Speech/Words for 2.2 month old

[ClareL]

Not sure if I am worrying over nothing but my DS can probably say about 40 words - some clearer than others but doesn't make sentences. I am sure I had conversations with my DD at this age as I started potty training but I am miles off anything like that with my DD. He doesn't always understand what I'm saying either - he looks at me when I am pointing him in directions and stuff but he really hasn't got a clue what I'm saying. As my HV no longer does a 2 year check what advice would you give with regards to speech therapy and stuff. Never had this with my DD so am at a complete loss.

If you are concerned about his speech or development you can still see your HV and ask her to check him over.

It's very common for second children to develop at a slightly slower pace than their sibling, and this is especially true when you have a girl followed by a boy, not least because girls are terribly bossy and chatty and often speak up for their little brothers, so the poor boys don't get a look in (or is that just me?!)

The perceived wisdom on language acquisition says that a child will start to combine words into primitive sentences (putting two words together like "Doggy gone" or "Daddy jump") when they have about fifty words in their expressive vocabulary. This usually happens around the ages of 18 months - 2 years but can be slightly later (in my experience, it's usually boys who are a bit late), so that probably explains why your little boy isn't yet at that stage (doesn't sound like he's far off it, though).

However, I would expect him to understand far more than he can express, so given that he has about 40 words in expression, he could be expected to understand more than 40 words.

Exactly how can you tell he doesn't understand? What does he do when he doesn't understand? Can you give me an example of something you might say that he wouldn't get, and tell me the exact words you would use?

Mogwai (SLT)

Hi!! Funny - I was just about to start a new thread along the same lines as this, but now it seems I do not need to - Thanks ClareL!!

My 2 year old DD has very limited vocab - I think she can possibly say about 20 words and the only primitive two word thing she says is "good girl", bless her (she says this to everyone - the postman, daddy, grandparents, random dustbin person etc etc) She just seems to have much less of a command over her language than any of her other friends - I am not too worried, I just wanted to know if anyone else is experiencing this with a 2 year old DD!!?

She was quite late developing physically as well - She didn't crawl til 14 months and walked at 20 months, 1st tooth at 19 months and pincer grip at 14 months.

My DD2 however is stonking ahead - she is eight months (technically seven, she was just over a month early) - crawling, pulling herself up on stuff, and saying "dadada", "mamamama" and guess what .......

"GOOD GIRL!"

Just to show how fast it can happen
dd 3.4 with speech delay.
5 mths ago she was assessed yet again as non verbal, using only mama dada and yaya (water)
(Her level of understanding has always being good)
Now out of nowhere she is up to 10 word sentences with verbs, plurals and pronouns.
I think from 2 its worth asking for an assessment, but demand is almost always high for SALT and you could be waiting up to 6 mths.
Do you feel he understands any instructions
Like if you said the name of a familiar object would he look to it?
But do ask your HV it is the first port of call and they should be able to reassure you.

Mmmmm, Thank you for that piffle - She does understand a lot SOMETIMES - I am not sure whether she is just being deliberately naughty when I ask her to do something and she doesn't do it or whether she genuinely understands. Sometimes I'll say: "Go and pop that onto the table honey" and she'll do it straight away and then sometimes I'll give an instruction like "Could you get your shoes?" (which I am sure she understands) and she will just stand there, staring at me with a blank expression and then sort of fumble round the room in a stange manner picking things up and pointing to stuff - It is mighty strange.

She doesn't have many word association skills really from what I can see - If I point at a jar and say jam she just stares at me. She doesn't ask for anything (by pointing or otherwise) or nod or shake her head very often (occasionally) - Her first call and response if she wants something is to throw herself onto the floor and scream and scream and scream and then it ususally takes me about an hour to calm her down and work out what it that she is actually in need of - poor frustrated little mite.

I don't know - she just seems a little more vague and non-verbal than my other friend's DD's of the same age.

I find with my DS that sometimes it is selected hearing. If I say to him turn the tv off - he'll turn it off straight away - but if he asks me for juice "Apple Juice" and I say get your juice cup he looks at me with a blank expression. I was trying to get him to fetch something for me that was at the end of the settee the other day and he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. I was pointing and looking him straight in the face and trying so hard to get him to understand but he had absolutely no idea whatsoever. He has always understood very basic commands like "Up" which means up to bed/bath etc and he can say a couple of sentences like "I did it" and "Yes Please" but most of the time he acts pretty dumb. But then others times it's really annoying when he sees a cat and says "cat" but then we see a dog and he still says "cat". Myself and my DD have told him 100's of times "no it's a dog" "dog" but he never ever remembers. Cannot get the "d" sound into his head. He can say more words with the "at" sound. I could go on forever!!!

Two of my friends had second children who were both fairly silent with older sibling doing lots of talking, then very suddenly this exploding vocabulary happened.

ds1 said his first word at 10 months and at his 2 yr check had the speech of a 3+ year old.

ds2 was SILENT until 11 months, never babbled and at 23 months had only THREE words in his vocab. At 25 months he started talking in short sentences. He is 2.5 now, has a very varied vocab, BUT almost all of it is unclear - only a few of us understand him. But what a long speech journey he made in just two months. I am at last convinced he will get there in the end.

ds3, at almost 7 mos is already making more noise and sounds than ds2 did at twice his age!

How differently they all develop!

I think it is so strange that they are all so different. There does seem to be a bit of a difference between boys and girls too. I can't really compare my two too closely as I worked PT with my DD until she was 4 and then gave up when I had my DS. My DD had a lot more mental stimulation than my DS gets. If anything I think they'd of benefitted from being born the other way round. I don't find that my DD speaks for my DS. She is 6 and at school all day so he has me to himself all day and I don't find that he makes much of an effort to communicate apart from drag me to what he wants. I had a brilliant book from ELC that I used with my DD that had proper pictures of objects (about 100 objects in the book) that were easy to say and recognisable for a toddler - this book doesn't seem available in the shops anymore as I really need it now!!

I would say tho that DS1 was fluent by 1 (DS2 by 2) and ds1 has AS, so early speech is no great thing, a happy child far more important and my ds3 is that.

ClareL, I'm in a similar situation with my ds - so sympathies!

Is the book you mean called 'What's that?'

Can't remember what the book was called or I'd try and buy it from Ebay. It was a brilliant book with photographs of different objects - we would sit with our DD for ages going thru the piccies - but haven't got it anymore. Could really do with it now as he loves a story - but have looked for similar books and they have silly pictures in of tractors and combine harvesters and stuff whereas I want plain easy words like spoon, fork, plate, bib etc... These were the sort of pictures that were in the book that I had.

I'll persevere. He isn't interested in anything really. Apart from making a mess!!

Sorry - just thought of another thing. He will say mum, dad, Amy (his sister) but won't say his own name 'Joe'. A really easy name to say but when we point at each other saying mummy, daddy, etc.. he then points at himself and says 'mummy' or Grandma and his grandparents also sit and try to get him to say his name.

Clare, two things strike me about what you describe.

Firstly, he is calling a "dog" "cat" instead. This is a normal stage of language development called overgeneralisation. It's likely he's worked out that the dog has four legs and a tail, so he calls it a cat, because he thinks that's the name for something with four legs and a tail.

Secondly, he doesn't say his own name. The "g" sound at the beginnning of his name is actually very difficult, so even though he has a short name, it isn't easy for him to say.

In any case, it's far more useful for him to name other people than to name himself, so he will be more motivated to say "mum" or "Amy" than to say "Joe" because, well, what use is saying "Joe"? He can't say it to get his own attention, but he can say "mum" to get yours.

Sounds like his language is a bit delayed but following normal lines. I agree with all the posters who have reassured you that these things often take off in huge spurts just when you are getting very worried.

Forgot to add, if you are concerned about his language, you should try to discourage other people from trying to get him to "perform" tasks like saying his name. In the long run, this won't help him much, and has been known to put pressure on children which can, in some cases, lead to episodes of stammering.

The best thing you can do for him is use lots of simple language by commenting on what he is looking at and what he is doing rather than trying to get him to divert his attention to what you might want him to do/say/look at/play with.

There's good evidence to suggest that children will learn language much more quickly in this way.

ClareL, you could be describing my dd in your ds. Mogwai, thanks for your tips. Glad you agree not to put pressure on the child - sometimes people imply that I am not talking to my dd enough (as if) or I should not "talk" for dd or I should withhold things until she asks for it.

my 2.5 year old say in the last 2 months has only really started to talk. nursery saying she is slow to talk etc..... i was not worried as she spoke at home and if she is not in mood to talk she won't speak. anyway, telephones toy telephones were introduced into nursery and as her DAd is away at moment with work well they couldn't get her to stop talking apparently. Perhaps try toy telephone to her favourite cartoon character it is worth a try. good luck and let us know how you get on.

Thank you all for responses. It has helped to put my mind at rest. Don't know why I am worrying about it - as once they start they don't stop!! Have got until Sept until he starts pre school so hopefully by then his speech will of improved.
He too likes colouring with crayons and paper - but not for very long. His concentration levels are zero!!.

Just to say if you are worried, then there is a really good book by a SLT called Dr Sally Ward, worth getting out of the library / reading... and it gives you lots of practical ideas of spending half an hour focussed play with your child that seems like play to him, but should encourage language. It contains most of the advice that Mogwai suggested in practical ways of doing it each day. I'd highly recommend it!!

Oops, forgot to say the title its Baby talk by Dr Sally Ward

Does he point ClareL (especially to things that interest him eg a cat!, but also to request objects), or follow a point that you give. if you say "look" and point what does he do? How does he let you know that he wants things.

When i first read the title i thought it said speech for 2 month old
anyway..... my ds1 had SALT for a little over a year and has had a huge turnaround im pleased to say. This time last year he couldnt or wouldnt speak (poss of a traumatic event although this could never be confirmed) and had extremley delayed understanding. He went to one to one sessions with a speech therapist, then progressed into a group of four called an attention and listening group. He then had his final assesment in November. Although the report was not brilliant (ie therapist still said there was delayed understanding) i am thrilled. Since November we have overcome so much and now believ him to have the speech and understsnding of a three yr old and am even more thrilled to say that now we have mastered toilet trainig He is 3.3 now
good luck

my dd is 2.3 and has a wide vocabulary although some of the words are clearer to me than other people. however she doesn't use sentences and won't put words together. I think some of that is because if she says a word ie if she looks in a book and says the colour green we say green to confirm and then she'll say teh other word ie grass. But if you don't confirm green she just continues saying green and won't say grass. Any ideas on how to get her to start putting the words together? I've tried not saying anything and she gets more and more frustrated? ClareL I wouldn't worry too much. My dd was quite late with any words, I think about 16/17 months with ta and bye but now she will repeat most words - it's the sentence thing now that's bothering me. I've started to potty train so it would behelpful if she was that bit further on in her speech!!!

this is prob going to sound v patronising and i apologise but tbh i think they just talk when they are ready i do believ to an extent that the therapy worked but if he didnt want to talk at t he group he wouldnt, also my ds2 who is 19 months old can speak a lot clearer now than ds1 could at 2.7 months