Talk to me about speech development

[Anonymous]

My 15 month old does not really say any words. She babbles and grunts/yells (in a cute way) all the time and she follows and understands commands and questions (like points to her belly if you ask her where is her belly). She looks at me if her dad asks her where mama is, and comes to me if he asks her to go to mama, but she doesn't really call me.

Any tips on how to help her acquire and start using words? Does this seem like she's behind?

[Anonymous]

She should have 3-5 words at this point. I would call early intervention and schedule an evaluation. Also schedule an appointment for her with an audiologist to get her hearing checked.

There is such a wide range of normal at this age. I would just be proactive and have her evaluated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She should have 3-5 words at this point. I would call early intervention and schedule an evaluation. Also schedule an appointment for her with an audiologist to get her hearing checked.

There is such a wide range of normal at this age. I would just be proactive and have her evaluated.

total overreacting for a child that can communicate. Wait a few more months.

[Anonymous]

I’d probably get an evaluation too. Better safe than sorry. DS was a late talker and we did hearing and cognitive evaluations (his receptive communication was excellent) . Both fine but I relaxed once I knew. When he did start talking it was in full phrases.

[Anonymous]

Schedule and eval around 18 months. Mine was like that. Still is at 22 months. I had an eval through county and no-one was concerned and she didn't qualify for services because her receptive speech and all fine and gross motor skills are on or above age milestones. She just doesn't want to use words. Im waiting for the verbal floodgatees to open like they did with my oldest and can always do another eval after 2.

[Anonymous]

Call early intervention. It will take a while to set up an evaluation anyway. You can always cancel if things change. Even if you get the evaluation there is no obligation to do anything beyond that.

[Anonymous]

I was in your shoes, thought about calling for testing, but decided against it when she finally got a couple words. Fast forward a few years and she's in speech therapy because she's still messing up a bunch of sounds and is difficult to understand. I wish I'd called then.

[Anonymous]

We were in this boat and got DD evaluated by early intervention. We requested the assessment at 16 months and started services at 18 months. The assessment (and services, in MD) are free. We found the services useful. You have nothing to lose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 15 month old does not really say any words. She babbles and grunts/yells (in a cute way) all the time and she follows and understands commands and questions (like points to her belly if you ask her where is her belly). She looks at me if her dad asks her where mama is, and comes to me if he asks her to go to mama, but she doesn't really call me.

Any tips on how to help her acquire and start using words? Does this seem like she's behind?

Behind by a smidge. She should have one vague noise that she uses for the same thing “daaa” for dog counts, as would “wa” for the dog in an attempt to say wood). You can have her evaluated for peace of mind but she is probably fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 15 month old does not really say any words. She babbles and grunts/yells (in a cute way) all the time and she follows and understands commands and questions (like points to her belly if you ask her where is her belly). She looks at me if her dad asks her where mama is, and comes to me if he asks her to go to mama, but she doesn't really call me.

Any tips on how to help her acquire and start using words? Does this seem like she's behind?

Behind by a smidge. She should have one vague noise that she uses for the same thing “daaa” for dog counts, as would “wa” for the dog in an attempt to say wood). You can have her evaluated for peace of mind but she is probably fine.

+1. It’s possible your kid is “taking” you just don’t understand them yet. I thought my 17 month old only had a couple words and was a little worried, then found out that, in the opinion of his 2 year old nanny share buddy, he’s talking “a lot”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call early intervention. It will take a while to set up an evaluation anyway. You can always cancel if things change. Even if you get the evaluation there is no obligation to do anything beyond that.

+1

And in DC at least, it’s FREE. Why wouldn’t you? We are currently starting early intervention for communication with my son - 16 months and no words. But we kicked off the evaluation process right after his 15 month pediatrician appointment.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely get her evaluated. At 16 months my daughter had 10-12 words but hadn’t added any in a couple of months. Our pediatrician agreed in evaluation would not hurt. She ultimately did not require services, but it was good peace of mind knowing all was OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 15 month old does not really say any words. She babbles and grunts/yells (in a cute way) all the time and she follows and understands commands and questions (like points to her belly if you ask her where is her belly). She looks at me if her dad asks her where mama is, and comes to me if he asks her to go to mama, but she doesn't really call me.

Any tips on how to help her acquire and start using words? Does this seem like she's behind?

Behind by a smidge. She should have one vague noise that she uses for the same thing “daaa” for dog counts, as would “wa” for the dog in an attempt to say wood). You can have her evaluated for peace of mind but she is probably fine.

There is literally no downside to requesting an evaluation. Not sure why DCUM posters are so opposed to this. It's free, and if you're child is not meeting milestones, you are using the service appropriately.

[Anonymous]

Does she point to things and look back at you to show them to you? Does she point to things she wants? Does she use gestures such as shake her head for no etc? The average number of words at 12 months (meaning what 50% of 12 month olds can say) are 2-6 words. The milestone (what 90% of 12 month olds) can say is 1 word. So, based on that she does seem a little behind but pre-verbal communication is more important at this stage. Also remember that animal sounds or car sounds count as words at this stage.

In any case I agree that there is literally no harm in seeking an evaluation, it’s free through the county, you can self refer. She may be fine without intervention, but why take the risk?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She should have 3-5 words at this point. I would call early intervention and schedule an evaluation. Also schedule an appointment for her with an audiologist to get her hearing checked.

There is such a wide range of normal at this age. I would just be proactive and have her evaluated.

total overreacting for a child that can communicate. Wait a few more months.

DP, but I strongly disagree. Both of my kids were speech delayed. For one, it was the first clear sign of global low muscle tone issues that needed a bunch of different therapies to address, but because we started so young (first started looking into evals at 14 months, diagnosed at 18 months) it was much easier to address than it would have been if we’d waited longer and he had broader/more significant delays.

With the second, it turned out she had a severe ear wax blockage in both ears that meant she actually was hearing very little. Got it cleaned out and put her on a maintenance program, and then she picked up words like crazy. Had it been a more serious hearing problem, the earlier they intervene the more options there are for addressing hearing loss.