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Behaviour/development

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Original poster

18 month old son and speech has not progressed - advice

25 replies

foxy1 · 09/10/2006 09:29

I have a 18 month old and he chats away in his own language but only really says mama , dada, dog, door, lala for light and thats about it. He doesn't even try to repeat words when we look at books together. I know he understands more than he says but he is not trying to repeat the words. My sister is nearly a qualified speech therapist and she thinks he should be saying some more full words by now and that it might be worth having an assessment done on him. Most of my friends there toddlers who are around the same age and are saying quite a few clear words and just don't want him to get behind and wondered if there was anything I can do to help. I am at home full time with him and am pregnant with second due in jan. Any advice would be really appreciated. I know they all get there in the end. Thanks Foxy

OP posts:

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TwigTwoolett · 09/10/2006 09:33

why on earth would a qualified speech therapist talk such rot

some children don't even say there first words until 2 or 3

if he is communicating .. he is fine .. it doesn't matter if its babble ... if you try to force it or act anxiously you'll probably freak him out and delay it even further .. just keep chatting to him, reading to him .. HE'S FINE

DD didn't start talking AT ALL till she was 2 .. but she communicated very expressively before then

DS was talking in sentences at 18 months

different kids, different developmental curves

and suggest your sister goes back to her textbooks

BATtymumma · 09/10/2006 09:34

He is saying far more than my dd was at that age.

i was getting a bit worried about her speech too, but as soon as she turned 2 it just suddenly fell into place...she now doesn't stop and will say new words everyday.

if YOUR worried then go speak to your HV but i think i would give him a little longer. the books say that by x age they should be doing y&z but all children are different so dont allow yourself to try and compete with other kids who may be advanced

Kelly1978 · 09/10/2006 09:36

I don't personally thinks he sounds delayed at all. Mine dts are the same age, he sounds a bit like my dt1 a month ago. dt1 uses all sorts of his own made up words for things or babbles meaningfully! Then over the last month he has changed quite a bit, and is trying to talk a lot more. I jsut make a huge fuss when he says a word. dt2 is still not saying much at all, but finds songs quite good. Even though he wont repeat words, he will have a bash at singing baa baa black sheep or incy wincy spider. I found this book here very useful. I followed it religiously with dd and her speech was very advanced, could use sentances at 18 mnths, but unfortunately I don't get enough one to one time with the dts to do it. I think though, you will find he is taking it all in, and will suddenly come out with a lot mroe words.

misdee · 09/10/2006 09:39

dd3 didnt have many words, but the last month she has really picked up more. at 18months, she has bye bye, dadda, mum, and please.

now we have jui(juice), hi, nic, yay, ball, row row(row your boat) and loads more.

TheBlonde · 09/10/2006 09:40

foxy1 - my 19 mth old has 10 words and they have been very slow coming and are not all clear. I wouldn't worry if I was you. Soon we won't be able to shut them up!!

jessicaandrebeccasmummy · 09/10/2006 09:44

At my 2yr check with Jessica in August, I was concerned regarding her speach.

The HV said as long as she is usuing 50 sounds/words then she is fine. So if he using hi babbles cinsistently for certain things then it shouldnt be a problem - and this is a 2yr check not an 18 month check - he still has 6 months to get to the 50 mark.

Jessica has come on leaps and bounds these past 2 months since she turned 2 and will now come out with short sentances.

Please do not listen to such codswallop about him being assessed.

orangina · 09/10/2006 09:55

My 18 month dd says mama, dada, baba, byebye, hi, please and more. Lots of other babbling and plenty of understanding, and have been told that it's normal.... so no worries for you I don't think...

mamalocco · 09/10/2006 09:59

Agree with all previous comments - DD1 was chatting away at 12 mths so compared DS very unfavourably when he wasn't saying anything at 18 mths. Worried endlessly, sent him for hearing checks etc. But he's now 4.5 and I wish he had a mute button sometimes or at least volume control! DD2 is now 18 mths and looks like following her bro rather than sis. This time round, I'm bit more relaxed. After all Einstein didn't talk until he was 3!

Socci · 09/10/2006 10:03

Message withdrawn

ghosty · 09/10/2006 10:06

At 18 months DD didn't even say Mama .... she could just about manage Dada and Teddy (DS' name) - but Teddy sounded very like dada ... more like Tada.
At 2 the HV was concerned but not overly but we were referred anyway ... paed not hugely worried either ...
She is now 2.8 and the other day said to DH (when he was telling DS off) "Dat's not fair Dad, Dat's my fwend Teddy!"
Don't worry, if he is communicating in his own way then 18 months is very young to be worried about speech IME.
She also definitely didn't repeat words until she was over 2.

CarolinahowlingattheMoon · 09/10/2006 10:11

I don't think ds had any more words than that at 18mo - a few animal sounds, maybe.

He is now 23mo and has dozens of words (albeit not very clearly-pronounced). It's come on very quickly in the last couple of months.

If he's communicating with you non-verbally - e.g. pointing, showing you things - I wouldn't worry at all. He is obviously doing plenty of babbling.

I'm not sure if being 'nearly' a SALT is quite the same thing as being a SALT with actual RL experience .

Olihan · 09/10/2006 10:12

Foxy1, I think your sister is worrying you unnecessarily. My friend's little girl has 5 words which are only intelligible to her mum and she is 2.9 yrs. Other than that she doesn't talk at all. The HV isn't worried about her and thinks that in 6 months or so she will be on a par with her peers. Children all develop so differently and at varying rates that even the 50 words at age 2 is only a rough guide. Lots of 2 year olds don't have that many, some have far more.

If you are at home with him he will be getting lots of 1:1 interaction with you and learning from you so you really don't need to do anything more. Perhaps keep the TV off as much as possible so he's having plenty of opportunity to chat with you but other than that you just need to talk to him. He's an individual who will develop at his own rate.

Peridot30 · 09/10/2006 10:38

foxy my dd will be three this month and has only been talking for the last couple of months. I knew she understood everything i said to her but she never uttered a word Now she talks CONSTANTLY. On the other hand my ds now 4 has been talking great since his 1st birthday.Dont worry all kids develop differently

ciderapples · 12/10/2006 13:57

As the Mother of two children with speech & langauge difficulties I felt compelled to write in response to the messages. Neither of my children's difficulties were picked up by GPs or HVs. At three my daughter still could only say Mum - in the face of strong opposition I had her assessed & she was diagnosed with severe verbal dyspraxia & needed years of intensive speech therapy in a language unit & I had to sign with her until she could speak. My son's speech was slow to develop & it was 3 before he was really talking - again I had him assessed when he was clearly having difficulties in school & he had word-finding difficulties & later pragmatic difficulties. Early speech & language difficulties affect literacy later. My advice would be to keep an eye on things - look for any other signs e.g. following the correct developmental process (lifting themselves up, sitting & crawling at the right time, any other indications e.g drooling, problems with eating, not babbling correctly - there is a proper way to babble - your sister will know about this, above all I would advise following your own instincts - I kept being told that because the children were close together in age that one was talking for the other - I knew that this wasn't the case - you know your child best. Schools are struggling with the amount of children arriving without good enough speech & language skills, early speech therapy makes all the difference. Apologies to everyone else, good luck & if there is a problem then you've got good support in your sister.

jambot · 12/10/2006 21:48

DD is 19 months and doesn't say anything more than the occasional Mama, Dada, dere and go. Doesn't shut up all day gabbling away and understands even quite complex commands. I'm not at all worried as I know many of my friends' children only got going at 2.

sweetkitty · 12/10/2006 21:56

When DD2 was born in January DD1 could only say Mama and Dada she was 18 months I was getting a bit worried about her speech. Fast forward 9 months nearly and you can have a conversation with her she has come on in leaps and bounds so fast. She just doesn't shut up now everything is a running commentary.

From going to toddler groups it's really varied some kids are really good speakers some say hardly anything. I think I would wait until they were at least 3 before you could ascertain whethere there were any problems.

VanillaMilkshake · 12/10/2006 22:24

Foxy, please dont worry. My DD has just turned 3, and although I can understand her perfectly most of the time - except when she tried new words. My friend say it must be hard to have a child who's still learning to talk, but I dont see the problem.

However when she was about 18 months compared to all her ante-natale group friends she was not a good talker at all. However that said her physical development is way beyond the others. She can run, jump and is more dring in her movements than any of the others.

Just remember by the time they are all 10, they will all walk, talk together.

Dont get stressed!

flowerfairy · 13/10/2006 15:54

I felt like this when ds was 2yo (about 7 mths ago) he ahd very few recognisable words. Nursery began to push me to take him for speech therapy and asked hv. She had alist of questions about could he point to body parts, follow simple instructions, play with toys with some concentration and did he have no/few/lots of words she assured me he would probably progress when he was ready.

Lo and behold from MAy half term ds)2.3) has improved so much nursery can't get over some of his vocabulary. As MIL says he just wanted to speak in sentences. I'm still a bit cross with nursery for not ensuring me children progress at their own rate.

I do believe now that all his understanding he had has been shown in the way he speaks sentences & manipulates his language well. Try not to worry

poppiesinaline · 13/10/2006 16:04

I have an 18 month old and he is saying about the same amount as yours. Im not worried. They are all different.

MarsLady · 13/10/2006 16:22

DT2 is a slow speaker. They are 2.8yrs old. She can talk for the planet. Whenever he tries to talk she butts in (a bit like Cleopatra). He doesn't have a huge repetoire of words, but they are coming and each week (at the moment) he seems to be saying more and more. I'm not even going to consider worrying about it until he's 3 at the earliest because actually I don't think it's a problem, he's just a slow developer. The other 4 children all spoke incredibly quickly and articulately, so he's a bit of wonder my fatboy!

beansontoast · 13/10/2006 16:38

hi foxy..i havent read the replies other than the first one...i just wanted to say quickly that...

As a nearly qualified speech and language therapist myself (bound to fail for sloppy typing)i would just like to flag the dangers of a little knowledge!(in the nicest possible way)

What a student can (through no fault of her own) not appreciate is the relative significance of the language milestones norms we are given at college with regard to the children we meet.the very fact that norms are based on averages means that a certain number of children will have to be above or below average.(iykwim?)We are supervised on our placements for this very reason...clinical experience and expertise count for alot when assessing ALL the variables.

Some good things about your sons communication have already been mentioned..e.g. he looks at books with you,his understanding doesnt worry you...and his chatter,the handful of words he says....all good...keep talking to him without worrying that he isnt saying what his friends are saying... dont be tempted to 'bring him on' by getting him to copy you or asking him endless questions.

i wonder if i know your sis? is she in london?

mumandlovingit · 13/10/2006 17:27

havent read all the replies but has he had his 18 month to two year checkup yet? do they still do them?

i wouldnt worry at all at that age.e's making himself understood and understands you.he will get the rest in time.

Original poster

foxy1 · 15/10/2006 17:45

HI there - just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your feedback. Thats reassuring. I need to check with the health visitor when he will have his 18-2yr check up.

My sister is in her last year at Demontfort Leicester Uni. She took a year out and went to Canada for 6 months and got some experience out there working with children in a speech therapy unit - I know she means well. From everyone's feedback and from speaking to my other sister who has 2 children I know that he will get there in the end and that I should not worry. Thanks again everyone - really appreciate it.

OP posts:

micromummy · 23/10/2006 21:23

my ds1 is 21 months and speaks only in babble-speak but clearly understands what we say to him and yes i am fretting but not sure there's really anything to do just yet - will take him to GP etc if not talking a bit by 2, i guess. my friend's infant did not speak till 2 and now will not shut up!

fizzbuzz · 24/10/2006 09:50

My son was like this. e was really slow to babble and talk. When he was 6 it turned out he had dyslexia. This was why he was so slow, as it is all about language and literacy.
My mum used to say it was because I didn't talk to him enough! (great support there mum)
He is now 12 and never ever stops talking, sometimes I long for those early days........

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