Speech development

[Tulip81]

I'm looking for advice regarding my 2.5 year old's speech.

He is saying two words together and can say quite a few words. He has very good understanding, likes to play with children, able to identify body parts, can count to ten at a push. The nursery has said that they have no concerns about his development. I'm in two minds about whether I should be worried about his speech?

That sounds great to me ! I wouldn't be worrying!(special needs teacher)

I know he's not talking as much as other children his age, that's why I'm worried I guess.

I wouldn't be worried. It's easy to make comparisons but it sounds like your ds is doing fine. In my experience nurseries/pre schools are all over this sort of thing and would have alerted you to any issues. Understanding is key and if he's saying two words together that's great.

Please do not panic. My DS could understand everything I said to him and followed all instructions. However he did not utter any words until he was 3 years and 10 months old.
HV was panicking but I knew he would be fine as his understanding was so good. As soon as he got the hang of speech he was talking in sentences within the week.
Remember they all develop differently and boys especially can be slower than girls to talk.
Bookmar

I've wondered the same with my 2.9 yr old for the last year, I am always seeing kids half his size chatting away! Though he is a big lad so is the same age as them. But I wasn't too concerned as he was still progressing, just at his own rate. He understands loads and is now just starting to say a few 3/4 word sentences. It's really hard not to compare isn't it.. but he'll get there.

Thank you for your reassurances. He is progressing slowly each day. I'm making a conscious effort to talk more and also ask him to do things. He's a very headstrong boy and does things on his own terms, I guess speech included!

There's a pretty broad range of normal when it comes to speech development. The progress checker on the Talking point website is a good source for reassurance, or to know when to ask for help. www.talkingpoint.org.uk/progress-checker