Hi, sorry if this is a bit rambling. My daughter is 2.5 and meeting her milestones except for speech. She has brilliant understanding and memory. She remembers where everything is kept, what belongs to who etc. She can put her shoes on the right feet and is getting better with dressing herself (still two legs down one trouser leg sometimes!😂). She loves the Julia Donaldson books/films and has memorised them! She acts them out and knows all the words. Dd also know lots of songs and will say “row” and”shark” to get us to sing “row row your boat” or “baby shark” for example. She can’t say them all but my dh and I know when she says “groo” she means Gruffalo etc. Dd also know lots of songs and will say “row” and”shark” to get us to sing “row row your boat” or “baby shark” for example. Dd is demonstrative and affectionate, she can be very stubborn and strong willed. Dd also loves to role play on her own and with us. Looks after her dolly, plays doctors. She has been reluctant to speak for a long time. She does know a lot of words and recognises animals/ objects/ people etc. It’s just the pronunciation isn’t always right. Nursery suggested we do “jolly phonics” again she knows all the actions and sounds... and has learnt the alphabet! She points to letters regularly and tells me what they are. We have a speech referral in place (haven’t heard back yet) and are doing all we can at home, books, songs, describing what we are doing etc. We ask her lots of questions and sometimes she answers. I give her choice and she makes decision, sometimes with gestures other times it’s words. Potty training is going really well so far she says “poo” for everything. But she won’t tell anyone but me or dh that she needs to go. No accidents at nursery today, they have just kept taking her to the toilet. She knows exactly who I am but doesn’t say “mummy”. She says Daddy and our dogs name! We spoke to a friend who is a speech therapist she says not to worry until she’s 3. Sometimes she does put words together like “warm milk”. Dd also doesn’t ask questions, but she will point and make hand gestures. She holds her hands up to say why or where, sometimes using a word like where. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Everyone nursery etc assures is she doesn’t behave like a child with autism or learning difficulties. I’m just desperate to have better communication with her and to know what she’s thinking more clearly. She has been a bad sleeper since 9 months and when we do have a few good nights everything is soo much better! I’m just starting to worry about her making friends etc. Thank you all in advance for any responses x