Advice about my sons speech

[Surfskatefamily]

Hi, I've asked peoples opinion in real life and answers have ranged from "it's totally normal, dont worry" to "oh that's worrying"

My 20 month old doesn't really speak. He says "ball" and "baaa" which he says referring to boob. This is all he says, nothing else. He may not even say anything in a whole day

He said mama and dada a long while ago and has stopped also a long time ago so I'm thinking this mightve just been general babble

He can understand what's going on, and if I say hello or goodbye he waves. He knows to go up the stairs if I tell him its bedtime or to clean his teeth.

What I'm asking is, does this sound normal or should I be seeking support? I dont know other toddlers with this little speech apart from my friends who is autistic

I think he is frustrated a lot and being unable to communicate results in tantrums. That part is I know totally normal. I'd just love to help him get there a bit then he can express himself a bit more

TalkingPoint is a great Speech and Language website.

I've linked to the 12 - 18month page, but you can play about with it at your will.
There is also a queries and advice line so you can contact them personally if you want to.

You can have a chat with your HV
or
All the Children's Centres here have various groups to support children's language development - why not call in, or phone up to see what is offered in your area.

It is good that you can see his understanding seems to be there, but, as you say, frustration at not yet communicating his wants and needs - let alone ''observations' - can be very frustrating for little ones.

It may well be that he is a slightly later than average developer and will catch up soon enough, but it still has to be worth getting in touch with the professionals who can offer you generalised advice that may well help.

Thank you for your reply 😊 I will check out talking point and get in touch with children's centre today

I'm not an expert but I think if he can understand speech and express his needs by pointing, that's generally OK.
I can't remember how many words DS had at that age, but it wasn't many.
At the 2.5 year check he was saying words but at the borderline for intervention.
I remember the HV being annoyed that he didn't say "I want". He used to say "Help please" and point. Also that he would say "up" to indicate he wanted a hug rather than saying the word "hug".
He started nursery at 3 with 2 word sentences.
He's 7 now and has a wide vocabulary in English and some degree of fluency in Gaelic. He had a bit of a stutter for a while and is waiting on assessment for Aspergers.
I would say you should be a little concerned but not overly. Check his hearing. Get him on the waiting list for speech therapy if you can. But don't be surprised if he just naturally starts doing it!

Your son sounds very similar to mine at that age. Our local health centre has a drop in SALT clinic which was my first port of call (it's a pretty big centre though), might be worth a try?

Well done for identifying early as if there is an issue, then the earlier he gets help, the better the outcome is likely to be. Have you been to the GP for a hearing referral and speech and language therapy? This does take a long time now as the resources have been cut so I dont know what's on offer privately, but you prob still have to be referred by GP.

Have you seen the Youtube video of JoJo (Nanny) getting little boy to talk who had speech issues ... it's worth a watch:

It's v good he understands the world around ... I presume you do all the usual things when going shopping eg over the top speaking "orange" "apple" whilst he's in the trolley or where are the "blueberries" and so on. Very good best wishes.

Thanks all for replies.. I dont think our centre has a drop in SALT but i will have a look at the bigger close by ones. We're coastal/rural.
It does sound like a good idea to ask about referral now if waiting lists are long.

Yes, because I noticed he seemed a bit behind a little while back I've really focused on telling what things are. I think he knows but doesn't try to say. I'll get his mouth looked at too as he did have tongue tie when he was born, maybe something is stopping him being able to say the words

I'm a Speech and Language Therapist. 10 words by 18 months is an early language milestone we look for. Words can include symbolic noises (like "beep", "brum brum", "oink", "woof" etc).

So it sounds like he's a little behind in his talking. But his understanding appears to be developing well, which is great.

There's such a wide range of "normal" language development. And things can change very quickly.

Have you looked into signing? Sometimes frustrated little ones can sign to express their needs before they have the ability to use words.

My dd didn't have any language at that age (now adult at university!) I was told age 2 is still within normal range for speech starting but I would talk to the hv now

I don't have much advice (PP absolutely brilliant), get as much help and advice as you see fit. If you are concerned talk to the experts, your his mum and you know him best. I will just say don't be comparing him to other kids of his age, it never ends well and other mums well guess what... They lie!! Our little boy was slow to speak, he could point and he could make sounds, he was also slow to walk. Basically all he had to do was point at something and I would leap up to do it for him, so no need to talk or move as it magically appeared. We had a pretty stressful situation going on in our lives too and it was hugely affecting him. We took our family away from the situation and suddenly it just came together, his speech etc. We did speech therapy with mabel therapy who were really great at building his confidence. We did lots of reading and flash cards together and tried to make it lots of fun. He's 6 now, the youngest in his class and he's doing great. Try not to panic too much or push him too hard it can be really stressful, definitely start the process with health professionals. It's best to be told there was nothing to worry about than leave it.

My DS was a late talker-after 21/2, so we were very worried. It did transpire that, being younger, his siblings often spoke for him. We had to put a lot of effort into encouraging him to talk, and try to get him to say words in order to get what he wanted. He, too, is now at university.
I do think it's worth mentioning to your HV, as I understand early advice is really advantageous.

My DS is 2.8 years old and currently we are in a process of him getting help he has speech delay can only say a few words can't do any sentences and repeats certain words like shoes and car I would say get in touch with health visitor if you have concerns that's what I done all the best op for you and your DS

Following up from your advice...I spoke to my health visitor, who forwarded me to early years who then put me in touch with the speech and language people.

I'm awaiting a call from one of their speech therapists within the next 5 days.
They said they will decide what support he can be given after discussing it with me over the phone.

I'm quite happy they're willing to talk to me about this quickly.
I wasn't sure if I was just being silly over worried first time mum but it does sound as hes not quite on track.

@allthehippos we tried to teach him some basic signing that we picked up at sing and sign and from one of the baby sensory classes we went to but he doesn't seem to take it in .

I might just be bad at teaching it to him, and will give that another go whilst we still try to encourage spoken words

@Surfskatefamily that's a good update. Hopefully that'll be useful.

Don't worry about trying to teach him signs. Just pick a few (maybe 4 or 5 to start with) key signs to reinforce alongside your spoken language. Use things that are relevant to him. For example: drink, eat, more, go, car.

Wow! That was an impressive response from your HV and I can't believe you get to speak to a SaLT so quickly! Your area much have MUCH better provision than ours

As Hepsibar has said, it is ALWAYS a good idea to get his hearing checked and a high% of little dc go through spells of low hearing and it has such an impact on their speech.