2 Year old doesn't speak

[mariiinaa]

My son turns two in two weeks and he's still not talking. He understands everything that is said to him, and will respond with either gestures, pointing, or getting whatever it is he's asked. I'm starting to worry that his speech is very delayed and he's not showing any signs of interest in speaking.

We try to encourage words and speech and get him to repeat back, but he doesn't even seem to care in the slightest or attempt a babble back.

We've discussed with our health visitor and a speech therapist at our local family and well-being centre who wasn't worried until he turned 2 but it's approaching and i'm wondering is there anything else I can try before approaching them again regarding my sons speech?

TIA x

Have you tried signing? Obviously doesn't solve the speech issue but could help with communication in the meantime, and also would tell you whether it's a speech issue or a cognitive one iyswim.

Anecdotally, my relative's son didn't speak a single word until he was 2y3m, and is now a very loquacious 11 year old and one of the top performers in his school year. I'm not saying don't have it looked into or anything, just saying don't panic just yet!

Has He had his hearing checked? You can get this done privately quite quickly if you have the means (very important to get hearing loss picked up asap). Otherwise though the NHS.

I would go to your GP. Never a health visitor for anything serious. But if you haven’t had hearing checked, that would be a good starting place.

Yes, make a GP appointment and ask for a referral to SALT and to audiology for a hearing test.

i haven't had his hearing checked, no. i most definitely will look into getting it checked, thought i don't think his hearing is the issue. if i speak to him, call him, ask for anything he will instantly respond by either bringing me the toy i asked for, or giving me a kiss/hug. he seems to understand everything i say but doesn't verbally respond

i will be ringing up my gp for this, thank you!

we've tried a little bit of signing, not much though. it's something i can look into and see how he responds to it. i'm glad to hear about your relatives son!

It's not unusual for children to not talk at that age. Our health visitor team don't carry our 2 year checks until 27- 30 months due to it.
I'm sure he will start using words very shortly.

My oldest didn't say more than maybe 3-5 words until he was about 2y3m. At almost 6 he has absolutely no problem speaking (too far in the other direction now and he won't stop!)

I have twins who are 2y4m now and they had their 27 month check before Christmas and speech was a worry however the HV wasn't concerned enough for a referral as she felt they understood plenty and that speech would come in their own time.

Within a month they're now speaking 2-3 word sentences which came out of nowhere

Speak to HV but I wouldn't be overly concerned at that age

My second son was like this.

We were worried.

And then the floodgates opened. At 2 he said no words. By 2y3m he was chattering away and by 2y6m there was no difference in his speech to my friends daughter who was talking by her first birthday. Conversely, my friends daughter didn't walk until quite late, didn't run or jump either, whereas my son was running, jumping hopping well before her. Development isn't linear.

Hold tight.

Did he walk early? All 3 of mine were fully walking by 11 months but barely talking at 2. My youngest was by far the worst... She's now 2 and a half and has loads of words and quite a few sentences.

I'm not at all worried.

Our HV told me when I was worried about one of the older two that they find it's about 27 months that things really turn a corner which is why (in Scotland) the 24 month assessment was pushed out to 27-30 months instead.

If he plays with toys 'normally' , engages in shared attention and understands spoken language without any visual cues then it could just be delayed speech for unknown reasons. I don't agree that it's typical for speech to start as late as 2 years although it may well happen in some cases. Professionals in Scotland and England have their own reasons for 'wait and see' approaches - speech therapists are in very short supply and waiting lists are extremely long.... Sorry to sound negative but 'go home and don't worry your little head' is terrible advice for anyone to give. There are lots of resources online - Hanen 'It takes two to talk' and 'more than words' which give advice on communication and speech in young children.

Your HV will be able to arrange the hearing test. They did with my daughter when she was delayed responding to sounds.

My daughter was an early speaker with 3 words by 10 months but that was as far as she got for a long while. At 20 months she had gone backwards and was losing words and only had a working vocabulary of 3-4 words having learnt 10-12 words. We did some work with the HV and with the exercises she gave us she started retaining words again by at 2 she mostly communicated by pointing. She started a new nursery at 2 and after 2 months so 2y2m she started communicating with words rather than pointing. She has gone from strength to strength since then. She is nearly 3.5 now and there isn't a lot of difference between her and her friends of the same age. She is an August born and at 2 we thought that we would have to defer her place at school but we now have no concerns

Hi OP. My DD is 2y4m and mainly uses makaton/gestures. We also find picture cards and symbols useful. She is also being assessed for autism (due to many other reasons). She is under SALT. I was able to self refer to SALT as in my area they only do it by self refferal, however your GP, HV etc are able to refer too. I would be onto them ASAP for a salt referral if you’re not able to self refer due to waiting times. I also agree with PP about getting an audiology appointment. My nephew was speech delayed and it turned out he had glue ear.

have you thought about nursery? They would also be able to support with speech and language.

a bit controversial but DD absolutely loves miss rachel, she’s brilliant with speech and language techniques etc!

On turning two, my son had a handful of words and zero interest in talking. His receptive language was good and he was sociable us but I knew he was going to need speech and language support from 18 months onward. I just knew in my gut. But, you get fobbed off from all directions I'm afraid. Waiting lists are long, services are underfunded. You can't get a referral in my area until 2 1/2 and with be turned down if a hearing test hasn't been completed first. The 2 year review here tends to have closer to two and a half because of this. You'll get told "it will come", "his speech will explode soon". And it might but trust your gut if you think there is an underlying issue and push for referrals.

For my son, the reasons have been complicated: a likely deep tongue tie; a very strong family history in males; inconsistencies with attention (struggles when he's not interested in something). His language started to develop just before he turned 3 when speaking became much more important for him socially. It was unclear and his language small at first but it started to click for him, finally. We have paid for private speech therapy at various points.

The little boy I was so so worried for is now 5 and thriving. We're not completely there with his speech: he struggles to form some sounds still and phonics is a battle we haven't won yet. Although, NHS SaLT are about to sign him off which is a whole other frustration. But, he doesn't stop talking. He's ridiculously social and collects friends wherever he goes.

Makaton and PECs cards can be helpful in bridging the gap until their language starts come!

Delayed speech can be a flag for autism. Doe

Although it is very early still. Does he lead you by the hand to get him things? Does he show any sensory sensitivities? It may well not be autism as developmentally 2 is a young age but just to flag it a little.

Both my sons started saying single words only by the age of 2.5 years. Both in top sets at secondary school now. I used to read to them every night until they were about 10.

If you get in touch with your local SALT team you can do a self referral. Just ask your HV for the correct email. My little boy doesn't say much he is 3 in a few weeks. He's bright understands most things and has improved over the last 6 months. Still compared to his peers he isn't as vocal. Sometimes it's just modelling more and giving them options. But I would definitely get in touch with the relevant teams just so they can advise you as every area is different on what they offer.

Teach him to sign. My DS didn't speak til over 2, we taught him to sign so he could communicate with us. He started speaking at 2.5 and is at a normal level compared to his peers now.

Wouldn't surprise me at all if he went from not saying anything to talking in sentences very shortly. He's obviously taking everything in and understanding it. In 6 months you'll probably be wondering what on earth you were worried about!

Lots of DC as it turns out need grommets for their ears and hearing

Get a proper comprehensive hearing test

Also if he's surrounded by people who talk all the time around him then that can stop young DC from being confident enough to talk

Like a chatty older sibling for instance

Your son may need SALT intervention and you should follow every route to get this - including private - so that he can access preschool and school with peers and teachers understanding him as this is key to social interaction.

In the meantime I would advise signing. This will build the bond between you and allow him to communicate his understanding. It will not hinder speech. I always taught baby signing to mine and it is a joy to experience.

DS2 required extensive SALT but could communicate with me long before he could speak so we could share experiences and he could communicate his needs and have them met. Speaking is a means to an end.

My son was the same at age 2.

I had to really push for HV and GP to be referred for a hearing test. Took nearly a year to actually get one. Once he had it and we established his hearing was fine, we knew he needed speech therapy.

He started speech therapy at 2 years 10 months. Also started pre school for a couple of mornings at the same time. His speech has come on a lot since but is still not where it should be.

We're having private speech therapy as the NHS is so slow. They haven't even asked him yet and it's almost 6 months from his hearing test.

For what it's worth, he was also a late walker at 16 months so the old theory of early walker, later speech doesn't always hold.

He's grand in every other aspect though.

Your son might be fine and just start speaking. But, like mine, he might need a lot of support so the earlier the better to start.

*assessed not asked!