Not worried exactly about 13mo DS, but...

[lurcherlover]

...I always vowed I would never panic about DS' development, just let it happen in its own time, and I'm not panicking now, honest...just would welcome other people's experiences of this stage. DS is 13 months next week and I'm sure everything is normal - he has just started walking, babbles all the time and is very smiley and happy. The only things that worry me are that he doesn't say any words at all (just lots of babbling, da-dee-da and the odd nonsense word like taay-gar etc), and nor does he point to things. I know some babies don't say their first word til closer to 18 months, but shouldn't he be pointing by now? I'm also not sure how much he understands - if I ask if he wants milk he gets very excited so I know he understands that, but some babies his age seem to be able to point to their heads, toes etc which he has no idea about. He also shows no interest in books - he likes picking them up and turning the pages, but he isn't interested in looking at the pictures or in me telling him what the pictures are. If I asked him where the doggie was in the book he wouldn't do anything to show me he'd understood. This is all OK, isn't it...?

yes....lol!

Lurch, it all sounds normal but I would always take a parent who had concerns seriously as the little niggles can sometimes be something only a mother can feel but obvious signs of developmental problems with hindsight 2 years later.

What have you researched?

Haven't researched anything exactly - I am an English teacher and know a bit about child language acquisition as it's on the A level syllabus, but I know that age of first word is generally 12-18 months so he's still got time for that. It's more the pointing/apparent lack of understanding that bothers me, and I haven't specifically researched this - it's just come from looking at babies of a similar age really, who seem to be more advanced with these things than he is.

I do really understand these sorts of niggles; my DS is almost one, and I have similar anxieties and look for similar things, even though I tell myself that I am going to just let him develop at his own pace.

Anyway, a very good friend and academic in the US sent me a document outlining milestones at various points in a child's life. What she particularly liked about it is that the sources are mixed, and yet all respected. It's a very good file of information. And I really trust her - she's a speech and behavioural pathologist who does a lot of work with children on the ASD.

This is the break down of milestones for 1 - 1.5 year olds. I hope it's helpful/appeasing. I think it makes you realise that you've got nothing to worry about at 13 months - he has a lot of time, and as you know, these things click overnight. B

Uses sentence-like intonations (jargon)
? Some echolalia
? Uses most vowels and consonants in jargon
? Omits final consonants and some initial consonants
? Basically unintelligible with exception of a few words
? Words produced with CV structure (bo/box) emerge
? Accurately imitates some words
Semantics
? Follows simple one-step commands
? Points to recognized objects (emerging nomination)
? Points to wanted objects (emerging state)
? Begins to claim certain objects (emerging possession)
? Points to one to three body parts on command
? Identifies two or more objects or pictures from a group
? Perceives others? emotion
? Uses 3 to 20 words
? Vocalizes with gestures
? Says ?all gone? (emerging negation)
? Answers questions ?what?s this??
? Asks for ?more? (emerging recurrence)
Play
? Solitary or onlooker play - self-play
? Continual walking activities
? Begins running ? stiff and awkward
? Scribbles spontaneously with crayon
? Can remove mittens, socks, hat; unzips zipper
? Puts objects in and out of containers
? Can figure out ways of overcoming some obstacles (opening doors, reaching high places)
? Imitates many things (sweeping, combing hair ? self-use)
? Pulls toys; carries or hugs doll, teddy bear
? Very rapid shifts in attentions ? especially expressed by gross motor shifts
Syntax-
Morphology
? 50 percent of all utterances are nouns
? Mean length of response is one or two words

gobblygook that's an interesting list. Is each section supposed to be a hierarchy of skills or just a list of things expected to be achieved by 18mo?

Thanks gobbly, that's really interesting to read. In a lot of ways DS is perfectly normal according to that list - he does all the things in the "Play" section apart from scribbling with a crayon (he'd just eat it) and imitating things (something else that worries me a bit; I've seen babies his age pick a toy phone up and put it to their ear, for example, which he doesn't do). He uses vowels and consonants in his babbling, and he claims objects (well, he carries them round and gets upset when you take them off him). But there's an awful lot of that list he isn't doing yet - no words at all, no gesturing or pointing (he waves his arms a lot, but I don't think there's a definite intent there) and like I say he can't identify body parts or pictures. I know he's still got another 5 months before he's "meant" to be doing this stuff, but you can't help worrying a bit when you see other babies doing things, can you?

All normal .....

IIRC DD didn't point til she was about 13/14 months. Definitely didn't speak, except babbling. Don't think she was drawing. Definitely wasn't into pretend play at all.

Then at 18 months she could draw a perfect face, with eyes, nose, ears, hair.
She's now 2.10, trilingual and doesn't shut up. Very much into pretend play.

I wouldn't worry- if he doesn't point in 2 months time, then perhaps a visit to a doctor is warranted, but really, everything you mentioned seems absolutely normal to me.

Oh, and she wasn't interested in books at that age: she liked to play with them, but wouldn't follow a story. She now loves being read to.

Toddlers 'should' point by 15 months, so at 13mo it's totally fine to not be doing it yet.

I found that with small children their development doesn't really follow a gentle curve, it's more spikey iyswim, so one day they speak at all and then a week later they have 5 words, for example.

DS wasn't interested in doing anything with crayons other than throwing or eating them till he was about 18 m.o.

At 22 m.o. he's now really into drawing.

At 13 m.o. he didn't do pretend play but does more advanced play now (eg his trains go to sleep, eat dinner etc)

He's only started following a story in the last month or two - before that he just wanted to turn the pages. He definitely wouldn't be able to tell me where something was if I asked him - that's only come in the last couple of months too.

He had maybe 1 word at 13 m.o. but now has a lot and talks in sentences (well, as long as I repeat each word after him).

He sounds completely normal to me..

He sounds exactly like my 13 month old son. Really don't think there's any cause for concern at all. Plus, if it helps, my daughter didn't say any words at all until she was 3. Speech therapist I insisted on seeing wasn't concerned, and when she started talking, she caught up virtually overnight. There really is such a broad healthy range for milestones. My 13 month old would be entirely clueless if I asked him where his head was, and he resolutely refuses to point to storybook pictures arkward little bastard

Sounds perfectly fine to me. I don't know if my DS has ever pointed (as in asking for what he wants or for anything else for that matter) and I never looked for it to be honest. I know more recently he's started saying "look at that!" while pointing to whatever it is. However, he's 2.2 yrs and talking in 4-5 word sentences so certain things such a pointing seem very minor in the overall picture.

I certainly wouldn't worry if I were you. He sounds just brilliant, really! If he's babbling a lot, perhaps he'll be a good talker very soon! :)

Sorry meant to say he's 2 yrs 2 weeks - so shows just how quickly they come on in the months between 1 and 2 yrs.

Ds is 15 months and has just started pointing and waving within the last week

My DD is 12.5 months and does do the pointing, says quite a few words and loves looking at books. However she can't walk yet (has just stood without holding onto anything in the past week). I'm not worried about it as I know she'll do it in time and is making progress.
In my limited experience from friends/family it seems like some children might be quicker at walking and all the active stuff, and others may progress quicker with speech and communication. But as the other posters have said, there is plenty of time for their development! Sounds like you have nothing at all to worry about!