11m old no words&worried- tips&advice

[NewMomma21]

Hi everyone,

I posted previously about my child who seemed to be slower to develop certain skills than his peers. Since that last post he has started to pull to stand but still has no words.

He does babble and vocalise but nothing discernible or intentional. I had his developmental check with the HV and she said she would call me before Christmas when he will be 13m and if he still has no words she will refer me to SLT. I could tell by the questioning that she seemed to be querying ASD which really worried me

Im really quite worried, other babies his age now seem to have quite a collection of words. He does seem to have reasonable receptive language skills and will look around at different objects, has good eye contact, points at things he wants or is interested in.

Im at home with him and we spend lots of time playing and singing and lots of narration.

if anyone has any advice on what I could be doing to encourage language I would be very grateful .

please be kind I’m worried FTM

That is strange of the HV to say because it's my understanding that 1 year olds are not expected to be able to talk, the threshold for expected first word is 18 months. Same for walking - a 12mo should be mobile but walking is not a concern unless it is still absent at 18 months.

Have a look at the printout here called "My 15 month old is not saying many words"

speechandlanguage.org.uk/talking-point/parents/resource-library-for-families/

There are also lots of resources on that site for encouraging speech and language, but no words at 11 months is quite normal and not anything to worry about.

I've got 4dc, my earliest talker was 14months which surprised me as he wears hearing aids. One dc didn't string a full sentence together till he was 3, he just couldn't be bothered. Same dc also didn't sit unaided till he was 9 months but he was crawling at 6 months. Babies develop at different rates, please try not to compare to other similar age babies and as much as I had a great HV please also don't read too much into what she says. Just keep doing what you are doing and if SLT is needed they will tell you to keep talking/singing with your dc.

Be careful you aren't reading into things too much. My second didn't talk until she was 16 months ish, my eldest had maybe a couple words at 1, neither were even remotely close to being referred to SLT

I'm amazed your hv will refer to SALT at 13 months. I've never known a child that age to speak.

No words at 11m is completely and totally normal, as is only just pulling to stand. Unless there's a lot of context you've left out of this, your HV is really overreacting.

I don’t think my DC said any words at 11 months. As pp said, I don’t think they’re expected to before 1.

I remember pretty well because he’s only 18 months now. I think it was around 14-16 months when he started to say a few “words”. And now at 18 months he’s adding new ones more quickly, but they’re still very unclear. I understand what he says but a stranger wouldn’t always.

I’m not concerned about his development.

The HV said he should have at least one word by one. When I asked if she was worried about him she paused and said no not really but it was really not very reassuring. I have no expectation for him to talk at all but rather I’m worried he does not have any words in isolation like mama, dada, baba.

I have myself completely stressed that she might think he is showing early indicators of ASD even though intellectually I know this is not really possible until the age of 2 it is still very worrying.

Agree with PP. Unless there is more going on none of this sounds concerning. My DD didn’t walk until around 13/14 months - so was probably starting to pull herself up around the same time as yours. Talking didn’t really start til after 1 either.

Her cousin was pulling himself up at 9/10 months and was walking before 1. It didn’t raise any concerns with me though, babies develop at different rates.

HV is a very kind and lovely person who seems to be rather cautious. She did in fact give me contact details of the SLT to schedule an initial call so I’m deducing from that she thinks there is an issue

Your HV sounds very overcautious... my almost 14 month old still only babbles and I'm not remotely worried!

HVs are almost universally useless. Yours is also a moron.

Read this - www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/procedures-and-treatments/speech-and-language-development-12-24-months/

It sounds like your HV needs more training. Your baby is well within normal range for development.

I thought you were going to say she was nearly two. Nearly one is so very early. I had no expectations of words at that time.

Try to enjoy this time.

Do you have anxiety generally OP?

Also HV aren't the oracle. Mine told me to put my 11 month old on the naughty step for interrupting. I smiled and nodded and ignored her.

My dd didn't have any words at 11 months nor at 13months when she had her hv check. I was concerned too but her doctor and hv told me not to be. I don't believe on its own a child at this age not speaking is an indicator of asd. Please don't worry and keep doing what your doing. Dd said her 1st word at 16month and we have had no issues with speech at all.

Hmmm my 9 month old only "says" dada , mama and buh. He doesn't actually mean anything by those sounds. So I can't imagine in 2 months time he'll have any words.
I wouldn't be worried about this, OP

Yet another reason why I will NEVER see / listen to a HV again for as long as I live.

Some 11m old will have words, lots and lots and lots won't. Same with 13m olds. Neither of mine had any words until closer to 2yo and now you can't shut them up!

In relation to anxiety, I think I would describe myself as probably hyper aware of milestones but generally fine, like I’m not at home saying say dada say dada all day or anything like that.

I work in the area of children with additional needs and it’s very intense so that brings with it some anxiety.

HV was pretty clear on one word by one which is 3 weeks away so I just feel terribly worried that he won’t and I’ll be referred on and I’ll spend Christmas worrying further.

Maybe it's right he should have one word at one - but he's not one yet! His age is still measured in months, think how much he has changed in days let alone weeks and months.

I had twins with quite severe speech delay and a singleton who did not - they were all the same in terms of speaking at one-ish. As in, they didn't. Please try not to worry.

The site that I linked is a well-regarded UK speech and language charity and the NHS link someone else posted above, both say 18 months, not 12 months for first word. Babbling as the expected milestone by 12 months.

I don't understand where your HV has got 13 months from as a point for being worried about this.

I find the progress checker on the site I linked (used to be ICAN) very reassuring. Remember there's a huge range of normal and just because many children have a first word by 12 months it doesn't mean every child should. She may be referring you in order to reassure you, rather than to cause anxiety. Please don't spend Christmas worrying over this. It sounds like your LO is doing exactly what they should be.

4dc here. No words before about 14 months. One of them no words before 18 months. All bright and academic! HV is just ticking boxes, ignore

Thank you for that, hopefully it will come together.

I’ll still contact the SLT although I know myself having worked with SLTs that I’ll be told to continue as I am. Hopefully HV just being over cautious as she tends to be

In my area there was no active intervention till DS was almost three, I took him in every 6 months to prove he still wasn't talking properly. They might invite you along to an open session if they run them but as you have surmised they will tell to keep doing what you're doing.

Just had DDs developmental check today with HV. She is 11months.
She isnt babbling. Can say mama and use it in context but otherwise just makes noise. She has never really babbled.
Ive been really concerned about this to be honest but HV said judging by how she scored in the other areas, DD is more up for walking than talking.
Not concerned at all and said speech will come once she has exhausted all of the other things she is interested in and at that point, were likely to get a right mouthful from her!
No referral and I think were in a similar situation OP.

I wouldnt worry. All children develop at different rates. Your son is prob busy doing other things and his speech will come. Just continue what youre doing, lots of talking and reading to him and see how he goes.
Its so hard not to worry though.

Hello, OP. I know the whole milestone thing can be stressful first time around when you have no prior benchmark, but I don't think you need to worry yet. Firstly, your baby is 11 months. The expectation is that they would start to utter their first words at 12 months or older, so you still have a month to go and a lot can happen in a month at this age!

With my first, I found this guide to the expectations around speech development so helpful: speechsisters.com/how-many-words-should-my-child-have/.

You see lots of figures online around speech development and they are all different. The link I provided shows you what the average is and then the bottom 10% and top 25%, providing a range of expectation. You'll see the difference between either end of the range is huge! You only need to worry if your child is consistently falling below the bottom end of the range.

I found with my first that they tracked from the bottom 10% to average part of the range until around 18 months, then took off! My second is 11 months old right now, isn't really babbling and has no words yet. I'm not concerned. They'll get there.

I would say that pointing and understanding what you say is a very positive sign and you probably have nothing to worry about. Hang on in there. The words will come!

One final thought - sometimes they are using words but you can miss it. For example, my first used to make a babbling sound of "gagangagangagan". I thought he was just making noises. It took me several months to realize he was saying "garden".

My daughter was a really early talker and then my son came along and barely says anything. He is 14 months and the words are just coming now but no one else would know what he was saying yet. I was worried and my HV came to see us to do the 1 year check and said can he say mama? I said yes, she said ok that's great! That was all she expected at that age! She said by the next check (sorry can't remember what age that is!) That's when they would properly assess language. I really wouldn't worry, as long as they do babble then they're fine! It'll suddenly come and then there'll be no stopping them. Even if they do need salt when older, that isn't the end of the world. Theyre there to help.