age two and still only six words

[PurpleGerbil]

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Is it possible that you are providing him with all the words he needs, so he doesn't need to use them?

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Don't speak to him in cave man speak, speak normally. Try to keep it as natural as possible, don't over-repeat or over-enunciate your words too much, it may work with some children but with others it just gives performance anxiety.

Don't worry too much about his speech - my monolingual nephew didn't speak till he was nearly 3 and speaks normally now. Similarly my bilingual DD was a couple of months behind her peers but now chatters away with ease in both languages. The important thing is comprehension - does he understand simple of more complex instructions in both languges?

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I sometimes did (and still do occasionally) that too PurpleGerbil, the "can you say key?" thing when I got exasperated at DD saying it always in her other language but she always refused to say it. I also speak very quickly and am not understood by fellow English speakers. I learnt not to worry when she'd suddenly come out with a word perfect phrase I didn't know she knew IYSWIM.

The comprehension thing would worry me more, tbh. When DD wasn't speaking much I was reassured by the fact I gave her complex instructions and she would carried them out to perfection. Sometimes she didn't understand, like if there was a phrase with lots of unfamiliar words, but generall she got the gist. I sometimes gesticulated too, like if I asked her to bring me the plate I'd point at the plate and indicate that it was to come to me. Does your DS point at things and make himself understood with gestures? Is there communication of any sort from him at all?

Does he go to nursery? DS2 barely uttered more than a few word until he started nursery at about 21 months. his vocabulary literally exploded form that point on and he was speaking in sentences 3 months later.

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I do know someone whose DS's first words were:

"No, Mummy, you get the remote control".

Not a word up until that point.

WRT to the comprehension, I would try building up the complexity. So start with giving him the keys, and then say "Can mummy have the keys, please?" Then maybe ask him to put the keys somewhere, etc.

But, he is just 2, and there is plenty of time to catch up.

Purple, I am here to help you! I totally understand where you are coming from! My DS is now 2.5 and only just starting to say a word other than mama, papa, or tractor. Seriously.

I was worried like you, I was labelling things like you, and I got nothing but blank/confused looks in return, like you.

I was told by all sorts of well-meaning people that "2 is early" "there's loads of time to catch up" "Einstein only spoke when he was 4," and "dual language children are delayed."

RUBBISH!

The fact is, it's incredibly difficult to parent a child of 2+ when they won't speak to you. And latest research shows that multi-language children are not delayed in speaking because of the presence of multiple languages. Speech developement is determined by the child's abilities in that regard, and one or 3 languages will not make a significant difference.

(My DS only started walking at 16 months btw. That too was frustrating! )

I suggest you read a bit about speech development and difficulties with it. Start with Hanen's It takes Two to Talk and look for a book by Debbie Feit. They give you very good ideas of what to do.

My DS saw a NHS speech therapist who was useless, inexperienced, and had no idea how to interpret understanding in a bilingual child.

However, we've had major success in the past 6 weeks (!) from another therapist we found, who is bilingual in both our languages (English&German). We found them by contacting a German doctor's practice in our area. It is private but not that expensive. She has been brilliant, spot-on.

Maybe some of this helps, gives you ideas, gives you a place to start.

IME, sitting on hands is not going to make you feel any better, it won't help you understand what's going on, and it won't help your child either.

Good luck