To be very worried about ds now?

[woeriermhm]

Ds turned 18 months this week. He only started saying mama two weeks ago. He used to say dada but that stopped… he says car but not even sure if he knows what it means. He can’t say anything else and he doesn’t try to either. I thought he had tried to repeat me saying tree but even if he did it wasn’t very close to the word. My niece could say lots of things by now. Should I be looking out for other worrying things regarding development? I don’t think this is normal?

How much does he understand? If you put a Teddy and a ball and a car and a banana in front of him and asked him "pass me the ball" would he do it? If you said point to teddy's foot or put the banana on your nose, or put teddy on the car etc would he do it? Speaking is only one part of language and if he is understanding language then I wouldn't be too worried just yet.

How is his hearing? Could he have glue ear?

You are right that it is not typical for an 18 month old to have so few words and people who say otherwise are well meaning but not in your situation and not feeling the worry. You need to look at other aspects of development to determine if there is an underlying issue - Will he share attention readily ? Will he join in with your activities ? Will he play with toys ? How does he communicate his needs to you ?

I had an early talker and a later talker. Ds2 didn't smtalk until after his second birthday.

Kids development is not linear.

I wouldn't be worried yet, but only you know the whole picture and if you're at all concerned take him to the hv/gp.

My DS only had five words at 18 months: mummy, daddy, tractor, cat and hiya. I remember absolutely panicking as my NCT group were all girls apart from DS and one other boy who has some additional needs anyway. I looked into speech therapy and all sorts but he followed a totally normal trajectory, picking up lots of single words as he approached 2 and then between 2 and 3 his language exploded.

The expected level they look for is between 6 and 18 appropriate sounds at 18 months. Does he say "woof" for dog, or "bmm" for car? Those count.

If he doesn't say at least 6, then speak to your HV and ask to be referred to speech therapist, ENT (for hearing check-they'll want it before SALT) and paediatrician.
The chances are that by the time he gets to the top of the waiting list, he won't need it, but if he does, then the earlier the better, so getting on the waiting list is important.

My oldest was a chatterbox and spoke really well. Fully in 6-8 word sentences by 20 months. One of my friends had a dd who was about a month older and she was referred to SALT at 2yo because she didn't have a single word, not even "mama". I don't think she even made any noises.
Anyway we lost contact, and we met up again at swimming lessons at 4yo and you honestly could not have told which child had been an early talker, and who had been a late talker. She caught up so well once she'd started the SALT.

I wouldn't worry much about an 18 months old not taking. How is his understanding? Cannot he follow simple instructions. do you think he understands you? How does he communicate? Pointing etc?

Hearing ok?

Ds hardly talked until 3. We had to see specialists about him. He was later diagnosed dyslexic, but by the age of 5 could talk for England🙉.

Dd talked really early and well. Loads of engagement and eye contact. Lived chatting. Diagnosed ASd and adhd at 16

My son didn't really speak at 18 months. We would get the odd word but often just once. He did do "woof woof" and "oo oo" (monkey).
We had 4 guided speech therapy sessions when he was about 20 months old. He was showing signs of understanding, for example he would put something in the bin, make a simple choice, find a nappy, that kind of thing.

He really started speaking at 2.5 and was using sentences well by 3.

He got a grade 9 for English language GCSE (top few percent) and is on track for 3 A* A levels, so in his case wasn't anything that held him back long term.

All children are different and develop at different rates. One of my AC spoke in full sentences at 18 months (Please may I have a drink, Mummy?), that type of thing. The other AC was later, about 2 1/2. So long as your little one understands what is being said to him and can respond appropriately, I think it's fine. Talk to him all the time, keep repeating words - "Let's put your shoes on, they're blue shoes" etc.

How much does he understand?

I know some children who spoke late like this and turned out fine, and some that didn't turn out fine, so I agree, start the ball rolling now, for investigations, just in case there is a long waiting list.