Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

18 months no speech no gestures will he ever speak!!

59 replies

Roblox19 · 07/10/2021 11:27

Anyone any experiences of 18 months old very sociable happy loving toddler loves giving hugs and kisses some understanding - (No, to come, bedtime, knows rhymes) but babbles only no words at all also no gestures no clapping pointing or waving but during rhymes with clap my hands together. Good with taking turns with toys. No big tantrums. Eye contact fine Suspected ASD due to lack of gestures mainly! Will he ever speak if he doesnt point or have words at 18m ? I know nobody can answer that but if anyome had similar experiences i would love to know how your childs doing now PLEASE!

OP posts:

Original poster

Roblox19 · 07/10/2021 11:28

The lack of point seems to be a huge concern online, has an app with a development pead next month.

OP posts:

VanillaIce1 · 07/10/2021 11:30

Yes my son was like this didn't utter a word never heard his voice was so worried about autism but he's now 21 months and it's like a switch has gone off overnight. He's constantly talking now and so so clever at repeating words back to us. Try not to worry too much but still have him seen to reassure yourself.

Notashandyta · 07/10/2021 11:30

Our lb was exactly the same! Super sociable, no speech and so slow with everything else! Crawled at 10 months, walked at 17 months.
Turned 3 and started chatting away, such a relief! I never had any worries about his understanding and his speech did indeed catch up. He's a really bright 7 year old now, ahead at school.
Hope that reassures you a bit. 18 months seems young to worry.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

1 year olds Families General parenting

Feelslikealot · 07/10/2021 11:31

Mine didn't start to say the odd word until they were 2.5 and werent really speaking in sentences till they were 3. No SN. Some children just take longer to get there than others. I do remember the anxiety that they'd never start talking. Now i can't stop them

WandaVision2 · 07/10/2021 11:33

My ds was exactly the same, then he turned 2 and it all just fell into place. He’s a fit and healthy 20 year old now

Bonitalazenia · 07/10/2021 11:34

My grandson has just turned 2 and he can say car and cow. That’s it.

ArthurApples · 07/10/2021 11:34

Same here, didn't really start until 3, never stops talking now.

LakeShoreD · 07/10/2021 11:39

Mine was over 2 before she said anything at all but was speaking in simple but full sentences by 2 and a half. She’s now 4 and is exactly where she should be for her age. I’m no expert but 18 months seems young to worry.

Original poster

Roblox19 · 07/10/2021 12:33

Thank you all so much all your replies are so positive i needed that! I think the lack of gestures seems to be the biggest flag so the not pointimg at things or waving bye etc. Along with no speech. He does have some understanding but not what he should have for his age if i asked them to get the ball or dolly wouldnt know what i meant but i said come to mummy or give kisses or cuddles he would do. Did any of yours have a lack of gestures? And if so how did they get on with it? :( i feel so sad at the minute for him everyome seems to comment on him wherever we go mainly friends with childrem similar ages. Probably wortj mentioning he is 18months corrected age as he was a 2 months prem baby x

OP posts:

Original poster

Roblox19 · 07/10/2021 15:28

@Roblox19

If anyone has an experience with lack of gestures i would appreciate so much... my worry is he wont speak but the lack of gestures & limited understanding seem to be the root of these concerns! Its such a sad place to be in your own head sometimes!

OP posts:

Fallagain · 07/10/2021 22:16

I know what you mean about lack of pointing obsession online. DD2 is 2 and has hit all her speech mile stones but she has never pointed and has only recently taken to waving bye. Not every child will follow the typical pattern.

Minkies13 · 07/10/2021 22:25

Have you had your child's hearing checked? Approximations of words are counted as words (eg ba for ball, ta for cat etc).

Original poster

Roblox19 · 08/10/2021 07:23

No he hasnt had a hearing check since birth one was requested about 2 months back although i dont think there is any problems with his hearing.

OP posts:

junebirthdaygirl · 08/10/2021 08:15

My ds had 10 words on his second birthday and only l understood them. Went on to talk normally but has dyslexia
My niece was totally silent until 3. It was quite strange as she made no sound, wandering around exploring everything in silence. The whole family were convinced she would never talk. She is now in a top professional job and is super creative as well as very articulate.
As a teacher l have had children come to school with very little or no speech. I work in Special Needs in a regular Primary. They all went on to speak while still being behind their peers but able to communicate.

Early speech therapy would be great . Has he seen a speech therapist?

MintJulia · 08/10/2021 08:26

Mine didn't say a single word until 25 months. Then he said 'key' No muma or dada.

By 28 months he was chatting away in sentences. Some dcs do it their way

Bialystockandbloom · 08/10/2021 08:28

You're right that at this age nonverbal communication is as important, if not more important than speech, and can be an indicator of conditions such as ASD. But it is very positive that he has understanding.

My advice would be try and put it out of your mind until your paed appt comes up. You've done a great thing getting him seen so early. Likelihood is that the paed will say watch and wait.. which will be frustrating for you, but they wouldn't diagnose anything so young in any case.

If your concerns continue there are lots and lots of interventions, resources and things you can do to encourage interaction and communication - look on SN children board.

But please try not to worry now, he is so young, and sounds utterly lovely :)

gogohm · 08/10/2021 08:40

Neither of my dds had any words then. Dd2 got speech around 2 dd1 was just over 3. Dd1 is asd, but dd2 is certainly not, though is dyslexic. Both have excellent vocabularies now and did by 5/6, educated at top universities etc.

gogohm · 08/10/2021 08:43

I don't remember gestures, they did sign language at school as they went to a special needs school (that took siblings) from when dd1 was 2

Fifthtimelucky · 08/10/2021 08:45

I was going to suggest a hearing check too. My younger daughter was late to speak and I just thought it was one of those things (her older sister had been a v early talker and I kept telling myself I shouldn't expect the same and shouldn't compare them).

I remember how guilty I felt when the younger one failed her hearing test and was discovered to have glue ear. I had no idea.

Good luck!

CupcakesK · 08/10/2021 08:47

Hi OP, my 18 month old isn't speaking either yet. He does point at things and make sounds though, but only really started doing this by copying others recently. Hopefully he is being referred to audiology, but I've really had to push for that as kept getting fobbed off with COVID being the reason he isn't talking . We have a family history of glue ear (requiring grommets) on one side and hearing loss at a young age on the other.

It's really worrying as all of the reputable online info says they should be saying 6 words by now, pointing, able to point at something when you say 'where is X?' and do simple tasks like get their shoes when askes so parents rightly get worried when this isn't happening. However, when you speak to other people, so many children haven't spoken until much later with no issues and furthermore the health visitor won't even do anything until they are 2.5, so what is the point in there being info everywhere saying this? So frustrating.

Sorry I don't have any advice, but after my extensive research it seems that this is actually quite normal (especially for boys) despite what you read online.

Some of the other early signs of autism are:
The child leading your hand to things they want instead of pointing
Lack of facial expressions (i.e. does your DS smile/laugh when you do?)
Walks on tip toes
Repeatedly playing with toy/activity in a specific way (e.g. only spinning the wheels of a car)

ApplePippa · 08/10/2021 09:07

Please try not to worry too much. Your DS is very little and I know lots of slow starters who caught up in their own time.

My DS didn't have any speech or gestures at 18 months. Yes, he did go on to be diagnosed with both autism and dyslexia, but there was a LOT more to it than that. Your DS is doing so much more than mine was at that age. And although my DS was speech delayed, you would never know this now. He is in mainstream secondary school, and his English teacher commented on his impressive vocabulary at his last parents evening!

The pointing thing is a bit of a red herring. The important thing is joint attention, something my DS was totally lacking at 18 months. If you look at a book together, is he responding to your actions eg pointing things out to him? Can he copy actions?

Original poster

Roblox19 · 08/10/2021 13:16

@ApplePippa he does have some joint attention but hes got to be really interested. When we play he is learning to take turns and will do something and then wait for me to do next before he does again and is learning to copy when i show him how to play with a toy like putting car at top of a track to slide down. Putting coins into the piggy bank etc but his imitation skills are poor hence the no waving pointing. Clapping is an odd one as during a song he will get his hands ready to clap at the correct part but wont clap them or he will pull my hands together and clap mine. Its just constant worry hes been referred for portage and i have private speech therapist but weve only had 2 sessions so far the main thing shes told us to do is to leave a gap for a response. He does lead by the hand alot i didnt know this was an issue :(

OP posts:

Original poster

Roblox19 · 08/10/2021 13:22

Thank you all so much for all your replies! Really appreciate every single one of you x

OP posts:

Roblox19 · 21/10/2021 10:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Notashandyta · 21/10/2021 11:37

I think you've got issues worrying at 18 months tbh.
Loads and loads of toddlers are not speaking at that age. Still a baby really...

2 out of our three weren't speaking at that age. The other was practically full sentences. They are all fully functioning children throving at school now and you'd never know when they started talking.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread