Please or to access all these features

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

25 months old not saying a lot

1 reply

Serena70 · 06/01/2018 19:23

Hi,
I have got a 25 months old who has very few words. I am worried as I believe he should be saying more than that. He says cat, ball. apple, bye and can point to some parts of his body. He doesn't always respond to his name nut he will take you and point to what he wants.
He doesn't always follow instructions but will get things he wants.
He keeps eye contact most time but will not if distracted by something else. He goes to Nursery 4 days a week and the nursery say he plays fine with other children, likes doing puzzles and games but feel his speech is a bit delayed.
We have just been referred to SALT awaiting 1st appointment. Should I be worried??
I have an older DD so he has some way to play with at home.

OP posts:
GoBigOrange · 07/01/2018 07:07

He sounds a lot like my son at that age.

My son had maybe 10 words when he turned two, and didn't use them most of the time, preferring to point/roar/scream/grunt/look impatient if he wanted something.

He was very good about obeying instructions when they were something which benefited him, but was pretty hit and miss if it was something he didn't particularly want to do. He definitely knew his name, but responding consistently to it was also another matter. His eye contact was mostly good, and he generally rubbed along pretty well with other children. Honestly though, I was starting to wonder -
just a little - if all was quite right with him, mainly because all the guidelines clearly state that kids should be talking at that age.

Got to 28 months though (six weeks ago) and it was like something just suddenly unlocked in him. He went from barely speaking, to using sentences, with an extensive vocabulary and good pronunciation... all in the space of about a week. It is still frankly weird to hear him yapping on utterly relentlessly and carrying an actual conversation with people and asking me for "more milk please ma," instead of just banging his cup on the fridge and grunting at me until I gave him a refill. He is like a different child.

Hopefully, a similar speech-burst will just happen with your little guy, but if not, then hopefully the SALT will be able to get to the bottom of things and help him advance.

I don't want to say: "Don't worry", because I'm a random on the internet and I don't know your son, and for all I know you may have cause to worry. But I will say, my son sounds as if he was much the same as yours, and does seem to be doing well now.

Also, several other mothers to whom I expressed my concerns about my son's lack of speech told me that they too had sons (who have turned out fine) who had not really started talking properly until they were 2.5 or even 3.

So while limited speech at age two can certainly be cause for concern (and is definitely worth seeing the SALT for in case you do need their help) it isn't always a sign of some major problem either. Sometimes children (and boys in particular) are just a bit slow to start talking.

I hope it all turns out well for you and your son.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page