My 2 yo still isn't talking!

[Luka17]

My son is 2 in 2 weeks and he still isn't talking. He's only said mum a handful of times but apart from that he doesn't say anything. He babbles a abit and I'm sure his hearing is fine because he follows instructions and he does the actions to certain nursery rhymes. But I am so worried I contacted my local health visitor a couple of months ago who said don't worry and he will receive a check at 27 months but naturally you worry as a mother especially when everyone elses child who is a similar age is talking. Has anyone else had this and has any advice or encouraging words?

He does sound a little speech delayed, at 2 years old you would expect at least 50 words and him trying to put two words together. However, speech delays are the most common delay at this age as talking is a hard task to learn! the good news is that if he has no other deficits then a speech delay normally clears up by itself or with a little speech therapy. How is his non-verbal communication? so his gesturing like pointing to request, pointing to share interests (plane in the sky), eye contact, showing/giving you interesting objects, seeking praise, joint attention, etc? infants that are speech delayed will try to compensate by an increase use of gestures.

My little one was 2 in November and before then he could count do the alphabet and sing nursery rhymes but didt speak to much

Since November he's now speaking a lot and can answer me back
I'd say just be patient a little while longer

My first born was speaking convos at 1 !!
All kids are different x

Yeah his non verbal seems pretty good (I’m a first time mum of one) he waves, point, does gestures to nursery rhymes puts his hand out to hold mine to take me places, he has an interest toys he plays so independently it’s just the speech. Literally said “yeah” today. I’m returning to work next week and he will be going into full time nursery so fingers crossed that will give him a little push

Ah, if he points to request objects and shows you interesting things (like a plane in the sky) then it does sound like a simple speech delay, nursery should help :)

@3babyxx a 1 year old (12 months) speaking full conversations is not normal development, that is beyond advanced, and if so could be a sign of giftness and sometimes even Aspergers. Normal development is 1 word by 14-15 months, 10 words by 18 months, 50 words by 24 months on average.

Well she's now 5 and doing fine no signs off anything and she's just how she should be in class .. she was just an early talker ! But a late walker .. her speech was so good

@3babyxx I’ve heard that early talkers can be later walkers and late talkers are early walkers... my little boy was running around before his first birthday. You’re right every child is different. I’m just a naturally anxious person x

My little boy whose only recently started talking walked at 10 months !! So that's probably true haha xx

@Luka17 if he hasn't been to nursery at all that could be why he is behind in speech - you probably know him very well and anticipate his needs before they get really bad, so maybe he doesn't see the need to speak. In nursery he will have to follow a routine which he might not like, or want a snack when it isn't mealtime, or not want to nap when it is nap time, or want a toy another child has. I bet he'll gain words pretty quickly once he has been there a few months! The first one will probably be NO! haha

Does he sing? You could try singing simple songs with him.

It isn't that unusual though, a friend of mine didn't say one word before she was three and grew up to be very clever. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about.

It does sound as if there might be a delay. He’ll probably catch up but speech therapy can really help, and the earlier the better.

It can take ages to get speech therapy so I’d start trying to get a referral ASAP, unless you can go private.

Nursery will also be able to tell you which areas he is delayed in (if any) and might help with a referral.

My niece was similar at 2, and is still very behind at 3.5. It took my sister a year to get help.

Hi, my son is 25 months and has an assessment with a speech therapist next week. He had maybe 10 words/approximations by his birthday and had another 10 or so now, but the sounds he can say are limited. I rang me health visiting team just before Christmas and then gave me an urgent 2 year check (they usually do them a bit later). They referred to speech therapy and said it's best to be assessed straight away, and they did imply I should have contacted them earlier.

It's a postcode lottery though... here the first assessment takes 2-3 months and then I imagine they'll say come back in 3-6 months and not grant us any therapy. Some areas you have to wait up to 12 months for an initial assessment but perhaps the therapy is then more forthcoming.

You can download the 2 year check questionnaire online, I think it is called the Ages and Stages. They usually score them on the communication section, then refer to speech therapy if necessary. I think you should try another health visitor, won't do any harm to get him on the waiting list.

I actually contacted the HV in November because I was worried then and she said to me that they do the 2 years check at 27 months and to not worry because there’s not much they can do before they’re 2 and half but usually by the time you get an appointment with the speech therapist your child ends up talking all at once. I do agree with @tigerquoll I am guilty of just doing everything for him. I’m hoping that he’s just holding it all in and one day he will just start talking and not stop as he is a very observant child.

Any update OP?