22 months has 4 words but refuses to use them and doesn't try new ones

[daisyartichoke]

...title says it all really. She can say'mummum' 'dada' 'cat' and 'duck' but it's like she's gone on strike, this has been for a couple of months now. She points and makes anoise to indicates things/ ask for things. She is sociable, good eye contact and happy. Dd has db who is 22 months older than her, he talks loads. I'm not sure what to think?? Any ideas would be welcome.

DS was the same a few months ago - mama, dada, duck and dog, then suddenly he was picking up words left right and centre. I was really worried, it was about the same sort of time. He is 2 on the 27th and he must have about 20 words It'll come, don't worry

I dunno if it helped, but I always say words clearly for him, instead of just giving him his milk i'd give it and say "milk". Things like that.

My DD is 22 months and she only has a few words - eyes, all-gone, oh-no, mum, dad and 'this'.-pointing in the general direction of what she wants. That's the lot so far. She understands the things we say to her though and is very bright and out going. It'll come I'm sure. I wouldn't be too concerned if I were you.

I talk to her as much as i can and say what things are when i give them or when she is playing with things.

perhaps it's more normal tha i think. Do you know at what age hv etc start to worry about this?

hi daisy
my ds was the same he is 2 in april. until about a week ago he only said about 5 words. now suddenly he has got into it and is trying to copy what you say.
don't worry your dd will do it in her own time!!

I have once dc who had 70+ words at 17m, another who had 50+ words at 17m, and one who currently has 3 words at 17m. But he communicates in other words. As you describe: sociable, good eye contact and happy. Also, importantly, developing new skills from day to day. I think he's OK.

My DD was exactly like this. I realised it was easier for her to point or gesture and so kept telling her to say what she wanted and not just point. After a while, it all fell into place. Can't keep her quiet now

If it's any help to anyone I have a pal whose DS was, at 3, saying about 3 words. He was starting school a year later (summer-born) and she was really worried. At 2 btw he said virtually nothing.

Now he's 5 and a half and very chatty. Not always totally clear, but then many 5yos aren't, loads to say tho. He had SALT but has been signed off from that ages ago.

If there are speech delays there are two main worries - hearing and ASD. If a child points then as I understand it ASD is unlikely (correct me if I'm wrong).

Worth getting hearing checked tho.

I am in a similar situation - DD is 22 months and v. limited vocab - Mum, Dad, No (used most often), Yes and More.

However, her non verbal communication is good - she understands almost everything and gets what she wants in other ways. I'm told that this is the most important thing. At this stage as long as they are communicating somehow, no worries. I heard about an author who didn't talk at all until she was 2.5 and then started speaking in sentences!

I think my DD is quite lazy - why make the effort to talk when you don't need to. She also has an older sister who is an effective translator / slave.

mine is the same but worse - 26 months in a couple of days. her entire list of words is

Mummy
Daddy
Yaryie (Charlie - her brother)
Yes
No
Bye bye
Quack
Woof
Dere (There)
Bebba (Peppa pig)
Beebee (baby)
Poo
Up

That's it! But she is incredibly communicative, has a vast vocab (if you ask her to point things out in a book she gets them all right), knows all her colours (ditto) and has three older siblings willing and able to interpret her every grunt. Every so often she says another word by mistake and if you ask her to repeat it she looks sheepish and refuses. So I'm reasonably confident that in a few months she'll decide that she prefers speaking to squeaking babbling and grunting and get on with it.

My DS2 was the same actually - didn't say much until 28 months and then it all came flowing out. Whereas DD1 had over 100 words at 18 months. Funny how they are all different.

lol @ slave/ translator

Thank you for all your posts....so nice to know dd is in good company. she knows the names of most things and certainly knows how to get what she needs. Perhaps she'll start to talk when ds starts school in September.

Ds2 is 22 months and he says
Da - Dad
Dadu - Daniel
Soooos - shoes
du - duck
do - do - do - do - Stop the pigeon....
Baba - Ali Baba

and that is about it really. But he is incredibly communicative, pointed early, fantastic eye contact since birth, smiled early etc. I think he is idle!

Watching this thread with interest as my ds-21 months- has very few words, and is way behind the others in our PN group. He can say mama, dada, (mooooo) more, car, NO!, bu (bus/bath) and hup (open). That's it. He does point a lot and seems to have a goodunderstanding of what you say to him. I'm not too concerned yet, but when I see how advanced his little friends are it does make me wonder! One child (not 2 until mid July) knows all his colours, knows numbers up to 10 (recognises the numbers written down) has hundreds of words, can sing songs ( jingle bells etc) !!!! Hard not to get a bit of a complex about ds, and I HATE the competitive mother thing....