16 month old with no words

[SarahScone]

I can’t make up my mind about whether to escalate to HV or if I am making a mountain out of a mole hill.

DS16months does:
Smile/laugh (great sense of humour)
Make limited babbling sounds - mamamama, papapa
Point (often open hand point but sometimes index finger)
Show us his favourite toys/books
Understands routines
Will sometimes, but certainly not always, follow instructions (give this to daddy/kiss mummy)
Uses lots of intonation/tone
Claps (only when he feels like it)
Mimics (only when he feels like it - this is rare)
Plays games (jumps out from behind curtains etc)
Great eye contact

Doesn’t:
Use any words
Wave/clap consistently
Follow instructions consistently
Respond consistently to his name (he used to but I think he’s now bored of listening to me - he’s better for his dad/sister)
Use complex babble - we get the occasional bit but it’s mainly vowel sounds with a lot of intonation that means we know he wants something (usually food!)

I did mention it to nursery and they have said that he is very young and they have not noticed any issues. They have also said his understanding “is great”. So perhaps he demonstrates this more at nursery. I’m wondering if he just doesn’t bother showing off his skills to me, but also aware that according to ages and stages, there are milestones he should be meeting at the moment but isn’t, specifically his speech.

Contact hv for advice or leave him develop at his own pace…??

Sounds similar to my dd. She's also 16 months and only has one one or two proper words: "dada" and "more"

She does point, clap and wave a lot though so I'm not too concerned yet.

I don't live in the UK at the moment so no HV system. I am planning on bringing it up at her next pediatrician appt in a couple of weeks to see what they say.

I would speak to the GP about a hearing test.

I know nursery have said his understanding is great, but we were in a similar situation and were told the SALT waiting list was close to 2 yrs, and they will want to see that hearing has been checked. So speak to the GP first, get their hearing checked, so it doesn’t delay you if you then need a SALT referral.

Also, I think this is probably area dependent, but where I am the SALT team do phone consultations without appointments or referrals. For a few hours a week you can ring, and a speech therapist spoke to me for about half an hour on some things to try at home to support speech.

Thanks @WhatAMarvelousTune
Did your child end up requiring SALT?

I will ask GP for hearing test.

@SarahSconeno, she didn’t in the end, her speech caught up. We did have the hearing test because nursery actually raised with us that they were concerned, and when we spoke to the GP he agreed it was worth checking. She was definitely behind, but after speaking to the SALT therapist on the phone and doing some stuff at home, she seemed to catch up. Plus when she moved up a room at nursery and was with some older children, that seemed to help as well.

I am a Speech and Language Therapist and I wouldnt be massively concerned at this stage.
I would be looking out for:

• attention and listening i.e. responding and interested in what you are showing them and sustaining interest for a few minutes (good recommendation for hearing assessment if this is a concern)
• motivation to communicate - how do they let you know that they want something? Vocalising/pointing etc.
• is the communication they do have successful or is there a lot of frustration during interactions?
• can they turn take with babble? I.e. if you copy them, will they babble back again

Some good tips to follow:

• keep Language simple- single words/teo word phrases
• offer verbal and visual choices even if you know their preference i.e. Apple or banana
• comment on what they are doing/focused on
• create communication opportunities by having things out of reach, giving short turns and waiting (it.e. blowing bubbles) and giving little bits at a time I.e. of a banana and waiting for them to communicate they want more and modelling 'more'
• say what they would if they could i.e. if pulling you, say 'come', if handing you a bag of crisps say "open'

If you dont see much progress over the next couple of months then seek a referral

Thank you so much @Eagerlywaiting1990
There is def frustration but I think that more be to do with the fact that I am having to say no to a lot of things he wants at this age!
However, back and forth babble is NOT something he does. He will make noises back and forth (vowel sounds) and he has specific intonation that I can interpret, but range of sound is limited and back and forth babble is essentially non existent. I would say his attention is fine and he is certainly motivated to communicate - lots of pointing and verbalisation.
I know you can’t advise via mumsnet, but would that change anything for you in terms of following up with GP?

He's 16 months old, still tiny. HV will just say wait and see until he's 2. I've been there. I've got a 3.5 year old who is still pretty much non verbal. Honestly he sounds completely happy and normal

I would make a conscious effort to do it with him over the next few weeks and extend it. I.e. if he says 'baba', respond with 'ba-ba-boo' or 'ba-ba-da' and wait with anticipation on your face for him to respond. It doesnt matter if he doesnt repeat the new sound, just that he responds with something.
The tips above are the main input you will get from an SLT until your child is a littke bit older but if you try them and they dont help then it warrants further exploration. Definitely give it a few months to see and follow up if no change

Is he quite physical? My DD had a crazy amount of language at that stage but still couldnt walk, which I worried about. Anecdotally I felt the babies around me seemed to invest their early energies into one or the other.

Seeing the HV and asking for a hearing test to rule out Glue Ear sounds like a good step at this point.

If you fill in the 16 month Ages & Stages do they score in the grey in more than 2 areas or in the black in any area?