Feeling lost about non verbal 2 year old

[QuietBatperson15]

My son is 27 months now and doesn’t say any words. He has been referred for audiology to check his hearing (referred in April and still no appointment). His hearing seems absolutely fine to me but I know it’s not as simple as that. We are waiting for his SLT to start.

His understanding is great and he’s very interactive in other ways, but I watched a video of my older child around the same age and the difference is huge (talking away, naming colours).

Has anyone else had a child who seems fine in every other way but no speech whatsoever at this age? I can’t imagine him ever talking 😞

My DD is nearly 2 and doesn't have any words either. We've been referred and are also waiting for SLT to start. Does he babble without words? My DD does this in a conversational way and I was told during the screenings that this was a really good sign.

It's a worry. I don't have words of wisdom to tell you it will all be OK because this is uncharted territory for me, too, but I wanted to just say you're not alone.

Does he babble and make noises or is he completely silent?
My 22 month old can only say “muhmuh” and “dada” but he babbles in his own language all day long.

Two is very young are there any other concerns about his development? I have a non verbal 11year old so i do understand, but it was very obvious there were other things going on, many late speakers do go on too have an normal language, at this stage all you can do is keep pushing for refferals and assessments

I've literally just had my DS 2.5 year check
He is being referred to audiology and if no further speech by October half term he will be referred to SALT.

He understands well, communicates in every other way, can follow instructions. Speech wise he babbles in a conversational way and can say approx 20 words.

My oldest was a chatterbox by this age.

Youngest has started a few mornings at nursery and staff say he is 'trying' so it's been decided to see how he is getting on by half term.

My first child really didn’t talk much, I didn’t know any difference. When he had his health check at 2 he passed everything well, he walked at 11 months but he wasn’t speaking. HV said she could make contact in 6 months as she was concerned about his lack of speech. I then realised she was right, he would point to anything he wanted and made a sipping sound when he wanted a drink. We stopped doing everything for him and tried to make him say the word what he wanted. HV rang at the 6 month time and she asked how he was getting on and I let him talk to her, he caught up quick. Obviously not saying that this is the case with every child, but he just needed extra time.

My friend's son was like this until he was almost three. Everyone was concerned, referred to SLT etc. Then suddenly there was a word explosion and he went from single words to two-word phrases to simple sentences within about three weeks.

Is he babbling? Sometimes they start a bit late but once they discover they have a voice, they quickly progress.

I have a 27 month old. At 24 month he was saying 3 words. At his 27 month review the health visitor said he should be saying around 50 words and putting 2 words together. He was saying about 15 words. However in the last 2 weeks he has progressed massively, saying several new words each day. The health visitor did say they would review in 3 months and refer to speech therapy if required.

Boys start talking later....I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep talking to him.

He does babble and another thing that’s concerning is he was making sounds closer to words before he was 2. He point blank refuses to imitate any words and shakes his head when you ask him to. I don’t want to pressure him or make it negative in his mind so I don’t ask him often, just occasionally to see if he will. When he babbles it’s often in a sing song way.

Thank you for the responses it’s nice to know others in similar boat and some success stories. I’m never around other 2 year olds as there hasn’t been playgroups, nursery aren’t concerned about anything other than his speech but I can’t go into the building yet to see him with his peers.

My 2.5yo was exactly the same. We spent over a thousand pounds on private speech therapy and I did all the techniques with her daily. I took her to signing classes, I never stopped talking, reading, singing with her. Nothing worked and I was beside myself with worry. Then almost overnight she just started talking. Went from around 6 words to 30 in a week, then 2 weeks after that she was talking in 3/4 word sentences. She's 30 months now and other than some issues with pronunciation she's completely average for her age. Unless there are other developmental delays then I would honestly try not to worry - some kids just take longer.

Perhaps Covid and the lack of socialising has had an impact.

My older brother said nothing apart from car until he was 2.5 years and his hearing was fine and seemed to u sets tabs command and then one day my mum was busy with me crying and he was getting annoyed with her and said mum drink please and my mother was shocked that he could speak

Each child is different, no point in worrying without tests

My son was the same, maybe one or two words by the age of 2. He did lots of signs (he invented them, we didn’t do baby sign classes or anything). By about 2 and a half he had invented some words and did a few sounds (like brrr for car etc) but not much else.

We did SALT (all online so pretty limited). The most useful thing I found that they suggested was leaving a ‘space’ at the end of a sentence, so for instance, ‘I like milk, yummy, a nice cup of....’ and let them fill in the gap (if they want), or do the same when reading a story as they are likely to know the word from having read it before.

He’s now 3 and he is very chatty, talking in full sentences, he told me he was ‘underwhelmed with this dinner’ the other day 🤨. Not sure if it was the SALT or he was just ready.

@faithfulbird20

Boys start talking later....I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep talking to him.

That's an outdated myth.

My son didn’t say much until 3 and now he won’t shut up. He is autistic with a speech disorder though so it’s good they are keeping an eye

I have same worry with my dd is 27 months says maybe 7 or 8 words and not consistently.

I've wanted to ask for a referral but everyone just says don't worry :(

She had he check up end of month so I'll speak to health visitor then.

Her understanding is fine can follow instructions do puzzles and was walking by 12 months.

I am praying in time she will get there it's just so hard being worried all the time so your not alone

Hmm that’s even later than my son, who had only 4 regular words at 27 months (but is now, at age 31 months talking in little sentences).

Start with signs. Loads of simple Nursery rhymes with actions. A few simple books. Counting 1 to 10. Animal sounds

What does he like?
My son likes vehicles and Peppa Pig so we focused on that - beep, beep when we saw a car, brmmm when we saw a bus, ting-ting when. We saw a bike, piggy snorts when we played with his Peppa toys.

We also learned miaow and woof woof and cheep cheep so we could name things on our walks.

Then we did words to do with movement - up, down, out.

Smile when he makes an attempt to talk, and pretend for now you understand, try to converse. Leave long gaps after questions while he finds the words in his head.

When we played I asked my ds sometimes to look at my mouth and I pointed at my lips when I made a sound, so he could see what shape my mouth made. If he was in a good mood I’d say, “you say it” and occasionally he would try. I acted really happy when he tried.

Also I’d guess from context what DS was babbling about and repeat back, really slow and simple “yes its a car. daddy’s car” or whatever. Quite often I’d guess right and he was delighted when I apparently understood.

As he got better I’d say “did you say car or cat?” And he’d repeat, trying to get clearer.

It’s a slow journey and sometimes it seems like he forgets words he knew well a week ago. But overall he’s improving all the time.

I have been looking for signs of autism, he does love lining up cars and sits for ages moving them back and forth. He was also close to saying a couple of words when he was 1 and stopped. His eye contact is good and he responds to his name, instructions etc. It’s the not knowing that’s the hard part. I’m not enjoying this age as I should be even though he’s a super wee guy, there’s just a constant niggle of will he ever talk.

@faithfulbird20

Boys start talking later....I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep talking to him.

Wrong.

My son only had a few words at 2.5years. We had a referral for speech therapy at 2.5 but only actually got some at 3.5. Partly because there’s not that much they can do when they are really young. His understanding is good and he now has an excellent vocabulary but can only pronounce some sounds. It has improved massively and we will get more speech therapy. I’m suspect he’s autistic

@Warsawa31

Her understanding is fine can follow instructions do puzzles and was walking by 12 months

She's crammed a lot in 27 months! Her words will 'catch up'

@QuietBatperson15

I know a lot of 2 year olds that didn't speak either much or at all, and others who from much younger didn't shut up! They used to say they'll walk or they'll talk, and largely it's actually true. Most of the 'late talkers' catch up quickly as the vocabulary is already in the heads. From 1 to 100 SO fast. Try not to worry or make it an issue and you'll be reassuring others in no time

My DS could only babble dada and mama at 2. The rest of the time he would just squeal and screech. When he reached 2.5 it was as if a switch went off in his head and he started repeating words and after a few weeks he was speaking in short sentences.

I was so worried about a speech delay and this all happened during the first lockdown so there was no referral or 2.5 year check. He now doesn't stop talking!

Every child is different so try to not compare. He is still really young and it sounds like you are on the ball with getting him the help if he needs it.

Please ignore the comment about boys talk later it’s untrue. Children develop at different rates regardless of being male or female. Comments like this only hinder kids getting the early intervention they may need.

If you are really concerned please speak to your health visitor.

@CustardyCreams

Hmm that’s even later than my son, who had only 4 regular words at 27 months (but is now, at age 31 months talking in little sentences).

Start with signs. Loads of simple Nursery rhymes with actions. A few simple books. Counting 1 to 10. Animal sounds

What does he like?
My son likes vehicles and Peppa Pig so we focused on that - beep, beep when we saw a car, brmmm when we saw a bus, ting-ting when. We saw a bike, piggy snorts when we played with his Peppa toys.

We also learned miaow and woof woof and cheep cheep so we could name things on our walks.

Then we did words to do with movement - up, down, out.

Smile when he makes an attempt to talk, and pretend for now you understand, try to converse. Leave long gaps after questions while he finds the words in his head.

When we played I asked my ds sometimes to look at my mouth and I pointed at my lips when I made a sound, so he could see what shape my mouth made. If he was in a good mood I’d say, “you say it” and occasionally he would try. I acted really happy when he tried.

Also I’d guess from context what DS was babbling about and repeat back, really slow and simple “yes its a car. daddy’s car” or whatever. Quite often I’d guess right and he was delighted when I apparently understood.

As he got better I’d say “did you say car or cat?” And he’d repeat, trying to get clearer.

It’s a slow journey and sometimes it seems like he forgets words he knew well a week ago. But overall he’s improving all the time.

Thank you for sharing this and for the tips. I think I will do that, focus on sounds for just now. Made a little progress recently when he pretends to touch a leaf/long grass etc and says “Ow!” After me doing the same when showing him that thistles are jaggy.

The problem is he doesn’t seem to want to try, he shakes his head or puts his hand over my mouth when I ask him to say something.

Thank you everyone for your responses it has really helped today. I know they are all different and he might not do the same but it gives me some hope just now.

[quote AlmostSummer21]@Warsawa31

Her understanding is fine can follow instructions do puzzles and was walking by 12 months

She's crammed a lot in 27 months! Her words will 'catch up'

@QuietBatperson15

I know a lot of 2 year olds that didn't speak either much or at all, and others who from much younger didn't shut up! They used to say they'll walk or they'll talk, and largely it's actually true. Most of the 'late talkers' catch up quickly as the vocabulary is already in the heads. From 1 to 100 SO fast. Try not to worry or make it an issue and you'll be reassuring others in no time[/quote]
Thank you ❤️

He has been well on track for his physical milestones, walking at 11 months and been using a fork or spoon for a long time. I did think he was focusing on the physical development and taking everything in but it’s when we got to beyond 2 I started to get really worried.