8 Month old not babbling/imitating?! Panicking.

[Smithereens1]

Hello!

So my 8 month old baby had his health visitor assessment today and has scored poorly on a couple of the sections - problem solving, fine motor skills and communication. He doesnt babble at all, he says "ah" but no other vowel sounds and no consonants - he also doesn't make a noise in response to being spoken to. He does smile and laugh though and make noise when he's frustrated/excited. His fine motor skills aren't great as he has absolutely zero interest in feeding himself whatsoever and his problem solving skills are probably scoring low as I haven't been trying enough with him using smaller toys (FTM).

He is army crawling well, rolling both ways, sitting unaided for short periods of time, holding his weight when standing up etc so I don't think he is delayed across the board but I'm naturally really concerned. He doesn't move a toy between hands (I think because I dont really have any small toys!) but I am hoping to work on this and make more effort trying to teach him to feed himself and improve his fine motor skills.

The issue with him is that he is SO distracted all the time by anything and everything - he seems to have 1 goal in life and it is to move around. As you can imagine, this makes teaching him new things very difficult!

Just looking for any advice from anyone who found themselves in similar positions? It's such a stress.

Thanks in advance! Xx

I can't help with your dilemma, but my baby finds this kind of small round rattle a good size to pass hand to hand https://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/style/ST577122/870611#870611

And we are currently getting her to practice playing with Duplo (second hand) of different sizes - offering her bits to feel the shape of. I've been putting the Duplo car just behind her to encourage her to roll and grab it. Maybe a toy he needs to chase/reach for would interest him?

Thanks so much I will try that!! Xx

Hello,

I have a now 9 month old who is also is a similar position with communication.
just 4-6 weeks ago communication seemed to be non existent. We only got the sound you are describing really, but then a few more have come over the last few weeks, and we have suddenly also now got noises to confirm she wants something, and pointing has suddenly arrived.
it’s amazing how quickly things can suddenly happen when they are so young still. We are still keeping our fingers crossed for consonants sooner rather than later, but I would look out for other signs of communication e.g. if you do something your little one really likes and then stop, do they then look at you wanting you to do it again etc.

Any update on this @OtterMummy2024? How’s your little one getting on?