14mo still doesn't say mama

[sunshine080]

DS has pretty much only ever said "da" when speaking. Babbles nonsensical sounds all the time but when pointing and trying to communicate anything, it's literally just "da" for everything. No attempt to copy the sound of a word, but will mimic the syllables (will say "da" in response to ball, or "dada" in response to penguin, for example). No other concerns. Amazing comprehension, can understand and follow multi task instructions and has been able to for months (can you get a ball and bring it to mummy). I keep saying he'll have a sudden explosion of vocabulary but the fact he still doesn't even say mama is beginning to worry me. Not saying 3 different words (dada, mama and baba for example) was the only thing he couldn't do during his 1 year check so the HV was really happy with overall development as he was ahead in other areas.

My son bypassed mama and dada completely and instead came out with proper two word sentences late. other than that he seemed fine.

We subsequently found out MUCH later that he had unilateral hearing loss.

Sorry to give concerns but perhaps get his hearing tested just to rule it out.

Thanks, I can speak to the GP about it but I don't know how I'd justify pushing for a test. He answers his name every time, he starts doing wheels on the bus actions within the first couple of notes of the song coming on, etc. It's not something I've ever considered because there were no concerns at the newborn check and as I say, no sign of it I wouldn't have thought.

My DD was the same - some children take longer to realise speech has a function rather than just for fun - that is why lots learn songs, alphabet etc before functional speech. At this age I wouldnt worry but just keep narrating and making it fun for them.
There is no harm in early intervention though - get their hearing checked and theres loads of resources online from speech therapists for games to prompt speech.

I think you might have a point, I manage to understand what DS wants 90% of the time by his pointing, and although I do repeatedly name the thing he's pointing at, perhaps he hasn't felt the need to try and say the word because I already seem to know what he wants. Damned if you do...

This is exactly what I felt - I anticipated her needs! I knew what she wanted so she didn't get practice to ask me.

Yes but my DS always responded to his name as well.

He even did have an (very basic I discovered later) NHS hearing test at 2 years old which he seemingly passed and I was told I was worrying over nothing.

He even read early. It wasn't until I realised there were weird lapses in his pronounciation of certain sounds, seemingly minor along with a feeling that I had that I pushed for more testing. By then he was 6.

You don't need any other reason to ask for a test than the concerns you have. Although yes you do sometimes need to make a fuss. There's also private testing if push comes to shove.

Anyway. Just see how things go. I hope it's nothing.

No need to go through the GO for a referral for a hearing test, the HV can do the referral for you and on some areas you can self refer.

I'd do this SLT progress checker and if it says "you answered no to some important questions" I'd speak to their helpline

My child is also 14 months (just) and only says dada. He also does not point, clap or wave and I was concerned this wasn’t normal. He’s totally fine in every other aspect though and interacts with us all. When did your little one begin to point and do they wave/clap?

If your DS is able to communicate with you, answer his name and generally seems to be getting what he needs then it's likely he may just be a late talker.
My second is almost 2.5 and has only in the last 3 months said his first word and more so in the last month has started repeating words back to you. He also didn't wave til 2 and rarely clapped til 2 as well. He did point very early and just learnt his own way to communicate. His hearing came back normal.
My eldest started talking at 10 months so it was a silent worry for me.

My son was over two years old before he started speaking words. There were sounds that were attempted at words but not much else. He then started talking in 2-3 word sentences instead. He also didn't have problems understanding instructions it was simply his speech. If he attends nursery you could ask them to give him extra support to encourage speaking. I did this and it led to an SEN support plan meant he got the support he needed. One of the things that got him to do was blow bubbles to increase his muscle strength around his mouth. No idea if that contributed to his improvement though.

Sounds like he's doing fine to me. My 14mo mainly says da too so banana is da-da-dah. I'm actually quite impressed at that and wasn't expecting much else from him (I'm no expert, just going on my feelings. Given up on reading guidelines)

@SiouxsieSiouxStiletto Thank you for the link. There's only one question I've answered no to and so it's come back with no concerns.

@BubblePopPop Clapping was really early on, maybe 5-6 months? Waving a little later, around 9 months, but he's picky about who he'll wave to. And then pointing at 10 months.

@niclw He doesn't attend nursery, but we do a lot of classes and whilst the leaders of said classes likely aren't as expert as nursery workers, they all comment on how well he's doing for his age based on general interaction. I wonder if as in your experience, he'll go from nonsensical to two-three word sentences and skip the usual individual word.

@chillichutneysarnie Thank you. I know exactly what you mean, he definitely says the name of our cat but with "da" instead. He's mimicking the inflections and whatnot, just not the actual letters.