My 15 mo DS has literally no words (not even mama or dada sad) and also doesn’t point at all.
Now I’m pretty sure it’s too early to be properly worried but the more time passes the more concerned I’m getting and I am mostly wondering when should I go from mildly concerned to actually worried? I’m also worried that I’m not doing enough or the right things to encourage his development.
I’m not sure about his understanding either. Sometimes I think he understands well but then I’m not sure at others if he doesn’t or just feels like ignoring me! I feel like he often needs visual clues to help him (eg he’ll ‘come here’ only if I also beckon him).
He has been referred for a hearing test because he’s had quite a build up of earwax so I wonder if it’s been affecting his hearing. But at the same time he loves music and singing so I’m certain if he has any hearing loss it’s not significant. Got to wait a month still for his appointment though.
The rest of his development is very good though. His motor skills, both gross and fine, are exactly where I’d expect them to be. He walks very well and can climb onto the sofa and up the stairs etc. His problem solving skills are, imho, quite advanced eg he loves his stacking cups and has been able to stack them all on his own for weeks. He does clap (all the time!) and he can wave but he only learnt to wave quite late around 13 months.
However he’s been teething FOREVER. He already has 16 teeth and I’m pretty sure we have a back molar coming through already too. Is that likely to affect language development?
He babbles loads and makes lots of different sounds though ‘da’ is his favourite. My mum managed to teach him to approximate a ‘moo’ ‘baa’ and ‘quack’ sound in response to the question what does the x say? But he doesn’t seem to associate the noise with the object so I’m not sure if that counts as language? He won’t say the noise if you point to a pic and say what does that say etc. I try to encourage that using books (which he loves) but also singing. Not sure if there’s other things I should do? I try to model words as often as possible, and I try to say them in different sentences but also on their own. Am focusing on nouns atm.
I model pointing as well as often as I can but he really shows no interest or understanding. If I offer him a choice eg water or sandwich at lunch he just looks at them until he’s frustrated that you haven’t given him what he wants. If I move them closer he will reach for what he wants. He does bring me toys and more often books to show me.
How much should I be playing with him and how much should I let him play on his own? Is there anything else I can do?
Am planning to take him to hv clinic next week, and also have a meeting with his nursery.
TLDR: at what age do you worry that your ds isn’t talking or pointing and what can I do to help in the meantime?