22month old boy doesn't speak

[amyd33]

My son is 22month old. He doesn't say any words. Just mutterings. But can make pitch sounds for words (if you understand what I mean) I didn't know I was having him. Till I was 37weeks (estimated) pregnant. I was on medication I shouldn't have been on when pregnant an had Mri an CT scan in what would have been late pregnancy. So don't know if he was Prem or what. But I'm worried about his speech. Even though he understands us completely. He just won't talk. Any advice would be greatful.

Go and see your GP. They can refer him for speech and language therapy, audiology or ENT or anything else that might be causing him to be mute.

There are many, many conditions which can cause small children to be late talkers and none of them are anybody's fault and almost all can be treated - so it's probably one of those and nothing to do with anything that happened in pregnancy.

Did he reach all his other milestones?

I'm no expert, but just a personal experience. My stepson didn't speak proper words til he was past his third birthday. Just sounds and squeaks like you describe, everyone was so worried , the speech therapist suggested things we could do to help , which we all did religiously . Not much helped....until he started pre-school! Maybe being around the other kids did the trick ?

Now at 4.5 , we can't shut him up lol

If he understands things then that is brilliant as, as far as I know understanding language and speech are closely linked.

My son only says a few words too. He is 20 months.

I would have a word with HV...My DS wasn't talking at 2 and now 7 no issues, but yes if you are concerned get it checked out. I was told to talk to my child..looking back he had no real reason to talk. I knew everything he needed. He was able to get his needs met without speech.. I needed to give him more chance to speak.

Another one saying go and see your GP. Best thing I did. DD2 didn't say anything until she was 3 and then it was a series of noises and a lot of stuttering. Everyone (including a paeditrician) said it was because her elder sister spoke for her. It wasn't and we were referred to a speech therapist for 2 years. No stuttering at all now. Lots of homework and things to remember but absolutely worth it.

Also, to add, the speech therapist said all parents blame themselves but it is usually nothing we've done especially if the understanding is there.

Has his hearing been tested? Assuming you have already checked that out, spoken to health visitor, gp etc and got a speech referal?

My dds language exploded, literally one day maybe 3 words, by the end of the week 50+ words, when she was 22 months, every child is different so that could be earlier or later, but if your worried go to the drs and push for a referral..

My ds had no words at that stage and after masses of Speech and language therapy (SALT) and grommets for glue ear he is now attending a specialist language unit for school. I spoke to him loads, read books, followed therapists advice and his sisters didn't 'speak for him' but rather encouraged every sound he made. Starting preschool didn't help. He is great and coming on slowly but I wanted to share this are you will be offered a lot of false reassurance. He may develop fine but no one can be sure of that so start getting support in place now.

Ask for a referral to ENT to get his hearing checked (it is about quality of sound heard so he may not be noticeably deaf but still affected). Also get referred to SALT; you can often self refer of attend drop in sessions. The waiting lists can be long. If you have any other concerns about his development or behaviour ask for a referral to a developmental peadiatrician.

Finally, you can not second guess these things. You didn't know you were pregnant so did what you did. An MRI would be fine and most medicines are avoided in pregnancy because they don't know if they have an effect not because they know they do.

My friend's DD says very little and she has just turned 2. She is getting there, very slowly, but my friend is worried too. Personally I suspect she will have a language explosion in the next couple of months.
However if you really are worried, see the HV or GP. They can tell you what the "normal" range is.