Should I be worried

[shushits1am]

Please if you have no knowledge on this topic, are just guessing or speaking anecdotally don't respond.

My 19 month old boy is behind on his communication. I have put it down to him concentrating on his movement skills but now getting a tad worried. He had said 'cake' for about 2 weeks when he was 12 months but that just went and nothing since then. He babbles constantly, will have babble conversations with you but no real words. He only communicates by shaking his head or whinging in the direction of something he wants, no pointing or anything like that. No clapping yet, he used to wave bye but that has gone now too. He has recently learnt to do a few simple puzzles which I was happy about, but still no communication. He holds eye contact though and smiles when we smile and will looks sad if I've cried or something so I think he understands our emotions. He laughs a lot too.
Should I be worried at this point? He has a tendandcy to rock back and forth a lot in his high chair and look at the tv from underneath which I read are autistic tendencies.
Thank you v much in advance

Following as my 19 month old DD only says a couple of words!

Speech can often be delayed. Where I live (not UK), advice is to see a speech and language therapist if no/few works by 18 months. I know quite a few toddlers though not start talking until after they turned 2 and have been fine. I worry a bit about the things that you DC used to do but doesn't any longer. I think I would book A GP/HV appointment if I were you to discuss and hopefully get some peace of mind.

I know you don't want anecdotal info but it's all I have so here goes!

I have three children, the youngest is just two and fairly average in communication skills - not the best and not the worst (she goes to nursery and they have progress reports they give you on this stuff). The eldest is six and never spoke a single word before he was about 22 months but had over 200 words when he turned two, he has a stammer now but his vocabulary is excellent. My other son is incredibly articulate, off the charts at nursery (hes 4) but also barely said anything before he turned two. None of them were saying anything beyond whingey noises and babbling at 18/19 months but had an explosion of language between 23-25 months.

So the point is, for my kids what you describe is totally normal and they are all now communicating at the 'normal' level or above.

I know you didn't want anecdotes but all I can say is I wouldn't worry at this stage. My neice is speech delayed but this wasn't identified until a few months after she turned two and she still was at the stage of your 19 month old.

My son was speech delayed. From speaking to other mums it seems to be quite common. The health visitor registered him for a few speech groups (these were like normal baby groups but gave the adults tips on how to improve their children's speech) and when he was 2.5 he had four sessions of individual speech therapy he's now nearly 5 and no longer has a speech delay. I think they're only supposed to have a few words around 18 months but I would make an appointment with the health visitor to check.

My son is nearly 21 months and only says Dada, duck duck, sometimes mumma, and just learnt to say light, truck and car in the last month. Other than that he just babbles and points etc.
I spoke with his HV and she said its completely normal and they only start worrying when child is 2yrs 6months about possible speech delay.
Hes very advanced in physical and fine motor skills and I was told hes concentrating on those more than speech atm but dont worry its normal.

My friends little one is nearly 18 months and can count to 10 and knows the aphlabet and talks non stop but shes not as advanced in her motor skills as my little boy. Every child is so different. Try not to worry. Every child will do it when they are ready.

It's normal

I'd suggest speaking with your GP and/or Health Visitor - child development can be hugely variable, so parental instinct is very helpful in flagging up when something "doesn't feel right". You know your child better than probably anyone, so if you have concerns about an aspect of their behaviour or development then I would expect most GPs and health visitors will be happy to check what's going on.