18 Month Old Doesn't Want to Talk

Have you ever been around a teenage boy?? They don't talk much either! Don't freak out, boys "typically" are slower verbally. 18 months is too soon to really worry! As long as he is pointing or grunting to get his point across, he's fine! You know him best. You'll know if there is a problem. You just keep talking to him and answer him in full and complete sentences. NO BABY TALK!! He'll come around!!
From the Mom of one quiet 18 month old boy to another!!
Good luck!
and enjoy the peace for now, you could have a girl who has to narrate EVERYTHING!!! Like I do!!

1 mom found this helpful

You may want to review if there's anything else out of the ordinary - how does your child appear in social interactions? Does he have speech difficulty or just doesn't have a desire to communicate? What you can do to help him depends on exactly what is going on with him and causing him to have limited verbalizations. Has he been slow to develop speech OR did he actually speak more earlier and then regress? To make a suggestion I'd have to receive more information or evaluate him. If there are any autistic spectrum issues then I'd encourage you to follow a holistic approach and absolutely avoid any further vaccinations. You can contact me if you have any questions or want to share more info so that I can offer further suggestions.

Check with your doctor. Some children choose not to talk until later. Some children have problems with hearing, or other issues that can affect speech. I would schedule an appointment with your son's doctor and address these concerns with the doctor.

My first two daughters were both late talkers. My first born did not actively begin talking until 2 1/2 years old and my second daughter did not begin talking until after 3 years of age. Every child has his/her own time table and to compare your baby to someone else's child who was talking at an early age is unfair to your child. I would speak to your pediatrician, however, about getting a referral to have his hearing tested. Does he respond to a sudden loud noise? You can test this out by clashing a pot with a spoon when he is in a nearby room where you can see him respond. Does he look your way when the noise is made? It's better to address any hearing issues now, than later. Please speak to your pediatrician if you are truly concerned. All the books and videos out there will not do any good if he can't hear.

He is only 18 months old. I would be concerned if you said he was 3, but he's young to start worrying. As long as he seems to understand what you say, I wouldn't start stressing yet. Teach him to sign a few words so he won't get frustrated. My son was a late talker and once we taught him a few signs (like more, all done, help), he started to make up a couple of his own (follow me, pick me up). He was a much happier child once he could communicate his needs, and eventually he spoke more and more. He is 11 now and in advanced classes.

You can do a google search for baby signs and find websites that will show you a few basic signs you can teach him

My youngest turned 2 in January and he's still "behind" in the language department. He has some words you can understand, but mostly it's just babbling. Within the last month, he has easily tripled the amount of real words he uses. I had people telling me to take him to specialists as if he were sick. There is nothing wrong with him. He's doing it in his own timeframe. He even called me daddy up until a few weeks ago. ??? I wouldn't worry if I were you.
My oldest was an early talker. She's 11 and never stops talking. The boy that came right after her was a late talker, but he's all caught up now. The third was also an early talker and never stops. The last is late. So mine take turns on their speech development. If you really want him to learn faster, talk to him in real, grown-up words all day long. Narrate his world. Point things out and talk about it. If I were you, I would just enjoy the quiet while it lasts! ;o)

Hi P.,
I understand you completely! I have a 3 year old boy, active, but was always home (no daycare or anything) and I noticed when he was almost 2 years old, he was still into the "mama, papa" things like that and his pediatrician and people always told me not to worry, children are different and some take more time than others...which is true, but I always felt like I needed to help him. By coming to this website I got the reassurance that I needed a lot of the moms in here recommended me to just in case check him out and call Early Steps and they transfered me to my local Children's Advocacy Center, which they help him w/speech and occupational therapy for free till he turned 3 years old and then they did all the paperwork to transfer him to Child Find, which they were the ones to enroll him in Pre-K for special needs eventhough he is 3 still. And believe me, he has improved sooooooo much! From the beggining Early Steps did so many test, even a hearing test and it does take time to receive help (that's why I suggest you calling asap) but it was worth it...even u have insurance they do offer the help for free...if I'm not mistaking they are all over Florida. Good luck, please let me know if you have questions.!

btw, the website for Early Steps is...
http://www.cms-kids.com/earlysteps/index.html

I have a 17.5 month old son and he only says a few words. (He added "up" this weekend.) He's my second, so I know not to stress. My first, DD, didn't speak a whole lot right away. Once she started talking, she would use a new word every day! Just you wait, what you were once waiting for to start ~ you'll be wishing for it to stop! LOL
Check in with your ped at the 18 month checkup. As long as all other milestones are being met, chances are there is no reason for concern. (It was explained to me with my firstborn that some children are busy meeting other milestones first and talking isn't "up there"... it WILL happen!)
Best wishes,
T.

start singing to him. He'll join in!

I have a 20 month old and his vocabulary is limited - but he is sooooo smart - he understands everything so the pediatrician says not to worry - he speaks a little more each week (we can maybe understand 25 words or so now) he makes lots of noise and imitates sounds...does your son seem to know what is going on? make noise? Communicate in other ways like pointing, screaming, just getting what he needs? If he does it's not to much of a worry he may just not need to speak to get his point across - if he isn't communicating at all I would suggest looking into it as soon as you can...I also have another child who has Aspergers (a kind of autism) and I wish I had followed up on his behavior much sooner.

The main thing is don't panic - I'm sure you know him so well he just feels like he doesn't need to talk to get what he wants...try making him ask for things before you give it to him...say to him "cup" as you offer it and hold it back until he makes some kind of vocal gesture to get it, toy, whatever it is he needs...I'm sure you will see an improvement real soon =)

Have you talked to your peditrician about this? He/she might have some ideas to help. My Children loved to be read to, they would often have something to say after a story. We talked to all of our children from the time they were born about every-day activities, now the older two can talk (or sing) circles around us.

If he has no hearing problem, he will start talking pretty soon. Make sure you speak to him very clearly using whole sentences. Help him by repeating the whole word he is trying to say. If he is anything like my grandaughter, he'll talk till you go nuts. :)

My son was like that, and I was worried too. If he has a quiet personality, he may understand more than he wishes to talk. I took him around his cousins for socialization and he began picking up more words over time.

Dear P.,

Your son should be due for his 18 month check up. Please discuss this with his doctor. It may be that he is just a late bloomer, it may be something important developmentaly. Your doctor will know what kind of questions to ask to evaluate your son correctly. If your son has developmental issues the sooner they are addressed and treated the better off he will be. Good luck to you and your family.

Many times babies may not speak until up to 3 years old...then they don't shut up. Just be patient. He will speak in his own time...he is probably just absorbing all that is going on around him.