16 month old not talking much
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Anonymous
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I'm wondering if my child is just going to be on the later end of the curve for talking, or whether I need to start looking into intervention. He is 16 months, and doesn't say many words. He says mama, dada, brother's name (one syllable and starts with a letter that seems to be easy for him), dog, night-night, hi, plus probably 10 animal sounds. That's about it. He babbles all the time and vocalizes with gestures to communicate nonverbally, points at everything he wants to have or wants to show me. He's really pretty good at letting me know what he wants to "say" without having many words. He understands just about everything we say and can follow basic directions.
Sometimes it seems like he has trouble making certain sounds or can't figure out how to say a sound. For example, we'll do animal sounds and he'll say "maa maa" for the goat, but also for the sheep (instead of "baa baa"), since the "m" sound is one he has mastered. I've heard him make a "b" sound, but he doesn't usually make it at the beginning of a word/babble. He will sometimes study my mouth as if trying to figure out how to say something, and sometimes he'll try to repeat but it doesn't really sound anything like the intended word. Is that normal? The pediatrician was totally fine with his language development at the 15 month check-up. Should I just see where he is a 18 months? Should I be worried? |
Anonymous
| Sounds completely normal. Nothing to worry about! |
Anonymous
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Your son's expressive language skills sound like they are well within normal limits for a child his age. I work in Early Intervention, and meet new toddlers every week whose parents or pediatricians are worried about a speech delay. Your son's current language skills wouldn't worry me one bit.
He already has some words, and has great foundational skills. Watching your mouth when you talk and trying to imitate are key components of language development that your son already exhibits. Keep doing whatever you're currently doing with him in terms of providing him with opportunities to imitate and make choices. When he's pointing at something make sure you are putting words to what he's trying to show you or wants. No need to worry at this point. |
Anonymous
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My ds is also 16 months old, but he does not really say any one single word. He used to say baba months ago, but not anymore. Whenever he wants something or want attention, he just says "arh". For example, he wants me to open the snack box for him, and then he will grab my hand, and put the snack box in my hand, and say "arh". Even though I ask do you mean you want mama to open it, and I repeat "open" three times, and he just look at the snack box, and me, then smile, and say "arh" "arh". If I decide to ignore him by not understanding, and he will get mad, and put the box back to my hand again, and raise up his sound "arh" "arh". He understands what "open" means, but he just does not want to repeat after me. I have been teaching him "up" when we go upstairs, "down" when we go downstairs, and point at myself "mama", point at bottle for "milk" etc, point at dog says "dog" or "bark" etc, does not work at all.
I think the problem is my ds does not even attempt to imitate sounds at all. He loves to imitate people's actions, but not any words or sounds. He waves hi & bye bye to people, loves to run/walk/climb, understands what "no" means, and responds to his names. He used to babble sounds a bit more often, but now he sometimes loves to play by himself (turn book pages/play with putting stuffs in & out of containers/push shopping cart toys/scribble with crayons/smile at himself at the mirror etc), and loves to play with & copy me (play peek a boo/balls/brush teeth/eating with spoon/hug etc). Is there anyway I can make him to attempt to imitate sounds at all? I am really worried. |
Anonymous
Learn to read a milestone chart: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-18mo.html He's on track for even an 18 month old. Do you even know what a bell curve is? |
Anonymous
He's NOT behind in any way. WTF is wrong with you parents? There are basic, easy to read milestone charts from the CDC. |
Anonymous
| OP, it sounds to me like your son is doing just fine. FWIW, my son (now 17 mos) acquired about 30 words around the time he was 16 mos old, all in one big burst. So even if he's just saying a few words now, he'll likely get a language explosion some time in the next few months. |
Anonymous
| Relax OP- he is fine |
Anonymous
+1 Is he babbling? If so, he's fine. |
Anonymous
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No, he used to babble a bit more, but has been quiet for the last couple months. He is always on the go, walk around in the house/park, run around the dining table & climb sofa. The only time he sit down is when he read books & scribble with crayons. The sounds that he say, always, "arh", "uh", "mm", "hi", and that's pretty much it. He will babble a bit when he is in his carseat when I am driving.
There is a specific page on a book, when he turns to that page, and he always like to point at the picture (it is a boy hugging a teddy bear), and then point at his nose, and say "arh mm", and I don't understand why actually. He uses up all his energy daily on his physical strength, and I wish there are classes I can sign up for working on his verbal skills? I often take him to library storytimes/playground/events on the weekend when weather is nice. |
jjconcern
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| He is definitely on track for talking at 16 months as many of the responses to your post expressed. As a side note, my grandson didn't really begin to talk until almost 3 except for echoing other peoples words. As a school psychologist I was very concerned but at 3 he had a large expressive vocabulary and was a very gifted student who is now 24 employed as an engineer. I realized after observing him throughout the years that he was one to observe and listen carefully rather than being quick to speak. I realized he had been observing and listening for three years because by the time he was talking he was an interesting conversationalist. So personality and temperament also play a role in language performance. As a rule, boy's language doesn't develop as quickly as girls and the youngest child doesn't talk as quickly as a first born child since there is less need to as their needs are often anticipated. |
Anonymous
My almost 17month old says zero words though his receptive language skills are good and he communicates what he wants (different babbles, pointing his finger, screeching, turning away his head, pulling). The only one that sounds like a word is "yeah". Yours sounds normal. Mine probably a little iffy. But I'm still going to wait. |
Anonymous
| Why do,people wait? What's the harm in an evaluation from an SLP? I really don't understand the wait and see approach when research shows th earlier issues are identified th better the prognosis. |
Anonymous
The kid is 16 months and hasn't reached a milestone for an 18 month old. There's no reason to at this point to have an evaluation b/c an evaluation can't speed up a child's natural development. Having 2 kids with speech delays, I'm not opposed to people seeking early evaluations when there are actually missed milestones. |
Anonymous
| An evaluation doesn't speed up milestones but therapy can. If a child is missing milestones why wait. My child wasn't pointing or waiving at 1 and started therapy then. Waiting is stupid. |