23 month only talks jargon...should I be worried?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| We have a 23 month old in a bi-lingual household. So far, he only talks jargon. He will make mama or dada sounds but won't direct it towards us. My DH says not to worry because we were both late talkers (both started talking between 2 and 3) and so was my sister. However, I think that he is behind expectation. I don't know if he has hearing problem. He will only follow direction sometimes but most of the time he ignores us. Should we get him checked out? |
Anonymous
| Yes. Through early intervention. |
Anonymous
| Also think about a hearing test |
Anonymous
|
I would. My daughter just turned 2 last month and can say 5-6 word sentences. A friend of mine whose son was born the same day (November 7) sounds a lot like your son and he was just evaluated through Early Intervention and found to qualify for speech. Doesn't use mama/dada toward his parents, doesn't say full words, no stringing words, etc. You should call Early Intervention and schedule an evaluation.
The thing is, some kids are late talkers who talk between 2-3. Some kids don't. And if you keep waiting until 3 to determine he really can't talk, when he's giving you lots of signs right now that he can't, that will be a year of potential progress wasted. An evaluation cannot hurt a thing and can be a big help if he needs speech therapy. |
Anonymous
PP here again and I just want to say that my first child was speech delayed and received speech therapy. So I have experience with a 2 year old who can speak typically, and one who cannot, and I see in what you write about your sons signs of a child who is not typical in regards to speech. |
Anonymous
|
Beyond only following directions sometimes, do you get the sense that your child understands you in general?
How are wants/needs expressed? Pointing, gestures, bringing you over to the fridge, "words" that only you understand, whining, crying? Any sort of intentional communication? A 23 month old should be pretty interactive with words, gestures, songs, games etc. Make a call to your early intervention service. |
Anonymous
If she goes through EI they may suggest that as part of their evaluation. They will likely do a family/child history to see if there's any present medical issues that could be contributing (or emotional), a hearing test, and then an evaluation of his receptive/expressive/behavioral/social skills. |
Anonymous
| Does the baby have words that mean something to him? Ie even if they don't sound like the right word, they're consistent? |
Anonymous
|
I was thinking "sounds within the range of normal for a bilingual kid" until you got to the part of him ignoring you. Do you get the sense that he is ignoring you out of defiance and/or distraction? That's still likely normal for age two, but if you think he's ignoring you because he is not processing the words that you're saying to him, as in - it seems like what you say completely doesn't register with him at all, then I'd at least talk to the pediatrician about that.
My friend's kid, who I watched all the time because he was super close with mine, seemed a lot like what you describe before he was diagnosed. I really couldn't tell whether his behavioral issues were intentional defiance or simply the inability to register what we were saying, which I thought - okay, maybe he's just an active kid, and it's not like I'm family, so if he ignores me, what's it to him? But even his mom was saying she wasn't sure how much of his behavior was defiance versus inability to understand. I think if the parents feel that way, and you see him significantly less skilled in verbal comprehension than his other bilingual peers, then I think it's worth a conversation at the very least. |
Anonymous
| Isn't it also a fallacy that bilingual kids are later talkers? I think they tend to be later in proficiency in either one of their home languages, but they're not expected to have zero words at appropriate ages to have words just because they're bilingual. I want to say that is a common misconception. |
Anonymous
He's a toddler. I know what you mean, but saying he's a baby sort of encourages this notion that it's perfectly fine if he isn't speaking. |
Anonymous
| Also, being a late talker isn't the same as not understanding what's being said to you. Some kids come up with their own signs and ways of communicating when they don't have to use words, but they still demonstrate comprehension. What you describe suggests that he may be behind in comprehension, as well as expression. |
Anonymous
| Yes, especially considering that he seems to have a receptive language delay as well. At 24 months, a child should you have a minimum of 50 words and be combining words into two word phrases. |
Anonymous
| OP here. I can't understand his jargon at all and he won't point at anything he wants as a way of communicating. He will usually reach out and grab what he wants and would cry if he can't get it. I just called EI to schedule an appointment. DH is still opposed but says he will go along with it. He says when he was little his teachers said he had developmental delays but it turned out he was just super intelligent and they didn't understand him. |
Anonymous
| Call EI. The ignoring part sounds more worrisome than not talking. |