he does come to me with his water cup and bowls, he will open the fridge and make a noise if he wants a yogurt. He will point to the cupboard with his snacks in when he’s hungry. If I ask him for something he will get it. But things like colours he is not familiar with.
Do you encourage language use when he wants these things? For example 'would you like a peach or strawberry yoghurt - can you say peach?' or 'here's your milk - can you say 'thank you mummy''? And give him a second or so to try and repeat?
My eldest wouldn't speak either, though did have a language explosion before 2 and a half. I was repeating everything like a bloody parrot, pointed out every object in every storybook, played 'fetch' a lot (such as where is the ball, where are your shoes etc). I have no idea if it worked or if he was suddenly just ready to talk.
My younger one did have several words by 2, but regressed into repetitive language over the year. At 3 and a half he still speaks like a 'typical' toddler, rather than a preschooler. Will follow direct instructions but won't have a 'conversation'. The rest of his behaviour is very 'young toddler' like as well, but that's more noticeable at 3.5 than 2.5 of course. My younger one was flagged as possible ASD far quicker than the eldest, despite the older one being non-verbal for longer. It's definitely about communicative abilities and development over use of language, which I believe isn't considered severely delayed until nearing 3 in terms of ability to verbalise. I know someone who's child hasn't uttered a word at a month shy of 4, and there's still no real diagnosis or intervention (not a good thing to be honest, poor parents are tearing their hair out). The child understands every word, just won't speak.