20 month old has no words at all - WWYD

[ZuleikaD]

A child that I mind has no words at all at 20 months, and doesn't really make any effort to communicate in any other way. For example he doesn't point at what he wants. If others are talking he will join in by screaming, but his most expressive noise is 'Uh'. He's been coming to me for a couple of days a week since January and there's been absolutely no change in his language development since then. He doesn't 'jargon' either. He has no problem with eye contact, so I don't think it's an autism spectrum thing, and he has no trouble hearing if I tell him it's snack time or whatever, so I don't think it's a hearing issue either. His parents don't seem at all concerned, but I'm beginning to be. Would you say something?

He's coming up for his two year check, but I would suggest to parents that they see someone before then.

Any babbling at all?

I knew a child that hid deafness by picking up on others cues - ie snack time everyone runs to the table, etc.

Eye contact doesn't define autism though. My DS had never had a problem with eye contact.

No, no babbling at all, just grunting and screaming/squealing. It's the total failure of a desire to communicate that bothers me as well - if he'd point and grunt at what he wanted then I'd be less concerned. And when I say no words, I mean not even sounds like 'mama' or 'dada', whether he means a particular person or not.

I can see why you're worried. My younger daughter didn't articulate very clearly till she was about 3 - she still has a slight lisp at 11 - but she did babble and comprehend.

I think it would be worth saying something, though I can appreciate it's difficult.

hearing test first

My DS had no words / babbling at all at that age and there was reason to be concerned as he has gone on to have a speech sound disorder, although he is no longer delayed at all. However, he was also very good at making himself known (pointing, leading by hand etc.) The delay didn't bother him at all.

Health Visitors can refer at about 2 1/2 I think as speech therapists won't take them sooner. I would advise the parents to talk to the Health Visitor before though so that they are on their radar. In our case it meant they prioritised our DS and referred him at the earliest possible time. It can take some time to get an appointment after a referral so it is best to be organised. Most of the early intervention involves the parents / caregivers anyway so it would be useful to be informed. Things like offering choices, expanding on things "Look a car, a red car, car goes on the road" etc (hope this makes sense)

Thanks everyone. You sort of confirmed what I was feeling, so I rang the local health visitors as well, and they concur that it's worth mentioning. Also, apparently they've just been issued with new guidelines that means you can get a SALT referral between 18 and 24 months, so I'm definitely going to take a deep breath and say something.

That is great that they are changing the guidelines. In cases like this, and my DS, it was so obvious from early on that he wasn't following normal speech patterns. I think you have done the right thing - good luck!

Glue ear is very common at this age so his hearing will be affected and so his speech development.

He should be checked out as soon as possible to see if he has this. Often if a child has had a number of ear infections or a lot of colds they may be more likely to have glue ear.

It will often clear up of its own accord and this is the best way but they will sometimes fit Grommets or use hearing aids until it clears.

The sooner they are seen and thoroughly checked out the better.

One of my children was like that. He was eventually given NHS speech therapy at 4 years. I had to push and push. And pay for private speech therapy as NHS so slow referring. At age 11 he has Dyslexia and Auditory Processing Disorder.
The child you care for should see his GP and be referred for a hearing check and SALT referral.

My son appeared to have good hearing but a hearing test proved otherwise. Post grommets his very delayed speech has really taken off. They can be very good at picking up visual clues. Formal hearing test is the first step, GP can refer.

My son was referred for speech & language assessment at 19m so you CAN get referall/therapy at that age. I recommend it as was very relaxed bad play-based but also very thorough and a report is made for GP, Heath visitors/childminder etc all to have a copy. Tell the parents there's no harm at all in looking into assessment just in case there is anything that can be done now to support him better, might be the difference between him being behind or up to speed when he joins school.