My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

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

Behaviour/development

17 month old not talking

4 replies

tempnamechange98765 · 25/07/2020 10:19

My second DS has just turned 17 months and he's not talking really, at all. He's babbling, but was on the later side with that starting at 10 months. He may have one or two words that he barely says, but mainly his babble is pretty nonsensical, the standard da da ba ba baby babble.

He has also only just started pointing consistently with his index finger, although he's been whole hand pointing since about 12-13 months and every now and then he would use his finger, but only now is it consistent and the index finger is properly dominant. The Health Visitor at his 15 month check wasn't concerned with this and said his fine motor would improve - his fine motor isn't great to be honest, he still scoops a lot of his food or will use thumb, index and third fingers together instead of pincer grip, so that all matches up.

He waves if you say hi or bye, shakes his head when he doesn't want something, asks for up etc, and makes specific noises for specific things eg the same funny little noise whenever he sees a dog or cat, he'll maybe go "arrrghhhh" if he sees a lion or similar on the TV (not consistent).

Has anyone had similar, virtually no words at this age and late index finger pointing? I was lucky with DS1 as his speech came on really well and by 20 months he had well over 100 words (he wasn't waking until 18 months though, whereas DS2 is already running!).

OP posts:
Report
Jannt86 · 25/07/2020 12:07

Mine was really late until she babbled convincingly (12/13MO) and I was tearing my hair out! she only had a handful of words at best at 17MO and very unclear. By 21MO she was speaking sentences and at 27MO she's becoming what I'd regard as 'conversational' She is getting quite clever with her words too eg; the other day she was singing bah bah black sheep to her toy monkey except she sung 'monkey monkey have you any wool' instead completely off her own back Grin she also probably only index pointed at about 15MO although she did whole hand point well before that. I think your LO sounds fine from what you're saying tbh. I think 2 is a better age to evaluate things as so much can happen in this time but in the meantime I would be looking out for other signs that he understands what you're saying (can he point objects/animals out in a book etc? Point to body parts? Fetch his shoes or similar?) And signs that his social development is coming on as expected. By age 2 I'd expect him to be playing simple imaginative games for example and be showing some sort of interest in interacting with other children (although not necessarily in a sophisticated way or for long periods of time) It's positive that he's pointing by 18MO. This is a pretty big benchmark ITO ASD. The only thing I'd do is self refer him for a hearing test even if it seems fine as this can be common cause of language delay and is very much reversible. Otherwise I'd just enjoy him, interact with him lots and it'll probably all come in time. //Www.teachmetotalk.com is a website of podcasts by a speech therapist which gives a very simple and helpful explanation of speech development and guidance on how to encourage kids to talk. Good luck but I think he'll be fine Smile x

Report
starfishy · 25/07/2020 17:03

I agree with the pp, the teach me to talk website is great. I've been listening to the podcasts about the 11 skills needed before a child can talk, sometimes if just one is missing or not fully mastered this can be why a child isn't quite talking yet.
teachmetotalk.com/2020/03/26/11-skills-podcast-series-ce-credit-available/

It sounds like your ds is well on his way to talking though if he is now pointing and gesturing.

Report
AladdinMum · 26/07/2020 00:31

Index finger pointing in not considered late until after 18M so he was not late, also only 8 words is expected at 18M and that includes animal sounds or any other consistent sounds. I wouldn't be concerned as nothing really sounds concerning at the moment. The teach me to talk site is a really great site.

Report
FreyaM · 29/07/2020 14:48

Hi,
I'm a Speech Language Therapist too, and run a parenting blog. It's fantastic that he's babbling and you do still have lots and lots of time for language development- nothing is a massive concern at this point from what you've said.
I just wanted to share my post that gives ideas for what parents can do to build language in everyday life. There are 8 easy strategies which I think will be perfect for your son and will really boost his language. There is even a free printable if you want an easy to read version.
www.happierwithtea.com/boost-speech-and-language/
I'd love to hear what you think of these tips. I'm quite a new blog so massively appreciate any feedback, comment or shares.
Thank you and all the best!
Freya

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.