Just turned 2 - speech.

[MyFirstNameAngelene]

Knows ‘Daddy’, has never said ‘Mummy’. I think he thinks I’m ‘Daddy’ too.

Makes animal noises rather than names them.
The only thing he says very clearly are his numbers to 10. And he can recognise them all (even turning his 6 round to say 9). He is obsessed with numbers.
He’s chilled and happy, lots of laughing/eye contact.
Any thoughts??

My little boy was similar at this age. He had about 15-20 words in total. But I just felt like I knew he was ok, he understood everything. And then a few months later he started talking... he’s 3.5 now and hasn’t shut up since! He’s now got an excellent vocabulary, you’d never know he was a bit late to get going.

If your concerned then ring your HV. You should be due a 2 year review around now.

There was in interesting article in the bbc news yesterday about the impact of lockdown on pre school children and younger- and how its had a massive impact on speech development.
I read it with keen interest as my daughter is similar to your son.
Spoke to health visitor- who recommended reading and singing (somewhat patronising i know) but spoke to a friend who is a SALT and she gave me some tips. She said theres a massive difference between speech delay (which i think my daughter has) and speech disorder. Doesnt sound like your son has a disorder if he is speaking some words.

My ds was only getting going at 2. I had to wait for Mummy. He had a great range of speech and vocab when he started school.

My daughter didn't say much at all at this age. She's 4 now and never stops taking and has a great vocabulary - she correctly used the word "ominous" in a sentence the other day 😂

Not knowing animal names at that age is not a sign of autism, I really wouldn't worry about that (presume you are due to eye contact comment)

My son was the same, not really saying much. Childminder had brought it up (spoke to HV who wasn’t concerned), but now only three months later he’s coming on in leaps and bounds. Like a sponge, he learns new words every day- not just parroting them but using them correctly.

Good with numbers too, maybe they’re math brains (we can hope!).

I’m sure he’ll be on it in no time. It just suddenly changes. We found seeing more people helped after lockdown was eased.

I think at 2 she’s getting to the age that I would be a little concerned and want to give her a boost. Lots of people are finding the same issue after lockdown. I am a private SALT and even we have a waitlist now.

My twins are both autistic and non verbal (they are 4 now). They obviously had no speech at 2 (but most of the autistic kids I know have some words, even if not many). Obviously I have no idea whether your little one is just delayed or there’s a reason for it, but generally 2 is when you can refer to speech and language and I would do that as the wait can be long - you can always cancel it if it’s not needed. Often they’ll refer you to a group for two year olds who are a bit behind with speech, so there doesn’t need to be a massive issue to get some support.

The number obsession is interesting - one of my twins is like this with numbers and letters, more so letters. He doesn’t make any attempt to speak but can spell quite complex words. We believe it’s hyperlexia which can go along with autism or be separate.

You should get a 27 month check from the HV but they can do it earlier - ask them to do it ASAP so it will flag up whether a paeds referral is needed

My son is nearly two 1/2 and says what your does, OP, except he can't even say the names of numbers! He babbles loads but very few actual words.

The SLT at my school said yesterday not to worry yet, when I explained the full situation to her. If the understanding is there and no hearing issues, they're not too worried at 2 years.