When to worry about toddler not talking

[Anonymous]

My 19-month-old doesn't talk. He says no (sometimes) and uh-oh, and that's pretty much it. Occasional noises imitating animals when he sees a picture of one, like a cat.

I was a very late talker, and I know this is hereditary. But still, he seems so far behind other kids his age whom I know. We do not know a single other child whose speech is where DS's is. His receptive language is very good, he follows directions well, and communicates his needs/wants clearly.

His ped was not concerned at his 18-month checkup, but wants to see him stringing together two-word phrases by age 2. I can't imagine that happening.

We were going to wait until 2 to get him evaluated but now I'm wondering if we should move on this sooner. Does anyone else have experiences with this? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Search the archives, there are many threads on this topic, including one recently. People have very different approaches to this, just as in any area of parenting. My child is similarly aged and we've been in speech therapy for a few months and it's made a really big difference. Personally I think it's really important to intervene at this age--your DC is already behind, why wait for a problem? Of course there's a good chance that things might improve on their own but why one earth wait for that to happen and risk that it's something that needs intervention? If you wait, therapy is less effective and your DC will be in therapy for even longer. I wasn't sure if getting therapy was the right thing but now I am so glad I did. I think at a minimum, go get an evaluation. Even parents don't know everything to look for. If your DC has motor planning or apraxia issues you may not really see it until you learn about it.

[Anonymous]

Some peds are "wait-and-see" kind of people. I think there are others who would have said it can't hurt to have an evaluation. I am not naturally a "wait-and-see" person. I feel so much better being proactive and addressing issues rather than worrying. Plus, I really hated the idea of letting my son get to a point where his challenge might start to affect his interactions and self-esteem (this happened with my first with different issues and I really regretted following peoples' advice). So since I was okay with risking my time and possibly some money, I asked for an evaluation for my son, who sounds very similar to yours. He had a few more words (I think 9 at 19 months... which I remember because this is exactly when we had him evaluated). Like your son's, his receptive language was excellent, could follow directions, was very interactive and communicative. He did not qualify for services, though he was barely clinging to the very bottom of "typical" in expressive language. We waited a few months and then I called a private speech therapy group (my ped was totally on board and gave me a recommendation). We ended up doing speech therapy for a year and my son benefited enormously from it. The SLP quickly observed a few specific weaknesses (oral motor, motor planning), which we targeted at home, too. My son made huge advances within a couple of months. People are stunned now when I tell them that he was a late talker because he is so chatty now! I actually can tell that he still has some challenges and possibly will always have them... so that stuff doesn't necessarily go away. But the professionals can be a huge help in overcoming the hurdles. I see no downside to intervening other than time and money. My son LOVED speech therapy and still asks to go. And I really felt that the therapists were caring and honest about his progress and were not just out to get money.

[Anonymous]

My son was about where your son was at 19 mo. By age 2 he still only said 2 or 3 words and no word combinatons which is when they flag you for intervention. I waited until he was 2, and then started getting speech services through DC Early Intervention. He now gets speech therapy through his PreK program in DC. Flash forward to where he is now at 4 1/2. He has a great vocabulary, speaks a lot, but is still difficult to understand and "sounds" different than many other children. He keeps getting better and better though, and I am hopeful that by the time he is 6 or 7 he will be completely caught up.

[Anonymous]

Our son is 18 months old and are going through the same exact thing as you! At his recent ped visit, the doctor suggested that I call the early intervention people, which I'm actually calling them today. I was a late talker too (and walker), but I'm getting very worried because I too can't stop comparing our DS to other children.

Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Listen people...don't compare your kids to other children. My oldest son was a late talker as well and yes, we ended up getting him evaluated at 3 and he has been in therapy for a year. Has it helped? Absolutely, but it is hard to tell how much of what has helped was the therapy or was my son getting older.

My point is, do what you think is best but remember that there is a huge range here in what is normal - don't compare your child to the most vocal kids in his peer group.

Also, what many of these posters won't tell you (and don't know) is how much of the speech improvement is from the therapy and how much is from their child simply outgrowing the delay a little.

[Anonymous]

I'd definitely get the evaluation now, OP. I waited and took my son right before he was 2 and the SLP that we eventually were referred to told me to start 6-8 months earlier if we ever have another child with a similar delay. Basically, there was ground that could have been made up during the half a year when we chose to 'wait and see.' Best wishes!

[Anonymous]

You can tell that it is the therapy and not your kid getting older when their vocabulary doubles after their first speech therapy session. We started my twins in speech at 22 months and it made so much difference. I also took a parent class through Hanen that helped me communicate with my twins better and built their vocabs.

[Anonymous]

i thought my DS would have been speaking full sentences at 18 months (since my mother swears up and down that all HER kids were). but he just had a few words. by 20 months, however, he had a word explosion! he was just a few months shy of 2 when he really started to talk. now he's 3 and won't shut the hell up! ...seriously, i wouldn't worry yet. kids go through stages. but then again, i'm not the type to run off to doctors and therapists for everything. good luck!

[Anonymous]

Add me to the people recommending to get an evaluation! It can't hurt, and you don't have to decide that you want service or not right away, if you end up being eligible.

We have an 18 month old who is starting speech therapy soon. We have no idea what exactly is involved, but we'll see soon! I figure it can only help, and give us ways to better communicate with him.

We found a good book at the library - "It takes Two to Talk" - http://www.amazon.com/Takes-Two-Talk-Children-Communicate/dp/0921145020 It has a lot of information on how kids communicate at different phases, and what you can do to encourage better communication. It's been very helpful for us so far!

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks everyone. You're making me think we should do something about this. My parents think I am crazy to worry (not that that matters, this isn't their child), and say I didn't say a single word until I was 2. As far as I know I caught up quickly and had no problems. Of course, I have no idea if that will be true of DS.

Part of me feels crazy pushing for speech therapy for a child this age, but I see where he is relative to his peers--all his peers, not just the ones farthest ahead in this regard. My gut is that he'll be fine and catch up but that's just my gut of course, and no one want to believe that their child has issues, even minor ones.

[Anonymous]

The "It takes two to talk book" is great--I agree with PP who recommended it. I'm also a believer in at least getting an evaluation--why not?

[Anonymous]

The thing is, you have no idea whether yours will end up being one of the kids who doesn't develop speech properly without intervention. Parents whose kids seemed to "grow out" of their delay may tell you not to worry, their kid was silent and then one day woke up talking and wouldn't shut up. Then you'll hear from the parents whose children continued to delay and needed help. The reality is that this young, it's impossible to say which camp your child will fall into. To me, that speaks (no pun intended) to the importance of screening and getting therapy. At worst it will have been a waste of time/money, and at best you will have made a critical difference in the trajectory of your child's development. Speech therapy seems like play to the kids and they love it, so it's no hardship on them.

[Anonymous]

I have b/g twins and my girl talked way ahead of my son. He was still not saying much at all at 20 months and everything he did say began with "b". He ended up out talking her by their second birthday. Odds are you have nothing to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing is, you have no idea whether yours will end up being one of the kids who doesn't develop speech properly without intervention. Parents whose kids seemed to "grow out" of their delay may tell you not to worry, their kid was silent and then one day woke up talking and wouldn't shut up. Then you'll hear from the parents whose children continued to delay and needed help. The reality is that this young, it's impossible to say which camp your child will fall into. To me, that speaks (no pun intended) to the importance of screening and getting therapy. At worst it will have been a waste of time/money, and at best you will have made a critical difference in the trajectory of your child's development. Speech therapy seems like play to the kids and they love it, so it's no hardship on them.

Agree with this 100%. And to the PP who said that there is a huge range of normal, don't forget that we're talking here about someone who is actually behind according to standard milestones.