to your child.

For what it’s worth, my baby was flagged as delayed at 12 month check and is still delayed at 4 and we are currently applying for an EHCP. People told me a million times that I was being paranoid and that children do things in their own time and I’m so pleased I’ve ignored them and found intervention.

@Loshad

One of my contemporaries said virtually nothing until,3+ he went to Cambridge to read Natural Sciences and ended up in a very well paid job Don’t worry too much OP

I knew someone the same.

I wouldn't worry too much as long as he is well. Often when a baby has an older sibling they talk less because the older one does all the talking.

Well, his speech is behind and sometimes it’s something to worry about, but mostly they just catch up with time. If you’re happy that he can hear and he passed his newborn hearing screen, then the best things you can be doing are reading, talking and singing with him. He might not be saying the words yet but he will be storing it all up ready for when the time is right.
If you begin to get worried about other aspects of development then get back in touch with the HV. I’d recommend a hearing test just to be sure by the way. It’s often very difficult for parents to judge a child’s hearing and children can get temporary hearing problems that can affect speech development.

This comment above is exactly what I’m talking about. They don’t know your child, they have no idea of the subtle things children should be able to do at what age which indicate their developmental function and any potential barriers. It’s completely irrelevant to your child if someone else didn’t speak until they were 3 and then went to Oxford. I’d speak to a GP and see what they say.