Two-year-old seems so far behind his peers in speech development - help!

[justanothermummy2b]

Hi mums - I'm looking for some advice and perhaps some reassurance. My son will be two in a matter of weeks but he seems so far behind all his peers with regards to his speech development. All the other children I come across who are around his age (and some even younger) are talking in 2-word sentences, are curious about expanding their vocabulary (asking what's that? or pointing to new things) and able to copy someone when they hear a new word. My son is nowhere near that proficient with his language skills. He has a small bank of words he can say (at the moment I'd say he has four words he uses regularly) but they are not as clear as they could be, he seems unable (or perhaps unwilling) to copy us when we tell him what something is called. He babbles all the time but it really is just meaningless noise. I'm not worried about any other areas of his development, he is full of energy and is affectionate and generally really happy. He can do quite complex puzzles which are in advance of his age and has no trouble understanding and carrying out quite complex instructions but the speech is just not there. He was late to crawl and late to walk so I'm not sure if this is another area where we just need to be patient or whether I really need to seek professional help for him

My ds is 2 years old and only says mummy, daddy, nanny, yea, no, oh dear or oh no! He does try and say door but his vocab is limited so I am wondering whether I should get his ears tested now having read this thread! His friends speech is amazing compared to his and I wasn't that concerned as felt that some children speak early and others don't but perhaps I should look at whether he does have a delay of some sort!?

Isthere I took ds to the SALT drop in 3 weeks before his second birthday mainly because I read the statistic that at 2 toddlers typically say between 50 and 100 words and he was saying fewer than 10. Also SALT have notoriously long waits for therapy so I wanted him on their radar so to speak. If he starts to talk, great if he doesn't then we're being seen.

Wow I didn't realise they should have that many words statistically now I'm worried! I realised today that actually he says a few more words that I had forgotten but still no where near the 50! Do I see a dr first? Do two years olds usually have an assessment like they do at 1 year?? As we haven't had one or received a letter to say he is due to see anyone?

So when you went to salt did they agree there was an issue with his speech or did they just pop you on a waiting list?

Two year old do have an assessment with the Hv but ours are running behind with them so ds hasn't had his (he's 2.4 almost). I found out when the SALT drop in was and just went along-we had a long wait though.

It's not so much that they "should" have all those words just that most typically will have, it also includes things like animal noises and "nee nar" fire engine sounds. At the drop in we filled in a form about things like other milestones, childcare etc then had a half hour assessment with the SALT. She said that his speech was delayed, just by virtue of that fact that he had so few words, but that it was far too soon to tell why. She gave us a few tips and exercises to do. We're going back next week so I'm hoping they can shed more light but I won't be surprised if we're sent away for another 3 months.

Have you had a look at the M CHAT test?

If you have concerns, look online for SLT approaches that you might try to have a go at at home.

But first port of call should be testing hearing.

If that turns out to be good, an OT assessment can be done in conjunction with the SLT assessment, to determine if there is overall/global developmental delay or just speech. This can pick up autism spectrum disorders but a SLT should be attuned to this possibility too.

A SLT can narrow down why speech is delayed in one to one sessions. I wouldn't be happy about being sent away for three months unless I had been taught some strategies to work on at home. I would prefer to see a schedule of sessions too, so that progress or lack thereof could be assessed.

Salts don't always pick up ASD traits. my DC presented with classic and severe ASD at 3 (very few words, very delayed understanding, communication in general not there) and Salt ruled ASD out (the old chestnut of eye contact and other nonsense). I have lots of friends with DC with ASD and my experience is far from unique

They said they wouldn't do the hearing test until he turned two so I'll be requesting one this time. I think ds's understanding is okay but I find it hard to tell, to find a benchmark I mean. For instance if I say to ds "Can you go in that drawer and get me a vest please" he will, he knows basic things like dinnertime, nap and bath etc, if I ask him to point to the ..whatever then he will but other things he doesn't get at all. If I say Grandad is coming tomorrow he goes to the door to see him now. I've heard of friends using the naughty step and I think that concept would be beyond him. We communicate though, but it's hard to know what he actually understands.

'tomorrow' is a really hard concept. he understands that grandpa is coming and that is good. his u understanding from what you describe sounds OK. my DC (asd and language delay) would not have been able to understand those things at 2 (or even 3).

Thank you, should I request a hv appt or do they contact us?
My ds sounds like yours Nicky in that he has basic understanding but if I said your seeing nanny tomorrow he would think today! He understands bedtime and nap etc
He can do animal sounds, well a few but can't say the words!
My ds wouldn't understand the naughty step either...

Will take a look at the M Chat test too and see what comes out of that first

In our area the Hv send out a questionairre for you to fill in and with an appointment attached automatically but I'd call if you want the process speeded up. I found put about the SALT drop in by ringing the community health team at my surgery.

Thanks Nicky I will give them a call to speed things up and want to get him checked!
M Chat confirmed that he is low risk which is good.
We have been trying to test his hearing and it seems ok but only a test will confirm I guess

The passage of time and terms to convey different amounts of time are concepts that toddlers would not understand. They are very much 'here and now' people. So terms like 'later', 'tomorrow', 'yesterday' or even 'after dinner you can watch tv' are meaningless. They hear, 'Blahblahblah you can watch tv'.

You can keep a fairly regular routine and they can eventually anticipate what happens next, but it's still all going to be a lot of meaningless terms for a few years.

So don't worry about 2 yos not understanding terms related to time.

The naughty step is incomprehensible. So is the concept of sorry. I gnash my teeth at Supernanny.
Just say no to behaviour you see that you don't want, remove the toddler physically from the place it is happening if necessary, then distract. If they try it again, just keep on with repeated 'No' , and confiscate a toy/crayon/sandwich being smeared into the wall/food being thrown or keep a pet or baby out of danger. Toddler proof your home.