18mths 3 words, little understanding

[glasskipper]

I've been worried by reading a few threads around this, and completed the questionnaire on the 'talking point' website for my DDs age, 18 months, which seems to suggest I need to go to my GP (which I will do.)

Her speech consists of three words, 'mama' 'dada' and 'milk'
She repeats these over and over mixed with general babble.

She does not follow direction, e.g. I can ask her to bring me a book, I sign book, I can point from a distance, but it isn't until I'm inches away, pointing at the exact book, that she will understand what I have asked.

She cannot point to things from verbal cues.

She has some understanding though, if music plays she will dance, if I say 'no' and shake my head, she will mimic the shake or protest. She will sit and turn the pages of a book alone whilst babbling.

I'm pretty sure she knows her name, but will sometimes ignore.

I talk to her, sing to her, read to her. She had a dummy but only for naps and bedtime. We play most of the day, she has been walking for 7 months, and has great coordination. I would say she is good at problem solving for her age, (through play)

I just wanted some suggestions or reassurance from any parents who have been there, is she suddenly going to catch up, or is this most likely a sign of something else?

Sounds completely normal to me

doesnt sound that worrying to me, normal I would say.
My LO will often ignore her name being called (16months), HOWEVER jangle a set of keys in the other room and she'll run off to find them= selective hearing

Sounds fine. My DD was 3 before she started talking . I'm pretty sure that at 18 months she would have had a few basic words like your DD . Don't panic, they all have their own timeline for speech .

Yes, she definitely has selective hearing, unless I've got some sort of wrapper which may mean a snack!

I know I shouldn't compare, but her peer group seem to be far beyond her with speech, I've had a few comments at playgroup, or asked whether her ears have been checked.

I'm going against the grain and saying that often if you're worried, there's a reason. People love to reassure but facts are speech issues exist.

My ds1 is speech delayed. No meaningful words until 2.5 ish, though understanding was v good. Started speaking at 3, great word range though clarity poor. At almost 5 we're still doing speech therapy, and it's now increasing on advice of his class teacher.

SO MANY people trotted out the whole 'develop at their own rates' etc but in our case that's not quite right.

(Not getting at the pp btw, just the general dismissiveness any concerns around speech seems to get)

Yes, @ItsNiceItsDifferentItsUnusual I'm torn between feeling like a over-cautious mum or feeling like I should be doing something about this now. I have this overriding inkling that something isn't right.

How was the process for getting speech therapy? Did you raise concerns prior to age 3? Last time I saw our health visitor and asked, I was just directed to the 'talking point' website, which suggests DD needs to see the GP.

I’d say that she needs to be assessed to by a SLT. Talking Point is a great resource and if they suggest a GPs appointment I’d definitely go.

It’s worth asking for a hearing test and a sight test too. Our DDs sppevh improved immensely once she got her glasses.

Has anyone suggested doing the m-chat as well?

That's interesting, @JiltedJohnsJulie as I have bad eyesight.
I've just tried the M-Chat test, and it suggests risk of autism based on the answers.

I took ds to the local NHS SALT drop in when he was about 2.4, and was of course told 'develops at own rates', 'spectrum of normal' blah blah blah, so no help offered. I went private at about 2.7 and that helped. Only had 3 sessions but it gave me things to work on. By 3 his speech massively improved - I think partly through the private therapy but also he changed rooms at nursery to the pre-school room so was around children who were talking well all day - but his speech clarity wasn't good. I sat on this for a while then at 4.6 I got the private therapist back again as I still felt his clarity wasn't where it should be. She agreed, and we've been working with her for the last 6 months. Ds started school in Sept and his teacher referred him for NHS speech therapy within the first two weeks (without my involvement, she independently thought there was an issue). I've just had the initial assessment back this evening actually and it confirms he is delayed on a number of fronts.

I'm so glad - and actually feel very lucky - that ds is now being given help, but if I'd have ignored my gut instinct when I was first told - by professionals! - that there was nothing to worry about, I dread to think how much worse things could have been.

In my opinion I would actually concentrate on the understanding side of your dd. I think the professionals will pay much more attention to this because it potentially points to more 'serious' issues than speech development. I know from my own experience that as soon as I said that ds could understand and engage in language, the professionals relaxed. Am I right I'm thinking that's not necessarily the case for your dd?

Also I don't think anyone engages with speech concerns much before 3 so at 18m you'd have a fight on your hands - but if there are other worries then this all paints a picture.

Good luck

Will anyone really assess a child for speech at 18months though? I would think past 2 yes

Much too young to expect very much talking. My chatterbox dgs5 didn't start talking until 3.5 but now there's no stopping him!

I think if you’ve done the m-chat and it suggests risk of autism I would definitely go to the GP.

From everything you’ve said, I’d go to the GP as soon as you can. Tell them that you’ve done the Talking Point Assessment for 18 month old school and it suggests talking to the GP and you’ve also done m-chat and it shows a risk of autism. The GP should listen, especially as delayed speech can be a sign of autism.

If it was me, I think I’d ask for a hearing test, eyesight test (especially if you wear glasses) and a referral for an assessment for ASD. If you don’t want to feel rushed at the GPs, ask for a double appointment.

It’s interesting that you have poor eyesight. When you said you were pointing at things and she wasn’t looking, that’s exactly what we had with DD but it turned out that like me, she’s basically as blind as a bat

In most areas I think SLT won’t assess until the child is 2 but it’s definitely worth discussing this with the GP too.

I think given both results and you’re gut feeling, you are doing the right thing in following this up.

It might be worth asking on SN Chat about what’s involved in an ASD assessment and how to go about it.

Good luck Single

No advice OP, but my daughter is 17 months & doesn’t really say any words either. I know she understands a lot more than she says though which I’ve been told is good, e.g ‘give mummy a cuddle, where’s the cat? Let’s go’ etc. I’m still worried though. A friends boy is 2 months younger & says ‘yes or no’ when given an option e.g - his milk. He seems like a baby genius to me! When I’ve looked into it myself (online research) it seems to suggest she should be saying like 20 words but when I talk to other mums they’ve all said their child didn’t start really talking until 2+. So I’m truing not to read to much into it just yet! Good luck!

I agree with @ItsNiceItsDifferentItsUnusual. My son is 2 this month, and is at the same level as your daughter. I was concerned at 18 months and absolutely everyone made me feel over the top with their comments about their nephew who didn't speak until they were 4 and it's totally normal blah blah blah. I only recently called the health visitor who has arranged an assessment for this week, and has already said they will refer on to speech therapy as the waiting list is long. I wish I'd rang earlier now. Health visitor was great, and didn't fob me off. I'd definitely recommend calling one instead of GP.

My 18 month old is struggling in speech and understanding and has been taken seriously.

They usually seem to want to rule out hearing first and that can take a few months (to arrange the test, attend it, get the results back etc). Then it’s to see a development paediatrician if the hearing comes back ok, or maybe a SALT or eyesight check, it depends how it works in your area and what concerns/issues are present.

I would say go to your GP in the first instance. Hopefully it’s nothing, but it’s better to be checked and declared to be nothing than leave it and it turns out there is something like hearing/sight that could be relatively easily addressed. If your GP isn’t much help try your HV, they can sometimes provide links to services/resources more directly and not requiring a GP visit.

My now 15 yo ds2 was like this, he was just a little bit slower to pick his speech up but he got there, once he started preschool the speech came on very fast. Now we cant shut him up xx i wouldnt worry too much just yet plenty of time for the speech to pick up

Have you had the hearing checked? DD was the same and has glue ear.its was especially bad at that age as her molars were coming in so the tubes were even more blocked.

It is normal to worry about things like this. She is too young, she can be developed and learn so many things because she is in the stage of development.

I dont think there’s any harm in asking the HV for a referral, waiting lists can be long, you can cancel at a later date if needed.
I always think it helps to know that you are taking some action.
Lots of people will tell you of someone they know who didnt talk until they were 3. They mean well, but i think you should trust your gut feeling on this.
I have young adults who have autism, i wished I’d had my DDs checked earlier, my younger DS was DX at 28 months, we knew so much more about autism by then.

Certainly NOT too young to begin the process of getting a professional opinion.
Besides my 3 children I have 3 grandchildren and by 18 months all were verbalizing well enough to begin toilet training. Easily saying over 50 words; cat dog birdie mommy daddy gammy pee pee poo light cold bubbles...you get the gist.
I’d be very very concerned.

My 18 mth old says Mummy and occasionally no, ma (more), bye and yes. However she can follow most simple directions and responds appropriately to a lot of questions.
E.g get that book, get your shoes, do you need a new nappy, go to the car etc etc. single sentence directions she will usually follow correctly, if she wants to! 😉

I’d be more concerned by the lack of understanding and responses than the lack of speech personally and that’s what I’d focus the conversation with your gp on. As this thread shows the speech thing isn’t that uncommon and you run the risk of being told to wait and see, normal development etc. if you had just posted my 18 month old can’t follow simple directions, doesn’t point at objects and doesn’t reliably respond to her name then I think you’d get a different response.

I’d be very very concerned

Crikey that's a bit dramatic! All kids develop at different rates, my 18m old only has about 4 words, but he understands everything, it's great cos he is at the age where he loves fetching stuff so it's really quite helpful

I think like pp said, the understanding is more important that the amount of words at this age. Definitely get her eyes/ears checked out.

DD had about 3 words at 18 months, by 20 months she was talking in 5-6 word sentences, and by Year 1 she was the best reader in her class.

DS had 3 words at 2 years, by 2 1/2 he was talking non-stop, and still does at nearly 4.

So based on my experience, I really wouldn't worry yet. They all develop at their own rate.

Glass I think ginger has got it spot on. Tell the GP about her understanding and they will probably be more likely to send her for the assessments she needs.

Are you going to the GPs today? Our GP Surgery play “fastest finger first” with the appointments

Good luck.