18mth old girl, has only 4 words, pls tell me that's normal!

[unpaidcleaner]

All she says is 'gone' 'again' (they sound exactly the same but she uses them differently, so you can tell what she means), 'bye' and 'mum' (she calls her mum that,but also any female adult who's looking after her (such as me). She doesn't seem to have learnt any new words for about 6 months - is this normal??

Madamechocolat - sorry to hear that you didn't get the answer you were hoping for.

Madamechocolat,

Oh, I really hope everything is ok, are you Ok?

Lexij, I?m really surprised to hear you say that "TV is a hard one, so long as it's age appropriate it isn't a bad thing, maybe up to an hour is appropriate for an 18 month old, if you are watching it together and interacting it can be a good way of stimulating language."

.....particularly when you are a Speech and Language Therapist and I would value your opinion, I?m really confused now -I?ve read up a lot about this (particularly the effects of under twos watching TV) and (up to now) would be so passionate and COMPLETELY against any TV for under twos and extremely limited viewing for children over 2 because of all the studies regarding same and how it can be detrimental to development. Also because the American Academy of Paediatrics are calling a complete ban on TV for babies.

I?m really confused now???????????. (Sorry, for the hijack)

You may get to the referral and be told there is nothing to worry about. The hv is referring you because she doesn't know and you have showed concerns. Better to refer now and not have the wait. By the time it comes through things might be different again. I wouldn't freak out just yet

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, sorry! Thanks for your comments. My gut feeling is that everything will be ok but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little concerned...
I hope to look back on all this one day when ds is a nuclear physicist and laugh.

If he starts talking about nuclear physics most people won't understand a word he says anyway! My DH is a physicist and dinnertime conversations can be baffling (mind you, I get my own back with the Data Protection Act!)..

I hope this all works out into another anecdote you can embarass him with!

Message withdrawn

i know a boy who was 4 before he spoke! he his now a top of the class 6 year old.

Thanks for all the reassuring messages - am just going with the flow again now! x

DD barely said a word at 18 months but could speak very well by 2 years. Be grateful the "NO MUM" phase hasn´t started yet ; )

My dd only had a few words at 18 mths - favourite being dog! Now 4 mths later there is no stopping her. She's even started to talk in sentences - it's so cute

that's normal

barbielovesken- if you are out there tonight?

personally i don't agree with tv for young children, but recntly discussed it with colleagues at work and the consensus was that for many of the parents we see, tv is a fact of life, and the advice we give has to acknowledge taht while real life interaction is the gold standard, some parents will turn to the tv to keep their children occupied, so i was suggesting in the thread that if tv is watched then there are better ways of watching it, rather than letting a child watch it alone which would not be stimulating. hope that makes sense!

My friend's daughter didn't say a single word until she was well past 2. One day she blurted out "I'd like some more please" like a little grown up. She didn't want to talk until she could get it totally right. I bet she practiced when noone was around to hear her!

I was worried when my DD (now 3) only had about 2-3 words at two. I hunted around for speech therapists etc but there were long waiting lists....then suddenly after her 2nd birthday she started speaking in full sentences and now has managed to use "obscure" and "dubious" in sentences along with "hilarious". We can't stop her talking....

unpaidcleaner - can't remember from mine, (although I recall some of DS's friends hardly speaking until they were three - specially the bilingual ones) but I did take DD to the health visitor at 2.5 as I was so worried about her speach. (DS's had been far better at that age). I thought maybe she was partially deaf.

Health visitor said there is a huge spectrum regadring speach development for young children but she arranged a hearing test for DD just to make sure.

In the meantime DD started nursery and all of a sudden her speach development accelerated - when we eventually got her hearing tested she was fine.

If you're worried I'd take her to the health visitor who can assess her, if only just to put your mind at rest.

my first words were "don't worry mum, i'm ok" as we left a speech therapists office! ha ha ha (nearly 4 btw)

amidaiwish, that was HILARIOUS!

my poor parents...
think i was just shy? couldn't be arsed? or didn't want to speak til i could do it properly!!?

my son said very little until 20 months (interestingly more and gone, bus and car....and i know what you mean about them sounding the same) we live in switzerland where you get a very thorough 18 month check and the pediatrition said there was nothing to worry about, as long as you think that he understands language (as long as he understands what you are saying you are ok, if not they like to check hearing). After 20 months he has gained a lot more words, although many are unfinished ba for ball etc. at 22 months we now have words being stringed together and the pediatrician is happy all is well. I ignore the mums who tell me that there kids speak in full sentances, i'm happy for them but it is irrelevant for my son.
hope this helps