Help! Has my 20 month old got a speech problem!

[Sallyallyally]

I think mumsnet is becoming my guru so am again trying to tap in to the fountains of wisdom. Could someone help! My 20 month old nearly 21 month old son doesn't really speak! He makes plenty of noise, intonations and sounds, but mainly communicates by saying 'dee' and pointing. He doesn't really seem very interested. I read him books and point out the pictures, we sing songs and make animal noises (!!!!) and I chat away to him in general....my DD was talking in sentences by this point so I am staring to worry there is something wrong. He seems to understand everything and will carry out quite complicated instructions, so I reckon his hearing and comprehension are fine. Physically he is fairly advanced and does puzzles, builds towers etc etc so I don't think there is anything too wrong with his development otherwise. Only words are 'indere' (in there), dada, moo and mummum. everything else is 'dee'! Sometimes I worry I will have a full grown adult talking like 'Ann' in Little Britain. Should I be concerned...feel it's a bit early to try the health visitor...could do with knowing that a few other people have experienced this. Please? Hopefully!

My ds was just the same at this age. He is now nearly 3 years old and his speech has come on leaps and bounds. I knew there was nothing wrong with my ds, but it did cross my mind that he could have had a problem about a year ago.

We just carried on as normal doing all the things that you do with your ds. Looking back, my ds was taking everything in and storing it all up. It's proven that boys can be slower than girls with their language. I think children excel in different areas. You're doing a great job! I wouldn't worry just yet. Give him some more time, a couple of months could make the world of difference.

My ds has been coming out with all sorts the last 2 days. I notice improvements daily. It will come in time..

Don't worry about a thing my ds (2.5) was exactly the same, didn't say ANY proper words until he was 26 months and then one day WHOOOSH started talking and HAS NOT STOPPED since! He now has huge vocab and talks in long sentences about everything and anything ... maybe it's a boy thing? I've heard that boys tend to listen and store it all up until they can be confident of talking without making "mistakes". I was sooo worried and was told by a SALT "as long as he understands you it's nothing to worry about until he hits 3" HTH ..

I have this too.. I think it is worse when you have an older dd (like me) that had great speech by age 2.. my ds (18 months) says very little.. we thought he said "car" once a month or so ago but it has not been repeated . Everyone comments on it, as DD was a real chatterbox from 13 motnhs onwards, MIL at weekend said "he's not as bright as dd is he"... and it annoys me alot

Oh this is sooooo nice to hear.One of the other mums at toddler group told me that delayed speech was a sign of autism, so now everytime the little monkey won't make eye contact and flies into a toddler rage I start to over analyse! Mollythetortoise...yes...we had the word car at one point and dog but almost as though once he's said them once he doesn't want to bother again!
Communicates extremely well by calling, pointing and shaking head or nodding!
Blimey...doesn't having a child make a prat of you....I should be more chilled out and drink more wine!

Oh this is sooooo nice to hear.One of the other mums at toddler group told me that delayed speech was a sign of autism, so now everytime the little monkey won't make eye contact and flies into a toddler rage I start to over analyse! Mollythetortoise...yes...we had the word car at one point and dog but almost as though once he's said them once he doesn't want to bother again!
Communicates extremely well by calling, pointing and shaking head or nodding!
Blimey...doesn't having a child make a prat of you....I should be more chilled out and drink more wine!

Oh this is sooooo nice to hear.One of the other mums at toddler group told me that delayed speech was a sign of autism, so now everytime the little monkey won't make eye contact and flies into a toddler rage I start to over analyse! Mollythetortoise...yes...we had the word car at one point and dog but almost as though once he's said them once he doesn't want to bother again!
Communicates extremely well by calling, pointing and shaking head or nodding!
Blimey...doesn't having a child make a prat of you....I should be more chilled out and drink more wine!

Bimey...I'm repeating myself! theres the problem...he can't get a word in!

Thannks for that Tclanger. I'll have a look out for the book..sounds like it's worth a read anyway .

Toms 2.6 and still not talking. You ask him where something is and he'll get it or point to it. He does have 2 large tonsils and we're waiting for an ENT appointment as well as a hearing test/speech therapist.

Sally , he sounds just like my ds who is almost 22 months. Until 3 weeks ago he was saying nothing, although making lots of noises with intonation, expression etc, HE knows what he means!

He's just started saying a few words - car, wee, poo (Got the essentials!) dada, and then lots of starts of words. I'm not worried as, like your ds, he's very good at puzzles, towers etc. Also if he is communicating by pointing etc then its highly unlikely to be autistic, and it was very irresponsible of that person to say that to you imo.

i would say leave until he is 2 as lots of children develop over night with speech but if by 2 still only few words do not hesitate in taking him to see your gp for refferals the wait is so long at times if you wait any longer than that it could be some time and if in the next 6 mths after he comes along great if not you will have done something about it

i took my ds at 2 and only just got SALT for him he is now 3.6 partly because when he was 3 he was dx with HFA but now without the help he came along at 3.5 over night was talking in sentences from barely using 2 words

just see how it goes next 4 mths alot can happen but do take at 2 if no improvement or very few words still

Amazing what people will come out with isn't it...and you know they aren't right but it niggles! Looks like I'm going to have to be patient, not one of my finer traits! . This is all making me feel so much more encouraged though. good old mumsnet!

Actually, I think even at 2 there is absolutely no need to worry !!! At 2, my DD said "mama" and that was it really - she didn't start saying any words until she was 27 months. Some children just don't want to speak until they feel confident about it. The really important thing is whether you think they are understanding things that YOU are saying to them (e.g. simple commands or questions - like "where is puppy?"), and generally being alert, etc.
If another mother had said to me that "delayed speech is a sign of autism" I would have slapped her !!

LittleD - I thought DS's understanding was better than it was - kids with language problems can be amazingly bright at picking up clues from surroundings/circumstances, what everyone else is doing. Also for the unlucky few, NHS SALT wait can be up to a year. So even if your child gets on the list at 2, they might not get seen till 3.

anyway back to the OP - I agree with TClang and others - if things aren't improved by the time he's 2, speak to HV. It's a very good sign that he's pointing/communicating so well non verbally.

Tclanger and TotalChaos both talk sense as usual.

I used to see lots of boys in clinic who had older, very verbal sisters! Most of the children were fine after some advice, a few required further input.

At this stage, your ds still has plenty of time to develop language and I would not be too concerned. I would speak to your Health Visitor though. At the very least, she can tell you what the waiting list is like for slt in your area if you feel it is required in the future.

When talking to your ds, try not to bombard him with chat (he'll just switch off!). Use short, simple sentences that are related to what he is doing or looking at. Give him choices (food, drink, clothes, toys, books, etc) e.g. ''do you want apple or orange?'', when he points to what he wants re-inforce his choice ''apple''.

Reading books is great. Talk about the pictures, pointing to things as you do. Often the text does not relate to the specifics of the picture.

HTH. I'm sure you'll be wanting to stop him talking very soon!

i wrote huge long page earlier to post and mumsnet then closed and was coming back at 9 so lost it all

early intervention is the key wether it leads to anything or not best to be on the books waiting we have only just received speech therapy and he is 3.6 i took him at 2

if all works out well its easier to be taken off the books than be put on it due tio the eait you can ahve a heafd start just in case if you dont need it great

but if id listened to the boys are slow, his just lazy, he'll catch up, theres nothing wrong with him look he understands everything

then goodness knows where my ds would be now in some cases it does work out and in other ssuch as mine and the 2 tc's there was more to it and its been a struggle since getting the help they need

so just to be safe i would at 2 if not many words still take and at least just be on the waiting list its benificial[sp?] to them and its in there best interest in the long run

i do think the lady at the group was slightly thoughtless in the way of saying it but i think only trying to raise awareness as too many people are quick to dismiss to being lazy or typical boy etc

me and my typos must type slower lol

If he is pointing and joint referencing then I don't think you need to worry unnecessarily about autism.

I went through all of this with my son, who had 3 still only has about ten words. He does have a severe speech delay, and for ages and ages everybody but me seemed to think he had autism.

Agree with most of above. I haven't read it all but do bear in mind his hearing; my DS was a 'pointer' and I was the only one who could communicate with him.
Long story short, we discovered at age 5 he had glue ear. I'm not saying this should be a concern now, but, as someone else said, perservere with having him checked as he gets older.

I agree bubblagirl that early intervention is important if there is an actual difficulty. However, there is a fine balance between referring too early (and taking up all the slt assessment sessions leading to longer waiting lists - as you have experienced) and early enough, iyswim.

That's why I suggest a chat with the HV first. I know that HV get a bit of a drubbing on mn but the vast majority of them give very good advice and can help decide when a referral to slt is appropriate.

i have to disagree im afraid without turning it into a debate my ds displayed all signs of being a nt child pointing interacting just had lack of speech

took him at 2 due to this hv wasnt worried looked fine interacted fine

i was then put on waiting list for SALT had few visits as months passed ds became different and interaction was different his eye contact changed etc ha di waited i would have then had a longer wait to get help as there's a time limit for everything inc diagnosing

to seek advise early is definatly the best as you dont knbow if ther eis anything actually wrong until proffessionals see your child it could just be delay it could be sppech disorder it could be ASD but how do you know this unless seen by a proffessional

my hv said nothing to worry about boys are slow his fine and i have a child on the autistic spectrum

i just feel from the age of 2 to have someone there observing behaviour and giving you advise is better than leaving it and then later on if something was to come to light regretting not doing something about it earlier and if all is well you can be taken off the list so not clogging so wont affect others if childs development takes a boost you'll be taken off and someone else will be put on

i guess for me i feel strogly about it as all wasnt well with my ds and the only thing i will ever feel truly happy about was taking him when i did as the help we had came at the right age to make early difference in his development