18 month old not talking at all

[3ormorecharacters]

DD is 18 months and doesn't say any words, even Mama or Dada. She went through a phase when she was about a year of saying 'a' for 'cat' but that stopped after a few weeks. She went through a phase a few months later of 'nana' for 'banana' but that also fizzled, though she does still sometimes make a nanana type sound when she's asking for fruit after dinner. She has occasionally said 'mama' or 'dada' with a lot of prompting and modelling but has never really said it spontaneously. She babbles all the time but not in a particularly 'conversational' way, just talking to herself really. She shows no interest in copying words or sounds. If I ask her to say a word she just points to the object / person or makes a 'nah' sound.

Apart from this she seems to be a very effective communicator. My sister (who has had 3 kids herself) doesn't see her often but looked after her for the day a few weeks ago and remarked how well she communicates even without words. She loves books and listens happily to quite long stories like Mog the Forgetful Cat. Obviously I don't know how much she takes in but she seems engaged with it and can point to pretty much anything you ask in the pictures. She can follow some simple instructions like 'shut the cupboard door' or 'give me the ball' and can point to lots of body parts.

I haven't been worried about it up to now as her understanding has always seemed so good. I've just figured she doesn't see the point of talking as she makes herself so well understood. However, DH has just read an article about how young children with speech delay can 'fool' you into thinking they understand more than they do and now I'm questioning myself. Maybe when I think she's following an instruction it's something she would do anyway, or she's going off other cues like gesture? DH tried giving her some instructions which were more out of context like putting a random toy on the table and she didn't do it. But maybe that kind of thing is just too abstract for her at this stage?

Should I be worried? Maybe the fact that she doesn't seem to retain any words should be setting off more alarm bells?

She is very little still. The fact that she can point to things in books when asked is a really positive sign that she has good understanding and it's the understanding that is the foundation for speech.

No harm in talking through your worries with the health visitor though. It's what they are for and it's better than driving yourself mad with Googling. They might suggest a hearing test just as a precaution in case she has glue ear or something. Better to get on any waiting lists early and then find out there isn't a problem, than just leave it and be at the bottom of the list a couple of years down the line if there is an issue.

My my 2nd had very very few words (maybe 6-8 and didn't say mama) until he was 2.

I spoke to a private SaLT HV etc, who all said not to worry as long as his understanding was good and to give him until his 2nd birthday

Shortly after 2 he started talking in sentences 🤷‍♀️ he's a very chatty 3 and a half year old now

Discuss with HV.

my DD was never a babbler as a baby, and at 18 months def wasn't talking and I worried also didnt understand me. And then it all just exploded at around 21/22 months. She was an early walker but late talker which also seems common.

They all get there in their own time - its hard when you see children the same age talking in sentences but I would keep talking talking talking at her - narrate everything you do, use flashcards for objects and see how they are when they turn two.

Just to reassure you OP one of my sons was well over 2 before he started talking. He was and is extremely bright and now has a PhD in biochemistry. Also I was told by my GP that Einstein didn't talk until he was 3 ,(not equating my son with Einstein by the way!).

All children are different. My son was an early walker and into everything whereas it was the reverse with my other son.

I was a bit worried about my own DD at this age and ended up calling a SALT. We didnt have a full consultation in the end but the one piece of advice she did give was not to put pressure on you child by saying "what's that?" etc all the time. Just keep talking and saying words yourself and they will catch on.

I decided to wait a few months and call back if there was still an issue: suprise suprise a few months later she suddenly got up her confidence and now she's taking in sentences at 20 months (plenty of her peers are only saying a few words though, which is also totally normal).

Call your health visitor if you're worried but I'd guess that so long as her understanding is there they'll say it's fine.

My DS said nothing at 18m and now won't stop talking... he's 28m almost. Just after he turned 2 his speech exploded out of nowhere and he is able to speak in small sentences and to adapt sentence structure. I wouldn't worry too much as long as he can obviously hear you and produce sounds.

This is good advice, but a SALT friend of mine also said leave enough space for them to speak so yes talk to them but also leave gaps. Not too much telly.

DS1 didn’t speak until he was 3. People used to ask me what he called me, and I’d say nothing, he didn’t have a word for me. He would use gestures instead. DS1 is autistic if that matters but he speaks fluently now (age 7).

Thanks all, good advice. She's definitely more advanced in physical stuff so I guess she's just been focussed on that. I had a look at the 18 month ASQ and she scores highly in every area except communication. I definitely think she doesn't like the pressure of being asked to say words so I do try and avoid that, but it's hard not to fall into that trap sometimes! I've requested a call from the HV - I've been avoiding calling so far because my gut feel is that she's ok and I don't want to start stressing out myself (and esp DH) by making it a 'thing'. No harm in getting some wheels turning though I guess, just in case she needs some extra help. I suspect (or hope!) she'll be one of those that just suddenly starts speaking in sentences one day!

@3ormorecharacters my little boy sounds so very similar to your girl. Even down to the stories and the understanding, and the words/sounds that appeared for a while but then disappeared! I know this is a few years ago now, but how is your DD getting on now? 💐

As I suspected, she pretty much just suddenly started talking one day! She was about 20 months or so if I remember right. Within a week or so of really starting to talk she was coming out with words like "astronaut" which she'd clearly been taking in all that time. She's now 5.5 and incredibly articulate.

Thanks so much for the update @3ormorecharacters. I love that she was saying astronaut!

We think DS has a huge receptive vocabulary, he wants us to label everything, and if he sees (say) a flower in a book, he will then leaf through another book to show us a flower, or point to the flowers on the table. It’s just expressively he seems to have no interest in saying all these many words we know he has!