should I be worried ?

[bonio]

My daughter is 26m old. She is physically fine, has a good apetite, sleeps well and is very physically capable compared to other children her age ( she has been climbing high things from a young age )She is a happy friendly girl.

However her vocabulary is very poor.

She can say a few words but not very well.
She can't even say mummy or daddy properly ( just says "Mu" or Du" ) We have no problem understanding her and she has no problem understanding us. Her 22m check was fine according to the HV.

I was not too worried about it till my husband commented that she has not improved in that department in the last 6 months or so and I think he is right.

She does not seem to have any hearing problems and can carry out instructions.
One other thing is as my husband says , she does not seem to "learn". She still screams and yells when we dress or undress her when you would have thought by now she would have worked out it made sense to keep still and it would be more comfortable for all concerned.

Can anyone offer any advice?

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I have a dd who is just turned 5 and another dd turned two October last (27 mths).

My first dd was speaking sentences clearly at 26 mths, however, younger dd does not speak much and only sounds the last syllable of words such as trampoline is 'lene' shower is sha and spoon is oon etc etc.

I was worried, I know she can hear but on reflection and observation, my older dd is very strong willed and boisterous and can talk the bark off a tree and will quite often speak for her younger sister, even when asking dd2 questions dd1 will answer for her. I am quite sure this is not helping her speech to develop.

In the case of getting dressed, she quite often will also 'chuck a tanty' because she is comfortable the way she is (is developing her independent nature I think).

Although my DS1 could talk reasonably well when he started playschool at 2.5, most of his vocabulary was only recognised by me. Even my DH had to ask for a translation alot of the time.
Within a few months his speech had come leaps and bounds to the extent that he didn't stop talking. It drove me mad .
He will be 4 in April and still pronounces some words incorrectly but he's not unlike many other children of his age I know.
I agree that if you are concerned to talk to your HV or GP, as I did, but both of mine didn't seem unduly concerned.
HTH

I'd go and talk to your GP about it. It never hurts to voice your concerns.

DS1 spoke early and clearly and his vocabuary was incredible when he was the same age DS2 is now (22 months). DS2 however, clearly does not speak the same language as us. I'm not overly concerned as he clearly understand us and his vocabulary and clarity is improving. All children are different.

DS2 also screams a lot of the time when it's nappy time or getting dressed time. I guess it's their frustration at being made to do something. Actually, could it be that your DD (and my DS2) want to have a go at doing the dressing/undressing themselves? DS2 co-operates more when I give him a small task to do ("lift your arms up", "hold this" etc)

HTH

I hope I don't upset anyone here, but I had some info from my SIL who teaches early years (4 year olds-ish).She said that there are many more children now that are having difficulty with their speach. She has 8 out of 34 children which need speach therapy this year compared to 2 years ago when it was only 4.
There seem to be plenty of toys on the market which deal with most other form of development, perhaps there should be more that deal with speach.

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Bonio, I agree with all the advice you've been given - it sounds as though in lots of ways your dd is doing just fine for a two year old, especially on the physical skills front. Raise it with your HV or GP if you are concerned, but maybe all she needs is a bit of time to "catch up". Ds always was an excellent talker, but he was slow to reach all his physical milestones and is still a bit of a klutz climbing stairs etc (not to mention a wuss with his tricycle). I think each child has developmental areas that come easy to them, and others which are more tricky.
Sueanna's point about toys etc to encourage speech development is an interesting one - my personal view is that 1-1 interaction with an interested adult is the best thing here. We have a brilliant book, the tone is a bit preachy at times, but the woman who wrote it has lots of experience in children's language development and her detailed description of milestones, plus tips about appropriate toys, games and books for each age range, were really helpful with ds.
Here are the details: Dr Sally Ward: Baby Talk. Century Books, 2000: £12.99. ISBN: 0712680985

One thing I have learned as a mum and a teacher is that some children will only do something if THEY can see a good reason for it. It doesn't matter what YOU think, or the teacher thinks. Not much help I know, because it doesn't offer a solution, but might help in understanding?

If you have a branch of THe Works (cut price book shop) near you - I recently got Baby Talk for a friend there at £2.99 - rather than the full price Marina quoted which I paid myself!

Thank you everybody for your kind help.
I think the thing that gets me is not so much her lack of vocab but the fact that it has been "stuck " at this level for about 8 m, ie she does not seem to be improving.
I will show my husband all your responses and think we should have a word with the GP.
Will let you know if it all turns out OK

bonio

Does your dd point (especially things of interest to her). If she does you almost certainly have nothing to worry about in terms of her language development. if she doesn't it would be worth asking for an appointment with a speech and language therapist (if you're at all worried ask anyway). The waiting lists are ridiculously long so it can be worth getting on a list even if you end up canceling the appointment.

yes jimjams she does. She also follows complex commands like" go upstairs and bring the blue teddy." She consistently uses the same sounds for certain things (like Shh meaning juice). Most of her "words" are recognisable, one syllable distortions of the actual words.
I suppose I am just worried about bringing her to the attention of healthcare professionals as I don't want her to get "in the system" as in any way abnormal, even if she IS abnormal! Hope this is making sense.

Bonio,
I understand you not wanting to "get her in the system", so if you do go to your GP or HV make sure you are clear, and lucid, and don't seem over anxious at the time.
Is the problem just that you and your dh tend to get her what she wants without her needing to ask or talk about it? Sometimes we care so much we make it too easy for them. try to gently make her make the effort for things she wants, pretend you don't understand etc.

Also, does she spend much time with other children? Other kids (who are not siblings) won't make an effort to understand her, forcing her to make more effort herself, without her realising it!!!

If things don't start to improve after trying that for a few weeks then be concerned.

BTW I'm coming to the conclusion that all kids fight, scream and refuse to co-operate about getting dressed. after 3 1/2 years of trying everything, I've decided I just have to live with it until ds grows out of it (probably about 12)

Hi bonio

To be honest the system is so overcrowded and underfunded that she's not going to get any help she doesn't need!! The kiddies that do need the help aren't getting it :-)
TBH if sahe's pointing away (and was by 18 months) and can follow two step commands I wouldn't be too concerned. Her speech development is within the normal range for sounds (from what you've said). If at any stage you do get worried I'd get her on a waiting list as you would be doing plenty of that if there is a problem!!

No advice - except that I have really enjoyed reading baby talk. Sally Ward makes some interesting points and has good suggestions for how to play with your child, e.g. not having back ground noise, spending at least 20 mins a day talking and playing with your child, reducing the amount of T.V. etc.