2 Year Old Vocabulary

Hi J.. My son was the exact same way. At his 2 yr check-up we were referred for a hearing test and speech evaluation. He tested at 15 months for speech but developmentally he was right on track. We started therapy right away. At 2 1/2 years (January 2009) he had a speech explosion. At the beginning of summer he tested above average for his speech usage and articulation. We just stopped therapy in July. Of course we are very relieved that he was just a late talker but we are so glad that we started therapy because if there had been a problem he would have lost those 6 months of help. He loved his therapist and talked about "playing with Miss Carrie" all the time! If insurance covers most or all of the visits I would certainly go ahead and get started. We are so glad we did. If you want any further information please feel free to send me a private email.

I'm not sure about OH, but in Indiana, we have a First Steps program that will evaluate children under age 3. My boys were late talkers. You could tell they both wanted to talk badly, and knew they should, but each had their own ways of not talking. I went through First Steps, mostly because I'd been told it's harder to get them services through the school once they are over age 3 if they haven't been in First Steps. With both boys, I found their speech really took off after they went to preschool and were around peers. Being around peers a lot may help your son too. Early intervention is definitely best for your child. And with First Steps, a federal program, it is relatively inexpensive.
Good luck.
R.

Call your ped and get a referal for a speech assessment. If they find something get in touch with help me grow right away. There is an excellent program at Columbus Speech and Hearing but you can only get in if refferred through help me grow. Don't wait. I decided to give my son a couple of months to try to outgrow it. But by the time we got the referel from insurance, the testing, the referel to Help Me Grow and their testing my son was 2 1/2 and the only services I got from them was a referal to CPS. Don't wait the early intervention services are great but if you wait you won't qualify.

We're working with a speech therapist through a state-run program and have been happy with the results so far. See if Ohio has anything that can help, if not, your insurance may cover it. Make an apt. with your pediatrician, they will know where to go.

Hi J.,

Have you every seen the infomercial for Your Baby Can Read? It is the most wonderful program. I started it with my daughter when she was 18 months and she's almost 2 and a half now. She really gained a lot of words with that program. It's a DVD, flash cards, and a book program. She can read (not just say) about 150 words now, in addition to other everyday vocabulary that isn't even in the program. You may be able to find it on Ebay or Craigslist if you don't want to buy it new.

My great nephew didn't say much until the age of 3. Then bam he knew it all. In kindergarten he was tested and they wanted to advance him up a grade. He does excellent in school and sports.

My little man has Autism and didn't talk until he was 4 years old, but he is really smart and now talking up a storm. I don't know that's something you need to worry about but it wouldn't hurt just to get him evaluated for a developmental delay and possibly speech therapy. Some things we did in speech therapy that really helps was ssooooouuuuunnnnndddddinnnnngggg out our words really aggagerated, use short sentences so he can concentrate on the important words, read very simple books or even harder books-but make up your own simple story, and just kept trying. If you are truly worried though, don't wait for his pediatrican to discover something, seek an evaluation and go from there. My son's Dr. kept putting us on hold saying he would catch up and he never did. Not saying you will have the same issues, I have no idea, but maybe these suggestions will at least help a bit.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Some kids are late talkers. My son is a special needs child and is a little different scenario, but he had very limited vocabulary at 2 and with SPT, he caught up with his language with his peer group and is now 6 yrs old. He can't stop talking :-)

My son had a very limited vocabulary at age 2 also. Then when he turned 3 it seemed like he started having conversations overnight. He is now 8 and I think he talks all day and night...lol! Good luck, to me it sounds normal but if you are worried talk to his doctor. All kids are different!

J.,

I know people will mean well by telling you that every thing will be OK, and I do not mean to be any kind of alarmist, but what if everything is not fine, and you wait and see, and he could have been helped with early therapy? You have zero to loose by getting an evaluation from a speech therapist right now, and that is the professional you should be asking!

Developmental issues are moving targets, and the earlier you get therapy, the more effective it will be. Right now, he is learning not just language skills, but how to interact with people based on language skills, so one delay will effect anohter delay and so on. His growth right now is astonishing, and it is all interdependent on language.

Time is free, and it is on your side right now. Take advantage of it, and hope that the therapist scolds you for being a pushy Mom with a kid who has no problem whatsoever who will some day be in the gifted program at school, or a brain surgeon, or a...what ever! The better news is, he just might still be all those things even if something is wrong, but only if you get him the help he needs as early as you possibly can.

My point is, don't risk it. Get an evaluation instead of waiting to see if he turns out like your neighbors nephew's grand son who did the same thing and is fine now...it is worth your time to find out from an expert when ever you are talking about developmental issues. They are too important to wait and see.

M.

Hi J.,

My son was born with a cleft lip and palate so we had him in the Help Me Grow program to work with speech. He will be 2 next month and like your son, tries to say what you ask him to but he is more just repeating sylabols and not the actual word. Help Me Grow is a great program and the speech therapists come to our house every other week to work with him. Since your son is behind in vocabulary (according to the program) he would probably be qualified. Since we have been doing home visits for a year without much improvement the next step for us is getting him involved in an evening class for more interaction with other children. I suggest looking into the program to see if you feel that it would be beneficial to your son.

Good luck!
A.

My now 9 year old was close to 3 before his vocabulary was enough to carry on a conversation. He is now in the gifted program in elementary school, plays football, and has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. They just figure it out, so don't worry, unless he's getting frustrated because he wants to communicate, but can't. My friend's little girl learned some signs to deal with the frustration until she learned more words. I also have a 2 year old, soon to be three, and he's just as slow to speak as my 9 year old was, but, no worries, it will happen! Then, there's no stopping them!! Good luck!!

Use your intuition. If you think it is wrong, dont wait for the pediatrician. Find out what your Early Intervention program is and have them evaluate him. When I waited for the doctor I kept getting the run around. If they arent talking by...then we will,,, Then when they hit that age I would hear it again. I finally heard about our program, and they are still in speech. They are 4 now. I always have to wonder if the first time I noticed there could be a problem had we interviened then would the still be needing the speech? Fortunately, for us it is just speech, and your little guy sounds just like my guys. Comprehension is great, fine motor skills great. They hit every other milestone on track. So just have him evaluated so that you know for sure that you are doing what you need to help him out.

It's hard to say at this age. He could be a late bloomer or you might be right to be concerned. I always thought there was something off about my child but everyone, from the pediatrician to therapists to teachers to family & friends, all tell us that he's just delayed temporarily and will catch up by 3, then by 5, then by school age. We wanted to believe it so much. He never caught up. We now think he has high-functioning autism. Early Intervention has really helped. If you're concerned, you should have him tested by the county services or through private means. It never hurts to do everything, just in case. More likely than not, he's just a late bloomer.

Good luck !

Hi, I read your post about your sons speech and vocabulary and wanted to let you know I know where you are comming from as my little girl is in a simular situation! She will be 2 on sept 4th and has been in speech therapy for about 2 months and has improved greatly but is still behind and I know it will take awhile before she catches up. when she first started she only had about 5 words that she could say and would not imitate or attempt other words normally and now she has over 20 words and is attempting a lot more though they typically sound nothing like the word. I would talk to your ped at his 2year check up since it is comming soon. from what I know the "norm" is that they should have about 50 words. tell the ped. that you are conserned and you can even request that they send a referal to First Steeps (kentucky's early intervention program) and they will do an evaluation- although there has to be what they consider a substantial delay (2 standard deviations below "normal") to qualify for therapy and assistance from them. I would also ask the dr about some therapy from a different place if he does not qualify. As well as ideals on what you can do at home to help. What I have learned is that you need to talk to him as much as possible and be very discriptive (ie. instead of saying that is a ball say that the little red ball is on the floor) Also is he around other young kids around his age? My daughter is not (as i stay at home with her) and they suggested try to give her more interaction with others- play dates, park, play area at the mall, gymnastics, ext. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or anything.

my 16 year old still had not said a two word sentence at 23 months. He was behind in language skills. Today, he tests gifted, is an eagle scout and is very articulate. He never had any speech therapy. Children develop at different rates. Your child may just be developing other areas at this time. He may need speech therapy, but may just not "fit" into the developmental time tables for the "average" child.

My daughter just turned 2 last week. Her peditrician wanted her to have around 40 words by age 2. I worried for awhile about her language because she seemed to have less words than some of my friends with kids the same age, though she was still over the 40 words mark I knew her doctor wanted her to be at. About a month or two ago, she suddenly exploded with words and now we are easily over 150 with new ones getting added daily. I think the most important things you mentioned are that he understands what you are saying and that he is asking for you to name things by asking what's that. That makes me think he is likely getting ready to have many words in vocab. That being said,I'd still mention your concerns to his dcotor at his two year check-up. See what they say and follow their advice/suggestions if they are concerned.

Hi there,
My son did the exact same thing. At 2.5 yrs he was still only saying things like "da da rock"... when what he was saying was "daddy look at the rock" We were worried but when we would talk to him or ask him to do something he would go and do it so we knew hearing wasnt an issue. So we kept saying we would check him out and then we would decide that he was fine. Sure enough are 3 he started talking now he is 4.5 and talks in full sentences and we cant get him to stop talking sometimes. So I would say if he is hearing you and understanding everything you are saying then I wouldnt be to worried about it. But if he isnt hearing what you are saying and responding then you might have an issue. Hope this helped you out!

My daughter was like that. She didn't say her first word until 15 mos. and was slow to pick up more words until after she turned 2. It seemed like a switch was turned on around 2 years old and well, then she wouldn't shut up! We also had trouble understanding her and her preschool actually said she had a speech difficulty and suggested we we get her evaluated. We never ended up doing that and it all worked itself out naturally and now she is a normal 7 year old that speaks beautufilly (and sometimes too much!)in the 2nd grade. I wouldn't worry until he's a bit older. I"m sure he will be just fine.

Your son will talk more when he needs too and not until.My niece was like this and she went through a couple years of speech therapy, but she still only spoke when she needed to or was told to.The therapist said when she pointed to what she wanted we were to ask her what it was and make her say the word.Only after trying to say the word would she get what ever she was pointing at.She was almost 4 before she would talk on her own but now we can't shut her up. LOL.

Enjoy him being a baby . He will start saying words you don't want him to say.

Well, by looking though some of your responses it seems that pretty much everyone has about the same story to tell. So I might as well add mine. My daughter was very physically active from a very early age, she was walking at 8 months old, not just scooting around from pieces of furniture but on her own walking. Needless to say she was a little to busy to worry about talking.

I will never forget her pediatrician telling me at her 2-year well baby check up that he thought that she was speech delayed because she didn't not have very many words in her vocabulary. He told me that we would wait 6 months and see where she was at. At about 2 1/2 she started talking and let me tell you she must have been really paying attention to all that she was hearing because she actually had a HUGE vocabulary, with pretty big words that she used correctly. Also her pronuciation was excellent and there was never problem with being able to understand her. She is 7 now and extremely intelligent and still very active and athletic. She also still has a much broader vocabulary than most kids her age.

I guess the over all message for you is, like someone else said, go with your gut. I don't think that speach therapy would be detrimental in any way but if you feel that everything is fine then just give it some time and see what happens. The biggest thing to remember is that all children develop at their own pace. The "milestones" are good targets to look at but I really think that they should broaden out the age ranges.

I am thinking that pretty much any decision that you make at this time is going to end up being the right decision for you and your family.

Good luck.

Hi there J.,

I have the same issue!!! It's amazing how you always think your child is the Only one with "that issue" whatever it may be. I actually spoke with his ped when he was about 16 mos. because my older son (who's nine) spoke very clearly since he was 11 months old. He even learned all the songs my mom and I sang for him. When he turned 2 he spoke with complete sentences!!! But on the other hand, he was not very interested in toys, coloring, or even playing with other kids. He eventually grew to love playing outside and is great at math! My two year old...turned 2 in June and is still not saying much. I, as his mother understand what he wants to say but no one else can. When the ped. and I had this chat about eight months ago, he sent me to a speech therapist. When we took him for his evaluation, the therapist said he was perfectly fine and gave us some guidelines to help him along the way (at that time he only said "mommy" nad maybe 3 or 4 more words) he told us that by the time he was about 24 months he should have a vocabulary of at least 12 more words. His comprehension skills are good and his attention spand is right where it should be. He is very active, loves to run, play, and even pretends to read books. The therapist also explained how boys usually get their motor skills down first and then their speech, where girls are usually the opposite. Every child is different, I have the perfect example at home with my two boys. Don't worry too much and talk with your childs Doc. The most important thing is that he feels loved and safe. Everything else will fall into place right when it should. Good Luck!

Our pediatrician told us that kids are usually one of two ways: they either talk a lot and don't "motor around" much, or they're walking/running around and not talking much. We have two daughters, and our first was a talker, the second was a motor-er. Like you said, comprehension was there, but she just didn't talk much. She's now nearly 3 (November) and we almost can't shut her up! (Not that we want to, she's just become a little bit of a chatterbox, and it's so cute!)

Anyway, they may recommend someone to help him talk more....I think it's called "First Steps". We never ended up doing that because we knew the comprehension was there.

My mother (who is a special ed/Learning disabled teacher) has a joke about a 4 year old who never spoke until one night at dinner, he asked someone to pass the mashed potatoes. Everyone gasped and asked why he hadn't said anything before then, and he replied "The service has been pretty good until now."

I teased and said our daughters had trained us well - we knew what the cries meant - hungry, thirsty, hot, cold, gassy, whatever. We prompted our first daughter all the time, but realized we didn't so much with our second. That will help some. You might even tag them with a few hand signals to see if he picks up on those and uses them.

For what it's worth - and good luck!