To be very worried about the fact my child doesn’t speak?

[Gettp]

Ds is nearly 19 months. He can say ‘mama’ and ‘dads’ and ‘feet.’ That’s it.

I am very worried I am doing something wrong. I’ve tried to encourage him to say words or point to animals etc in a book and repeat the word but he just will not.

In terms of what he knows… if I say we need to put socks on he will lift his feet before I’ve even got the socks. He knows what a biscuit is, what his milk is etc as when I ask if he wants either of those things then he will smile excitedly or reach out his hands. He will also point to things that he wants or to the cupboard where his food is etc. But I can’t get him to say ‘milk,’ even if I said do you want milk or biscuit it’s like he can’t tell me which. I’ve tried all sorts to get him to speak more and I’m really worried. The GP said it didn’t matter and was no help and health centre/place where you can drop in just said to keep an eye but it was unusual?! Anyone got any experience?

At 2 years and 2 months I saw the hv as dtd2 wasn’t talking. We walked in and she suddenly started chatting… so I looked like a paranoid mum but she’d only managed “bear, bear” up to that point 🙈 it’s far too early to worry.

Most kids get there in their own time .

Some kids gradually creep up in the number of words they say and other go from saying hardly anything to practically talking in sentences! He's still little, just talk and read to him lots.

I didn't speak until I was 3. My mum told me she was very worried at the time. I got a first class degree from a Russell Group university. Both my sons were only saying single words by the age 2.5. Both in top sets at secondary school. Dyspraxia runs in our family. One of my sons and I have an official diagnosis. I never spent the money on the 2nd son's testing as his school work isn't in the least affected

He sounds totally normal. I did a baby/ toddler speech and language course when my eldest was born. The advice on there was to narrate everything. It feels pretty stupid when you start because you're talking to yourself.

Basically a bit like

It's breakfast time. Mummy is going to the fridge. Lets open the fridge and see what fruit there is.(Get out and apple and pear) Do you want (hold up apple) and apple or (hold up pear) a pear.

Lets play with cars. Wow your playing with the red car. You bashed the red car. Your red car is so fast/slow.

Their speech development very quickly.

Although, I would second having a hearing check. My friends child's could hear but he had glue ear and his speech was very impacted by it.

Has he had a hearing test? I tried not to worry about youngest and went down the they are all different rabbithole only to find he had hearing issues later which were discovered when he had speech therapy (and then resolved quite quickly)

I knew DS2 understood everything but he didn’t speak. I remember asking him on his 2nd birthday if he was ever going to speak to me. He looked up and said ‘no’! He actually didn’t really start talking for another year and then it was whole sentences (and to let us know all about his past lives!!!!). The vivid imagination waited for the right words!

Neither of mine really said anything before the age of 2. They weren't saying anything at 18 months. Then they hit 2 and their speech started to soar.

Now they don't shut up!

Your son can communicate, and that’s the important thing. My DS didn’t speak very much at all as a toddler, to the point that the Health Visitor asked if I wanted speech therapy for him! I didn’t think there was anything wrong with him so I turned it down, then when he was three he suddenly came out with a whole sentence and after he that never looked back. I really wouldn’t worry, Op - if he can say a few words, it’ll come.

He’s still very little and clearly has a lot of receptive language. You will likely see a sudden explosion of words in the next 12 months.

Completely normal in my experience. One son didn’t say much until at least 2.5 yrs and grandchild only really got going with her speech 2.5-3yrs.
She has an amazing vocabulary now aged 4.5 . Try not to worry.X

My son started to say 'mum, mum' at just 6 months old. I thought he was going to be a fast developer, but he didn't even start to toddle at 18 months. I was worried about his walking, but one day, as we were going past a school playground, my partner asked me to point me out which of the kids had been early walkers and which late. Of course I couldn't and got the point.

You're doing fine, you're spending time with him, talking to him, reading books with him. Not every child will get speaking before his age. Many parents at this age have their head glued to their phone and not interact as much as you do. So he does know words and his understanding is great, and that's half the battle. He'll speak when he's ready I'm sure.

One thing you can do is use questions he cannot nod or shake his head to or point eg 'would you like a plain biscuit or a chocolate one?' (no biscuits on show) Or 'shall we go to the park with the swings today or the park with the big climbing frame?' And see what he answers.

At 18 months, the NHS average is around 10 words, your child has 3 so below average but it isn't none! I have a completely non verbal child and can tell you that understanding language is a very good indicator for speech and development in general. You could get his ears checked and It's a good idea to flag this with your health visitor and GP so there is a record if he doesn't come on by 2/3. I really wouldn't panic from what you described though it's understandable especially when other children seem to be chatting away!

Keep reading, keep playing, keep a note of his words and any new ones and make some noise for him with professionals if needs be. There's plenty of time for him to catch up, though early intervention is preferable too. You have time for all of it. Don't panic just keep being proactive!