Getting My 16 Month-old to Talk.

Dear L.,

It is too early for her to articulate - she is listening and learning - just continue to talk to and with her - respond in short sentences . My children didn't talk until they were close to 3, it was hard to wait, but they were fine. Albert Einstein didn't talk until about 5 years old, and his family called him 'the Dummy' - who knew?

Singing with her will help a lot too. My great grand daughter and I were singing together for a long time before she talked, and she still likes to sing songs and enjoy life in a light hearted way.

Kids are very very smart, their brains continue to develop after birth, as you already know, so keep 'feeding' her brain with nutritious foods and good sounds - good music, talking with her and loving, loving, loving. C. N.

Every child is different, and by the age of 2, which is still 8 months away, children on average say about 50 words, then 2000 by the age of 3. I would not be concerened, as long as the comprehension is there. 16 months is not late to be saying only a few words. Just be aware that you are making it necessary for her to talk to you and it helps to expose the child to other children in a play setting. I work with kids ages 2-3 and parents are amazed how much they pick up from their peers as opposed to their parents. You can teach her sign language, but to me, that only perpetuates being mute even more, from experiences I have had with parents who thought it was cool to teach them signing. Good luck.

L.,

My son wasn't talking at 16 months, then not talking at 18 months, then not talking at 20 months, still not talking at 22 months... It was really frustrating and our pediatrician kept telling us to just wait... Well, I saw a different doctor at 22 months and she gave me a referral to early intervention and told me that we could have self referred! Grrrr. Anyway, since you are concerned, I'd recommend finding your local early intervention office and making an appointment. They will do an evaluation for you and a hearing test (it is all free) and if they feel your daughter needs services, the services are free. If they feel your daughter doesn't need services, you'll still get the opportunity to talk to a developmental specialist and they can give you all sorts of tips and advice to help your daughter start to talk.

One thing we did for my son is get the Signing Times DVDs. http://www.signingtime.com/ It was a nice "crutch" to help him communicate while he was learning to talk and the videos focus on signing but they also say the words over and over and over. My son would often learn a word verbally at the same time he would pick up the sign. FWIW, the first 3 DVDs are by far the best and most useful in my opinion.

Good luck!

T.

Everyone's response seems to be the same.... My daughter was born with a unilateral hearing loss, so we taught her sign language. She CAN hear, but we wanted to make sure she could communicate too.... She speaks and signs over 114 words now (age 2). She used sign language as a way of communicating and then the words starting to come. In fact, if she is saying something and we don't understand, then she will sign....

I really recommend it... The signing time videos are wonderful to use and the girl (Leah) is actually deaf and her mother is the one who created it.

Hope that helps.

Tammy/B. Daycare
Lic#: 334816143
http://mysite.verizon.net/resnwy4p/batesfamilydaycare2/

Definitely get Allie tested just to be certain that something else isn't going on. Public schools must offer services even to children that are as young as your daughter if she qualifies.

As an educator, I cannot stress how important it is that you continue to talk to and with Allie using "adult" words and phrases. Though she is not fully expressing herself right now, she is hearing everything (though, that may actually be it, so get her hearing tested as well).

Read to her often (EVERYDAY!) so that when she is ready to speak, she'll have the vocabulary for it. I encourage you to play music with lyrics as well. There is a great series of CDs and books put out by Kindermusik. They are called Do-Re-Mi & You which can purchased at www.discoverytoyslink.com/fatimac
You can also play dress up, make believe and role play to encourage Allie to talk. A fun game is also from Discovery Toys called "Roll and Play" which encourages vocabulary, social development and verbal communication.

Be patient with Allie and one day she will surprise you with her speech. Take Care!

My daughter did the same thing, then started talking in full sentences after she turned 2. Many states have agencies that will offer FREE services, like speech therapy, to children under the age of 3 exhibiting developmental delays. In Hawaii, it is called Imua, and I did speech therapy with my daughter. Also try sign language - babysigns.com - that is REALLY COOL and easy to do. It will bridge the gap till she speaks, which was helpful for us.

Good luck!

At this age praise works wonders. When she says words like Mama and such, give her a big hug and praise and tell her "thank you for using your words". This always worked with my kids.

As a mom with children with learning disabilities, I have done extensive research, testing, and advocacy. My advice: any time you suspect a delay, get your child tested. You need a speech pathologist. There are a number of directories to find one in your area. However, tht best reference is other moms in your comunity. Or write to me, I would be happy to help. There may be nothing wrong, but best to find out early. My twins had interventions from the time they were 10 months old. I can't imagine where they would be now without it.
Good Luck - Chris

Hi L., my son was speech delayed. He was my first and I was told by lots of people, including his peditrician, that kids develop at their own rate, which is true...but somethings are indicators of developmental delays that you need to watch carefully. I'm not saying this is the case with your daughter, but I wish someone would have pointed this out to me earlier.
J.--also a WAHM
www.workingforwellness.biz

Have you thought of using american sign language? It really helped my family as well as many others. There is an awesome dvd series called Signing Time and they even have some shows on Public television too. They are really fun and educational for all ages. Check them out online...

www.signingtime.com

Encourage her by talking, reading, singing,or anything that deals with language, and she will learn from it. Also, by sounding out words slowly or by emphasizing on certain syllables will encourage further sound making or talking from your daughter as well.Don't stress over it though because babies can feel emotions, just as children and adults do.

M. G. *~

My son was the exact same way, and people always kept telling me boy start later, some talk until they are 3 ect. But I was not convinced I had his hearing tested twice with the ENT and contacted Alta regional when both tests came back fine. my son is 22 mos and only speaks 8 word and alot of baby talk alta sent my son to jabbergym for an evaluation and my instinct was right my son has a speech delay he is at a level of a 12 month old he starts therapy with alta tommorow. and the best part alta paid for the evaluation and everything. It never hurts to have your baby tested they usually like for them to be 20-22 mos before the evaluation but in the meanwhile you could have her hearing tested. hopefully she will just be a late talker because that is also a possibility.

Hi L., This is something normal, I have 3kids and they all spoke at different ages. My older Daughter spoke clearly at 18months, my Son at 3 1/2 and my toddler now is 2yrs old. started speaking clearly at 2yr. But we always speak to them very clearly. I repeat myself many times slowly. Example(Do you want the apple, Apple. Is not good to speak to them with baby talk even when they are babies. Also reading to them, Always slow and patient. They need a lot of patience and love. Kids are like sponges, they absorb everything they hear, and repeat everything we say. But for your own peace of mind consult with your pedeatrician and ask them to check your daughter, to make sure physically she is all right. Don't worry she will be speaking soon and then you will tell her to be quiet! lol. Have a Good Day!!

Having worked with very young children for many years, I have encountered this concern more than once. You are correct in thinking that 16 months is a little late, but it is not beyond what is considered "normal" on a developmental timeframe. First, you need to rule out a few fundamental things: do you know if she hears well or not? Pay attention to that , and tests such as clapping your hands a ways behind her when she is not looking can also give you an idea of her hearing. If you think there might be a problem, have her ped conduct a hearing test.

If there is no question that there is a hearing problem, the BEST way to encourage your child to speak is to speak constantly to them. Describe to them everything you do when they are with you, and ask them questions pertaining to what you're doing to encourage her to make conversation. You may feel a little silly at first, but all mommys understand! Describe things in detail, and be super interactive with the object/task you are at. And don't talk to her like you were talking like another baby: talk to her like she understands everything you say to her (and she probably does). My daughter is 17 months old, and while she was an early talker and now has a crazy big vocabulary, she still chit chats in baby talk a great majority of her time - like its her language, and she just speaks english when she needs too! Read often if you have the time: this also encourages the learning of a wide array of simple vocabulary. Im also a HUGE fan of sesame street, it really does encourage young children the basic building blocks of language in a way that theirs brains can process and then reproduce what they hear. My daughter watches one episode of sesame street (1 hour) once a day, and I have noticed a HUGE leap in simple words as well as counting, abc's, and visual recognition of letters and numbers.

So try a few things - but if you are really concerned, take her to her ped and see what he/she has to say!

Hi L.
I wasn't going to respond to your request, but then I read what everyone had to say. It's obvious that your daughter doesn't have a severe loss. You can still get her tested, if you wish. I just wanted to say a BIG, FAT THANK YOU to all the moms on here who reccomended sign language. I found out my daughter was deaf when she was 2. I have been using sign language ever since. It has been nothing, but a blessing. The screaming(out of frustration) stopped almost immediately. I am a very talkative person. I always have been. My daughter is the same way. She is very vocal. Teaching your child sign language is NOT going to make her "mute!" (I hate that term Sorry!) My daughter doesn't speak very legibly, but there is nothing in this world that is going to stop her from trying. As your child gets older there are things she will naturally want to know and say. Unless you become a very skilled signer, she will use her voice. It's human nature to vocalize an individuals wants and needs. So unless there very well indeed is an underlying problem, she will only naturally use it. I personally believe that she is fine and she is just not using it yet or she is still processing what language is.
Good Luck and THANK YOU to all the ladies. Signing Time is so wonderful. I still get the catchy tune stuck in my head.
K. F

I have a two year old son, and what helped him to start communicating more, was learning some sign language so he could increase his vocabulary before he was ready to verbally speak. It really helped his frustration level, & he can use it along with the new words he is learning.

You can either get a book & learn it (easy!), or take a class or play group. Just look up baby signs...it was developed by a couple professors in (UC) Davis, so it's easy to find in this area.

Make sure that your daughter's caretakers/family members learn her signs, and be aware she may make up her own signs, as my son did. It's neat to see them use the signs, and instead of stunting their verbal vocabulary, it seems to do the opposite, & really help them to move along & learn new words & ways to communicate. And it's fun!

god i wish i could help you my 18 month old is the exact same way! he refuses to talk except for the occasional "dada" and "shoes"!! let me know if anything works!