21 month with no speech and no understanding

[Hoth]

Hello,

Looking for some advice from parents that may have been going through the same as me with my little boy.

To start he is such a lovely boy. Very friendly, gives the most amazing hugs. Loves rough play with with his brother and playing ball.

I never worried about his development up until about 18 months when I noticed he wasn't progressing with language. He babbled as normal and points to things he wants, even though lately he is doing more hand leading.

My concerns are that he doesn't follow any instructions. I don't think he understands anything I say. He has no words at all.

Very worried mum.

Have you had his ears tested recently?

GP and/or HV, needs a hearing test and ear check to rule out a hearing problem (glue ear is a common cause of speech and comprehension delay in children). That ruled out, then they can refer appropriately for more investigations if required.

To echo a PP get ears checked as your first priority.

Thanks for all replies. I have an appointment with GP next week so will get referral for hearing test.

Also request a referral to speech and language.

I have this process started but will be waited another few months for an initial assessment... It's all very worrying.

Quick update....

I got my little guy's hearing all checked today and all seems good. They are going to repeat the test again in 6 months.

He has made a little progress with his understanding lately. Still way behind his peers. No words as of yet🙄

DS is now 23 months. Not alot has changed for us. His understanding is improving and can now follow some commands which is definitely a positive.

Lots of babble and sometimes the odd word here and there but nothing consistent.

We are hoping to start him in private speech and language this month so hopefully that will help.

We also checked if he was tongue tied. He is. This may or may not be a factor in his delayed speech so we are still decided whether to get it snipped.

He is such a great boy and my heart is leading me to believe that he is just going to be a late developer with language. I will keep this thread updated.

Big hugs. Just that.

Hi Hoth, my biggest was slower to develop but absolutely fine now at 4 having started reception.

Sending hugs as I know it's worrying. Start with simple language and repeat especially about things he loved such as a ball, fire engine or something like this or flap books? We used to have the felt flap books, the where is nosey crow ones.

He is a very social little boy. He loves playing little games like hide and seek, wrestling with his brother and playing ball. He equally likes playing on his own at times.

He is not to bothered with other children his own age yet but I think he's a bit little for that type of interaction yet.

@gemloving Thank you for your reply. It's very reassuring to hear from someone else who had a late developer.

I was at the public health nurse yesterday filling out checklists. The nurse seemed very concerned based on the checklist (she did not see my DS). It is very stressful.

Hi @Hoth i hope you and your little one are doing ok. I’m in the same situation now with my 21 month old, do you mind me asking how things are going please? Thank you & I hope things are better for you both x

@Hoth stopping by for solidarity. My DS is 22 months now, and much like yours, he's behind the curve on number of words, forming 2 word sentences, etc.

I did a phone consult with a speech therapist, who went through his skills in detail. It's quicker to get one than via the NHS (who won't see him before 30 months IME).
https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/talk-to-a-speech-and-language-therapist/

Ironically, in the 3 weeks between making this appointment and getting on the phone, my DS started used a 2 word sentence. The lady on the phone told me this was completely normal. Not having ANY words at 20 months would have been a red flag to her, but having fewer words wasn't. As she put it, no one told HIM what the timeline was, so he's on his own schedule😂.

I'm not a doctor and don't play one on TV, but sounds like yours is on a similarly 'bespoke' timeline of his own :)

@MrsK2022 . Since I've last been here my DS has had an initial speech and language assessment. At the moment he has a delay in both expressive and receptive language. He is also delayed in social communication and play skills. The SLT advised that these are all traits of ASD.

I personally have seen small improvements. He is starting to engage more with toys and his understanding is improving. He now understands about 10 to 15 words. He babbles a little and sometimes says the odd word but for the post part is pretty non verbal.

He is still a very happy boy who communicates very well through hand leading. He rarely gets upsets or has tantrums.

I am still very hopeful that he will have a break through in his language development.

bless you op
did you say he had tongue tie?
have you made a decision, does it make a difference at all?
best of luck

do you do any sort of signing with him?

My Ds is 22 months and the same. Understand practically nothing and no words at all. I actually started a thread yesterday!

How old is your DC now?

@CityGirlintheCountry Thanks very much for sharing your experience. I'm delighted your DS is making such good progress. Hopefully I will be able to post something similar in time.

My DS is 25 months now. Pretty much non verbal still with the occasional random word such as mam. His understanding is still the most worrying aspect. He only understands about 10 words.

Like your DS, hoping mine may be on his own timeline and unique path to language and communication.

My little boy sounds very similar. Im following this thread.

@Farfarfarfarfaraway what age is your little one?

That's what's worrying me about my Ds, his lack of understanding rather than not speaking. My other children were a bit slower to talk but all had the understanding. Eg I could say where's your nose? And they'd point to their nose. DS hardly even responds to his name.

He’s just turned 2, he has limited understanding and a few words. He understands what he wants to hear, “snack” “Miss Rachel” “bath” he understands (funny that!) but if I ask him to “come here” or pass me something he never does it.