22 Month Old Not Yet Talking....

[abitolderdad]

We have a 22 Month old boy. We are very fortunate as, other than his speech he is beyond good.

He has not, as yet said mummy or daddy, ma, pa. He is vocal and will babble as and when the mood takes him. He will also babble as a function of play.

He is always smiling and is a joyfull child full of energy. His non-verbal skills we are happy with and his understanding of speech is what we would expect. We can ask him to do simple tasks and he will do them, so "get book", "put bin", "cuddle", "kiss", "first pump" ( that of course is from dad ). Do you want X Y or Z and he will shake his head accordingly ... No is a shake of the head, yes is usually excitement and a smile.

He interacts with adults and children well and does not seem to be fazed any situations. We take him to pre-school ( parent attended ) events two or three times a week. Where he is happy interacting and playing. In two months we will be taking him two mornings a week to a 'proper' pre-school where he will be left, as such I would expect improvements as he would be exposed to lots of challenging situations.

I am slightly concerned that he has not uttered any words and would like some advice on weather we can do anything to assist in his vocal skills or talk to someone but I am not sure if it would be our GP or someone independent.

We do read to/with him. If he wants this he will go off, get a book and come back with it for us to read. Alas, he has not done this with any of my macro economic books

We talk to him about what is going on and what we are doing. When he wants things, he will come and get us and take us to where he wants up and point at what he wants.

I myself was a slow starter ( with reading and writing ) and do wander is there is any connection not that it would concern me as my motivation is to assist his improvement if I am able to do so.

We are a one child family. We have no neighbours with children and are both semi-retired. Even though older, we are both essentially mentally 6 years old and continually asking ourselves the question... they let us have children :-)

Please try not to worry too much. My cousin didn't say any words until after 2. She is now a very intelligent teenager

I would definitely contact your HV and/or GP to ask them for a review. But it doesn't necessarily mean that there's a problem

Sounds like he's ticking all the other boxes so I wouldn't worry. Still within the normal range, despite what you might read online.

My son didn't talk until 2 and a half, before this he would babble like commentary to everything going on around him.

I think the longer it takes them to work it out the brighter they are, Einstein didn't talk until he was 5!

Hello! Give your local HV a call, she will
be able to do a two year assessment on his speech, and refer him to speech and language therapy if needed/anything comes up. Then they can support him with his communication skills if needed. Interestingly, 15% of children do not hit speech/communication milestones; for unknown reasons/no reasons or for want of parents guardians encouragement; so try not to worry 😊

The last time was saw the HV was at 12 Months. Nothing since. We can get the file out and request some input.

Where do you live? Where I am, the next check is between 2y and 2y+3m, however some families who have concerns a little before this, can call to ask for an early check and a assessment can be done for you :)

In Hampshire. We will contact them next week and take it from there. Oddly enough chatting the the wife a few minutes ago and she asked him to turn round, stand by the wall as we wanted to measure some stuff... Does it straight away... So he's listening and understanding lots and performing app. actions. Alas, clean the kitchen didn't sink in for me or him !

Sounds like his listening understanding skills are good, but this will all be double checked in the assessment. It hasn't take long, just as quick home visit at your convenience. Let us know how you get on :)

First step - ask GP to refer you for a hearing check,

Second step - Ask HV for SALT referral. FYI, waitlist is LONG - in SE where I am we are 18 months and counting. You may as well get on the list now just in case.

Early intervention is KEY. If you can afford it, then private SALT. You will see much better results if you start earlier.

If you cannot, then there are some brilliant speech resources online - i follow some brilliant speech therapists on Tik Tok and Instagram!

Keep narrating and verbalising everything you are doing.

I have a 2.2 year old daughter and she only speaks like 15-20 words and babbles a lot as if making a conversation herself. I am not worried as I think she will eventually speak and not rushing her at all. She understands everything and follows if asked for anything same like your DS. I remember we didn't have speech therapist nor our parents or grandparents and they all seem to speak somehow fine. Try not to compare him to other kids as they all develop on their own timescale differently. Of course I would encourage her to speak more but won't put any pressure on her or myself.

I started talking age 3 according to my mum. I was diagnosed with dyspraxia at uni. Went to get a 1st class degree anyway. Both my boys started saying single words 2.5 years of age. The oldest has dyspraxia (still in the top set in secondary school). The youngest is also in the top set (despite being bone lazy)

@abitolderdad Hello some update? :)

Don't worry @abitolderdad I have known of many children who don't say a thing until they're 2.5 to 3 years old. (And boys especially tend to be later talkers IME.) Girls tend to start at about 1.5 to 2 years old. Once they start, they don't STFU! 😆Girls are proper chatterboxes!

This thread was posted over half a year ago. How are things now?