any ideas to help?

[worriedcm]

Hi a child I childmind who is 20 mths old is beginning to worry me. She does not seem interested in play, only echoes words, is adamant she does not want to eat, and does not show any interest in socialising. The only way she is happy is watching cbeebies, she does not sleep at night and constantly screams in a highpitched voice. I was last week feeling very drained and unable to care for her due to other work commitments but when I reread observations and discussions with her parents over the last 6 months I am now wondering if these could be signs of a health problem has anybody got any ideas thank you

hard to tell at this age - it's not unusual for kids this age not to be speaking and then catch up soon - it's the non-verbal communication that's important - whether they do gestures such as pointing (to show what they want/are interested in), and can understand simple instructions. You should have a local council early years service/inclusion service you can speak to for further advice. if this kid's speech doesn't start up by 2 then would definitely suggest you recommend to parents they speak to HV about it (with a view to speech therapy referral/hearing test).

thanx for reply no there are no gestures etc either, I am gonna have to speak to parents as have hit against this before where parents don't believe there is a problem so I can not take my concerns further but will have to try again