Our 19 month old isn't talking

[dan220282]

Hi everyone, I lurk here quote a lot and you've all been very helpful before. Our 19 month old little boy is reluctant to speak, he will say mama and dadda. But nothing else. The fiancee is worried he is autistic, i am not. He literally understands everything we tell him, he knows his colours, animals, the noises they make, nursery rhymes he dances along too. If we tell him its tea time/ bed time/ bath time etc, he knows exactly what we are saying. He literally grunts at us, holds our hand and takes us where he wants to go. he babbles to himself, which is really cute, then he'll just stop and start grunting again. I get frustrated because i know he knows what we are saying, is he just being lazy or should we be worried? Thanks in advance.

It's not THAT unusual. Plenty of babies start later than others. It is on the late side but that's just how it is for some children, especially boys who are proven to speak later.

Does he wave? Engage in imaginary play? Play and enjoy peekaboo and other relating games? Does he like the company of other children?

I had a late talker - DC3 wasn't saying much by the time he was 2. He's now 9 and is doing well at school, no concerns at all.

It might be worth contacting the SALT team to get him on the list in case there's a long wait. You may need to be referred by the GP.

All of that yes! Waves goodbyes. Plays wheres the baby. Hide and seek. Wanders up to people in the street and just starts waving at people. Loves animals. Like i said he knows everything. Its like he's on the verge of just spitting it all out. He just won't. My fiancee suffered with PND so he hasnt bee around as many kiddies as id have liked however when we take him to soft play or a play centre he just gets on with it. He'll watch my mouth movements then go to copy but instead just laugh and run off lol

I wouldn't be massively worried as it seems like he is communicating just not with words. Might be worth speaking to the GP in case he needs a SALT referral in the future, I know in this area it's quite a wait.

He does just that. Possibly partly our fault not encouraging him to say the word instead of just going with him as we know what he wants. He plays his shapes games. Cards. Building. Everything i expected. Except words

At that age, my first born ds had 5 words. My daughter's on the other hand were speaking in sentences. Ds had slight speech delay but is completely fine now at 5. If you're truly worried seek medical advise, but it's not uncommon.

My boy didn’t speak until he was a couple of months past 2. Family and nursery kept pressuring me to take him to the doctor - eventually I did and the GP was only concerned if there seemed to be a hearing problem.
A year later he’s stringing some good sentences. My first spoke from birth it felt like.
Continue making a conscious effort to interact vocally, they’ll get there.

That’s still within normal, 19 months is still very little. I think they’re ‘supposed’ to have 10 words at 2, and they don’t necessarily have to be instantly recognisable, just consistently used for the same thing. I know several children who have gone from barely talking to having explosions of new words and language development around 2.5, my eldest included. It sounds like his understanding is good too. Just talk talk talk to him and speak to your HV if you’re concerned.

Both my DP's sisters were very late talkers. I remember MIL saying she played audiobooks and tried reading to them as much as possible. Not sure if that helped or if they just naturally developed eventually! We know a two year old that only has a few words and he's fine

DS1 didn’t talk at all at 18 months, GP referred him to SALT and audiology on the basis that wasn’t in the normal range of speech development.

It took 6 months to be seen by SALT, they diagnosed minor speech delay and discharged him. They seemed to run through the M-Chat checklist (you can look it up) as a screen for autism and as that wasn’t an issue discharged him. Audiology found some minor glue ear, not severe enough to need treatment.

With hindsight I wish I’d pushed harder for speech therapy as his speech is still behind now but there doesn’t seem to be any underlying problems.

Personally I’d take him to your gp, but from your description he sounds like a sociable little boy with joint attention etc, so i wouldn’t be too alarmed (obviously I’m not a qualified hcp though).

Absolutely normal. My dgs only really started talking at 3 and a half. He's 5 now and I have to tell him to stop talking. Such a chatterbox.

It sounds like you’re not concerned about his hearing? They often want you to check that. Does he point at things?
My dd was delayed and now she is fine! We had private SALT as the wait was so long. It did wonders but we started at about 3 yo

No issues with his hearing. He points at everything. Can hear a sodding fire engine from about 5 miles away haha. He just seems reluctant if that makes sense. Cus he knows mom and dad will do it. We read books. Well i do and he runs around making animal noises. Everything i thought he would do he does. Bar actually saying words

My 19 month old doesn't talk and she definitely doesn't know her colours, animals etc. I didn't even think a 19 month old should know that stuff so now I'm worried . I was worried about Autism and raised it with HV but she wasn't concerned at all .

My best mates 2 yr old didnt learn colours and stuff till she was 2 1/2. She was talking way before my boy but walking much later than him. I didnt mean to worry you. And i wouldn't worry. Like everyone says all babies seem.to develop so differently its mad.

Sounds like he’s doing really well. Do they have a SALT drop in in your area? You can ask you HV. He will likely start speaking soon but the waiting lists can be long so I’d personally just get the ball rolling if they think it’s needed. SALT really did wonders for my daughter which is why I’m such an advocate! There’s no way you could tell she has a problem now.

I know in my head she will learn eventually I just seem to worry about everything this time round. With my first I didn't worry about anything I can't even remember when she started to talk

Your child is well within normal.

My first didn't speak till nearly 2 yrs old.Got referred, told that was no problem.

My mum, who had many children, observed us interacting, and said, " he has no current need to speak, cause you understand what he's meaning, what he wants". You sound like wonderfully attentive parents, so I wonder if that holds true for your DC?

He sounds a lot like my child. My worries about ASD were dismissed by my HV bit now he’s a school mild ASD is suspected. Keep an eye on him

My niece is 2 and still won't say a word. GP isn't worried as she clearly communicates well in other ways. It's actually amazes me at how well she communicates, even strangers can understand her.

My DS is 18 months and only says 1 syllables for things now, despite saying phrases a few months ago. Again HV isn't concerned as he has realised he can communicate without having to say more than 1 syllable

DH and I both didn't speak till late. DH didn't speak till nearly 3 (specialist said it was because his mum was speaking French and his dad English to him) and I didn't speak till I started school! (I started speaking when I wanted to fit in with my peers, before that my family knew what I was wanting to communicate so didn't need to talk)

I personally would stop doing it all for him and encourage a little bit more by saying 'what do you want?' 'What are you showing me?' etc. Play silly a little bit even if you know what he means. As pp have said children develop differently but you don't want him to start relying on you or him thinking you know what he wants/means all the time as he won't realise the need for words.

Ive started doing that. He has this lava lamp with fishes in in his room which he goes to everyday before bathtime. He stands by the plug switch pointing. I no longer acknowledge this and am trying to get fish out of him. Spitting bubbles is a start haha. But you are right. He needs to know that he has to ask for things as well as us helping him

And I meant that in the kindest way.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things, keep at it. Xx

My youngest DS was late to start talking. It was 2 before he really started to talk. At 3.5 now he still has issues. He has a stutter and doesn't speak in a lot of social situations.

It could be a number of reasons why he doesn't speak and even in spite of the problems DS has, I wouldn't necessarily say get help until they're 2. DS speech has changed so much since he was 2 and the stutter only really started when he was 3. I don't know how much difference it would have been to get him seen at 18 months.

What has helped DS a lot has been going to nursery school and mixing with more children his own age. He never went to child care because I worked evenings when he was little and he has a brother who's 5 and never shuts up. I think youngest just got too used to every one around him being able to understand him and his brother answering for him.

Our little one doesnt go to nursery. Basically because we cannot afford it. He stays with his nan for two days and i have him for the other. My fiancee is off for the other days. I think that has something to do with it as well as he hasnt mixed with as many kiddies as he would have if he had gone to childcare.