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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

Two year old still silent......

54 replies

DukesofHazzardMum · 06/08/2005 00:41

My two year old DS is not saying any little words and only makes the occasional sound he is not even saying Dada or Mama and no matter how much I try and spend time and talk to him he does not want to know....I have four and he is 3rd eldest and the only boy. Has anyone else got this problem with their little ones and if so any advice??

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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tiffini · 06/08/2005 00:48

Is your HV aware of this?
Does your DS babble at all?
How is he developing otherwise?

tiffini · 06/08/2005 00:50

Hsa he had hearing tests?

Original poster

DukesofHazzardMum · 06/08/2005 01:01

Hi tiffini ...yep HV did a 24 month check on him not long back and it was her who started me worrying, she said he should be saying some things at this point and wanted him to have a hearing check which she is booking....although I know he can hear, he will look at you when you say his name and will dance at the music channels on TV. He is not really babbling that much to be honest but other than that seems to be developing fine.

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tiffini · 06/08/2005 01:10

I have twins of 20 months, who are not saying many words, although they do babble alot, but i think alot of it is they have each other and seem to understand each other. You say you have 2 kids younger than him, could this be the cas with him too? Does he interact with them well?

Also if I am honest, I tend to get them what they want and see to their needs without giving them the chance to learn to communicate with me verbally, it is just habit, They grow up so quick I found myself treating them like babies far too long

Original poster

DukesofHazzardMum · 06/08/2005 01:24

this is what I do also tiffini i suppose i run around after him and also he is the only boy and has also been quite sickly from birth so I pander to him and also like you said he has older sisters they do the talking for him, he is 3rd oldest so he has two eldest and a younger baby ds.

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Chandra · 06/08/2005 01:29

I believe is worth checking, glad your HV has taken it seriously but keep insisting if she doesn't come back to you soon.

Original poster

DukesofHazzardMum · 06/08/2005 01:32

thanks Chandra....yep great HV will keep on at her....

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SoupDragon · 06/08/2005 09:16

DS2 didn't say muchuntil he started nursery at 2 when his language exploded. However, he was babbling and had some words. Does your DS ever go to nursery or anywhere that he would have to speak for himself? Does he follow verbal instructions at all?

It is good that your HV is taking this seriously but make sure she (or the other professionals) don't keep fobbing you off if things don't improve.

Jimjams · 06/08/2005 11:13

does he point?

Lonelymum · 06/08/2005 11:21

My ds1 wasn't talking at this stage either and he didn't point much either. The most positive thing I could say about him was that he clearly understood things said to him. I would look for that in your ds if I were you. For instance, if you said go and get your shoes, would he do it?

My ds1 had a complex hearing test (which he passed) and a couple of initial speech therapy sessions. But at the first session (when he was 2 and 2 months) the speech therapist was able to identify some sounds which she translated into words. I always thought the word had to be recognisable to count as a word, but apparently, the child just needs to make a consistent sound for it to count!

Anyway, he was slow to develop his vocabulary and still mis-pronounced words when he went to school, but he is now 9 and very bright (and reading this as I write and saying, "Hmmm, it's nice to know about my speech development!") so I don't think I needed to worry quite as much as I did at the time! Hopefully, you will be able to say the same about your ds.

mumtosomeone · 06/08/2005 12:13

my ds didnt talk before 2 now at 2.5 he has the widest vocab i have ever known!!!

jenkel · 06/08/2005 12:46

My dd was hardly talking at 2, what made a huge difference is she started nursery just after her 2nd birthday and then suddenly her language improved hugely. Think it was because I instinctivly knew what she wanted so she didnt really need to communicate, but obviously nursery staff arent so good at that and it improved more or less straight away, so she could talk, probably just lazy.

Jimjams · 06/08/2005 13:23

The pointing is important though. If a child of 2 isn't pointing they need to be seen and assessed properly (not just by a SALT). If they are, and they can follow simple instructions then it doesn't matter if they're not talking.

fimbelle · 06/08/2005 14:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Homsa · 07/08/2005 20:35

Hi, my DS is 2.1 and hasn't got any proper words either!

We've had his hearing checked, which turned out to be fine, he's had an assessment by a SALT and we have now got an appointment at the child development centre as there are some concerns about his communication/social interaction in general, not just speech.

However, in the last couple of months there have been some encouraging developments - he now uses a couple of "made-up" words (e.g. he calls his doggy "hasse"), and we've been able to teach him a couple of baby signs, a particular useful one being "more".

I've done quite a bit of reading about speech delay, and while it can certainly be an indicator of a number of disorders (such as autism) and should definitely be investigated, it's also true that a majority of late speakers are just late bloomers who will catch up eventually (although apparently some of them go on to have problems with reading and writing later, and a lot of them are dyslexic).

I think for your own peace of mind you need to push for a hearing test (just because he dances to music doesn't mean he can hear all speech frequencies, IYSWIM), and possibly get him seen by a pediatrican. I was very pleasantly surprised that all the health professionals I've seen so far have taken my concerns very seriously and no-one has tried to fob me off with "wait and see"!

Original poster

DukesofHazzardMum · 07/08/2005 20:49

hi Jimjams yes he does point but sometimes not very often though

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Original poster

DukesofHazzardMum · 07/08/2005 20:50

thanks all for your threads.....some great advice, support and insight...thank you so much

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Caththerese1973 · 08/08/2005 12:04

DukesofHazzardmum
it's great that he points at things - maybe he is only just getting the hang of the pointing thing. Hopefully he will point more and more and then the speech will come. If he looks at you when you call his name then that bodes well. I have heard autistic children usually don't respond to their name.
If he is just a late talker by nature, with no developmental problem or hearing issue, you need not worry: he will have caught up by with his peers by the time it matters!
Keep in mind that just because he can hear you when you call his name, this does not mean his hearing is perfect. But don't freak out if he doesn't pass the hearing test, as partial hearing loss in toddlers is usually just due to ear infections and treatable (grommets, I think).

Original poster

DukesofHazzardMum · 08/08/2005 19:28

Thanks Caththerese1973

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Jimjams · 08/08/2005 19:33

CathTherese autistic children do respond to their name! At least my severely autsitic son always has. Not perhaps as reliably as ds2, but he does and always has done.

DukesofHazard mum - if he's pointing out things of interest you don't need to worry much. My (now) non-verbal ds1 actually said quite a bit at 2 (he's 6 now) whereas0 my. perfectly NT ds2 didn't say much at all at 2 (but pointed and uh uh uhed). In terms of autism its overall ability to communicate- especially sponteaneous communication and play.

Caththerese1973 · 09/08/2005 07:27

Sory jim jams if (yet again) I have been misinformed about autism. But not responding to name, or not responding promptly to name, is indeed a warning sign that is often mentioned in autism fact guides. Perhaps it is not universally true of all autistic kids, but it does seem to be widely cited, in literature on autism, as one of the hallmarks of an autistic child. But the pointing thing is probably a much more significant indicator.

Jimjams · 09/08/2005 09:08

Caththerese I think the problem is that autism in reality is very different from autism in books. I think you miss the meaning behind what you are reading because you have never experienced autism. All the children with autism that I know respond to their name. They respond in a different way than most NT children, but they do respond. So for example if we say "name of autistic child do this" then providing the instruction has been understoood, 99% of the autistic children I know will carry out the instruction. In fact they are more likely to carry out the instruction than most NT children I know- because they're poor at making choices, good at folllowing rules, whatever.

If however I stand at the bottom of the stairs and shout "ds1" then I am unlikely to get a response, and unlikely to see him appear. If I stand at the bottom of the stairs and shoult "ds2" I usually get an immediate "what?" and if there is no answer he comes out to see what I want.

When you are dealing with babies it is difficult to spot this subtle difference. The main difference is that it might be consistenly harder tpo gain a babies attention using their name because all their attention may be focused on something else. But its a matter of degrees. No baby responds to their name 100% of the time, and all but the most severely autistic (usually with added learning difficulties) will respond to their name some of the time. It is not a reliable indicator either way for a concerned mother. Saying they're OK because they respond to their name is false securiity, and saying they're not OK because they don't always respond to thier name would cause unecessary worry.

biglips · 09/08/2005 09:32

i remember my cousins wife DS was like that, and he couldnt say anything but point at everything... we all knew that he wasnt deaf as he responded to you if you call his name and he could understand what you was saying if you ask him to get a nappy.. etc, etc..

he was a slow learner.. now hes 6 and hes fine now

fimbelle · 09/08/2005 12:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

DukesofHazzardMum · 09/08/2005 23:25

hi fimbelle how did the appointment go??

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