18 month old not developing

[Louise0310]

Hi mums, in need of some help. My 18 month old just isn't where he should be. He can't walk, can't talk, can't do any gestures and has never slept properly (probably slept through the night twice). He's due a HV appt & is under speech and language but it's all just breaking my heart not seeing him develop in the way he should be :( any opinions and advice welcome

I would add that my older son didn’t speak until just before he turned 2 and walked at around 22 months … he did his A levels this year and got all A*s! I was worried like you at the time and obviously it’s worthwhile getting him checked out but there is a world in which he’s doing absolutely fine, at his own pace. Regarding sleep, my second son was like this. We used a sleep consultant in the end as I was exhausted - she sorted things very quickly. Might be worthwhile considering?

I agree it’s worth pushing for a community paediatrician referral to have his development reviewed and see whether any additional referrals a needed. 18 months is quite early days for speech and if he is pulling up that’s also a good sign. My daughter’s speech came on a lot between 18 months and 2 years but she didn’t walk until 2.5 years. She is doing great but notably delayed in her motor skills still at 3.5 years. We are awaiting various test results to find out if there is a cause for the delay.

Just wanted to post an update on here - after months of trying to even get an appt with HV we finally got referrals put in place for physiotherapy & paediatrician! Currently on a 4 month wait to do all the genetic testing for GDD. Thank you all for your help 🩷

Thanks for the update! Hopefully you'll get answers soon.

@Louise0310 - has he made any progress at all since your original post? X

Hi, not massively. He still isn't talking or walking, but saying that he is definitely getting stronger and making more sounds so hopefully it's a step in the right direction. We can waiting for results now from genetic testing. X

Hi op, have you had his hearing checked?

My DD struggling with walking and talking at that age and it turned out her ears were badly congested due to enlarged adenoids. She had removal surgery and grommets inserted and she then started walking and her speech is now absolutely amazing.

No this is one thing we haven't done! We've been asked if I thought it was anything to do with his hearing but I said no as he responses to the smallest of noises & sounds. So it's never really gone any further. How did you go about getting a hearing test? Thank you! X

We were referred to audiology by either the GP or pediatric consultant we were seeing.

It can be a wait of a few months though. If you can find a private audiologist for children, i’d recommend it

Thank you so much. I've managed to get him into the GP tomorrow to discuss :)