Please help, I really need advice

[mummy20596]

Hi everyone,

My son is 2 years and 2 1/2 months old. I know he's still only young but I feel as though he is struggling with words. No matter how many times I try leaning him numbers, letters, colours, shapes etc he isn't picking anything up. I will create a list at the end to explain what he can say and how he says it.

I have spoke to my health visitor about it numerous times but she just brushes it off. I can't make my own referral to speech and language because it has to be a professional referral. He has just started pre school nursery and again he's being brushed off and they say "he MIGHT come on in his own time".

I have tried talking to my partner about it and he thinks he's fine but I know there's a problem. I've tried not to compare his speech to other children his age but I'm finding it difficult because I'm really trying and he's not picking any of it up. I feel like a really bad parent

Please, any advice at all will be really appreciated. Also, he doesn't have a dummy/ pacifier so it doesn't restrict his talking.

Words he can say: (how he says them)
Mammy (mammy)
Daddy (da)
Grandad (dada)
Nanna (Nanna)
Bike (ike)
Car (carcar)
Bus (bu)
Train (choo choo)
Hello (heo)
Bye (bye)
Cheese (cheese)
Door (door)
No (no)
Dog (do)
Cat (meow)
Mine (nine)
Down (dow)

When DD1 was that age (now 11), she had a reasonable vocabulary, like your LO, but it was largely unintelligible to those who didn't know her well. She had her own, slightly off, pronunciations for lots of words and many of them were not as easy/obvious as your son's. Some of hers were:
car = tar
please = eyes
motor bike = mama bite

DH is English and I am American so we are both native English speakers as were all her carers (childminder, nursery workers) and relatives so I don't think it was a language issue, just her way of developing. Over the next year or so her speech improved and by the time she was at school, she was fine. At one point, I did say directly, 'you know the real pronunciation of X is ... ' and she fixed it!

Since you've posted in the multi-lingual area, do you and your DP speak different languages or not speak English as a first language? This can slow speech development when children are very young (like your DS) but they usually catch up, sometimes all at once, a few years later. Even for a monolingual child with native speakers, it can be a slow process so I'd say don't worry at least until he starts reception.

My monolingual eldest did not speak a single word until he was about 2 years and 8 months old. Not even 'mama' or 'dada'.

He went to speech therapy (which was basically just playing games and made no discernible difference). He started talking in his own sweet time and has talked non stop ever since (he's 10 now).

They are all different! Provided he demonstrates understanding I wouldn't worry too much.

In my son's case I think he's just not much of a risk taker maybe... he is currently learning a second language due to a move overseas and is very reluctant to speak the new language because he is shy about getting it wrong. My youngest doesn't care and happily blurts out any old nonsense so is ahead of his brother (and was a very early talker probably for the same reason!).

There are lots of benign reasons why children might be slower than others, even in monolingual families.