Speech development 20 months

[Berries2]

My dd is 20 months old and I'm starting to have concerns about her speech as are her nursery. She is my third and I just can't remember how the other 2 were at this age! She's smiley and happy, communicates without talking really well but probably only has a vocabulary of about 5 words.
She has started babbling more but is generally really quiet.. everything she says she almost whispers!
My other two (8 and 6) are noisy chatter boxes so half of me wonders if she's just enjoying the chaos
Any advice? How can I encourage her speech? We read books, play games but she just won't talk!

Have you had her hearing tested recently?

No. Will give my HV a call today. I did wonder about her hearing but she's really responsive when we say her name and chat to her. Thanks for replying

No worries.....sometimes there are conditions which aren't really the same as being hard of hearing but which can affect a child's speech development....very fixable though.

Also some DC just take a bit longer to talk...my nephew barely said a word till he was just over 2. All he said was Mama for ages...and babbling...then after his birthday he went on a big leap and now speaks a lot.

Thanks. Spoke HV and she said to wait until her 2 year review, because she communicates without talking not to worry just yet. You'd think third time round I'd have this nailed but after a 5 year gap honestly can't remember what the other two were doing! X

I suppose the HV means she communicates her needs yes? Does she understand what you're saying though? As in...if you say "Look DD!" and point, will she look? Or if you say "Where is the ball?" does she know what you mean?

Hi user, sorry for delayed reply.. busy weekend! Yes she mostly does. She follows instructions quite well I think. And typically, since calling hv and posting here, she seems to be saying more. She signs a few words but I got a verbal 'more please' this lunchtime. Still keeping an eye on her, we were at a party this aft and she was silent for two whole hours x

If she nods and shakes her head instinctively/spontaneously, points to show you things, looks at you and smiles, brings things to show you or get help with, you likely don't need to worry at this stage. Speech development varies hugely between individual children. It's worth a hearing test if the HV thinks it is a good idea, but if she is responsive and communicating and interacting non-verbally, I imagine it is very likely you'll have a chatterbox in 6 months time.

You can support her by doing things like spending one to one time in a quiet room playing, and model very basic words and sentences. Keeping sentences as short as possible can help, as can describing things in a commentary style rather than asking her questions (I always find that tricky!).