Talk to me about your late talker

[Allyo19]

My DS is 26m and still only saying a handful of words. We are following guidance from HV: describing everything we do; reading lots etc. He understands everything we say. For example, if I mention having lunch as a picnic whilst we are out in the morning, he will remember at lunch time and refuse his highchair- dragging a blanket to the back door instead.

On the Ages and Stages questionnaires he doesn't score to trigger a referral.

I guess I am just seeking some reassurance that it'll just click in the next few months... does anyone have experience to share?

I'm following as in the same boat as u

?

I had one son who was close to 3 when he started talking (and he spoke in sentences immediately) He needed speech therapy
The other son spoke his first words just before 2y4m? He's predicted the equivalent of an A for GCSE English so everything turned out fine. He was definitely saying stuff like "more milk" by 2y6m

My tips are
Put big pauses in conversations and see if he says something. This is important if he has older siblings who might fulfill his wishes before he gets a chance to speak. So if you ask him blue cup or red cup don't let his older sibling run to him with both so he misses out on the chance to say which he prefers iyswim.

Sometimes it pays to play dumb. He might point at the blue cup but you might want to ask again to see if he says blue cup.

On a similar note if he has chatty siblings then tell them to put long pauses in their conversations with him rather than the usual length they might put when talking to their peers.

I guess it depends what words he has. If he knows car, mummy and daddy it might be worth asking him questions that have the answer mummy car or daddy car iyswim

My son is only child so far and I do leave Gaps in convo but it's like he's not interested in filling them!! He says random words throughout the day but not in context and if he wants something he will show me or whine/cry.

I've made a referral to therapy just to get on the waiting list and he's starting 15 hours nursery in September which I hope will help

Thanks Netflix. It's good to hear that we are still in the realms of (late) normal. HV is still pushing back on any referral.

How old is your son Skyblue?

My son is 27 months