If your child was on the late side of talking, did they eventually catch up?

[Geeraffa]

FTM who is quite anxious. 18 month old DD isn’t talking. She babbles, and seems to understand everything and points. Can do a few animal sounds. I know people say their child started after 2 and now doesn’t shut up but still feel very nervous. I know I shouldn’t compare but when I hear far younger children talking it definitely worries me.

I just wondered, if your child was on the late side of things or even classed as delayed, did they eventually catch up or have they always been that bit behind?

Yes my 2nd dd didn’t really talk until around 2ish (my first dd was around 1). As soon as she did start though, there was no difference compared to if she had already been talking of that makes sense. She’s advanced compared to my first in fact and quite a clever little thing (she’s 5 now) I think she could have earlier if she’d wanted but she just kept it all in.

My DS was a late talker (no real words until 3 months after he turned 2). The delay was with expressive language only, he understood far more, which the SLT said at the time was a good and reassuring sign. We had some private SLT support while waiting for his NHS therapy to start. He caught up fast once the words began to come and by the time the NHS therapy block first appt came through, just before he turned 3, he didn't it any more. I think he would have got there by himself but the SLT support speeded things up. He is extremely articulate now and "exceeding" at school across the board (though he is dyslexic, and I think for him the late talking was the first sign of that phonological awareness difficulty).

*didn't need it any more

My 19 month old is the same,he says mama,dada,that & a few bits,my oldest is 5 now & I felt he was delayed at his 2 year check,my health nurse(I'm in Ireland) said I was being a bit over cautious but referred us for Speech therapy,we had 1 session before covid,then eventually another last year & that was it as he had come on so much,he started talking so much when he was like 2.5,now he's a right chatter box, constantly talking,asking questions,he's not perfect with prenonciation but he's getting there so I'm not worrying as much with my 2nd i talk to him,read do everything & he'll come on hopefully just like his big brother

Yes. My 3rd child was by far my slowest speaker. He drooled a lot and I think he had quite low oral tone. He understood everything but found learning to speak really hard. He said his first two words together on his second birthday (Thomas cake!) and really took off with language at about 2.5. He was reading simple books by the time he started school and now as a teen is my cleverest kid by quite some way, and does maths Olympiad, so it was definitely a specific not general issue with him!

My DC3 was a late talker, he didn't really have any words at 2yo. He's now 12yo and i have no concerns about him at all, he's very bright and doing really well at school.

DS2 was the same, very slow to start & non stop now. Even once he started they were constantly wanting the school nurse to do hearing tests. I had a lecture about how some parents find it hard to accept their child has a problem after one when I said I had no concerns about his hearing do I asked the nurse to distract him while I went to the far dive of the room (classroom size), turned my back, put my hand overly mouth and said quietly "DS2 do you want a sweet?". Instant reaction! He just wasn't interested in what the teachers/nurse was saying. He now lives in Finland and is at University there and is working as a research assistant in a Swedish University over the summer.

I'm so glad you started this thread OP, I could have written exactly this post. My DD is 17 months and has no words / sounds that consistently mean something either. She babbles constantly and it is like she thinks she is talking / singing but none of it resembles English!

She can follow some instructions (clap your hands, touch your head, sit down etc) and responds to her name (sometimes!) so I think her hearing is ok. It is really encouraging to hear stories of late talkers catching up just fine.

Now 10yo had 5 words at her 2 year check. She was under SALT to 7. She had selective mutism.

Now 10yo. Quiet, but can speak... although sometimes chooses not too, especially around unknown adults. But doing well at school. Sometimes people underestimate her

Its not been a smooth road... but you generally can't tell the difference between her and other 10yos.

4 of ours had speech therapy as their speech was delayed, they never shut up now.

Yes he's 35 now and rings me nearly every day he was very late learning to talk, very late learning to read and still can't spell but he's incredibly well read erudite and never shuts up.

@Geeraffa

You have nothing to worry about, lots of children are late talkers if there was no babbling at all of she started talking and then stopped then that's a concern. Talk to her all day tell her what your doing and go through what your doing together.

For example we are walking to the park to go on the swings. ( name) is on the swings.
Mammy/ Daddy is making you a drink, it's a yummy apple juice.

She will soon be talking your head off.

Yes, he had glue ear (lots of ear infections, family history). He also has auditory processing disorder, but this isn’t a problem when it comes to his speech. He got a distinction on his English oral GCSE and has just finished a successful round of model UN events- lots of public, very formal speaking.

Also great at shouting down his headset to mates while gaming- unfortunately.

Mine was like that too. No real words until after two then he went straight to speaking fluently in sentences. Completely missed the pointing at things and saying single words phase. He seems very bright now. He took the same approach to walking and reading as well, a bit late then brilliant at it!

I don’t think they necessarily are meant to talk at 18 months, it’s still really little and you have lots of time. I was told the ‘milestone’ is ten words or more at the age of 2.

My son didn’t speak at all at two so was technically speech delayed. We did speech therapy (although due to Covid it was via video chat) and a few months later, when we had our long awaited SALT appointment in person, I felt like a big fraud because he was saying things like ‘I’m underwhelmed by this dinner’.

My daughter wasn’t speaking at 18 months but she’s now 22 months and she is making short sentences (this is not a parenting boast, most of those sentences are a variation on ‘daddy did a poo’)

Einstein didn't talk until he was 4

Yes, a slow starter and needed three years of speech therapy. Now completely fine as an adult and could talk for England.

My 11 year old didn’t really talked until a month after her 3rd birthday!
She hasn’t stopped! She will talk with anyone!
On the plus side all the adults around her (teachers, family, neighbours, lollipop lady) keep commenting on how charming and confident she is…

DS didn't utter a word until 22 months (he did sign so at least could communicate!)
by 2 (2 months later!) you couldn't shut him up.

14 years old now and one of the most eloquent teenagers I've met!

Our eldest had about 6 words between 18 months and nearly 3 and then started talking in sentences , it was almost like he couldn’t be bothered until he could say something worthwhile . That said he has HFA and was diagnosed with moderate bilateral hearing loss when he was 6 - he had taught himself to lip read quite effectively as we didn’t even realise he had a problem . He is 29 now , got a 1st in computing and is an Assistant head teacher .

Yes my son was a delayed talker and had speech therapy until age 4. He's now 10 and can talk for England with no speech problems at all.

DS started saying words quite early (10 months) but was still barely saying full sentences when he started school (August baby, so had only just turned 4). He does have ADHD which accounts for his being behind in some things - he is now very articulate at 10 although he still makes the odd grammatical mistake.

My DS started talking early. Now at 10 he's bang on average. He was a late walker and is now very sporty - particularly athletics and cross country. I don't think it means much, they do it when it's right for them.

Many many dc. 2 of the dd's never stfu ever from seemed like birth!! One ds was so shy he never talked much. Never to anyone not family..
That ds is 18 and a very confident smart lad!!

DS2 was almost 3 before he started talking proper words. When he did start it was like turning on a tap, he had all the words ready.
He was a bit behind with reading through primary school but had caught up by comp. Passed GCSEs and A levels and now at uni. Can talk the hind legs off a donkey now!