How to encourage 2yo to speak?

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Any ideas really appreciated.

My little boy is almost 2 and seems to be struggling with his speech.

He has about 20 words in total that he says. Even though I understand them, they arent really clear and others would struggle to understand them. They are mostly 1 syllable aswell.

He seems to hum the sound of some words with his mouth closed - he hums the sound of the word rather than opening his mouth to say it?? He wont even attempt to repeat simple words after me. Eg he will say 'bin' but wont try to say 'ball'.

He does seem to understand everything.

I spoke to HV on the phone today and she has put in a referral for SLT but the waiting list is long. What can I do in the meantime to encourage him to speak?

Ask the GP to also refer him for a hearing test.

I’m sure some one will other suggestions will be along soon but remember lots of chatting, songs and give him the space to reply.

SLT here.

You need to motivate him to communicate. Offer him a choice of 2 things, 1 which he will really want and 1 which he won't (e.g car or old sock). Persistently offer him the item he doesn't want until he tries to name the item he wants.

Read books with rhymes (Julia Donaldson is good) / sing rhyming songs. Pause when you get to a rhyme and encourage him to give the right word.

Encourage him to ask for 'more' or 'again' of something (bubbles or chocolate buttons are good). Don't give him the item he wants more of until he attempts to say 'more'. When he can say 'more', add another word (eg 'more bubbles')

Play 'ready steady go' games - a wind up toy or a click-clack car track will help. Say 'ready steady' and only let go when he says 'go'

When playing with him, talk about what you're doing / he's doing. Don't ask questions - just chat. He should attempt to imitate you - when he does, praise him for good talking. Same when you go to the shop or somewhere with him, just chat to him about what you can see.

It's normal for understanding to be much better than expression, in fact it's a good thing!

Glue ear! My son was exactly the same he could do the tone of a word but could never actually pronounce them he didn't talk until he was 3 when he got his ears tested and grommets put in, he started speaking straight away and also had speech therapy which has been on going on and off due to covid he is now just turned 7. Going ti nursery or preschool will also help. My son could hear but he heard everything muffled due to his ears being blocked hence him then have a speech delay

I find this website really helpful www.hacw.nhs.uk/childrens-speech-and-language-resources/

Ds1 had a speech disorder and we worked very hard on his speech.

The SLT we worked with recommended getting down to his level, playing alongside and waiting for him to initiate the communication. When he did say or attempt to say a word she recommended repeating back what he said and adding an extra word. For example if he said 'horse' we would say 'big horse' or 'fast horse' or 'horse run'.

We never put pressure on him to speech as this can cause frustration

She did say to avoid lots of questions but instead to give lots of opportunities to talk and modelling speech at the correct level.

In our area you can self refer to the speech and language therapy service but I would also do a hearing test alongside it. Ds1 had had lots of colds when he was little and they said he had intermittent glue ear. We had not noticed as there were specific sounds he struggled to hear. This of course made learning to talk difficult.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take note of these and start working through them with him. Some of them really make sense.

I'll get back in touch with the HV again or doctor for a referall to get his hearing checked again.

Thank you all