Speech delay/late talker 19 month old

[Hollyw128]

Hi
my little one is 19 months and barely says 5 or 6 words. His understanding is okayish. Health visitor has done 18 month check and she said he is otherwise okay/reaching developmental milestones age appropriate apart from speech and no
signs of autism. She said just speech delay.
i am worried sick. Anyone is
similar boat whose baby turned out to be okay with speech etc ?

19 months is still very young, and it sounds reassuring that his health visitor is happy with his overall development and doesn't have concerns about autism. Some children really do focus on other skills first and then have a language explosion later. Keep chatting, reading, singing, and giving him plenty of opportunities to communicate. If you're still worried, keep in touch with your health visitor, but try not to panic just yet. Plenty of late talkers catch up beautifully. Wishing you both all the best. ❤️

You are definitely not alone, and many toddlers develop speech at very different rates. It is reassuring that his understanding and other milestones are on track, but keep monitoring and speak to your health visitor or GP again if you remain concerned.

Thankyou ❣️ understanding I would say is not 100% but when he is focused, he does listen and understands maybe 60-70% of things. Maybe I am overthinking. His speech will be reviewed again in 3 months time. I feel so sad - I feel like I should have been vigilant enough and maybe did not do enough.

Do you know if he scored in the grey or black in the communication section @Hollyw128and has the HV referred them for a hearing test to rule out glue ear?

I think it was grey. Not referred for glue ear - she said if no concerns then not needed. He never had any ear infection so far.

The Ages & Stages is designed so that most babies will score grey on one or two areas. So don’t worry too much. It does mean that the HV should see him again to check on his progress. Did she make a follow up appointment with you?

He’s old enough for the next Ages & Stages now. I’d probably fill that one and see if he’s still in the grey.

You could also fill in this progress checker from Speech & Language UK. If it says that he needs some support then they will send you some resources to use. You can also feed back the results to your HV. They’re a really well respected charity so your HV will have heard of them and if it says he needs support she should do the standard referrals for a hearing test and SaLT