now 14 months and no words

[hercyulelog]

I've posted on this topic before but I am still worried. DD has no words or no real babbling although she does make noises and has started to scream.

She can point, interacts very well and understands a lot of what we say.

What are other babies doing around this age re speech?

Tia

ds1 didn't have his first word til 18 moths. ds2 had about 50 by the same age. A direct contemporary of ds2 had only one word until well over 2.
Don't worry, they keep a v close eye on this and if no-one else (ie hv) is worried then you shouldn't be either - CERTAINLY not at 14 mths.

Hercyulelog, I would advise you to not worry so much!
I am a salt and all kids differe enormously. A good easy-to-remember rule of thumb is as follows:

1 year-using single words
2 years-using 2 words together
3 years-using 3 (or more) words together

If as you say she is responsive, sociable and appearing to understand, this is all spot on, as is the fact that she is pointing (latter is vvv important.)
Try not to worry (hard I know) and make a mental note to review the situation in 6 months.
Oh-and don't read too many developmental milestone books. If you are feeling a bit wobbly, they can be fatal!

Thankyou for the responses. :)

Hi, I'm so glad I've read this. My dd is also 14 months and she is doing exactly the same as your dd hercyulelog. It bothers me a bit because she points at everything and when she sees something she wants she will scream out of frustration. If anyone has any tips on how to encourage speech I would be grateful.

All I can suggest is what my HV (very supportive) has suggested to me :-

Talk to your child constantly
If they point at something, say (eg) "oh yes, it's a light"
If they point at something they want, say (eg) "oh yes, you want some juice"
Read to your child

DS is 20 mths and all he says is Mama. He does a lot of grunting which, when listened to carefully, I can make out the syllables and it tends to relate to whatever is happening at the time. IYKWIM!!

Herc - I don't think I'd be worried - 14 months is still very young. Neither of my ds's were saying any sort of word at this age. Some of their peers could say 'Mummy' really clearly and, particularly with ds1, I started to panic but they just started talking later and ds1 is now 3.5 and we can't shut him up!

DS2 was 2 in November and tbh has only had single words since the summer, so after 18 months. He's got loads of words now but only this last couple of weeks has he started to put 2 words together ('Mummy's car' etc).

My friend was also very worried about her dd this summer - she wasn't saying much or making much babbling either - she must have been about 18 months old too. She got an appt with someone about it but by the time her appt came round a couple of months later - she'd started saying a few words.

Sometimes I think they just take it all in and one day they say something and it spirals so quickly from there you won't believe it.

HTH - don't worry.

Oh yes, forgot to say what mizmiz said - I've also been told it's more important that they understand you and try to communicate, e.g. by pointing to tell you something or being able to bring you a book if you ask for one.

Gobbledigoose - That's exactly what my HV said. As long as the comprehension is there, don't worry!

My DS still isn't walking either!

My friend and I have dd's born just 3 days apart. By 14 months mine was saying quite a few words, all brilliantly weirdly pronounced of course. My friend's dd wasn't saying a thing, or babbling, or even pointing that much. By 18 months my dd was chatting quite a bit, friend's dd the same as before. They've both turned 2 and although my dd is clearly saying more and making sentences etc. the difference between them has narrowed amazingly. My friend's dd is putting a couple of words together and is generally much more communicative. By another 6 months time I imagine they'll be identical more or less.