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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

did anyone's dc say their first word very late? (say older than 2?)

45 replies

nappyaddict · 04/08/2008 10:19

If so I mean no words at all. Not dadadada, mamamama, nananana or even anything that remotely sounds like a word? My friends little girl is almost 2 years and 1 month and she is now a little worried. She's never worried about it before cos she thought it would come with time, but now she is beginning to wonder if it is very late.

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wannaBe · 04/08/2008 10:22

tbh if there's not even any babbling then I would be concerned.

How does she respond to communication? Does she understand what is being said to her etc? If friend asks her to do something does she do it?

amner · 04/08/2008 10:25

If she understands commands then there is probably not a problem.

All mine have been late talkers....wonderful days looking back ......

Original poster

nappyaddict · 04/08/2008 10:27

she does understand and she makes noises and babbles. i just meant she doesn't do those 3 which could also be seen as words for people iyswim.

OP posts:

cyberseraphim · 04/08/2008 10:32

Is her shared attention normal? Does she engage with you even without words? What would she do if she wanted a cup of juice? How does she share her interests with you?

Original poster

nappyaddict · 04/08/2008 10:34

I'm not sure tbh. I think she points at stuff. I only see her at toddler group really so i'm not totally sure. She doesn't really play with others but then neither do most 2 year olds.

OP posts:

1066andallthat · 04/08/2008 10:35

Find out from both sides of the family, when her Mum and Dad started talking - you usually find they started late, too .

cyberseraphim · 04/08/2008 10:36

There might not be a problem but you could suggest she tries to assess what her DD does instead of talking as this might help her to see if there is or is not an underlying problem.

wannaBe · 04/08/2008 10:47

you need moondog.

Iirc a friend of mine was told that no words at two was considered to be a speach delay and worthy of intervention.

She should speak to her hv. Even if it's nothing to worry about and she suddenly starts talking tomorrow, the sooner she can be referred, the sooner she can get some help if she needs it.

cornsilk · 04/08/2008 10:51

What does HV say? Surely this has been noticed?

Arabica · 04/08/2008 11:23

Definitely worth exploring imo. Could be nothing or could be glue ear, for example--HV a good first step, or GP, or just find out where local speech and language therapists are based, and see if she can self-refer.

GordonTheGopher · 04/08/2008 11:26

I would be worried if it was my child.

But I know it's difficult when you are worried about a friend's development.

GordonTheGopher · 04/08/2008 11:26

I meant a friend's child obviously.

Original poster

nappyaddict · 04/08/2008 11:35

Afaik she doesn't see the HV. I don't really know anyone who does after the first few months. I'll suggest she visit the GP.

OP posts:

Arabica · 04/08/2008 11:44

Let us know what happens! DD is 2 and doesn't speak, babble or point, but this is because she is globally delayed and had a hearing loss caused by glue ear. Your friend's child might be absolutely fine but it's always worth finding out, as speech therapists can do a lot to help.

TillyScoutsmum · 04/08/2008 11:48

Has she got any older siblings ? DP apparently never said a word until 2.5 because his older brother used to speak for him.

Original poster

nappyaddict · 04/08/2008 11:50

Nope - only child.

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IneedacleanerIamalazyslattern · 04/08/2008 11:55

DS is 2 years 4 months and he has 4 words all of which have appeared withing the last month and none of them are mum
He has extremely good understanding but just couldn't say anything. He is on the waiting list for speech therapy as I was concerned about his complete lack of words and went to the HV who said the SALT wouldn't take a refferal until he was 2 1/2 but when HV sopke to the SALT she agreed to him being put on the list now as he has such little to no speech.

DS would always make himself understood he will physically take you to things and point and gesture he just wasn't using words.

It may also be worth a hearing test I asked for DS to have one and he has glue ear and may be getting gromets or a hearing aid fitted because he is definately missing something in his hearing. I had an ear infection and was deaf in one ear for a fortnight and I was amazed at how much I missed with losing that hearing so it may be worth looking at.

KT14 · 04/08/2008 13:34

I had DS1 referred at 2, he had no more than 20 words (a year on we're up to 300ish and more every day now) but they considered him worthy of SALT down here as he wasn't stringing 2 words together! The first thing they did was hearing tests though, and it may be that your friend's child has hearing problems which are affecting their absorption of language. Definitely worth having this checked as a starting point..

TotalChaos · 04/08/2008 17:57

agree with Wannabe and KT14. I think that if a child doesn't have a single word by 2 they should have a hearing test and be referred for speech therapy. If your friend uses surestart centres, they often run a course called "You make the Difference", which gives useful for advice for encouraging speech and communication.

tweeni · 04/08/2008 18:51

We don't have one nearby unfortunately.

TotalChaos · 05/08/2008 09:26

are you the concerned friend tweeni? If so, I would phone up your local speech therapy department, and ask whether you can refer your child yourself or have to go via HV/GP. Oh and ask what the usual waiting time is for first appointment - it varies a lot from area to area, could be up to several months if you are unlucky.

Some useful books you could look at in the meantime:-
Babytalk by Sally Ward
The Parent's Guide to Speech and Language Problems
You Make the Difference by Ayola Manolson.

Your local library should have the first 2, but unlikely to have the last one.

useful websites:-
www.ican.org.uk (they have free for postage (i.e 49p!) dvds to send up for to give you ideas to help communication

www.hanen.org

tweeni · 05/08/2008 13:03

Can you sometimes refer yourself then? And how do I find out where the nearest one is?

TotalChaos · 05/08/2008 13:36

it varies from area to area, some let you refer yourself as a parent, others make you go through HV or GP. google for "your towns name" NHS speech therapy" and that should bring up a suitable lead.

KT14 · 05/08/2008 14:06

My HV was fantastic, she happened to be at our house to check over DS2 when he was tiny so i grabbed her then - she referred us straight away and we had the first SALT appointment within 6 weeks, followed by individual appts every 4-6 weeks since then.

SixSpotBurnet · 05/08/2008 14:19

Definitely ask for a referral. DS3 is four now and still has no communicative speech or language, but we got the DX/intervention process going when he turned two. Don't delay any longer.

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