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Speech development in my 2YO

13 replies

Walkinglikeazombie · 27/09/2015 01:04

Before posting this thread I have spent a good couple of hours reading up others of similar context, and now feel even more confused.
I came across a HV 2yr check up list and my DD seems to tick off pretty much everything apart from speech development.
Her speech is very limited, said mama at 7months and I was very impressed but had a very slow progress ever since.
Must highlight that English is not her mother tongue.
She is now 24 months in couple of days and her vocabulary consists of:
Mama
Tata (meaning dad) / daddy
Baba (meaning grandma)
Deda (grandad)
Come on
Go
Yes
No
Cao (for hi/bye)
Recognises a number of colours but will only say geeen for green, buu for blue, pip for pink, yes for red and bleugh for black.
As for letters, can recognise them all and knows which one is to follow, however refuses to say L, V, W, Y and Z.
Same for numbers, knows all from 1 to 10, but doesn't actually know how to count. Recently she heard another mum in the park say one, two, three, go! and now she tries to say it also but for 1 she would show one by hand and say mm, two, eee, go!
When I ask her to repeat a word after me she may try (most of the time she doesn't) but mainly says no. If I break down the word for her she will repeat it correctly but would still refuse to say a complete word.
She isn't either putting sentences together, she does say cao mama/tata/baba; or come on mama. I think that would be the only two "sentences" I've heard her use.

At home, we only speak to her in our mother tongue and this is what she is used to, but recently she has started to say more words in english rather than my language (daddy being an example picked up from watching Peppa Pig). So I am worried that with two languages she is feeling a bit confused.

She does however, seem to understand everything I tell her or ask her to do, as she would follow my instructions if lets say I asked her to bring her shoes. She also replies to me with a yes or no. If presented with a choice she would rather point at preffered than actually say. If she wants my attention she will say mama 50 times if necessary. She is very content playing on her own around the house whilst I am cleaning/cooking; she may come and bring me a toy just to show me what she is playing with.

She does babble constantly around the house in her own language but even I don't understand most of it. When she comes from outside, from lets say, walking the dog, she is very keen to tell the person at home how it went, using lots of gestures and sounds (even copying doggy lifting his leg and squatting :)) but once again it is just sounds, not actual words.

The only other thing that worries me is that she is very shy around other kids and strangers. When you leave her be she does settle in after a short while, but if someone is persistent into getting her to say hi or look at them she just withdraws further. Only very few people she warms to and is happy to see again. However, I must highlight that I was the same as a child until starting primary school, and also, we don't actually socialise a lot apart from few families every now and then and if we see someone in the park with a child of similar age group.
She is yet to start nursery, I am looking into putting her on two half days just so she develops that social side.

Oh I feel like I am just rambling on now, but just need some reassurance that all is normal while waiting for a 2yr check up (still waiting for an appnt, no letter received as my GP informed me they have a huge backlog and are usually done when child is closer to age of 3!?).

Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
rockabillyruby82 · 27/09/2015 01:14

Every child develops at a different pace, your daughter is perfectly normal and, to me, sounds like she's developing well.

As for the social part, it's not unusual for a 2 year old to be shy but going to nursery will help with that.

Stop worrying, it sounds like she's doing great and you're a fab mummy!

CultureSucksDownWords · 27/09/2015 01:47

I would say that it's within the bounds of normal, but of course follow it up if you're concerned as it can't hurt to get the situation checked by a professional.

In the meantime, I would recommend not asking her to repeat or say specific words, or asking her directly to say anything. Just respond to what she says, even if it's unintelligible. So if she makes a sound and you think she means "dog" then reply with "yes, a dog. A small dog" for example. That way, you've recognized her utterance as meaningful, you've modeled the correct word and you've extended the sentence with one more word.

Whilst you're playing with her, do a running commentary on what's she's doing, using simple sentences and responding to anything she says as I've described above. When you're out and about with her, do a similar running commentary on what you're doing with short simple sentences, and responding to what she says or tries to say.

(Apologies if this is all stuff you're already doing)

Walkinglikeazombie · 27/09/2015 08:20

Thank you @rockbilly!
@Culture, no need to apologise, and thank you for your post. It is pretty much what we are doing at the moment. Also, she is 26 months in few days time, not 24 as I wrote, just realised that I made a mistake.
Honestly, I was ok-ish with her lack of speech until two mums of her friends that she spends most time with kept on saying (and it's true), how their daughters are thriving in speech (both are two months older that my LO), and, I know I shouldn't be doing it, but I started to compare my LO to them. Also, comments such as "I'm sure you understand her" just put me down, because half the time I don't, I tend to guess. Then, majority of family who are back home when we skype them, they tend to ask questions such as "oh, she still isn't speaking?" And such, which just made me question whether I am dilusional thinking she is fine or should I actually be concerned.
I think I will just push for a 2yr check up, say that I have concerns, just to get some reassurance from a professional.
Thank you all again for reading my babbling, but find it hard to share these concerns with anyone in RL and it feels good to just get them out there!

OP posts:
WildStallions · 27/09/2015 08:26

Some sure start centres have a free drop in speech therapy clinic.

Or ask your GP not your HV if you're really concerned.

DixieNormas · 27/09/2015 08:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

icklekid · 27/09/2015 08:30

She sounds fine most 2yr olds I've met go from very few words to non stop talking before they reach 3 it just clicks at some point. I've got a ds who is grest at anything active but rubbish verbally I'm not worried. I just keep talking to him and playing as that's how all children learn best.

blaeberry · 27/09/2015 08:56

At 24 months they look for about 50 'words' with words being sounds consistently applied to a meaning - they don't need to be real words, animal sounds or letter names count. Adding up what you list it sounds like she is well over this. so I would not worry, she sounds normal. I've also heard it said that bilingual children can take a little longer. Don't let that put you off as it is only a very little bit longer and the gift of having two languages is an amazing one.

As far as counting; reciting 'one two three' is not counting, it is a learned series of sounds with no meaning. Learning to count and what numbers are takes longer.

Kids all vary, my two year old dn talked in amazing sentences, now she is four her speech is no different from other kids.

RandomMess · 27/09/2015 09:03

As your dd is being brought up bilingual it sounds like she is doing very well!

Here is some info on sound development for a child only exposed to English

www.bisd.us/sharp/English_Developmental_Sound_Chart[1].pdf perhaps compare it one that is for your mother tongue so you can be more relaxed about it?

So long as she is progressing (if slow) then that is a good sign, especially as she has understanding of what others say to her in both languages. I also know that many bi/rilingual children go through a phase of speaking only in one language - again normal and temporary.

devmum · 28/09/2015 13:28

Pop along to your GP and ask them to check for glue ear. My eldest had it and it affected his speech in much the same way as with your LO. TBH it was a relief when it was discovered; it's curable and once it was confirmed everything started to swing into action.

Also, in my area they have Speech and Language Therapists (SALT) that you can either self-refer to, or get your nursery to refer your child on your behalf.

Not sure how much DS got out of going (as he was technically deaf!) but he really enjoyed the sessions we went to, and they were freeee.

Good luck!

MiaowTheCat · 28/09/2015 19:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Orangeisthenewbanana · 28/09/2015 19:28

Please try not to worry OP. I can say this now as I was similarly worried about DD at that age (there are probably posts of mine lurking from earlier this year!) I was even on the verge of paying for a Speech and Language assessment. Her understanding was good (which apparently, according to a SLT friend is the most important thing) but she definitely didn't have the speech of her peers, or your DD by the sound of it!

Then she hit about 29 months and it just exploded. She was obviously just taking it all in and now chatters all day long and you can have proper conversations with her. I'm sure I have read that bilingual children can be a bit slow to start with too, but they catch up - double the info to process I guess!

Just keep talking and reading to her, give her the time to respond to communication and try not to force things or worry too much she says with the benefit of hibdsight! Flowers

outputgap · 28/09/2015 19:30

My mum used to run a nursery and then taught child care. She would often talk about the relatively slower speech development of her bilingual and trilingual children. Made no difference to their speech by the end of nursery, they generally just got off to a slower start. She spent her life reassuring parents that children do develop at their own pace. Good thing too, as it meant I remained horizontally relaxed when dc2 couldn't walk at 18 months.

Walkinglikeazombie · 30/09/2015 19:44

Thank you all for your reasuring posts.
I have managed to book a 2yr check up for 14/10 as I ended up making the worst mistake a googling what slow speech development may mean. Ever since then, I keep on spotting more and more things that would put my DD on spectrum of ASD. Being over 7 months pregnant, I am now hysterical every day, crying about any little bit she does that I consider not a "normal" 2yr old behaviour.
I have read about bilingual families and kids having speech delays in such cases, but once again, according to some sites (thanks again Google) this is a myth.
Now just counting down these two weeks to pass and will update you all on how the check up went.

Thank you again all Flowers

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