Developmental delay.

[Theocdmummy]

I have the most amazing 2 yo daughter. She is loving, clever, but she doesn’t talk.

I’ve never been worried but started to notice she also is ‘different’ to her friends which I brushed of as Her being an only child. (Not great socialising although does a little bit) Anyhow, today at a group a health visitor told me I should be really concerned. I’ve booked DD in for an assessment but the wait is killing me. I know no one can diagnose her over the internet im just wondering if anyone’s been through something similar and had it be ok?

We have talked about Autism and she does have ‘signs’ but is also very emotionally aware and does not have any sensory issues - although I realise this doesn’t rule it out. Just looking for advice and guidance I guess... thanks!

Hello I studied child dev in uni and actually learned about this. What my professor said is that every child learns and dev at their own pace. She said some kids may start saying words and sentences at 1 while others may start a little later And that's ok. She said she had child who didn't speak a word at all until she was 3!! and one day out the blue began speaking sentences. she explained that just because the child does not say sentences or may speak does not mean they don't know how to instead the child will begin when she is ready. There are many factors that go into language and how fast a child begins to talk. For example how long she crawled, crawling strengthens the back muscles and all the tiny muscles a child will need when they begin to speak. Her small muscles might not be strong enough yet for her mouth to form sentences. Also make sure she does not have tounge tie. That is when the child's tounge is too attached to the bottom of her mouth which causes difficulty in speech. If your child does not have that then my professor suggested to continue to speak to her in proper sentences very clearly and avoid baby talk. Also, it's important she has her hearing checked. Hopefully it's not autism, but I can reassure you, this is quite common. I'm a Montessori teacher, and my second year of teaching, I had a child who didn't speak one single word and he was 4! It was very difficult for him. He did not like to interact with others and to communicate he used his hands. I made him flash cards and he was able to communicate his need a little better that way. Anyway fast forward 2 years later, after nursery, he came to visit me now almost 7, and he was speaking like any other child! Very interesting, and I was very surprised. He was very smart and nothing wrong with him at all.. try not to worry too much. Hope this helped. Xx

I’ve always been a firm believer of every child develops at their own pace and I’d not given it a second thought until someone else mentioned it. Thanks so much for the advice and reassurance x

Your child sounds lovely. The HV is concerned, so I would take the concerns seriously and have a look into what you can do while you are waiting. I've found that Laura Mize's podcasts (Teach me to talk) are very useful for this age.

Im sorry lovely but half of what you've written is nonsense. Crawling does not strenthen the muscles needed for speech. Children do develop at their own rates but there is such a thing as normal development and not all children develop normally. Developmental delays are a thing and not all children who have them "catch up" nicely (and Im really, really sceptical about your boy who didn't speak at all til age for but was "completely nt" at 7. How do you know he was nt? ).

OP it wont harm your dd to have her lack of speech investigated. If it's nothing, it'll still be nothing and if there is something underlying it then better to know as you'll be better able to support her. In the meantime have you tried using non- verbal forms of communication (baby sign, PECs) with her or is it lack of communication that's the issue rather than lack of speech?

Barbarian mom.. please look that up. Crawling is CRUCIAL for speech, I would know because like I mentioned I have a bachelors degree in child development. I have been studying child development from birth to adolescence now for over 9 years now. Crawling strengthens the muscles all over the body that prepare the child for walking and speech. Yes speech! I know it sounds bizarre but it's very true.. google and you will see I am not wrong. as far as the child not speaking. That is also true. I can not make that up. It happened, he has speech therapist through the process but like it said it's more common that people think.

But babies who dont crawl can speak or walk right? My own ds started speaking at 12 months and didnt crawl til 18 months (went straight to walking at 12 months). Crawling is not counted as a developmental milestone precisely because not all children do it.

What about children badly affected by spina bifida? They dont walk but they do speak.

The average 2 year old has about 50 words, and starts putting two word sentences together, however speech delays are also the most common delays in children this age because learning to speak is no easy job!

However, while having no words can be concerning it it the concern with the least significance - the MCHAT screener (which is considered the gold standard for autism evaluation) does not have a single question asking about how many words your child can say, there is a reason why this is so.

They say that in adults 70% of communication is body language, 23% is voice tone, and only 7% is words - it is the same for infants at 18M+. If they don't have words they still have 93% in their 'communication toolbox' to be able communicate; this includes babbling tone, pointing (proximal and distal pointing), giving, reaching, showing, eye contact and other social communicative intentions (waving, clapping, seeking praise, etc) - at this age an infant should be able to communicate their needs and share enjoyment with their carers without the need of any words - deficits in this area would be very very much concerning than lack of words.

She is the most amazing non verbal communicator. Points, and will hand me whatever she wants. She also will do things like pretend to ‘sip’ if she needs a drink. I was never worried until someone else mentioned it 😊

If she has no deficits with gestures (in particular pointing to far away objects to share with you) and can engage in simple pretend play (like sipping from an empty cup like you mentioned, or feeding dolls, pretend cooking, etc) then it is more than likely just a simple speech delay that (in most cases) tends to fix itself.