2 year old speech

[whitetoblerone]

DS is 2 in summer. Understands everything we ask him, can point to colours, shapes etc. Follows instructions but just doesn't have much speech. He 'talks' to us constantly, but it doesn't make any sense and he uses a lot of gesturing to help us understand. He's started to try and sound out the beginning of some words, mainly colours.

How much did/does your 2 year old speak? It seems his peers are quite a way ahead of him. He does try but just hasn't grasped words yet. He can say some simple words like 'Daddy, more, that, this, there etc'

We do flash cards, read lots of books, point out different objects and ask him what colour they are and so on, so we are encouraging him (but not pushing). We know he will probably do this in his own time, but I just wondered what others had found with their little ones. . Thanks!

some just take a bit longer. Just chat a long to him in your day and he'll pick it up.

Both my boys have been slow talkers. My oldest will be 4 in August and his speech only really picked up when he started nursery last September. My second is 2 years and 7 months and I've noticed a massive difference in the last few weeks although I'm not sure a stranger would understand!
With my oldest, I went to a speech therapist walk in centre when he was 2 and a half but they were happy with his progress as he had good understanding and could follow directions.

I had this exact worry with DS! He would piece a few words together but mostly gibberish. It was hard and even his nursery were concerned about a speech delay.

But recently, it's like something has clicked and he's putting more and more words together to form sentences. We still struggle to understand some but we can really see a change now.

He's just turned three now and it seems all he needed was time.

Saying that, we do a lot of repeating back to him what he is saying to us, whether clear or not. We will repeat it back slowly, clearly and enthusiastically and it seems to help.

He's still so young but if it is worrying you maybe you could discuss speech with his nursery/childcare if you have it?

You say he is 2 in summer, when in summer roughly? DD is 2 next month and at the moment literally each week her speech jumps a mile, Im finding it amazing. I think your child's speech sounds within the normal range but my point is that 2 in summer could be 23 months or it could be like 21 months or even less and that's such a long amount of time difference for speech development at this age.

Thank you for your replies! You have reassured me a bit!

He understands everything and can follow instructions. He can tell us what he wants with gesturing and showing us and I think he does try with his words, they just don't come as he wants them.

He isn't in nursery, he goes to grandparents (usually, he's at home with us during lockdown as we're WFH). They do the same, talk to him constantly, ask him to repeat words back to them to try and encourage him etc.

People say 'oh it's just boys, they're slower than girls' but I just wondered what experiences others had!

Oh also FWIW my DD's expressive language sounds more advanced than yours from your description (although she still babbles a lot that we don't understand), but for example OTOH she doesn't know many colours, even by understanding. So it's a bit swings and roundabouts?

He's 2 in July

I spoke to a speech and language therapist just before lockdown about my 2yo. She asked if he can follow 2 and 3 step instructions (test this by giving said instructions without any clues/context so no pointing/gesturing/modelling of what to do) and if he could speak in sentences of at least 3 words. That was for my son at 2y8m by the way so it's probably even less than that for a child your son's age. And that was it really- she said those would be her main indicators of a problem and as he could do them then he is probably fine but to watch out for lack of progress / regression. Other than that, just the usual advice - read lots, talk lots etc. If it helps, DS only really started to get going with his talking at 2yo, we had a bit of a plateau which led to my discussion with the speech and language therapist, but then in the last month his speech has just taken off - he never stops talking now about anything and everything. They all do develop at their own rate.

Don’t worry, not yet. Dorks to him, read to him, involve him in conversation. He may well get there. DS (now nearly 12!), could say maybe, 10 words at his 2 year check.3 months later he told his nursery nurse in detail, about how I was having another baby in the autumn, wasn’t very well and stuff. We hadn’t told him, but he’d taken it all in! He got quite chatty after that. He is now nearly 12 and had had not further “problems”.

*dorks - talk!

@KatnissK

Thanks for this! He can follow instructions without modelling or gesturing. For example, If I ask him to find his shoes so we can go for a walk, he will go and get his shoes and then wait by the front door for us. Or if I say 'it's time for a nap, can you find your bear and go to bed?' He will get his bear and make his way upstairs, so his understanding is really great. (I think anyway!)

I think you're all right, he just needs time. We'll continue to read and talk lots. Thank you all

Thanks @BikeRunSki - I do often wonder if he's just biding his time and will just start talking in sentences all of a sudden!

@whitetoblerone, that is pretty much what DS did.

My 2yo was speech delayed he's now three next month and has progressed so so much, some children just take longer to communicate I wouldn't worry x

Oh he's 2 in July , honestly don't worry!

My DS is also 2 in July. He only has a few real words, some animal sounds, plus a couple of noises that only we understand ("Ga Ga" is aeroplane, for example!). He tells us what he wants by pointing, gesturing and dragging us by the hand.

At the same age my DD(6) was talking nonstop, in long sentences that everyone could understand. She woke up one morning and just started talking. She's always been very advanced with words (talking and reading), but her physical skills aren't so great. DS is very physically competent in comparison. I figure they both had/have their "thing" that they want to focus on more, and so got the hang of quicker. Talking for DD, climbing stuff all day long for DS!

I know he'll get there, but it can still be very frustrating for everyone when he's desperately trying to tell us something and we don't have a clue. Your DS sounds totally normal to me, OP!

My son was 2 in April. Up until we went into lockdown in March he could say a handful of words (really few) and babbled/gestured.

When we went into lockdown and just before/since he turned two his speech has just exploded and he is now speaking in s sentences and can knows countless words, can count 1-10 and knows all the letter sounds in the alphabet.

Honestly i was worrying so much but it really was like one day he woke up speaking and now doesn’t stop!

If you are at all worried the website below has a useful checklist.

ican.org.uk/i-cans-talking-point/

Thanks everyone. You're really reassuring me! I was just curious really and it sounds as though he's doing just fine!

He walked at 8 months, so he's always been very physically advanced; he was able to jump and climb long before his peers, so clearly the physical side of things is his thing too!

I'll take a look at the link

Sounds a lot like DS. He barely had 20 words at 2, but lots of understanding. I worried about it and we went to a Talking Toddlers group for 6 weeks, and tried some of those techniques (repeating, simple sentences describing what he was doing, choices and praising good choosing, good talking etc). I don't know if it was that or it would have happened anyway, but quite soon after the course finished something seemed to click and he started getting lots more words. Now 2.5 and saying quite a few three word sentences, naming things we've been pointing out for months and doing lots of copying what we say, and some of his words are starting to get a lot clearer. Just to add another reassuring voice. But it is tough when you feel like they're behind, I remember worrying and questioning if I'd done the right things, so lots of sympathy.

My middle boy turned 3 in nov. I was very worried about his speech as he was only really saying the names of the paw patrol characters. Like your child he understood everything, would point to colours, etc but making no attempt at meaningful speech and SALT referrals are impossible in our area. Anyway, after his birthday something clicked and he now talks all day from the moment he opens his eyes! Kind of wish he'd waited until after lockdown to start talking though 😂!

Mine, now adults, were only a year apart. Ds1 very quiet as an adult was a later speaker, and DS2 was a very early speaker, he was speaking in sentences of 3 words at just over a year old (I have video evidence so not just memory). He was speaking in sentences while his older brother still wasn't. He just never stopped and now studying word based subjects at uni and Ds1 studying computing. The both had the same level of understanding as toddlers I would say, just DS2 was more verbal.

If he isn't getting frustrated then I'm sure he will start getting the words better soon but he might just be not someone that's particularly motivated by language. Both my boys read a lot but Ds1 was very good with jigsaws and puzzles. He just likes that stuff more.