How Many Words/sentances Should a 2-Year Old Be Speaking?

My Grandson will be nine in a few weeks and he has been diagnosed with Speech Apraxia but not until he was in 1st grade in school. He was checked for hearing (but that was about all we could get the Drs to do early on) because his hearing was ok they didn't think it necessary to go farther. When he did try to talk it came out as gobbledy gook, another Grandson who was a few years older than him asked me what language he was speaking. When he was in first grade we finally got his diagnosis and treatment was then started. He made rapid progress and we are so releaved, but if we could have had the diagnosis sooner he would have been much further along. He would have been elligible for help as young as 2 or 3 and might not have been as bad or have required to still be in speech therapy at nearly 9.
This affects all their language skills, reading, writing, the way words are used as well as the context they are used and the speech itself.
I know this is long and involved, but I'm telling you this to make a point. If you have a Dr who is smart enough to realize there might be a problem and willing to have him tested then by all means let him if they find a problem the sooner he has speech therapy and other help the quicker there can be progress and if they don't find anything the sooner your mind can rest easy.
Believe me this is a the sooner the better type of thing. Also there is State and Federal help available in most states for the extra expenses involved in the treatment so that shouldn't be a worry.
Because of the delay in getting help for my Grandson he still has a bit of trouble with anything to do with speech and language and spelling. He's a real whiz in math and science and anything to do with imagination and his speech has improved till you can understand him very well unless he gets excited and then you have to tell him slow down and repeat it.
So, please let them test your son, the sooner the better and good luck and God Bless.

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I'll tell you, I worried about my son as well. He could understand absolutely anything you told him. Words, sentences, it didn't matter, he knew what you were talking about. I started when he was probably 18 months old and made him ask for something if he wanted it and within a couple of weeks, he realized that and would start using words to ask for milk, food, or whatever. I was worried about him later on because he didn't want to speak in sentences. He would tell you the word and that was just about it. At some point around his 2nd birthday, it all clicked with him and he started putting everything in sentences! Granted, they're not all complex. Sometimes it's a simple as Milk please Momma or as complex as Look Momma, Mater's in the sky in the helicopter! My son had done everything else early, so I was expecting him to be at the full sentence stage long before he was. He went very quickly, probably within 2 weeks from just words to sentences with everything, so 6 weeks might make a difference with your son.

If the doctor's worried at his 2 year checkup, the hearing test won't hurt anything and you might find something that could be easily corrected. I do think speech training can help a child if done early, because a child I used to babysit for started speech therapy at 3 since he had a VERY strong lisp and couldn't speak hardly any words correctly and by age 5 with weekly visits, he could say everything perfectly. Your child is probably just taking his own sweet time and it may be that he's so smart he doesn't feel the need to talk. Also, since he goes and gets what he wants, he probably doesn't see the need to ask for it. I wouldn't stress at this point. Just work with him on saying more words and be thankful his favorite word isn't no like my son!

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The others are probably right, that he will speak soon enough. However, it wouldn't hurt to follow your doctor's advice and have his hearing tested, just in case. That way you could avoid having problems later on. As far as speech therapy goes, I would tend to wait on that unless there is in fact an issue with hearing. Enjoy your little guy!

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"What to Expect-The Toddler Years" says by 18 months they should be sayng 50+ words. I taught pre-school for 3 years and got discouraged when we would recommend a speech evaluation for a child and one parent would object. Just imagine how frustrating it can be for child who can't be understood by caregivers and friends and his parents won't do anything about it. I see absolutely no harm in having his hearing tested and having him see a speech pathologist-kids going to speech is more common than you may think. Doing this now is preferable to waiting until he's in Kindergarten when it can be embarassing.
I'm not saying there is an issue, he could just be stubborn and his language may blossom any day (even in the next 6 weeks!)But I'm sure you would do anything to help your son whenever possible. God bless, let us know what you decide and how it turns out!

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50 words that don't include family members or pets names. and they should be able to say "want drink" so like two-word phrases...that said...at 24 months other than family and pets dd could say no, yes, want, dink(drink), ice, light and bite. about 6-8 weeks later I made her mad because I had a sprite and she wanted it, all she kept saying was "want dink" and I kept saying not now as we were in the car. She got really upset started crying and then stopped crying when I got the gas station...said "mommy, want dink, NOW" I said--well, that's talking more--if you'll talk for it, you can have it...she's never shut up since. LOL!

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You have gotten some good advice and I agree with what has been said. Just an observation from a former Pre-K, K teacher....are you and your husband very verbal people? Does your child hear conversation in your home, is he read to daily for at least 20 minutes, do you and your husband converse with him? All these things are important. Along that same line, there are statics on how many words words a child should hear in his early years? That has a definite relations to the verbal skills children develop, sorry I do not remember the number but it is larger than one would think. I have taught (in my 27 years in the classroom) children who hardly said anything that wasn't absolutely necessary and sometimes not then. Sometimes it was due to an older sibling answering them and there was no need for them to speak until they were in a situation without the crutch of someone else speaking for them. Another thing that is very prevalent in our family is my husband, nor any of his family are very verbal. On the other hand, as you can see from this post, I am as well as most of my family are the exact opposite. It has all worked out with our two adult children, both quite verbal if they wish to be and not if they prefer silence. Do go ahead with the hearing test if your doctor still recommends it, when he gets to K the school should do one but why wait if there is something that could be corrected now. God bless, your son is also blessed to have a mother on top of her child rearing skills. His P-K teacher will know something about this, she can give you some ideas as well.

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There is no set amount of words or sentences that a child should be speaking by two years old, however, it would not hurt anything to have his hearing checked. It is not invasive and would ease any fears you may have about that possibility. By not speaking,and just pointing, it sounds to me like he is just playing a game and leading you around by the nose. He gets what he wants without any effort on his part. I had a child of mine try the same thing with me. I solved this problem by not playing his game. Whenever he would point at something without saying the name of the object I would act like I didn't know what he was pointing at. I kept this up until he either gave up or said what it was he wanted. This took a little while but it worked. Believe me, by the time they are two they know how to manipulate mommy and daddy. Just refuse to play his game and he will be speaking in no time at all.

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I brought the same concern to my ped when we went for our 2 year check up. My DS had limited vocabulary. She offered speech therapy, but I wanted to wait a couple of months first. Within weeks of that appointment, his vocabulary exploded! He was talking so much more that friends and family commented on how fast his vocabulary expanded. He's now 31 months and talks in complete sentences and can sit and tell you an entire story. Be patient.

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I see you have a lot of responses already, but just wanted to put in my 2 cents worth. My now 7 year old son was the same way. He didn't want to speak and when he started primary class at school at the age of 3, the first thing they said was maybe he needed speech therapy. Well we waited and before you know it he was speaking just like the rest of the kids. We realized that even though we were trying to get him to speak, he didn't have to. I wouldn't worry about it yet. If you don't think he can hear you, have his hearing checked. If he responds to sounds and words he is probably just fine. My husband and I still laugh about having concerns about him speaking. He can go on and on now.

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My oldest daughter had a hard time with speech. She was a lot slower than the other kids her age and was hard to understand. It got considerablely better after age 2 and then at 3 we started her in speech therapy. It's helped but been slow in progress. If the doctor orders a hearing test and it turns out OK I would personally hold off on speech. The younger they are the harder time I think they have (at least between my kid and some friends kids). Also, it seems like after 3 you would know if there was a problem, or him just being stubborn. I would think speech would be more effective if they knew what they needed to work on.
I would go with your gut on this one. If his hearing is perfect, then maybe wait 6 more months and see if you want a therapy consult. Good luck! Each child is different and mom usually know what's best!

My sister and I both have boys that turned 2 in October (6 days apart). My son was my 3rd baby and was speaking complete 5-6 word sentences by 21 months. We believe he did so well because he was trying to keep up with big brother and sister. But my sister's little boy was her first child and he just started talking well in the past month or so. At Christmas he was still just saying 1 or 2 words at a time and they were the typical ma-ma, da-da, ball, etc. But by Valentines Day our boys were able to talk on the phone and sounded about the same. So yes, 6 weeks can make a huge difference. I know that one difference between myself and my sister's way of doing things is that I've always spoken to my children in my normal adult voice. But my sister uses a lot of baby talk with her boys. I don't think you should worry too much about it. I believe there are a lot of doctors that are over reacting to this stuff and trying too hard to make every child develop at the same times. First children are going to do things a little later than multiple children. It just makes sense. And no matter what any doctor says, you should just follow your mothering instincts. If you believe he's fine, then he probably is. Sounds like you are being a very good mother to check on this. Just keep up the good work and I'm sure your little boy will surprise you very soon. Good luck!!
A.

I don't know how anyone can tell if there is truly an issue & it's time to be concerned. But I do know that my now 2 1/2 year old boy said just a few words before his 2 yr birthday. Pretty much right when he turned 2 he started saying a TON of words & he now speaks in sentences. I think this is very common, but it also sounds very common that Drs. send children for testing / therapy at 2 if they don't say enough. My Dr. is more laid back & said he would be fine - and he is! Can't help solve your problem but hopefully this provides a little reassurance that he'll probably be ok.

Trust your own instincts. People think pediatricians are geniuses but they aren't, they are just people. If he is the first child, it does seem a bit slow but my second son was the same way. Understood everything and rarely spoke until almost three then it was complete sentences. Yours may be an observer. Ignore the doctor. That's my opinion.