17 month old not saying many words

[Candleflower12]

Hi

My son has just turned 17 months old and is not saying many words.

He can say
Dada
Mum
No
Hiya

But only consistently says ‘dada’ when he sees his dad the rest are few and far between. He is constantly babbling and eager for interaction.

Is it worth a discussion with the health visitor?

Not a worry. Seems just fine. Look at overall development. But by all means mention to hv if you concerned .

Thank you. He’s definitely made some progress with it, but just getting a bit worried

Why are you worried exactly ? He is only 17 months ? Does he understand simple "get the ball". ?

children of similar age are saying a lot more than he is so natural to worry and has been mentioned by nursery that he doesn’t say words. Yes he understands instructions

I think this sounds fine for this age, especially if he is babbling a lot.

Unless there are other nursery concerns then wait six months

This is really normal, especially for a boy. I was in a similar position with my first child - you look around and all the other kids seem to be talking in complete sentences! But by about 2 he was catching up, and now you wouldn't know he was a slow starter (he's 10). My advice is don't worry unless he's still not making progress by the age of 2. Also, remember he can probably understand a whole lot more than he can say!

Thank you

Retired speech and language therapist (SALT) here!
You might find this info sheet useful in terms of communication milestones etc.
Do bear in mind that NHS SALT services generally have long waiting lists. If you have any concerns definitely speak to your health visitor / GP and ask for a referral to SALT.

https://wyhealthiertogether.nhs.uk/parentscarers/your-childs-development/communicating-talking-skills

they haven’t said anything else is a concern and said his understanding is good

Thank you! Hopefully soon words will start coming

normal. Both my elder two didn’t start talking until 2nd birthday more than mama or dada

This is really helpful thank you

Honestly do not worry! My second son didn’t say anything at all other than occasionally “mama” and “dada” till 19 months. He even saw a paediatrician and he was referred for speech therapy, which he never attended, because suddenly one day around 20-21 months he made full sentences out of nowhere. I was super stressed and I only then realise I lost my sleep for nothing.

thank you so much! I’ve been pretty calm about it until they said something at the nursery parents evening. We read a lot and do lots of singing. I’m sure it will click

My daughter said very few words until after she turned two and then suddenly came out with whole sentences! She was just biding her time 😂

They all develop at their own pace, my six all talked at different ages.

Remember the joke.....

Mum and dad are desperately worried because their five year old has never spoken a word. No physical cause but no treatment works, speech therapy, nothing. Then one day he is given his dinner and he says "this chicken is cold". Gobsmacked they ask why has never spoken before and he says "there has been nothing to complain about until now"!

I can imagine my son being like this to be honest 😂. All other milestones he’s gone from nowhere near to doing it the next day

OP I worried myself sick about this exact thing. My DD said barely a word at 2. No other concerns, her understanding was excellent, eye contact, happy smiley thing just didn’t speak or even babble much really. I was beside myself…well shortly after shelling out £££ for a private SALT appointment in which the lovely lady said DD knew exactly what was going on and worrying was premature, all the words came out and she went from behind to ahead in the space of 6 months. She is now 4 and I am really noticing a pattern where I worry she’s not doing something and then all of a sudden she does it, like she’s waiting until she thinks she can do it “properly”. Didn’t walk until quite late, didn’t even crawl, didn’t cruise, just got up one day and walked across the room like she’d always done it. The most recent one was drawing…I’m up at night worrying like “why doesn’t DD draw anything recognisable and just scribbles, she’s 4” - yesterday she presents me with a picture that is clearly three people and a dog with wings 😂😂😂