When to worry your child's development is overall worryingly slow?

[smallwars]

I'm just interested whether this is a normal, if not slow, rate of development....

My son is a very happy, gorgeous, alert and engaging little man. But:

• he still only has got a few words and he's just turned 17 months.
• he also says mummy and daddy but not yet in context, I don't think.
• he says 'dada' for a lot of things he's gesturing at - it's his universal word. He makes himself understood very clearly most of the time but still...( he babbles all the time, with lots of intonation, as if he's having conversations but it is very jargony and no real words (to me).

• He isn't walking yet. We suspect lax joints. He's progressing though, and now walking holding our hands, or even just a finger. But he's very wobbly and feet are slightly turned out which makes me think he can't balance yet well.

But I thought the expression was late walker, early talker and it's not the case at all!!

I know I'm frustrated and I try not to be.

gesturing and understanding are good things in learning to talk

Does he weight bear? Lax joints can delay walking - have you spoken to your GP

My own DS didn't walk until 17.5 months

My ds2 didn't talk coherently until 2.5, he used to make a noise and say mumma but that was it.
Speaks just fine now.

I do think he understands stuff - to what extent is any 17 month old baby's guess! But he can follow simple instructions (if he's heard them before/repetition) and if I ask him if he wants a drink, or food, or whatever, he responds etc

He does weight bear. he can stand for a while. He can walk up and down. And I have spoken to my GP who wasn't overly concerned

Were you reassured by your GP not being overly concerned?

No, not really!

In that case I would go back and tell him that

I am NO expert but your child sounds within the realms of expected milestones

But if you are unhappy then you absolutely should explore this further

Thanks rubyslippers

smallwars I could've written your post practically word for word about my DD. She is a month younger that your DS (just turned 16mo) and her language is just as you describe his, using dada for a lot if things, babbling loads and she says some proper words too.

She can cruise and will walk with you holding both hands but very unsteady and wobbly, and much prefers crawling!!

I must confess I do worry and I too expected her to be much further on with her language with her not walking yet.

GP told me that they will do nothing about her not walking until she is 18months.

Sorry I couldn't be much help but just wanted to let you know you're not alone.

It does sound as though he is completely within normal developmental parameters. He seems able to weight bear, so the joints don,t sound too bad - when he stands do the soles of his feet roll out? Dd2 did this, but she also didn't weight bear,and never crawled, so her bum shuffling exacerbated her turned out feet. Even then a physio said she just needed some solid shoes to stabilise her feet, and she was walking by 21 months.

Speech wise, he sounds fine, a few words, babbling and receptive language sounds good. This is all ok for 17 months.

Ds does have developmental delays in all areas, but it is quite marked- he sat at 12 months, still only cruises at 22 months, started crawling a few weeks ago, and has no speech at all (no babbling just - ah,ah, ah sounds).

If you are worried then ask your gp or hv and if they think there are other concerns, then they will refer you, but it really does sound as though he is doing ok.

Your description about his speech sounds exactly like our DS at 17 months. I was slightly concerned, but now the vocab is just suddenly picking up and at 21 months is spouting out loads of new words every day! He was also babbling loads, like conversation, and he definitely understood loads too - I think that is the important thing - I'd be more concerned if he didn't seem to understand.

As for the walking, I only walked at 18 months and think I turned out ok :) Ds started walking properly about 14 months so not that much before.

Overall, I'd give it a while longer before you get too concerned...

hi HazyJane - no, his feet don't roll out. He does plant his feet out, which suggests to me that he is still trying to balance. I'm hypermobile (though only found out during pregnancy) and my mum and nephew are - so it's quite possible he has some laxity.

But he cruises, pushes his walker all over, climbs stairs and sofas. Just won't walk unaided! He's even quite brave in soft play situations...maybe it will just happen.

Anyway, thanks for all giving me some peace of mind!

I think the early walker/late talker and vice versa is an old wives tale.
Dd2 was walking by 9 months (which is a nightmare) and in sentences by 15 months, which I know is the opposite (sorry).

If you suspect hypermobility then getting referred isn't a bad idea as a little physio may help.
Or he may be like my dd1 who never does anything she isn't certain she can do totally (and she'll 11 now). She took her first alone steps and within a week would walk everywhere, run, jump etc. whereas those who walked earlier a lot couldn't jump or run until they were much older.

On the speech, does he hear you? If you've concern with hearing it could be worth checking. Ds had glue ear and his speech jumped ahead after he'd had grommets.
Also early speaking doesn't necessarily mean anything. I know dd2 had a friend who had speech therepy at 2yo due to no words. We lost contact and met up again when she was 4yo. At that point you couldn't have told which was the early talker by either vocabulary or pronunciation.

I also agree that this all sounds within normal development parameters to me. Using a word for many things is known by speech therapists as over extension and many many children have it as part of their normal speech development e.g. Dada starts being used for lots of things, then fewer, then all men, then one particular man! I think it's very interesting how creatively children will use a limited vocabulary, they might not have many words but their words work hard.

In many areas concern is only shown when children aren't walking at 19 months, then you might get offered some blood tests and an assessment by a physiotherapist. I would leave it a few months and go back to your GP if you're still concerned and ask for a referral to a developmental paediatrician. Hopefully by 19 months you won't have concerns anymore.