2yo not speaking - I just need reassurance, I think!!

[Nigglenaggle]

I have a 2yo son (24mths) who isn't speaking. He has two words, which he can't say properly (I know that bits normal) and he seems to steadfastedly refuse to learn more. Occasionally he'll seem to say something recognisable at an appropriate time, but then we'll never hear it again. I know you shouldn't compare and they are all different, but friends children of a similar age have vastly more words. He's regularly read to and babbles like billy oh, but his speech is just progressing very slowly. I'm hoping you'll tell me I'm worrying over nothing, but don't want to miss the fact that he needs help. He's passed his hearing test but does seem to take a long time to respond to his name. Otherwise he's a happy, healthy little boy with bags of energy. I don't know if its relevant but he also has regular exposure to a second language, I don't know if this slows things down a bit/is confusing?

Hi Niggle, I posted a very similar post about a year ago about my Ds who was 2 at the time and is growing up trilingual. I felt that he was clearly behind his peers at that stage, but has caught up a lot over the past year and a speech therapist gave me reassurence that he does not have a language delay.

I found books like "It takes two to talk" by the Hanen Centre very helpful and the activities they suggest good fun. they also publish lots of great articles etc on their website, eg one on bilingualism

www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Bilingualism-in-Young-Children--Separating-Fact-fr.aspx

Or how to go about it when you are concerned

www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/When-You-Are-Concerned.aspx.

My ds1 only really said mamma and daddad at the age of 2yo. We started to notice a big improvement after the age of 2 and by pre-school he was chatting away as much as the next child. He is now a bright and vocal 5yo. Dd2 is only 16mo and already is better with speech than ds1 was when he was almost a year older. Boys can sometimes be slower than girls. At 2yo it doesn't mean that he will have any speech problems, but if you chat to your HV she will probably arrange for him to have some follow up to keep an eye on his speech and check that he does start to say more words in time. All the best x

I think you had some great advice already. I was just going to add that Speech therapy services sometimes take months and months so get him booked for an appointment now and you can cancel if his language takes off. The vast majority of kids catch up but lots will need help to get there. The sooner the better for intervention.

Oh and bilinguals often take at little longer at first but then there overall language levels are usually higher (vocab, grammar etc) a few years down the line so keep it up.

Try doing makaton signing paired with the words. It really works and research shows this brings on language. Also as a previous poster said, "it takes two to talk" is an excellent resource.

Had a look at the website and a chat with DH. We've come up with a strategy for the next couple of months, and if he still isn't making progress we will contact the HV and see if we can get on the list for the speech therapist. Thanks all for your replies

When you say he passed his hearing test, do you mean the newborn one? I would ask for a hearing test to be done now. Lots of young children have glue ear which can cause (usually temporary) hearing loss and this can affect speech development.

I know you want to wait but I would at least get his hearing checked now. I wish we had pushed much sooner for intervention with ds.

What happened with your ds Shoewhore, if you don't mind me asking?

No probs. There were niggling worries re his speech from the age of about 2. But he did seem to be progressing and every time I mentioned it to nursery they dismissed my concerns and tole me I mustn't compare him with his big brother. It really wasn't obvious he couldn't hear - turns out he is a brilliant lip reader and had developed loads of little coping strategies.

When he was 3.5 and his speech was still very behind (he was making progress but v slowly) I eventually pushed much harder to get a referral to SALT and they sent him for a hearing test which confirmed he had glue ear and couldn't hear much below 50-60DB in both ears (in some frequencies, he could hear vowel sounds much better than consonants)

Usually with glue ear they take a watch and wait approach and retest in 3 months but ds's hearing was so bad that he was referred for grommets straightaway. (I was worried sick about the GA but the op was really straightforward and the results amazing) Unfortunately the grommets didn't stay put for very long and his hearing deteriorated again without them, so we decided to try hearing aids. Hearing aids have been great and he has come on brilliantly.

School have been fantastic with him and have given him loads of support. His speech has come on massively and after a slow start he is reading really well although he still has a little way to go with his writing. The deafness really affected his confidence and made things like playtime quite difficult for him - he is extremely sociable and friendly but it's hard to follow what your friends are saying when they are all running in different directions and you can't see their faces, for example.

I had no idea about glue ear. I thought he had passed the newborn hearing test and didn't have a clue there might be problems later. I so wish we'd had his hearing tested much much sooner. The thing is, if there's no problem then you have discounted that issue. And if there is, just knowing that information means you can put in place simple strategies to help your child.

Sorry I don't want to worry you and I know some children do talk late. I had lots of false reassurance from friends and family over ds (yes I know bloody Einstein didn't talk til he was 4!!) and ultimately while they meant well, it wasn't helpful.

Woah that turned into a right essay

PS he had his hearing tested 2 weeks ago and it is normal!! Waiting for audiology appointment to get the go ahead to ditch the aids so chuffed for him

I'd start getting it investigated personally. As others have said, it can take ages to get referrals etc and if the professionals think there is no issue then all well and good. A lot of speech issues respond especially well to early intervention.

Hi OP, I'm a SLT

Do you have a local Children's Centre? There may well be an advice session where you can meet with a SLT to get ideas on how to support your DS - they can also make any referrals necessary, with your consent of course. If that's not a possibility, you can refer him directly to SLT yourself or via your Health Visitor.

My advice would be not to wait on this - if he does need support, then the earlier you get the right advice, the better.

Great that you're using books with him regularly. When you're with him, try to use a technique called 'adding language' - very straightforward, just say the words that go along with whatever he's doing or looking at. No questions like 'what's that?' or 'can you say.....?' Think of it as providing a commentary to go along with what he's doing. Keep sentences short, just one or two words.

Feel free to PM me if it's useful

Hi OP, I'm a SLT

Do you have a local Children's Centre? There may well be an advice session where you can meet with a SLT to get ideas on how to support your DS - they can also make any referrals necessary, with your consent of course. If that's not a possibility, you can refer him directly to SLT yourself or via your Health Visitor.

My advice would be not to wait on this - if he does need support, then the earlier you get the right advice, the better.

Great that you're using books with him regularly. When you're with him, try to use a technique called 'adding language' - very straightforward, just say the words that go along with whatever he's doing or looking at. No questions like 'what's that?' or 'can you say.....?' Think of it as providing a commentary to go along with what he's doing. Keep sentences short, just one or two words.

Feel free to PM me if it's useful

Sorry for double post!

Thanks For the past week or so we have been making an effort to speak more clearly and repeat ourselves more often, we have also been giving a running commentary on what he is doing as Lotta suggested... I think it is working! We have had lots more words and some of them have been repeated. Very happy mummy I have also been observing closely when I speak quietly and he can't see my face, and I'm pretty sure he can hear. He isn't super responsive, but he is a toddler, and a couple of times he's definitely responded correctly. Obviously I will get his hearing checked if we don't continue to make progress, but I feel much happier. Thanks all for the responses

Actually we've seen such good progress that I feel really bad - clearly we just haven't been helping him very much previously

Great news about your DC Shoe :)