Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Behaviour/development

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

Original poster

22 Month Old Speech Regression

7 replies

sky181 · 20/06/2023 16:39

Hi Everyone,

My daughter is 22 months old and seems to have regressed in her speech and communication skills. Up until about 16 months she was hitting all her milestones such as responding to her name and saying words such as mama, daddy, dirty, shoe, ta ta, up, down, shoe etc. She would also sing along to nursery rhymes and copy gestures and dances on TV.

Over the past 6 months we have noticed a gradual decline in skills, and while she still uses some of the words and has picked up one or 2 more, its not consistent. She does babble and it sounds like she is trying to communicate about something. She has also stopped responding to her name and won't look in the direction I point in. She can't follow simple instructions and has lost interest in books and other games she once took interest in. She will still engage in imaginative play such as cooking in her toy kitchen, feeding her doll and she interacts with her cousins albeit not to any great extent.

I know speech regression from 15-24 months is an early sign of ASD however other than communication issues, she isn't showing any of the other indicators. She is calm, affectionate, attentive, smiling and maintains good eye contact. She loves to climb and explore and has doesn't have any of the usual sensory issues that comes with ASD. She doesn't do any repetitive gestures like flapping and she doesn't do rituals such as lining up toys.

The health visitor has been out for an initial assessment and agrees that she is behind with communication skills and is showing a significant regression in terms of speech and communication. She has referred us for a hearing test and is putting us on a waiting list for Speech and Language and to be seen by a paediatrician (more due to long waiting times rather than seeing any real need for it at this stage). She said she isn't concerned with ASD as she isn't showing any of the other indicators however there is obviously a communication disorder.

I wanted to see if anyone had a similar experience with their child and what the outcome was? Does this sound more like a hearing issue or is it early signs of ASD. If anyone has a child displaying these behaviour who was then diagnosed with ASD, what was the severity? Could it be something more sinister than hearing impairment or ASD? What does developmental delay mean in a real world context? Will she lose the ability to learn words altogether and if so why if it isn't ASD?

I realise I am rambling now but I am beginning to panic. I love my little girl and know that an ASD diagnosis isn't the end of the world, however I just want to a make sure we put in place early interventions and educate ourselves to be able to support her in the way she needs.

OP posts:
SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 20/06/2023 21:32

I can't answer your questions as we didn't experience losing skills. Just wondering if the HV has said how long the waiting list is for the hearing test?

Original poster
sky181 · 20/06/2023 21:54

She should be seen within a few months apparantly.

OP posts:
SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 20/06/2023 22:21

sky181 · 20/06/2023 21:54

She should be seen within a few months apparantly.

It's appalling that you have to wait that long isn't it?

Injackane · 21/10/2023 01:42

If it is a regression, it looks mild. Some regressions are just brutal, kids go to being non-verbal, rock back and forth, etc
If it was autism, this would be level 1, eye high functioning.

i have a suspicion that this is not a regression in autism, as she still does pretend play, has no stimming, still interacts, no sensory issues, but something else. It almost sounds like a trauma response. Don’t want to scare you, but is anyone bullying her, maybe some other kids are hitting her? It just doesn’t look like an autism regression that I know of, but I’m not a medical person, so might be wrong.

Ppan12 · 11/10/2024 11:03

sky181 · 20/06/2023 16:39

Hi Everyone,

My daughter is 22 months old and seems to have regressed in her speech and communication skills. Up until about 16 months she was hitting all her milestones such as responding to her name and saying words such as mama, daddy, dirty, shoe, ta ta, up, down, shoe etc. She would also sing along to nursery rhymes and copy gestures and dances on TV.

Over the past 6 months we have noticed a gradual decline in skills, and while she still uses some of the words and has picked up one or 2 more, its not consistent. She does babble and it sounds like she is trying to communicate about something. She has also stopped responding to her name and won't look in the direction I point in. She can't follow simple instructions and has lost interest in books and other games she once took interest in. She will still engage in imaginative play such as cooking in her toy kitchen, feeding her doll and she interacts with her cousins albeit not to any great extent.

I know speech regression from 15-24 months is an early sign of ASD however other than communication issues, she isn't showing any of the other indicators. She is calm, affectionate, attentive, smiling and maintains good eye contact. She loves to climb and explore and has doesn't have any of the usual sensory issues that comes with ASD. She doesn't do any repetitive gestures like flapping and she doesn't do rituals such as lining up toys.

The health visitor has been out for an initial assessment and agrees that she is behind with communication skills and is showing a significant regression in terms of speech and communication. She has referred us for a hearing test and is putting us on a waiting list for Speech and Language and to be seen by a paediatrician (more due to long waiting times rather than seeing any real need for it at this stage). She said she isn't concerned with ASD as she isn't showing any of the other indicators however there is obviously a communication disorder.

I wanted to see if anyone had a similar experience with their child and what the outcome was? Does this sound more like a hearing issue or is it early signs of ASD. If anyone has a child displaying these behaviour who was then diagnosed with ASD, what was the severity? Could it be something more sinister than hearing impairment or ASD? What does developmental delay mean in a real world context? Will she lose the ability to learn words altogether and if so why if it isn't ASD?

I realise I am rambling now but I am beginning to panic. I love my little girl and know that an ASD diagnosis isn't the end of the world, however I just want to a make sure we put in place early interventions and educate ourselves to be able to support her in the way she needs.

Hi OP, can you provide an update on your child? Going through something similar and worried sick. Thank you.

Original poster
sky181 · 11/10/2024 16:18

Ppan12 my daughter has just turned 3 and is now on the waiting list for ASD diagnosis. At 22 months she was showing few indicators, really just the speech and communication regression. However in the year that followed we saw the regression continue to the point that she had no functional language (though she could say about 10 or so words out of context). She started stimming though not in any severe way (occasional spinning and walking on tip toes), loud noises upset her, she couldn't be around other children and she started putting everything in her mouth.

She has just started nursery and while we are seeing progress, id say she has the developmental age of an 18 month old. She is starting to use words in context now but she is very clearly autistic.

Thats our experience and may not necessarily be yours. Looking back there were obvious signs and I think I was in denial. She has never slept well, not even as a baby, and she only occasionally responded to her name or gestured at objects.

I would see how the next 6 months progress, you will soon know if it is a sign of ASD.

OP posts:
Ppan12 · 11/10/2024 20:39

sky181 · 11/10/2024 16:18

Ppan12 my daughter has just turned 3 and is now on the waiting list for ASD diagnosis. At 22 months she was showing few indicators, really just the speech and communication regression. However in the year that followed we saw the regression continue to the point that she had no functional language (though she could say about 10 or so words out of context). She started stimming though not in any severe way (occasional spinning and walking on tip toes), loud noises upset her, she couldn't be around other children and she started putting everything in her mouth.

She has just started nursery and while we are seeing progress, id say she has the developmental age of an 18 month old. She is starting to use words in context now but she is very clearly autistic.

Thats our experience and may not necessarily be yours. Looking back there were obvious signs and I think I was in denial. She has never slept well, not even as a baby, and she only occasionally responded to her name or gestured at objects.

I would see how the next 6 months progress, you will soon know if it is a sign of ASD.

Thank you for sharing OP. Good luck and best wishes for your daughter's progress.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page