14 month old not babbling or copying

[DaisyLB]

I’m Looking for some advice really. I’m sick with worry. My almost 14 month old DS isn’t babbling and he has never copied any sounds or movements. He squeals in a high pitch and yells but no ba, ma, ga, da sounds. I took him to the walk in talking and they just said to bring him back in 6 months if no improvement.
he doesn’t wave, he’s clapped like 3 times, he doesn’t look when pointing to something and never really has any interest in playing with anyone. He’s great at walking and motor skills but his communication just has never been there. Has anyone with older children experienced the same or similar and seen improvement? I’m a first time mum and I just feel like I’m not doing the right things for him to learn what he needs to.

Yes I had one with speech delay too. It’s so worrying isn’t it?

How did he do on his 12 month check?

it is, he pretty much scored 0 on communication at the 12 month check and they said they’d refer him, but I’ve not heard anything since and he’s 14 months next week. So I took him to the HV walk in group for talking issues and they said to come back in 6 months.
how was yours? Did they get it eventually? My nephew is non verbal autistic so I’m just a bit concerned.

Mine did speak eventually but has since been diagnosed as AuDHD. Could you chase the HV up? She should have referred for a hearing test and SaLT. She will he able to tell you when she made the referrals and roughly how long the waiting lists are

Thank you that’s super helpful, I will follow up with them next week and see what they say.

@DaisyLB - hey OP, I know this is an older post, but how did jt all turn out in the end?

@WorriedMama2025my DS is 2 now and still no words, very little non verbal communication although since starting baby class at nursery I have noticed this improving slightly. He has a support plan in place at nursery and we are looking at a referral for an autism assessment. He still doesn’t copy or imitate sounds or actions, no pointing or waving etc he doesn’t interact much with the other children and has zero interest in animals or playgrounds, soft play etc. still a very content , happy boy but he’s more of an independent play kind of kid.

@DaisyLBi have one who didn’t talk until they were 3.

Has your DS had a hearing test to rule out Glue Ear and has your HV referred them for Portage and SaLT?

@BunnyRuddington that’s promising to hear. Did your child communicate at all before then?

No he hasn’t had a hearing test as he does respond to sounds he likes. The HV has said they won’t do any referrals until he’s 2 and he’s just turned 2 so I’m waiting for our next appointment which will also include nursery. I’m hoping now that he is 2 I can get some sort of help with his communication.

Do you know when your next appointment is? Have you alao looked to see if you can self refer for a hearing test in your area? SaLT will want him to have had obe before they see him so it’s important to get a referral for the hearing test as soon as, even if they do hear most sounds now

SaLT here, depending on the service they might not. We don't require a hearing test and often are the ones to refer children to audiology when we first see them. But I agree definitely get his hearing assessed asap 😊

OP what, if any, advice have you already had from the HV/nursery? Obviously I can't give specific advice without assessment but I'd try the following if you haven't already:

• Follow his lead and interests. Copy what he is doing e.g. if he's tapping something then tap along with him. You can then pause and wait to see if he looks at you, makes a noise and you can start again. Tickle games can be good too if he likes that - tickle, pause and wait for any sign of interaction, tickle again. You can do things like 'ready, steady... (wait for interaction)... tickle!'
• Comment on what he is doing rather than asking too many questions e.g 'car', 'push the car' rather than 'what's that' or 'say car"
• Create reasons and opportunities for him to communicate. So rather than having everything out, have some things out of reach. Even if he then whines you can use it as an opportunity to model 'want car' (or whatever the toy/object is). You can do this with food too, giving piece by piece. If you're used to anticipating what he needs, it can just help give more opportunities to model language to him.
• Use gestures/signs alongside saying the spoken word. This can help understanding as well and supporting spoken language (it's a myth that signs replace spoken language). You could also use symbols/pictures to help too. For a lot of children having this available can really help reduce frustration and help them have a way of communicating their needs.

Just some things to try, these are long term strategies and won't be any sort of quick fix especially if there is something underlying like Autism. But it can help to support interaction and communication 😊

@strawberrylaces12 thank you, yes those points you’ve made have been essentially what the HV has advised a few months back. I do the tickle thing with him as it’s the only thing that makes him laugh. I use short language like “car” when he picks up his car and I do the same when he eats. Myself and nursery have tried makati but he just doesn’t seem all that interested in looking at the gestures, we will persevere with that though.
I will definitely look at getting his hearing checked as soon as he is over this RSV he currently has thank you!