DS not speaking - almost like he can't be bothered

[chickeninabox]

Ds is 26m, has a few words and noises and is babbling away quietly to himself quite well. He doesn't seem to retain words very well though. eg he learnt 'tractor' ages ago, then he just sort of made a chugging noise and now doesn't say anything although he knows perfectly well what a tractor is. Another eg is that he started saying 'bye, see you soon' recently after hearing it when friends were leaving. He did it for a few days and now doesn't seem to want to say it anymore. He seems to have a great understanding of what I am saying and does surprise me with what he remembers, but it's almost as if he can't be bothered to talk. I have felt he is on the brink of talking for months now, but he just can't quite bring himself to do it !
Should I be worried ? btw we are waiting for an appointment with the community paediatrician to do an initial assessment.

M son didn't say much until he started pre-school at aged 2. He has come on in leaps and bounds with his talking since going there

DS will be 3 in feb, he speaks his own language, calls me nannie, sister (holly) doddie. He is picking things up slowly though, saw speach therapist when he was about 2.5 and said that he was getting on ok, but if he wasn't getting on any better to come back when he was three. I really wouldn't worry about it at the moment if I were you (i know its easier said than done),

I am trying not to be bothered but if the truth is known I am getting a bit wound up about it. I know i shouldn't be and that he will speak when he is ready, but it just feels like he has been on the verge for ages. As he is my first I am just not sure what to expect re speech development.

My ds is my second and thats why I am not so stressed. I remember taking dd to a scan with me when I was pregnant with ds and she was talking about him being in a tunnel, I think she started talking very early - never stops, probably why ds doesn't get a chance to speak. Children do all things at different ages, he will get there.

does he point out things of interest using his index finger?

my dd is also 26 months and doesnt talk well!! ive been listening to other kids her age and they seem to no more words than her!!

but im trying not to worry too much as all kids are different and learn at their own speed(hopefully)

jj yes, well sort of. He will point to pictures in books when prompted, and has just started sort of vaguely pointing at things around the room to get me to say what they are (always the same things though). He sometimes does this whilst chattering in his own language as well.

Dd has only really started talking now at 2.9. Hurrah! She didn't babble, only made 'intonated vowel sounds' until 2. But her understanding is fine. WHen she started talking, like your ds, she would parrot phrases rather than single words. Once she got going though, she picked up vocabulary very quickly, though she never did the 'point and say the name' thing that ds did. She really did go straight into sentences. She has for SALT for lack of clarity, but I don't have any concerns about her understanding of language. I hope your ds suddenly just 'gets it' too!

Its so hard not to compare. I would say my dd is very average, she doesnt shut up and babbles in her own language. My friends dd is very precocious - I could not get over the fact she was talking very early on, infact I remember being quite shocked as it seemed so strange listening to her talk like a grown up.

I had to keep reminding myself that all toddlers will get there in their own time and most importantly it does not mean those who speak earlier on, are any more clever than those who are not ready.

Hi chicken- the pointing is actually really important- the vaguely pointing to things in the room is a good sign. Does he use his index finger? (books when prompted is a different type of pointing so woeth remembering).

TBH not speaking at his age isn't a huge worry- however if a child loses words at any age, they really should be referred for an assessment - coupled with being a bit late to point I would think it might be worth asking to be referred. Waiting lists are hugely long unfortunately so by referring now you may find that when your time comes to be seen you have no concerns and can just cancel the appointment.

JimJams2, thanks for the advice. We are waiting for an appointment for an initial assessment, so are 'in the system'. I am not so sure that ds is losing words as such - if I insist, he will eventually say something like 'tractor' but obviously I am not going to force him to speak. I will be interested to see how he is assessed. If he's anything like me, he will be very quiet anyway - so it might just be his personality.

jimjams - the pointing thing is interesting - do you have any more info on it/ ds is only 18mo but has never pointed (other than at books - e.g. where's noddy?)

lots more info- but I don't want to scare the goodness out of you tutter- basically there is a screening test called the chat tet that is carried out at 18 months that checks ability to point (as in "can you point to the ...' ) and ability to follow a point "look...." It also asks if your child ever points out things of interest. Also looks at pretrend play (eg in the official version asks a child to join in a pretend tea party) If a child fails, they should be reassessed in a couple of months, if they fail again they should be referred. It is however a screening test- and some children will be a bit late to pass but have no other problems- in other cases it is a sign that there are some problems - and the earlier they're addressed the better. I'm a big fan of it- and did chat test ds2 and ds3 myself

good you're in the system chicken- you may find by the time you get the referal through you can just cancel anyway (that happened with ds2 who had some sort olf weird speech disorder).