My 26 Month Old Boy Is Not Talking Much

My sister's son also had very few words at this age. His pediatrician said that at that age it was still a matter of different kids being on different schedules. She turned out to be right. Riley is now a happy, verbal, expressive, intelligent Kindergartner. I just googled about Einstein. He spoke late -- not until 3 years of age.

I'm a mom too and I understand your worry. I really do. But it's premature to worry now. I have also heard that kids in bilingual homes tend to talk later. It will all be ok.

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Toddlers raised in bilingual homes take longer to speak since they are processing more. 15-20 words is good- I would not worry. But if you are stressed have him evaluated to allay your concerns.

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My son also had a speech delay and now goes to to a pre-school (paid for by the state) where he gets additional therapy...it has helped so much.

He now talks all the time..

Get the evaluation....they will direct you to the help you need, if any.

Start the therapy as soon as possible.

K.

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relax a little, children who are bilingual from birth develop language slower than those who are monolingual-as they are required to develop two separate "filing systems". Don't despair, don't give up either. When he does start speaking, he'll do it in both languages naturally! My son does it now in three-German, English and Dutch.

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<y daughter iis bilingual, and I don't think you have anything to worry about! My daughter is 28 months and her vocabulary is EXPLODING right now - every kid has their own pace!

My niece (3) is ALSO just learning how to talk - she is 18 months older than my daughter! She is a super bright girl that won't say it at all if she can'tsay it perfectly.

Does your son look you in the eye? Play games with you? If he does, I wouldn't be too worried.

You're Mom, though 0 you know him best. If you think there's something wrong, go with your gut feeling. If he just doesn't want to talk...he'll do it eventually!

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Hi A.,
I happen to know just a little bit about this, because I also speak Spanish and my husband does not. I wanted to speak Spanish to my boys (2 and 6 yrs.)although after doing some research we decided not to. We found that it could delay their speech a little because they are processing both of the languages. I would bet that your little one can understand you though. I have a friend who also spoke Sapnsih to both her kids, her husband also speaks Spainsh and they were both delayed in speech but caught up with absolutely no problems. I am no doctor but I would bet he is just processing both languages. I would definetly ask your doctor for a referral for speech services. Some places can even come to your house for services.
I commend you for speaking Spanish to your boy, part of me wishes I would have gone ahead and done that as well. Good luck to you.
M.

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It is not signs of autism. If it was, he would not interact with you, your husband or anyone. He would not be friendly or playful with people and he would most definitely be afraid of strangers. I work for a Doctor who has two practices. One of them is a practice for autistic children, and believe me, you would know if your child was autisitc. Chances are, and this happens often, it is the fact that he is bilingual that is causing his speech delay. Sometimes kids like this don't know which language to use so they don't say either. It happened to my friend's nephew. They told them to speak only one language around him for a while and when they did, he started talking up a storm. Once he was established in english then they started intergrating the other language to him. Good luck!

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you are doing the right thing by getting him tested!! whatever the outcome, have a good cry and beleive that your son will be alright. there are great schools in nyc. the sooner he gets services the better it will be.

have your cry but remember, your son is not a label, he is your beautiful, smart, baby. he will be fine. just go through the evals, and get your services. you will be very pleased and the entire journey will be a blessing. you will meet great parents, and together you all will stregthen each other and help your kids.

my son had early intervention and trust me, i went through the valley so i can understand. but today i can tell you that everything will be alright, just get him in a center based program as soon as you can. email me off list if you need to.

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Don't worry! It's totally normal for kids who grow up in multi-lingual homes to start speaking a lot later. The up side is that once they do, you will be amazed at how well he'll speak both languages. And he will know which language to speak to whom.
So, don't stress yourself out. Keep talking and reading to him, and try to get him engaged (which you already are doing) and he will speak soon enough!

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My first child was within all the normal timelines for development according to the pediatrician, yet lagged behind her peers somewhat. Although speech was not her issue, the advice here is the same. After years of questioning, finally in 6th grade I found out she had learning disabilities; when I took her to a private OT for evaluation, I was told she was a classic case. If she was so classic, why did no one tell me? The pediatrician is not a specialist, so cannot see sensory problems (or speech problems) that are not extreme. The school waits until a child is failing miserable before it steps in, but an LD child is smart and can fake reading until about 4th grade.

My point here is to get a private evaluation from a specialist - a speech and language pathologist. Do not wait or ask your pediatrician. Be proactive. The worst that will happen is that you spend some money to find out your baby is normal.

I wish you the best of luck with your child, and want you to know that there are many therapies out there if he gets a diagnosis. Remember, he is not a diagnosis, he is a child with delayed speech. And that can be remedied. My daughter had LD in 6th grade, but after 2 years of therapies and trainings, her IQ went up 20 points, and she is now a college student on the Dean's List with no accommodations. So now I bring this message of hope for success to all.

K. Johnson, MS Ed
www.pyramidofpotential.com
Website should be working in a couple days.

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My children are bilingual, french and english. I speak english to them and my husband french. We were told that bilingual children often take longer to speak. My kids are absolutely fine and never confuse the two languages.

Good luck.

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Hi A.. I believe that children growing up in a bilingual home do talk later than others, because they are getting two different languages that they need to decipher and learn. Go for the speech eval but I don't think there is a need to worry.. good luck!!

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A.,

Take a deep breath and relax. First of all children with autism do not interact, they do not make eye contact, just because he does not speak does not mean he is autistic. My guess and this is just a guess is that it is a bilingual issue more then anything else. I own a nursery school and have many bilingual and even trilingual students who say nothing and understand everything. As a matter of fact at your sons age they pretty much ramble and no one can understand a word they are trying to say. So I think what your son is doing is perfectly normal. I wouldn't worry at all, if you feel more comfortable getting a speech evaluation then do it but I would venture to guess there is no reason for concern. Keep us posted and good luck!!

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Hi A.,

I have a 3 1/2 year old and i am raising him to speak spanish as well. The exact same thing happen to me when he was around that age. My parents and sisters would speak to him in spanish and my husband and i would speak to him in english. So he became confused and was not sure which language to speak. Now he speaks english for the most part but really understands spanish and will talk to my parents in spanish. He speaks very well now. I think you should give him more time until he can determinate which language he going to adapt to.

Good Luck..

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Try not to worry. My mom said I didn't talk till I was 3, and then she couldn't shut me up. My younger daughter spoke later than her sister (they are 3 1/2 yrs apart) and the older one would have to translate for her. Children develop at different times. I grow up speaking Polish and started learning Engish when I was a little over 4 y/o. I believe your son is taking his time, and you shuld tell him if he wants a juice or milk, whatever you feed him, he needs to ask for it, that's how I got through it. Good luck.

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My niece was 3 and had about as many words. When they tested her they suggested speech therapy. She went to speech therapy and now talks more then anybody wants her to. Sometime childred are just shy or they need to figure out how to use their tounge. Hope it helps.

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