20 month old not talking.

[Picklebob123]

Should we be concerned. Our 20 month old only says.... der (there) and uh-oh.

Mine had quite a few words by 20 months, probably around 30 but not all clear and not two or three together. His speech only really took off from after he turned 2

That's more than mine said at that age, and by the time he started school his speech was advanced for his age. Too early to worry.

Definitely speak to your health visitor who can advise. They can check other developmental stages to see if your child is behind or not.. A lot of children between ages of 3 and 4 are struggling with speech due to the pandemic.

Our second is 18m & is a chatter box, our first didn't say much at all until well after 2 & doesn't stop for air now!

I wouldn't worry, it's so cliche but they really do all do things at their own pace.

My son didn't talk much at this age, I was worried too, but in retrospect I think he just didn't see the need. He's six now with a great vocabulary and talks all the bloody time.

My twins barely said anything at 20 months - mama, bu (for book), ba (for ball) and not much else.
They crawled and walked quite early (5 months and 11 months), and I heard that some children do physical stuff early, but talk later.

The key for me was that they understood everything. I knew they were not cognitively impaired. So I didn't worry about the lack of speech.

Now they're 27 months and repeat everything I say, and surprise me every day with what they can say (they can count to 19).

So if he understands you, I wouldn't worry. No harm in asking the opinion of your health visitor though.

You'll get plenty of people telling you that their kids didn't speak at this age and are now fine, but the fact of the matter is that what you describe is significantly below what you'd expect for a child that age. Waiting lists for SALT can be significant so if I were you I'd get a referral now. If you're lucky, you won't need them by the time the appointment rolls around. But if you wait much longer to ask for help, you risk missing valuable windows for early intervention.

100% what @MolliciousIntent just said. Waiting lists for SALT are horrendous at the moment - there are major shortages of available SALTs in the LA where I work. Get on a waiting list and you can always decline the appointment when the time comes if things have improved. I am a great believer in instinct - if something is niggling you, get it checked out.