To think when your child starts talking is a sign of their intelligence?

[Yuep]

Or is there no link?

bit worried as dd is hitting all milestone and can communicate and understand instruction but at 20 months is only really articulating 5 words with any real sense.

My son didnt talk until he was 2 years old and had to have some speech therapy.

He is now 17 and on track to be accepted at Oxford to study law.

It really isn't. I talked pretty fluently at about 18 months. My Dsis didn't say anything much until past 2, then spoke in complex sentences from day 1. We are both more than averagely intelligent.

My DD1 started talking so early and was fully understandable by 2.5 in full sentences. She is dyslexic and struggles academically. BUT, her way with words is insane. She is sarcastic, so quick witted, very perceptive and aware of peoples feelings and emotions.

My DD2 didn't utter a word until after 2, and at 5, to some people, is not easy to understand. She is the most academically able child in her class. Can read and comprehend chapter books. Can do her times tables easily. BUT, she dislikes people. Is very shy and wouldn't say boo to a goose.

What is intelligence? How do you quantify it?

Someone at Oxford doing maths, but has no social skills. Someone at UWE doing Early Childhood Studies who will get any interview she goess too, as she is so personable? Someone who didn't pass their GCSE's but is incredible at the piano?

My nephew got to two with not many words and then all of sudden was speaking loads. Sometimes these things take time. Try not to worry

My stepson was a good talker from a young age but isn't gifted intellectually

My eldest cousin didn't speak properly (in sentences) until he was 3. He was a high achiever at school and is now a doctor,

Just because no words are coming out, it doesn't mean nothing is going on inside :)

OP is English your first language? If your child is processing 2 languages they often speak later.

I know. I love this fact, the thought of him taking it all in before deciding to speak .

Saying that mine were precocious talkers, but we're all very language/humanities/linguistic types rather than scientific.

Different types of intelligence and all that.

There's no link, op, stop worrying. She may need a bit of speech therapy, but it's absolutely no measure of her intelligence.

Not at all. One of mine had full conversations by 18months, another barely spoke a word until he was 2, but did baby sign language. Middle one spoke as I would expect for his age, somewhere between the two.

All now equally intelligent and successful, some might say the non-talker is now the most naturally intelligent, ie doesn’t have to work at it, whereas the others work harder and also do brilliantly at school/work.

My brother didn’t speak until he was 3ish but when he started speaking it was in full sentences. My mum wasn’t worried about him because she could give him quite complex instructions which he understood.

It depends on what they say.

She sounds like ds1, @Yuep . When he was nearly 2, I was in hospital with his newborn baby brother, and to wile away the time, I made a list of all the words ds1 could say (even the ones only his loving parents could understand), and it was only 35 words.

Like you, I was worried by this - but roll on a couple of years, and he had really found his voice - his passion was trains, and he could talk for hours on the subject, without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

He went on to study Law - arguably a subject where you need to be good at debating, and which is a difficult, academic subject, got a 2:1 and is working as a quantity surveyor, and doing well.

Long story short - despite being a late talker, he caught up and flourished, so don't worry.

I used to think that but mine were both quite slow at talking and one needed speech therapy, but they've both done well academically so far at 17 and 20. One at Warwick Uni and the other got mainly 8s at GCSE.

My latest talker is the most academically intelligent of my 6.

I’ve found with 6 of them that they all have (at least) one thing that they do late enough just to make you worry. Every one.

Usually just as you get concerned enough to flag it up they’ll start doing it constantly and make you look like you’ve over reacted!

My dd is 20 months and barely has any words! However she is very advanced physically. I'm not worried in the slightest - she understands an awful lot and can follow instruction. I'm sure one day she'll open her mouth and speak in sentences 😂 But if she doesn't, that's ok too. There are support services out there IF you need them. But your LO sounds fine so try not to worry.

My son was struggling to speak still at 3, was also late to walk and toilet train, a summer baby, for most of primary he was behind in his class then suddenly at 10/11 he excelled, and was put in the grammar stream at secondary school, he did catch up eventually and I'd say a bit above average now.

DD was later than some of her peers but she walked earlier - in practice now at 10+ there seems to be no correlation! A friend’s (premature) DD who didn’t speak until 2 1/2 is now a scholarship girl at a top boarding school; another friend’s DD who spoke really early is a lovely child but not particularly academic.

Really, amongst the kids I’ve known there doesn’t really seem to be much relationship between early talking and later academic intelligence.

I’ve noticed however that there does seem to be a correlation between hitting lots of milestones early and general intelligence - but more like for example being able to stack towers, use schemas, work out spatial puzzles early in the age range and so on, rather than either talking or walking early.

And I do remember reading that there is some evidence that earlier drawing ability, especially the recognised drawing stages kids move through, is positively correlated with intelligence.

No, l have 2 dcs one started talking in sentences very early, one barely spoke until 16 months...
The second has an Oxford offer
The first is likely to get middling gcse grades

DD, who had severe speech delay and still has selective mutism, is not a genius but is clearly above average, top set for STEM subjects at school.

Her chatterbox sister is also clever, but more of an all rounder.

I didn't talk until about 5... I have 7 degrees

DS1 didnt utter a single word apart from 'uh' until he was 2.5 years old. It then was apparent that he could read really really well. He also went from not talking to having complex long conversations very quickly. He is 17 now and very intelligent but is on the spectrum - very high functioning though.

DD on the other hand was talking in complete sentence by 18 months. She is a bright girl but not as insanely clever as DS2.

DS2 had hearing problems so although started talking at a 'normal' age he needed speech therapy and surgery on his ears.

So even though all 3 children have the same genetics and upbringing they are all completely different!

Why do you have 7 degrees? Are they all vastly different subject matters?

DS went to an academically selective school where they test ability at 2-3yrs using age appropriate test. DS wouldn’t speak throughout the test but indicated by pointing. His score was very high despite not uttering a word. On the way out we had to go downstairs, he turned round and said to me “ these stairs are very steep mummy”, the assessor smiled and said, “ he can speak then”.
Early on, as an only child, he didn’t need to talk very much, but when he did he launched straight into full sentences. Apparently I was the same, my younger sister, however, made an odd clicking sound which I happily translated for my parents, as long as I was around there was little need for her to verbalise anything. We are spookily quite telepathic, and often don’t need to talk to each other out loud.

DS and I have a high IQ but both of us have learned to dumb down, occasionally surprising people with our intellect. Most of the time I happily identify as a “dumb blonde” life is some much easier when people have low expectations of you.

I had a very wide vocabulary when I was small, but that was probably bc my mum was an English teacher. I can assure you as an adult I'm strictly average at best in the intelligence department.