Not Speaking

Hi B.,

I agree that it matters whether he is responsive in other ways, other than articulating actual words. Does he smile? respond to you? laugh? get excited? point? Turn at the sound of a barking dog? Babble? If so, you've got a "normal" kid. If not, you may want to seek an evaulation. I have a friend whose 3 kids didn't speak until age 2. They are perfectly fine. My observation in friends is that they are very quick to do speech therapy in cases where it is not likely necessary.

Assuming he is responding normally, I believe environmental influence has a dramatic impact on speech development. I like Dr. Lise Eliot's book "What's Going On In There - How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years". She explains that it's important how often your child is spoken to -DIRECTLY- during the day. It is not sufficient to hear other children speaking in the vicinity, to watch television, or to hear two daycare workers chatting to each other, or to hear you and your husband chat at dinner time. Even an announcement to a whole group of kids won't teach language. Your child will only learn language from people who talk DIRECTLY to him. So, if this isn't happening at daycare, which can be the case in a busy center with lots of kids vying for attention, you might want to focus on that at home. Read to him if he likes books, involve him in your work and chores, and by all means TALK to him like a non-stop ramble. Seems silly at first, but the child is listening and learning.

My daughter said her first word "hi" very early - under a year. I'm convinced that it was because I always took her grocery shopping, and NEVER placed her in her car seat set into the shopping basket, as I see most moms do. I carried her upright in a sling. She could see out into the world and everyone could see her. The most amazing thing happened. She became a little person that people noticed!! While shoppers would ignore the baby in the car seat set-up, EVERYONE stopped to speak to my daughter - directly, with a smile and enthusiasm, and they all started the same way - "HI!". My daughter was smiley and the conversation always proliferated from there. Naturally, she learned that you greet people by saying "HI!" It made complete sense that it was her first word. I also used babysigns with her, which she loved. Unfortunately, since she talked so well and so early, we didn't continue this. But she has renewed interest now at age 5!

Having said that, some kids just don't want to talk until age 2! Go figure! Einstein was one of these children, and he was quite the genius.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

PLEASE READ I HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THIS!!!!
Does he show any other signs of delay? You should defiantly consult your doctor who should immediately send you to a specialist. Early prevention and therapy is a must. Get a 2nd opinion if you don't think your doctors decision is right and listen to your mommy instinct. Your first instinct may be to be in denial but don't do that it will make this situation worse in the long run. I'm the mother of a blind child and I know all about having to handle situations like this. YOU have to be your child heath care advocate so demand the help he needs! Please let me know if I can help in any way. Remember to take care of yourself too its hard to face any kind of challenge when it comes to your kids, its devastating and you will need a shoulder to lean on too. DONT try to be tough that too will just make things worse. I did that and almost lost my life because of it. Please let me know what happens!

Hello,
I was just checking to see if you knew anything about Autism? Are there are signs such as he is not comfortable being hugged or held and/or he doesn't like to be around other kids? If any of these sounds like him you can get him checked for Autism. If not he may just have a hearing problem. I didn't really talk untill about 3 years old, and the doctor said that i was almost completly deaf in one ear and had a significate loss of hearing in the other.
Good Luck,
M. H

I would call up ECI. They offer free services for TX residents up till age 3. Also, please start giving him cod liver oil as a supplement. It helps late talkers. My son also started talking late & the cod liver helped.

I would definitely talk to your doctor. He may have a hearing issue. Since he was saying a word - he may also be one of those kids that waits until they have it mastered (like my 3rd child) and then skip the little word stage and go right into full sentences!! But - I talked to my pediatrician and they did hearing tests on him to eliminate any problems there.

Good luck!!!

talk to your child's pediatrician. He/she can test or schedule tests to tell if perhaps this is the sign of a learning disability or other challenge. He also may not have to talk. Do you give in when he points, etc.... If he wants it, make him ask, or at least try to ask for things. He won't learn if he doesn't try.

Definitely take him to the doctor. Hearing tests should probably be done to make sure everything is alright in that area. Sometimes, middle ear infections or fluid can cause hearing problems and kids aren't able to hear sounds as well, so they don't imitate them either. There are tests for even the little ones. Maybe go to an ENT since they specialize in EARS, nose and throat. Good luck!!

I have a 5 year old boy who didnt talk till he was about 3. He has been in speech therapy for almost 2 years now. i wish i had checked into it sooner. Now he will be starting kinder and will still be in speech. I wiah i would of checked it out sooner so he wouldnt have to be taken out of class and possibly teased for his speech delay. if you do look into it be sure to have his hearing tested also just to rule out any hearing loss.

I would be concerned a bit. What does the peditrician say? Is he walking? Children work on physical or cognitive development but not both simultaneously. You might try some vocal play where you repeat things to him as he watches your mouth. Do silly words or phrases and see if he will respond. Also, singing increase their vocabulary so be sure to sing with him each day. You should also try a Kindermusik class with him. These classes use music and movement to develop the whole child. You're welcome to come to a free preview class anytime to any studio. You can go to Kindermusik.com and enter your zip code to find a studio or you can email me back and I can give you more information. Hope htat helps!

If you're concerned about his speech call ECI. The phone number is 1-888-754-1524 or ###-###-####. Just tell them your concerns and they will send someone out to evaluate his needs. If you qualify it is at either low or no cost to you.

My son did not say much until he was three. The pedi kept telling me to wait that he was getting all his needs met just fine as I was anticipating everything. Now, at almost 16, I can't get him quiet.......good luck to you!

well my son is 6 now and he did not start talking untill he was about 4. He did say a few little things but really just didn't want to cause I guess now it was because I just talked for him.:) but now he is just a great Kid he is very active and loves everyone and he is your typical little boy! So u really should not worry till he us older for sure!
Hope this helped
luv T.

B.,

I have a 16 month old and he does say a few words, but he much prefers sign language. I would start teaching him that. He signs "hungry, all done, milk, more, please, thank you, Blues Clues :~)" Here is a great website for learning a few signs... http://www.signwithme.com/002_browse_signs.asp

I've been meaning to take a class as I feel he would like to do more, but I hadn't had time. Here are some links to hopefully find a class.

http://www.weehands.com/
https://www.babysigns.com:443/index.cfm/fuseaction/babycl...

I had the same problem with my son a couple of years ago and didn't realize what was going on. He had a few words by 12 months and then just lost everything. I followed the advice of getting a hearing test which lead to tubes being put in his ears and still nothing. At 24 months I called ECI and had an eval done and come to find out he was delayed in several areas. His SLP suggested I take him to Childrens in Dallas and have him evaluated for Autism so at 36 months I took him and he was DX'ed with PDD-NOS. So we went full force into SP, OT, PT and social therapy.
Now he is 42 months and has a vocabulary of over 5000 words. No one even suspects he is on the Autism spectrum unless they knew him before or I mention it. I took him back to Children's last month for a follow up eval and his doctor is amazed by the progress he has made she said he seems to be recovering.
Definately get in touch with ECI it could make a world of difference.
Jen

Dear B.,

Don't worry yet. I have a 23 year old son that turned out to have ADHD. He only said about 4 words when he turned 2! I knew he could understand everything though based on his responses. His hearing was fine. Then at about 3 years old he burst out in FULL sentences! Now he's about to enter his first year of law school.
Talk to your pediatrician and get him evaluated - but don't stress too much over it right now. 16 months is still pretty young and he is a boy. Just be sure you are spending a lot of time talking to him, reading to him, and interacting directly with him.

Don't be worried. My son,who is now 3,didn't hardly say any words on his second b-day!! I mean he said ball and a vroom-vroom sound for car. Thats it! A couple of months after his second b-day he started really picking up words. By 2.5 yrs he was having conversations! Now he never shuts up!!!
We did have ECI(early childhood intervention)come to our home a couple of months before his second b-day. They came two or three times a month for a few mos.to work with him on speech. Thats all it took for our son. Good Luck and again,don't worry.
J. G.

I wouldn't be alarmed, keep working with him. However if he has a pasifer in his mouth at all times, it will take him longer to talk. You might want to rule out his hearing. Your Pediatrician will help with the testing. Just because they pass the test in the hospital when they are born doesn't mean fluid is passing from his ears effectivly. If he doesn't use a pasifer and if the if he has recently been tested then he will talk when he is ready. I had two chidren in my care a diffent times that didn't want to talk until they were three and then they just started talking out of the blue.

My little girl is 14 months and she's not really saying anything other than dada. She plays with syllables, but that's her only real word. She's goes to part-time day-care and there several kids in the toddler room that are your son's age and older who only say 1 or 2 words as well. Unless he is only grunting, it's seems to be a normal variance in development :) I've also heard that kids generally walk before they talk so if he started walking later, it would seem like normal progession as well. It's always smart to ask your pediatrician though for an opinion since they see tons of kids at different levels of development.

Well, he should be speaking some. He should be saying Momma, dada and few other words at little over a year old. He should be saying some little words, like Bird, baby, doggy. Sometimes you ahve to encourage him to say them. He may just start blurting out a bunch of words once he sees he can say them. Even goo goo ga ga, and baby talk. I wold definately check into it. Sometimes it may be a hearing problem. Then again he may just talk to certain people. Good luck, My prayers are with you and Him.

Hey -
My son didn't make any noises at all by 8 months and so the pediatrician ordered a hearing test for him. However, I knew he could hear and so I wasn't all that concerned about it. He would respond to his name and look up when loud noises occurred. But, he did FAIL the hearing test. Even though he could hear, he couldn't hear well. In the meantime, he had had several ear infections. They decided to put tubes in his ears to help with the drainage. The tubes helped tremendously and he quit having ear infections - he even started making some noises. But, by 18 months, he was still not talking. Therefore, I pressed for speech therapy for my son. The speech therapy worked miracles on him and within months, he was really vocal. Now, he is 5 and we all laugh that he ever needed therapy because he talks non-stop. Further, he has a HUGE vocabulary.

I am a HUGE advocate of early intervention. I would press to get your son help. Then, if there is a bigger problem than just being "slow to talk", it will be addressed sooner, rather than later. Everything I have read says that 95% of people ought to be able to understand what your child is saying by age 3. My son has a classmate that is 4 and I can't understand a word he says. Speech problems can last and be difficult to address.

Also, in regards to ECI, we did get some help from them - but not nearly what I wanted. So, we ended up going to a private therapy (which my insurance covered). I think you know the best about your child and if you are worried, press for what you want.

Hi B.,

A girlfriend of mine has a son who is now 4, but he did not start saying words until after 18 months. He is fine and talks all the time now. Is your son around other children at all. She really started noticing a difference when her son started a mother's day out program. He was around other children and started saying what they were saying. Hope this eases your mind.

its certainly not too early for him to talk however he may just not have anything to say. i would advise you to talk it over with your pediatritian though, but id say he may just be a later bloomer than some on this which is fine.

Just ask your pediatrician about it next time you go for a visit. Your baby should be adding a few more words to "mama" now that he is older. Does he respond when you call his name? or is he in his own "world" ? how is his interaction with you and your husband? mention your observation to your pediatrician. it could be also that he is just absorbing a lot of info. at this time and is just "sitting" back and enjoying it all.... he will just surprise you one of these days and he will not stop talking!;-)
hope this helps!
take care...

2 things. When I was a child I did not speak until my little brother who is 17 months younger than me spoke. (i have not quit since my mother says) Also i have a 10 year old son who spoke sentences at a year, and then i have a 7 year old daughter who did not speak till she was 2, and then could not speak words that we could understand til she was 3. I worried at the time that something was wrong with her. She speaks wonderfully now and expresses herself beyond her years. I felt that when she was not speaking she just had alot on her mind and now she can express it nicely. Good luck!

Please call your local Early Childhood Intervention office now. Their service is free to you as long as you let them charge your insurance.

I wouldn't worry that much. My oldest said a few words around 18 months and then around 20 months he started really speaking a lot. He would put 2 to 3 words together. So it will happen soon. If you are truly worried then I would speak with your pediatrician.

Boys usually make sounds... like a truck vrooming, maybe clicking, animal sounds... instead of talking. Does he turn when you call his name? If so, then his hearing is fine. I have one daughter who hardly spoke until she was two and then spoke in sentences. He should be fine.
Mom to seven, MomMom to seven.

Do call ECI for an evaluation. My son is autistic and at our 18 month appt I told my ped he was autistic (after researching on the internet) and I said no more vaccinations. The loss of words is concerning. This probably isn't the case for your son but you should be aware of the warning signs, get early interventions, and get help immediately even if others are telling you to wait.

My daughter didn't start until right before her 2nd birthday. We are in speech therapy for a minor expressive speech delay but I didn't start that until after her birthday.
I had a lot of people tell me it would kick in at 18 months, I should not have listened. It made me worry more than I needed too. I would give him until he is closer to 2 and see where his speech is. If he still doesn't have enough words (or your dr is concerned) then have him evaluated. ESI is a great, free resource.
Good luck!

have you talked to your pediatrician about this? what does he/she say? I remember taking my son to the pediatrician at every checkup, she'd ask me how many words he was saying and she would let me know if that was on track or not up to par as to what his peers were doing.

Call your pediatrician's office and leave a message for the nurse to at least ask their opinion.

ECI (early childhood intervention) can come out to your home to do a FREE assessment to see if he qualifies for affordable speech therapy in your home setting. Your pediatrician can give you the local contact information in your area.

It's good that you are concerned and you are taking a proactive approach to this!!
My son was only saying 2 words at this age ... and his pediatrician recommended ECI to me. He was found to have a speech delay and I'm glad we started his therapy then.

If you are concerned, I would take the pediatrician/ECI advise. We used the ECI services with our daughter for articulation problems and I was very pleased. It is a great program that put our concerns at ease and they gave me ideas to work on with my kiddo that I would have never known otherwise. It is wonderful that they come to your home! I would talk to your pediatrician to be sure nothing is going on hearing wise and then contact ECI if needed. Good Luck!

(Oh, I think I am correct in saying ECI will also go to day cares or in home care facilities if needed. They will REALLY work with your life to fit in services if they are needed.)

Have you ever thought of calling ECI? They are great with working with kids that don't speak well.

I know you have a number of responses and mine in likely not that different. . . but I did want to share that my son is almost 20 months. He really did not talk much for a long time we would make sounds and said mama - but I think we was about 16 or 17 months old before I felt like her really intentionally said it about me. I think the development test at the Dr. office at 15 or 18 months asks about 1, 3 or 10 words. As I remember he was at about 3 words/sounds at 15 months. I was watching it - trying to be aware - but trying to to be worried - yet. Anyway things did really start to click for him around 17-18 months. He is now at about 50 words.

If you are getting some sounds / babble - I would watch for another couple of months. If you aren't getting any sounds - then I would see you Dr.

Good luck.

Hi,
you need to check your sone with a doctor don't stay and wait kids in his ege need to say 5 word,and thier is early child they can come to your house and check him to make sure every thing is ok. if he need some help they will work with him for very little money or free. and please don't lesson to the people they say O boys don't talk until they are 3 years some time. this not true.
I'm a married mom for 3 yrears old boy that had same stuation as you but Andres spook until the age OF 16 MONTH AND THEN HE STOPED TALKING. we found out after 1yr. he is Autistc. don't get me rong i'm not saying your son is autstic, but if you cheek him is butter to be save than sorry.i wish i know about my son earlier not wait and bielev people talling me O boys don't speek early.
i'm trying to help any mother concern about her child with thier speek or devlopment
if you like to call me ###-###-####
i hop i was help
God Bless you and good luck

Hi B.,
I was in your shoes with my daughter who will be 3 . I started to become concerned about 9 mo old. She said bubba , momma , dada and then just quit talking all together. She had no interest in crawling , playing with variety of toys etc. She would just stick to certain toys and thats it. So at her check up 12 mo - for shots I brought it to her Pediatrician's attention and she said she just may be slow lets give her until the next well visit and will evaluate at that time. Well went to next visit 18 mo and still no walking , no talking and now she seemed to be very frustrated with everything. Then pediatrician recommended for me to contact Ready Start ( formally ECI ). She has been in speech , occupational and nutritional therapy with them since. They have helped her a great deal. They had advised that she had sensory intigration disorder. She has been to so many doctors : ENT for ears because she had tubes due to ear infections and he also did hearing tests to make sure she was able to hear. Neurologist : had 24hr EEG , genetic testing , MRI - in which all came back normal . After several mo he ended up telling me she has autism but didnt recommend any special instructions or additional therapy , what I could do at this point for her , meds - nothing. Just told me to continue what I was doing. And I was the one who asked him could she have autism - he never technically told me she had it. Ready Start at this point recmmended that we possibly speak to an allergist who specializes with autism , ADHD children etc. Now getting food allergy and metal blood work this week with an allergist . I am not too comfortable with the autism diagnosis because I just feel that it isnt - she is loveable , shows effection , responds to simple comands , loves music , love animals and is now finally saying some words . Her allergist put her on a gluten ( wheat ) free diet until it is confirmed if she is indeed allergic to any foods that could be causing the autism symptoms. If this comes back normal then I will just keep asking what I can do for her until a diagnosis is given that I feel the doctor truly believes - instead of these " I just dont know " answers. "She is different that I have seen ", "little symptoms of everything " - Drives me crazy and worries me like something fierce because she is my baby. Nothing deffinitly may not even be wrong with your son but I would ask your pediatrician what they would recommend and that you are concerned for development/ social reasons. Ready Start will evaluate him with their own questions and meet with you and your son one on one. And if it turns out he is a canidate - then you are getting the help he needs now before he gets too much older. Sorry to go on and on - - but you are not alone . Keep your chin up :) And keep us posted. Wish you ALL the luck :)

My son is 20 months and just started saying Uh Oh... he qualified for ECI but has a slight delay so they only come 2 x per month at this point... Boys usually talk later but if at 18 months he is still not babbleing then call you local Early Childhood Intervention Team and they can come out an evaluate to see if he qualifies for speech services.

GL
A.

Have you tried watching Sesame Street with him and singing along games with him. Usually if there is only one child in the home, you may not talk to him enough and then when he enters daycare, he starts trying to talk because all of the other children are talking. Keep working with him because you are not the only one who has had this problem. My supervisor's granddaughter is almost 2 and says very little, but my grandson will be 2 in July and is saying everything, thanks to Sesame Street, educational toys, daycare, and i just talk to him like he is a big boy, and tries to respond to everything. Of course, we do not understand everything he is trying to say, but most of the stuff,we can. Don't give up mom. S. Gaston Davis

B.,

At 16 months, babies may know how to say a few simple words. That of course is only an "average" and not all kids are alike. My 15 month old daughter started saying a few words, but then stopped. She just recently started saying two or three words again.

WebMD.com is a great source of information on developmental milestones. And if your still concerned, you should speak to your pediatrician at your next visit.

B. -
My son didn't speak much when he was 16 months either. He did follow my commands, so I knew his hearing & understanding was fine. I just kept talking to him! He didn't say much until his 2nd birthday, and then he exploded with words!

my son couldn't talk good until he was about 4 yrs old. he developed his own sign language. i put him in speech here in cleburne and they only put him in for 1 day a week. after two years i demanded him to be put in full time. he had no speech problems after 1 year. my toddler son had speech problems but cleburne wouldn't put him in full time. he was only allowed to go 1 time a week. after 6 months they let him go, he wasn't ready at all. take your son to a specialist. my youngest son now 5 his speech is so much better after going to preschool. W. d. mom to busy, busy boys.

B.,

My advice is to talk with your doctor about it, but...

My older daughter was very similar. She wasn't saying more than 4 words on her second birthday. I asked my doctor about it, and she mentioned a hearing test. (Just then, my daughter did something that was a "no-no" and responded perfectly to my tone of voice - so we figured there was nothing to worry about...) Either way - she was fine.

We finally decided the root of the problem was the fact that she had a stay at home parent for two years, and minimal interaction with other kids. Her cousins live out of town and she didn't really have any neighborhood friends her age.

She started in day care almost immediately after that on a part time basis, and the change was also immediate. Within 3 months, she couldn't be stopped! Now she's almost 8, and nothing has changed!!!!!

Good luck!

I would contact the Dr. because my friend her set of twin boys did that and now 1 of the boys is going through therapy.

Call ECI of Tarrant County. THey will evaluate him and let you know where to go from here. They come to your house for everything!! My son had speech therapy through them. They are wonderful.
Good Luck

I think it is always best to be on the safe side. Does he make good eye contact? What kind of activity does he like to choose for himself?
I feel like a broken record because I already told a mom this today :) but call Excel Pediatric Therapy in Rockwall. They are able to test speech, learning and physical delays (physical delays can cause a delay in speech) and a plethra of other delays. IF there is something wrong, the earlier you find out the better chance you have of a full recovery.

Good luck! M.

Dear B.,

I am a speech pathologist. He should be saying a few easy words, like mama, cup etc. Maybe you are making it too easy for him to talk. If he points, grunts and you automatically know what he needs or wants than he has no reason to communicate. Make him try to say the words. If he points to his sippy cup and you don't get it he will get the message. You can say I need to hear your words please. cup please. He will resist for a bit but will get the picture. Don't make it too easy for him,make him work at it. If you find that this isn't working after a few weeks, you may want to get him evaluated. Try this first and make sure everyone that is around him forces him to talk. In time you will probably wish for some peace and quiet. Good luck.
C.

Most of the time, there is nothing to worry about, but sometimes there is a problem. If there is, you want to be ready to do what you can to help your child.

Someone else said in their response, "Having said that, some kids just don't want to talk until age 2! Go figure! Einstein was one of these children, and he was quite the genius." I think it is important to remember, if Einstein were around today, he would be diagnosed with Autism. He still accomplished great things, but his life was not without some challenges.

In my experience, pediatricians are not very much help in this area. I have had the most luck with ECI. They will come to your house and do an evaluation for free. Have your child evaluated in all the developmental areas, not just speech. If he does not qualify, then you can rest easy. If he does qualify, then they will provide him with speech therapy which you pay for on a sliding scale. (It is very reasonable, sometimes even free). They usually don't start actual speech therapy until age 2, but there are things they can do if you want to call them now. Or you could wait until he gets closer to 2 and see if he starts talking on his own. ECI has helped both of my sons with their language development. I think it is worth calling them.

I agree with the other advice: he's a bit behind, and it may be a good idea to speak with your doctor or an intervention/speech program. So, talk with your doctor, but don't get worried just yet. As another mom said, some babies just delay talking, especially if they don't need to speak to communicate. I have a 7 year-old nephew who is extremely bright and very articulate, but he didn't say a single word until past 3 years old!! Then, he started speaking in complete sentences immediately. (Though he remains stubborn to this day, ha ha!). Good luck.

Nah. Most boys develop physically first before the talking. My son didn't even really try to speak until he was 2 or 2 1/2.

Very important - once you've determined that he can hear and follow directions - don't worry about it.
My son didn't speak until he was 2+ yrs. He was waiting until he could put it all together. The very first thing he ever said at 2+ yrs. was "Mom, where's my hat?".
He's 15 yrs. now and is in the top 10% of his Freshman class and hasn't stopped talking since! :)
btw - we got a new Ped. after the first one had us all freaked out over it.
S.

You will probably hear this alot, but boys develop slower than girls when it comes to talking. I have one of each. My daughter began with "mama", "cup", "Dada" at 6 months! Imagine my suprise when my son was 21 months before even uttering "mama". By the time he turned 2 he was speaking in 2-3 word sentences. I would not be concerned! Some boys take even longer to talk.

B.: Trust your mother's intuition. Take him to your pediatrician and discuss your concerns. You'll be glad you did.

B.,
I would be concerned, especially if he was saying mama and now is not saying anything. Perhaps he needs his hearing checked. By this age they should be saying some words, or at least babbling or trying to talk. Some kids do not talk til later- perhaps either because everything is given to them and they have no need to speak or ask. Or as one child said "I had nothing to say"

I do not want to alarm you, but this sounds soooooo familiar. My oldest, 3rd and 4th daughters all had great vocabularies by 1 year old. My second daughter said mama first at only 5 months. And then not another word again until AFTER she was 2. I was so worried and kept at my doctor but noone else was as concerened as I was. When she was 5 we found out she was deaf in one ear and probably had been since birth. PLEASE see if you can get his hearing checked. I wish I was more assertive back then. SHe is 13 now and I so wish we had known sooner. They can do a test like they do on babies at 16 months. Try to get him to an ENT. My prayers are with you and your son.

I had a little brother who didn't speak hardly at all till he was about 3 and when he started speaking, he was using full sentances and bigger words. He could also read when he went into kindergarten. I also have a friend whos daughter didn't start speaking till a few months before she turned 3, and she's still working on catching up with the rest of the kids her age. It took till she was 3 1/2 for her to really become intelligible at all, and she's speaking in near sentances now, but not as clearly or as well as the kids her age. Her mom (or dad) didn't spend spend much time speaking with her, encouraging her to speak. And when she needed/wanted something, they just gave her what she wanted without encouraging her to use words to get it. I would check his hearing, and make sure that any care givers he has are working with him on using words (repetition of the same word over and over with a picture or an action, or something to associate the word with) so that he's at least getting the input, and then, if everything is fine in both those areas, I wouldn't worry about it too much till he's a little older. Every child develops at a different rate.

Hi B.,
I had the same concern when my son was 16 months old too. His vocabulary should have been growing each day and it greatly concerned me that my son was regressing. I talked to our pediatrician; however, she was not helpful because she told me I should count my blessings he wasn't talking my head off. she told me to go home , relax and have a glass of wine. Needless to say, I found a new doctor. I also learned about ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). They came and assessed my son in the comforts of his own home. Praise God, I trusted my maternal instincts and didn't listen to that crazy doctor because my son did have substantial delays that have been corrected and all is well. ECI provided this service to me free. Eary dection Is worth it's weight in gold! I don't want to scare you...each child is different...its worth checking out further. I wish you and your son the best!
:) Lisa C.

I have a 23 month old that did the same thing. She said literlly 3 words for what seemed like forever - and then in a week - her vocabulary blossomed to 20 words then to 40 words and now she repeats just about everything I say (in her own way). She was simply observing and not ready to make that leap yet. Hope this helps.

I think I would be concerned and you might have your Dr. check your son out. The reason being is that my nephew did a simalar thing and he has been diagnosed with autism and they think it was due to his vaccines, but no proof of this, so please do get him checked out. God bless and Good luck with your beautiful son.

There is some concern that he isn't saying any words, but just a mild one. I would read to him every chance you get and coax him into say what he wants. maybe you can use the baby's sign language that is so popular right now. Maybe he needs a hear check up, or speech therapy. It's more common that you might think and easier to get over too. If my son tried to grunt for something that was not necessary I wouldn't let him have it unless he tried to say what it was, or at least say please and thank you. I hope this helps.

B.,
]'m sure by now you have many moms telling you not to be concerned, but in case they haven't written yet - I will. My 2 1/2 year old boy didn't talk until 2 and three months and then an explosion hit! Boy can he talk. Boys just develop later than girl and truly at their own pace. He'll start to talk when he needs to and not before then. If this time seems to frustrate him and you then try a basic sign language course; it doesn't need to be a baby sign class. And if one isn't available then watch/TVo/etc. PBS on Sunday morning at 6:30 AM! A program called "Signing time" is on each week and it might help in the interim.

IF you get past 2 1/2 - maybe 2+9 mo without a few words then there MIGHT be cause for concern. As always discuss these concerns with your pediatrician and he/she can help you feel more at ease.

He may be delayed and having trouble talking. I would call ECI, which is Early Childhood Intervention and get your little boy checked out by them. They have therapy and can do some tests to see if he is behind. They come to your home, so you don't have to go anywhere. Boys do develop later than girls. Better to be safe and get it checked out.

My son is 15 months and at his well check his doctor said he wanted him to be speaking 5-10 words. Which, my son is saying "ball" "dog" and signs a few words so he's about where his doctor wanted him to be. But, I watch a 20month old who is just now speaking. Her doctor was concerned because she wouldn't talk at all. It wasn't because she didn't know how, she was used to getting everything she wanted by pointing or crying instead. I've had to work with her on that and she's stubborn, but her mom and bigger sister aren't giving in to her anymore so she has been talking a lot more lately. :) I would definitely read to him whenever you can, and make sure if he points to things to tell him what it is. Your doctor may be able to suggest some other ways to get him to communicate in some way, whether signing or verbal cues. Good luck!

It is not too early for him to be speaking. I would call Ready Start or your pediatrician. Boys do develop a little slower but he should be saying mama & dada and probably a few other words. My son has a delay in speech but has started to catch up with the help of therapy. I would be concerned. Also ask if he is talking for other people since you work I'm assuming he interacts with other kids. How does he communicate with other kids? It's important to seek help now because learning and development during the early years has an effect on learning later on in school, etc.
Good luck! I'm sure he is a precious little boy.

Hi B.,

I think that you might want to talk to your pediatrician. Is your son making any noise at all to hear his voice? Some kiddo's take a while to talk, but if he was saying mama and then stopped, then something may be bothering him?

Kids speak at different ages, but I would try making noises behind him , where he doesn't see you, to see if he hears you . That would be my first concern. Then if he seems to hear o.k. I would read baby stories to him, and if it shows a cat, smile and say cat, and see if he thinks it is fun to repeat a word. Some children talk early some not until two. But no words at all, I'd sure want to check his hearing.