2yr old still not talking

[howdoyousurvive]

Background
Had 2yr review, my boy is doing well in all areas. Low on speech (the score just before assessment is advised) and we said we would see how he got on over next few months and maybe do the assessment (although HV was happy with how he was progressing).

He's never been to nursery and is about to start next week and I'm hoping all the new interactions and socialising with other children might help his speech.

He can say lots of words individually, not always accurately. Started to try and say 2 words phrases 'bic bic please' is a common favourite now!

I guess I'm just worried that other things are gona pop up once he starts nursery and it's going to seem like a big issue. I fully believe kids develop at their own speed and we are very attentive parents.

Any advice for an over-worried, anxious mum?

Definitely get his hearing checked if it hasn’t been already - not too pricey privately or can get referred through your GP but the wait can be some months.

OP, I could have written your post. I was so worried about my child's speech when he was 2 - he understood lots but didn't say much and what he did say sounded like nonsense to anyone but us.

And now, two years later, THEY WILL NOT SHUT UP.

You are right, they do all get there in their own time but it doesn't mean that you don't obsess about it along the way. When they start at nursery, mention that you've been working on speech to their key worker. They will have loads of fun ways to bring out the words and will be able to keep you updated with progress too.

You are doing everything right.

Hi OP, it sounds quite early to be concerned. How is his understanding? Does he communicate with you in other ways (point, gesture etc)? Those are some things I’d be looking at for now. He has some vocab, so as long as that continues progressing, regardless of speed, he’ll be progressing nonetheless.

Kids really do develop at different paces and it sounds like you are encouraging speech and communication. Have you tried sign language? I think it’s fab at encouraging speech, we did sing and sign classes.

He’ll likely start nursery and have a massive vocabulary explosion, you’ll look back and realise you’d nothing to worry about.

He sounds fine to me. My youngest only had a few words at 2 but by 3 was talking in full sentences - albeit not always clearly. I was worried but they really do develop at different rates. I think if understanding is good then you don't need to worry.

At age 2, DD2 was at a similar level to your DS, just a few words. Public Health Nurse offered a referral to Speech & Language Therapist but I actually wasn't worried enough to avail of it. DD2 could communicate her needs and wants in a couple of words and the few words she had were quite clear.

She was 1 week shy of her 3rd birthday when elder sister started school. We were all in the car when suddenly DD2 came out with a whole speech, about 4 medium sized sentences where we could hear an exclamation mark, a question mark and expounding of facts. We were all speechless for a bit.

And I could have written yours!

My DD only had a couple of words at the age of 2. She understood just fine, she just had nothing to say. Once she was moved to the toddler room at her nursery, her language exploded. By 2 1/2, when she had her HV review, she was at the lower end of the normal range. Now at the age of 4 1/2 she just does not stop talking.....

However, I will say that she did have some ENT issues (congenital massive tonsils) that caused some mild hearing impairment that's since been rectified with tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, and grommets. It wasn't picked up until she had a hearing test, but tbh I think a large part of it was just how she was developing and her personality at the time.

How does he do on this simple SLT progress checker @howdoyousurvive?

Mine was like that then at 2.5 it all changed.

Sorry, the progress checker is here.

I've just tried this, thank you!

This seems to be the general consensus that it does just happen. This is why I don't want to stress and start doing assessments or interventions just yet, making it more forced and more pressure on both him and me.

It's just sometimes you can't help but worry and it's hard to let things unfold naturally.

My daughter had 3 words at 10 months and by 20 months she still had 3 words but different words. She was unable to keep old words when she learnt new words which was a slight concern to the HV and paediatrician but only slight.
She had her hearing tested at 7 months after a delay responding to noises and other develop delays at 4 months. These were resolved once I started removing her allergens from my diet whilst breastfeeding and improving her reflux treatment
She scored averagely on the 1-1.5 assessment the HV did at 20 months and 0 on the 1.5-2 test putting her a little behind not not overly concerning. We were given some exercise to do and they were going to get the nursery to repeat the assessment to see if she did any better with familiar adults. Our nursery closed before this could happen and she then went 3 months without regular childcare with a house move and family turmoil in the middle.
She started at a new nursery aged 2 exactly and had maybe 10 words by this point but mostly communicated by pointing. Within 2 months she was using 2 and 3 words sentences and communicating almost solely with words and rarely by pointing. After probably 3-4 more months her language was on par with her peers.
She is August born and at 2 we thought her slow language development would mean we would have to defer her school placement. She is now due to start school in September aged 4 and a few weeks and we have no concerns. She asks every day to go to school and honestly I would be happy to send her tomorrow

He's two years old and is using some two-word phrases and has lots of individual words.

Honestly? For now, don't worry.

Children develop at different rates (it's an old trope I know, but it's true) and there is really nothing that a speech therapist would advise at his age other than for you to keep communicating and modelling good language with him. Read stories, interact with him (let him lead and comment on what he is doing), play with him.

He does have some words, it would be more of a concern if he wasn't speaking at all or attempting to communicate, but he clearly is.

There's nothing more you can do or need to do at this stage. Just wait and see how he is when he goes to nursery.

There wouldn't be any interventions recommended anyway - all they would tell you to do at this age is keep interacting with him.

For a child like this, they wouldn't really do anything unless he gets to 3/4 years old and still hasn't developed.

You don't need to worry at this stage.

My sons had no words at 2 but were speaking sentences by 2.5.

A referral now won’t come through for a few months and you can always reject it if he’s made more progress by the time it comes through.

My parents said I didnt start talking until I was 3.

Then I just started talking in near full sentences one day.

Agree with others that there's no need to worry at all yet but the wait for a SALT referral in our area currently stands at 2.5 years so if it's similar in your area you could ask for a referral then ask to be taken off the list if everything develops normally anyway.

Hi op :)

My DS also had/has a speech delay, he’s now 3.

Firstly, putting him in nursery is a great idea! My DS got a lot better with speech once he started nursery, after his childminder did nothing to help. Not just the interaction with other kids, but some of the staff will hopefully have some training and be equipped with things like flashcards and do weekly phonics.

Have you heard of this charity? https://www.icancharity.org.uk/ They can call you to give free advice on speech delay, i spoke to them and they were great.

Also to give some advice from the speech therapists we’ve seen:

-role play is great, any role play

-if he struggles with sounds, use them for fun activities. Like when you go for a walk, go ‘t’ ‘t’ ‘t’ with each step. Make as many sounds as possible like nnnnnnnnnnn when a plane goes above etc (if you’re near an airport 😂)
-For sentences, start with ‘match plus one) so instead of saying ‘dog’ if you see a dog, say ‘brown dog’ or ‘big dog’
-Then to progress further, do ‘modelling’ eg ‘the brown dog is running very fast’

My DS has also learnt some speech through his love of Peppa Pig books and shows like Yakka Dee and Something Special have also been great.

As long as he is progressing, the medics don’t seem massively worried.

Yes also just echo that you can self refer to SALT, i waited 10 months. I hired a private one for a couple of sessions in the meantime.

DH hardly spoke a word till he was 3, he did have a hearing issue which was sorted, he also has a very dominant older sister who spoke for him and is just more of a listener and thinker. He ended up doing his PhD at Cambridge so obviously he was fine.

Lots of individual words and a start on two word phrases doesn’t sound overly behind to me.

Both of mine have speech issues, but they had no words by 2.

I would say though, if you’re offered referrals, take them. Because it’ll probably be a year before you get an appointment - and in a year’s time you’ll either have no worries and sail through it or you will be worried and will be glad you don’t have to wait another year for an appointment.

There’s no actual intervention for a while yet - a SLT appointment at 3 is just the therapist playing with your child to see how they play and interact, and talking to you about what you experience with them.

DS is 2.5 and doesn't have a huge vocabulary, maybe 30-50 and can string a few together but not really sentences a lot of progress from when he was just 2 and in the black for communication on the ASQ. He's way behind average though, can't converse or even ask for a lot of specific things verbally.

I'm not particularly worried because I think he'll get there just slooowly. He could repeat random words perfectly from about 10 months old which was freaky but he never used the words and if it didn't keep happening you'd have thought you'd imagined it.

I do assume he's autistic/ND because it seems to run in the family and there's a few other bits going on (none of them massively strong unlike his diagnosed sister)

At 2, my boy couldn’t speak. Car was ‘ca’, bus was ‘bu’ and that’s about it! Lots of him pointing and making noises!

We kept up reading daily, I would narrate our day to him as I went, interpreted his noises and had conversations with him. By 2.5 the words started coming very quickly. He’s now in school and 5 next month. He won’t stop talking. Just had his parents evening and he’s on track for everything and a wonderful boy!

Give it 6 months. If you can, nursery will help. Keep talking to him and reading. It will all come!

My eldest was like this. I still remember the relief (he seemed fine in himself, but you do still worry) when he was on the swings at 2 and finally said 2 words together (more sweeties...)

He understood plenty, just didn't speak much.

In common with others, you can't shut him up now. My dad was driving him home from school once and ended up going 20 mins in the wrong direction because DS's chattering distracted him and he took a wrong turn!

But like the others, take the referrals if offered, just in case. Better to be prepared.

This is a very good point actually. We said we'd go back to the HV for further talks if nothing improves in a few months. So both me and OH have agreed to go back in July if we don't see more improvements. My son would be 2 and 4 months then but i feel more at ease after reading everyone elses experiences.