my 15M old has zero words

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 17 months old and probably has about 20 words, and we speak English, and his nanny and sister speak Spanish. He understands both.

Your DD is still within the range of normal - do you feel like she comprehends? Can she follow directions? She'll probably surprise you when she's 2, and bust out with a full sentence.

OP here. Thanks... I feel like she understands some but probably more our motions... like waving for her to come over and things like that.

We have our 15m appt next week and obviously this will come up... I am not sure at one point they want you on the waiting list for early intervention. I wouldn't even think of starting that NOW but I know the waiting lists are quite long. Is that something MD's will usually put in a referral for this early just so that we are on the waiting list? I don't want to wait until 18m until she is actually concerned and then I have another few months before I can see someone, you know?

Ask the ped. I asked for an early intervention eval at our 18 month appt (she had 3 words) and they called me in a week and scheduled the intake in 2-3 weeks. Fyi we are also dual language and they asessed and said her receptive language is great, she meets or exceeds all other skills (small and large motor etc) and she was not asessed to be even 25% delayed (the min threshold for county services). Shes 20 months now and has a couple more words but understands all instructions and manages to communicate without words. Her older sister wont stop talking so she just doesn't feel the need yet.

[Anonymous]

My son didn’t start saying more than a few words until he was about 2. We did the assessment (super helpful by the way - highly recommend doing this because they give you so much great info and tips). He didn’t qualify for services because though he didn’t talk, his listening comprehension was at the upper level. Does she understand what you’re saying? Follow instructions? I personally wouldn’t worry at all at 15 months, but the assessment won’t hurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son didn’t start saying more than a few words until he was about 2. We did the assessment (super helpful by the way - highly recommend doing this because they give you so much great info and tips). He didn’t qualify for services because though he didn’t talk, his listening comprehension was at the upper level. Does she understand what you’re saying? Follow instructions? I personally wouldn’t worry at all at 15 months, but the assessment won’t hurt.

Good to know... I feel like she understands our motions more, like "come over here" while waving. Honestly thinking about it, I am not sure how much she actually comprehends. I'll tell her to throw me the ball but is that because she has the ball and I'm also being animated at the same time?

Either way I'll definitely talk with the ped but I'm glad to hear about all of these experiences.

[Anonymous]

Get her ears looked at by an ENT. Could need ear tubes. It sounds to them like they are under water, no signs, a nurse or pedi wouldn't notice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get her ears looked at by an ENT. Could need ear tubes. It sounds to them like they are under water, no signs, a nurse or pedi wouldn't notice.

And we thought same thing, just bilingual house. It was her ears ultimately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 17 months old and probably has about 20 words, and we speak English, and his nanny and sister speak Spanish. He understands both.

Your DD is still within the range of normal - do you feel like she comprehends? Can she follow directions? She'll probably surprise you when she's 2, and bust out with a full sentence.

OP here. Thanks... I feel like she understands some but probably more our motions... like waving for her to come over and things like that.

We have our 15m appt next week and obviously this will come up... I am not sure at one point they want you on the waiting list for early intervention. I wouldn't even think of starting that NOW but I know the waiting lists are quite long. Is that something MD's will usually put in a referral for this early just so that we are on the waiting list? I don't want to wait until 18m until she is actually concerned and then I have another few months before I can see someone, you know?

Just call them. They are very helpful. The Infant and Toddlers program in Maryland is from birth to age 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 17 months old and probably has about 20 words, and we speak English, and his nanny and sister speak Spanish. He understands both.

Your DD is still within the range of normal - do you feel like she comprehends? Can she follow directions? She'll probably surprise you when she's 2, and bust out with a full sentence.

OP here. Thanks... I feel like she understands some but probably more our motions... like waving for her to come over and things like that.

We have our 15m appt next week and obviously this will come up... I am not sure at one point they want you on the waiting list for early intervention. I wouldn't even think of starting that NOW but I know the waiting lists are quite long. Is that something MD's will usually put in a referral for this early just so that we are on the waiting list? I don't want to wait until 18m until she is actually concerned and then I have another few months before I can see someone, you know?

MDs do not put in referrals to early intervention. You call them directly yourself. No need to wait for doctors appointments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get her ears looked at by an ENT. Could need ear tubes. It sounds to them like they are under water, no signs, a nurse or pedi wouldn't notice.

Yes, definitely have her hearing assessed. This was my daughter exactly - one or two words at 15 months. She did not have many ear infections, but had fluid in her ears which impacted her hearing. She got tubes at 16 months and almost immediately started adding words. The pediatrician should be able to tell you if there is fluid in the ears (can be a problem even if it is not infected), but may not be able to assess other hearing problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 17 months old and probably has about 20 words, and we speak English, and his nanny and sister speak Spanish. He understands both.

Your DD is still within the range of normal - do you feel like she comprehends? Can she follow directions? She'll probably surprise you when she's 2, and bust out with a full sentence.

OP here. Thanks... I feel like she understands some but probably more our motions... like waving for her to come over and things like that.

We have our 15m appt next week and obviously this will come up... I am not sure at one point they want you on the waiting list for early intervention. I wouldn't even think of starting that NOW but I know the waiting lists are quite long. Is that something MD's will usually put in a referral for this early just so that we are on the waiting list? I don't want to wait until 18m until she is actually concerned and then I have another few months before I can see someone, you know?

MDs do not put in referrals to early intervention. You call them directly yourself. No need to wait for doctors appointments.

Thanks! Haven’t dealt with any of this with my first.

[Anonymous]

We waited until 18 months to contact early intervention. There were no waits at all, but the intake stuff took a few weeks - multiple calls, virtual appointments, and paperwork. My kid just barely qualified, and we decided to pursue services due to family history of autism (so we'd have pros seeing him regularly and knowing what to look out for). We are doing just 45 minutes of therapy twice a month, it's not extensive, but I feek better knowing we're not ignoring it and we are trying to help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 17 months old and probably has about 20 words, and we speak English, and his nanny and sister speak Spanish. He understands both.

Your DD is still within the range of normal - do you feel like she comprehends? Can she follow directions? She'll probably surprise you when she's 2, and bust out with a full sentence.

OP here. Thanks... I feel like she understands some but probably more our motions... like waving for her to come over and things like that.

We have our 15m appt next week and obviously this will come up... I am not sure at one point they want you on the waiting list for early intervention. I wouldn't even think of starting that NOW but I know the waiting lists are quite long. Is that something MD's will usually put in a referral for this early just so that we are on the waiting list? I don't want to wait until 18m until she is actually concerned and then I have another few months before I can see someone, you know?

MDs do not put in referrals to early intervention. You call them directly yourself. No need to wait for doctors appointments.

Thanks! Haven’t dealt with any of this with my first.

This may vary state to state. I'm in DC, and my pediatrician did put in the referral to early intervention, though I believe we could have self-referred if we wanted to. There is no wait, per say, but there's a lot of steps - the referral goes through, you get a case manager person, they meet with you to discuss, an assessment is scheduled, a report is written, you get the report, there's another meeting to discuss, then they match you with a therapist and set up the first appointment. We started the process as soon as the pediatrician referred us at the 15 month appointment. Our son turns 17 months this week, and while we have officially qualified, we do not yet have his first therapy appointment scheduled, and we were pretty aggressive about moving things along. Appointment will probably get scheduled in the next few days.

Anyway, to answer your initial question - my kid also had zero words at 15 months. Now at just shy of 17 months, he still has zero words. Uh-oh and mama (if he knows that means you, not if he's just randomly babbling) both count - two words might be adequate for now - ask your pediatrician at the 15 month appointment. Other things to think about - does he communicate with signs? Does he point? My son also wasn't pointing, although his receptive vocabulary is pretty good. He tested equivalent to an eight month old in expressive communication, and we're starting services. The pediatricians attitude when we saw her (and she's generally great) was definitely concern, but she was kinda "oh, yeah, I could refer you now, or we could schedule a check up in about six weeks and see how he's doing." Which, my husband read as "this probably isn't a huge deal, let's wait and see" but I read as "you can't let this go until the 18 month appointment" so I did request the referral, and seeing the test results and how behind he is, I'm really glad I did. The stats on the effectiveness of early intervention are excellent - it's incredibly effective. So if it's borderline, I say do it! At least in DC, it's FREE - why wouldn't you? And maybe they do the evaluation and then say, "oh, he's in the range of normal" and you can just move on with your life, no harm, no foul.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she watch sesame street videos? Try to watch and sing the songs with her.

This is, I'm sorry to say, bad advice. Studies have shown that kids this age cannot learn from interacting with videos. Read, sing, talk, point, that's all great, but do it without the videos.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for an evaluation with early intervention. My daughter had 10 words at 16 months and her pediatrician still referred her for an evaluation. You’ll get opinions on all sides, but I would be concerned. An evaluation will help, as will services if your child needs it.

[Anonymous]

OP, we also speak English and Spanish at home and we self-referred for EI in MoCo when DD was 16 months with no words (similar babbling). She qualified easily for services due to expressive language delay. It was great - the services were really helpful and as a bonus it eased my anxiety because I was no longer constantly scouring the internet trying to see if DD was meeting milestones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 17 months old and probably has about 20 words, and we speak English, and his nanny and sister speak Spanish. He understands both.

Your DD is still within the range of normal - do you feel like she comprehends? Can she follow directions? She'll probably surprise you when she's 2, and bust out with a full sentence.

OP here. Thanks... I feel like she understands some but probably more our motions... like waving for her to come over and things like that.

We have our 15m appt next week and obviously this will come up... I am not sure at one point they want you on the waiting list for early intervention. I wouldn't even think of starting that NOW but I know the waiting lists are quite long. Is that something MD's will usually put in a referral for this early just so that we are on the waiting list? I don't want to wait until 18m until she is actually concerned and then I have another few months before I can see someone, you know?

MDs do not put in referrals to early intervention. You call them directly yourself. No need to wait for doctors appointments.

Thanks! Haven’t dealt with any of this with my first.

This may vary state to state. I'm in DC, and my pediatrician did put in the referral to early intervention, though I believe we could have self-referred if we wanted to. There is no wait, per say, but there's a lot of steps - the referral goes through, you get a case manager person, they meet with you to discuss, an assessment is scheduled, a report is written, you get the report, there's another meeting to discuss, then they match you with a therapist and set up the first appointment. We started the process as soon as the pediatrician referred us at the 15 month appointment. Our son turns 17 months this week, and while we have officially qualified, we do not yet have his first therapy appointment scheduled, and we were pretty aggressive about moving things along. Appointment will probably get scheduled in the next few days.

Anyway, to answer your initial question - my kid also had zero words at 15 months. Now at just shy of 17 months, he still has zero words. Uh-oh and mama (if he knows that means you, not if he's just randomly babbling) both count - two words might be adequate for now - ask your pediatrician at the 15 month appointment. Other things to think about - does he communicate with signs? Does he point? My son also wasn't pointing, although his receptive vocabulary is pretty good. He tested equivalent to an eight month old in expressive communication, and we're starting services. The pediatricians attitude when we saw her (and she's generally great) was definitely concern, but she was kinda "oh, yeah, I could refer you now, or we could schedule a check up in about six weeks and see how he's doing." Which, my husband read as "this probably isn't a huge deal, let's wait and see" but I read as "you can't let this go until the 18 month appointment" so I did request the referral, and seeing the test results and how behind he is, I'm really glad I did. The stats on the effectiveness of early intervention are excellent - it's incredibly effective. So if it's borderline, I say do it! At least in DC, it's FREE - why wouldn't you? And maybe they do the evaluation and then say, "oh, he's in the range of normal" and you can just move on with your life, no harm, no foul.

Thank you so much for your experience!