18 Month Year Only Saying a Few Words

I think I asked this exact same question when my daughter was 18 months but she was saying far fewer words then your son is. Sounds to me like he's right on track. My daughter is 2 1/2 and she's just now starting to do a lot of talking. My doctor told me that if your child is very good at his motor skills then he may be a little late in talking and vice versa. That was the deal with our daughter, she had great motor skills for her age but not so much with the talking. I remember friends telling me to chill out that once she starts talking she won't stop and it'll take off from there and they were all right. Now there are some days I long NOT to hear Mommy! ha ha ha I think he's doing fine and your doing everything right. I bet in another couple months he wont STOP talking. Good luck. If you begin to feel he's behind and you want him to get help ask your doctor for the number of Early Education and they'll come out and test him, usually for free or reduced prices. If they find he's got a delay, they'll work with him. We almost did this with my daughter but it was like she knew because the week she had her appointment she learned like 10 new words!

My 18 1/2 month old son just started this week to add more words. All of the sudden he is copying what we say (oops! have to be really careful about that). His MD has not been too concerned since he is able to convey his wants and needs and is basically on track otherwise. Good luck!

Try the Priddy Books. They are basically words and realisstic pictures. My son was two in May and has a large vocabulary and even speaks in small sentences. He loved these books. I think you reading to him is great. And keep in mind, some kids justg talk later. A friend of mine once told me that her brither didn;t say much until he was three and immediately spoke in sentences. Good Luck.
Jen

K. O.

Early Intervetion from the State of Illinois can do great help & if you are in duPage Ct. Communcation clubhouse at ###-###-#### will be able to assist you further for help your child needs. Good luch

All children progress differently. We taught our daughter to sign. (there is a lot of controversy for that too but it is a passion of mine and since I know it I felt I should use it) Our daughter didn't utter a peep until she was about a year old and the pediatrician was a little upset about it. But I could sign a sentence to her and she answered! Why should I worry... She is 2 1/2 years old and just started speaking more clearly where I can actually understand what she is saying. Just before her 2nd birthday she started putting two words together and still jibber jabbered. They all catch up around the age of 3. Relax, unless your child is starting to stutter or lose words etc. I wouldn't worry about it.

I haven't read the other responses because it's late at night but my son is 20 months and has about 7 words. He still doesn't say "mama" - he calls me "ba". I wouldn't worry (yet). Boys develop verbally later than girls, for one, and also there is such a large window of what's "normal". If it's bothering you, you could ask his doctor. But I read the other day that about 7 words at 18 months means he's doing fine. It's not a warning sign by any means. And as for animal sounds and body parts, I was all worried that my son didn't know his body parts until yesterday when he was only slightly distracted by a toy and he pointed to his nose and toes when I asked him. I think your son probably knows them, there's just much more interesting stuff out there to be paying attention to! It'll come when you least expect it. My son doesn't have much patience for books either. Everybody's different - I'm sure he has strengths that you wouldn't even think about just because books and magazines make us think that talking is just about the only important milestone. I'm sure he's fine! Good luck!

We had the same concern. At about 16 months he was tested at Children's Memorial in Glenview. It is in a section of the Glenbrook Hospital. It turned out to be a hearing problem.
Tubes were put in his ears, to clear fluid, and at almost 2 1/2 he is doing great. Truthfully, if you do not suspect a medical problem, I would wait until he is 2 and see what you think. I was under the impression they all started talking in paragraphs by the age of about one. JUST KIDDING. I think he probably just neeeds some more time. If you can get him together with other 18m to say 4 year old children he would pick up alot just by being around them, interacting. Ours did.

Hi K.!
I experienced same when my 3 year old was 18 months. He had no additional word development thru 24 months. Our pediatrician referred us to Child & Family Connections of DuPage. A coordinator was assigned to us and Roland was evaluated for speech delay. He failed each test and he received help thru this early intervention program. Everything was done at our home. At 29 months he was re-evaulated for behavioral issues and a developmental and emotional delay were found. Additional therapy was added -- occupational and behavioral therapy...again all done at home. Early intervention was the best thing we did for Roland. Everyone was saying we were crazy -- all boys are slow. But my instinct told me something else. The sooner you get him evaluated the better. Early Intervention is covered by the state so you pay a monthly fee based on your income and family size and you get services only until he is 3 years old. A few months before Roland's 3rd birthday, our coordinator contacted our school district and he was evaluated again by the school system. He was accepted into Lisle's early childhood program and is doing wonderfully. Best of luck -- I hope this was helpful!!
S.
Lisle, Illinois

I was worried when my twins only had 5 words and animal sounds at 18 months. They also knew where a few body parts were when asked. I was thinking about getting a professional opinion, but once they hit 2 years old the language exploded!!! Some kids talk later than others. I was glad I waited to see how they progressed once they turned 2. They are now 28 months and can speak in a sentence.

It seems like people always have conflicting opinions on this issue because there's such a huge variation in when kids start talking and how fast they add to their vocabulary, but really the opinion that matters is yours. Trust your mommy instinct on this. If you are concerned that he might be behind, my advice would be to have him evaluated through the Early Intervention program, which your pediatrician can help you contact. That way you will have objective documentation of his development just in case there is a delay that doesn't resolve on its own, and you can put your mind at ease if they say he's on track. The evaluation should be free and should also include a hearing test, among others. (We had a neighbor who swore up and down that her child could hear, and had even passed the hearing screening at birth, but when tested just after age 2 was deaf in both ears and now has cochlear implants.) A speech delay can also affect other areas of development, but they will do a general evaluation before the speech eval to check. Even if they find a delay, you can still wait to see if he grows out of it if you feel he is making progress. Sometimes it takes a while to get into the system though, so I would at least schedule the evaluation.

We went through EI with my firstborn when he was 18 mos and speaking about as much as your son. I could tell that he was sometimes frustrated that we didn't always understand what he wanted. They did speech therapy at our house for about 5 months. Maybe he would have started talking on his own, but then again, maybe not, we'll never know. He still speaks more clearly now than most kids in his class and he's going into second grade. My second son started talking early - maybe because his older brother was such a chatterbox by then!

Whether or not you decide to have him evaluated, make sure to talk to your son throughout your daily activities. Describe what you are doing as you cook dinner, or get him or the baby dressed, or anything that you are doing. You are way more interesting to your child than any book. You can also get a book on baby signs at the library if you want to try a few of the basics like "more" and "milk" to see if he's interested. Sometimes learning a few signs gets the ball rolling for more speech development. Good luck!