Speech and My 2 Year Old

Alert and aware is what you are, not paranoid. I have a 5 year old son who has Autism Spectrum Disorder. At 20 months or so, I noticed he was different from other kids about his age. I tried to tell myself that "he'll grow out of it" or "he's just a little behind, he'll catch up". It was a year later that he was diagnosed. I am not saying your daughter has ASD. Just if you have any concerns about your child, definitely follow up on them. It could be nothing and you'll feel good that you're doing everything you can for your daughter.

There was a posting similar to this recently that had a lot of advice - tues Nov 27th - perhaps you could look it up - or try this link http://www.mamasource.com/request/recent/91701/1197553377...

Hi L., My first 2 children spoke perfectly and early. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my 3rd child would not do the same. When she did not utter a word by the time she was 26 months old I was dying. I had her tested for everything. People told me that she "didn't need to talk" because everyone was "doing it for her." I thought that was a load of poo. She was so good at everything else: she could color at age 2, she walked at 8 months, she could climb and run like crazy, she tried to ride a bike (at 2!). I finally decided that she would talk in her own time. I think it was more my "embarassament" than anything else. She was a delayed talker, and she did go to speech in elementary school, but it wasn't a big deal. The words she once barely uttered have become common words in our house: ush and gocks for shoes and socks. She is gradutaing college this June at the top of her class; she played and excelled in college sports and is finishing in 4 years. People have their own timetables. It is hard when all your friends have kids that are talking like adults and your child is barely babbling. Why is it so important for all children to do everything so early? My suggestion is for you to relax, don't feel like you need to defend her or make excuses. She will only be a baby once - she has her whole lifetime to talk.

Apparently I didn't speak until after I was two years old. Can't vouch for my current level of intelligence (ha ha), but I bet she understands quite a bit of what you're saying and will speak when she's ready.

J.

No I don't think its too early. I think the sooner the better, there are target sounds that kids should be making around 18 months and up, and the sooner you get an evaluation the better. My daughter was having annunciation problems and therapy REALLy helped.

We're experiencing the same problem with my son. He doesn't say much, and the words he does say are mispronounced. We took him in for his 2-year check-up, and the pediatrician sent us for a hearing test, even though his hearing seemed fine. It turned out that he has middle ear fluid. So when you go in for the 2-year, have your doc check that.

I would say yes, you are absolutely being too paranoid - another definition, you are being a typical first-time mom. :0) By the time she is 5 she will be talking with the best of them. She is probably very smart, and thinking deep thoughts already. Just think of it that way, and enjoy your little blessing!

my now 3 1/2 year old was the same way at that age. he could understand when we asked him to do something and knew some signs but wasnt ready to speak. he was so different from my oldest (then 9). when my oldest was 12 months he was interested in verbal communication and said many simple words. he was speaking full sentences by a little over 2. my 3 1/2 year old today wont stop talking. he sometimes refuses to say certain sounds that we ask him to. he has trouble w/ c/k, and g sounds. he is able to make those sounds when he's "acting" like a baby or goofing off so im not worried. i would just say to keep an eye on your daughter in the next few months. continue to encourage "talking" and teaching new sounds and words. my youngest is 2 and 4 months and speaks full sentences like the oldest. my 3 1/2 year old is still more advanced than the 2 yr old in terms of vocabulary.
i just think that every child is different and chooses to speak or speaks at different times. maybe other parts of her brain are developing more quickly than the norm, or her motor skills (fine and large) may be really advanced for her age?

Dear L.,

Thisis one of the hardest times of being a Mom, waiting to hear that beautiful sound of the voice of your darling. Yes, you are worrying way too much. Sometimes they really do not want to talk until they are close to three. We still celebrate everytime our 3 year old grgrandson speaks. He has the voice of an angel and the mind of an engineer and a great sense of humor, and doesn't talk much. But he does talk.

As they say in Mexico, no le apure, don't worry.

C. N.

I have the same problem with my 2 year old boy. but it has been week after his birthday he starts to talk more.
Give her some time,talk more or let her watch more baby einstein

My oldest son who is now 14 and in the 9th grade in high school didn't start making sense to us until he was about 4. I like you was terrified that my son would never be able to communicate with us. I too asked his pediatrician and was told that he was just a late bloomer and the fact that his grandparents spoke nothing but spanish and we spoke to him in english was sort of confusing him and he couldn't make out what language to speak in. I know that in your case the two languages is not an issue but just give her time to develop her vocabulary a little more and she will one day surprise you and will be talking up a storm. Every child develops at a different pace, just let her be and continue to encourage her to speak and she will.

Does she understand everything you say? My daughter hardly had any words at 2 years old. She didn't walk till 17 months, either. But her vocabulary exploded at around 2 1/2. Now she is 5 and extremely bright.

Have you had her hearing checked by a specialist? I had a friend whose daughter had fluid build up in her ears and difficulties hearing because of it. Since she could not hear well she was unable to form sounds correctly and so began talking very late and was speeched delayed for quite some time.

Don't worry. My oldest did the same thing. It was very hard for me to understand her. She used very simple words but was a busy body. At 2 1/2 she finally started busting out in words. She is now 4 and doesn't stop talking. She was a very early walker and was just too busy to talk. My baby is 18 months and completely different. She just started walking at 16 months and communicates so well. Every kid is different. I would say that you are being paranoid. :) I find that with one child you end up comparing them to everyone else's child. At least I know I did. My dear friend had her first daughter one month before I had my first. Her daughter was reading and writing simple words and books by the time she was 2 1/2 so go figure. But then she would panic because my daughter was climbing walls at 18 months and her's was still wobbly. Give her time. She will talk one day then you will want her to be quiet. LOL!

I completely relate to your story. Both of my children (son now 9 and daughter 28 months) did exactly this. My suggestion is to first have the doctor evaluate her to make sure she is doing all the other things she should be doing at this age. If the doctor says everything is fine other than speech delay, you can stop worrying and simply help her along. My 28 month daughter is picking up new words everyday (at her own pace) you cannot compare them to other kids who are talking in sentences and such. If she is very active physically, she will probably get really good at that before she moves on to her speech development. My kids could do things physically far better and earlier than their peers but didn't speak until almost 2 1/2. It's give and take with children. Just read, repeat, encourage and be really patient. It'll come when she's ready. Good luck!

Yes you are being a bit paranoid, but it's typical of us moms. Relax, they all develop at different times. Just because our kids don't follow the "norm" all the time or the "average" doesn't mean they have a problem. Most times it's just that we are all so unique we sometimes take longer at developing. Heck, I'm a 43 1/2 year old teen myself. ;) When you have teenage kids, it's really hard to stay a teen though, so I've grown up a bit in the last year. It's made me depressed. My two kids are now 14 and 15 and taller than me. The respect and awe I once had is gone. They still love me though and our communication has always been good. I treat them like little humans not some statistic. Everyone is different, capitalize on it! It's a great way to raise little independent adults. Let them know you like their uniqueness.
Happy Holidays! Isn't it great to be a free nation? :)

Hi

When my now five year old was two she could talk up a storm but did not walk till 17 months! She crawled at 12 months. It was a little behind the curve. I took her to therapy in action and helped with toe walking. She loved walking on her toes. After sixmonths of therapy, they decided she was a toe walker. But it helped know from professionals that she was fine and did not need therapy. As an infant, like one month, I would sing and make animal noises to her. I would also take her hand and put it on my throat to show her the vibration of sound. Then I would put her hand on her throat. She really talked very well very early and I attributed it to that. Hope all is well

I don't think you're being too paranoid at all. As a mother of a child who was diagnosed with developmental speech delay, I really wished all the mothers who told me not to worry had never said that to me. It caused me to wait until he was 3, and I missed out on the regional center benefits. He went straight into public school special ed because that's what happens after they turned 3. There were so many kids in his class that got extra services that our son did not have.

As it turns out they never could determine the reason for our son's speech delay. He just turned 5 and now they think he's just one of these kids who is super smart and talked late (thank heaven!). He talks a lot more now, but he still isn't talking at his age level.

I would strongly urge you to get an assessment. And be an advocate for your child. This is a confusing road to travel, and you will hear all kinds of labels, diagnosis, opinions, etc. FOLLOW YOUR INTUITION! They tried to tell me my son was autistic, but what I noticed is that he acted autistic with people he didn't like (which was often these strange psychologists asking him questions he wasn't interested in). It's scary when you hear that you child might be autistic, but if your heart doesn't believe it, neither should your head. Follow your gut, and do what you can.

And you know what, it may turn out to be nothing that needs help. I hope it does turn out that way for you...

Take care,
B.

Many 2 year-olds have very few or even no spoken words, and usually everything works out fine, however, you do need to get her evalutated and she is not too young. You say that her hearing "seems to be fine". She might be able to hear you talking, but not hearing the full range of sounds the way you and I do, for example. You can only determine this with a complete evaluation. They even have newborn hearing tests these days, so she is not too young.

It is great news that you are using some signs with your daughter. My advice would be to increase the amount of signing you use, as signing is a great tool for stimulating spoken language developmnet. It will help you and your daughter to be less frustrated and will give her more confidence by helping her clarify her meaning when attempting to speak.
Some people worry that signing might delay speech, but actually the opposite is true. In fact, most speech pathologists consider signing to be one of the most useful tools in treating speech delay in young children and would use signing to help increase spoken language development and help reduce frustration.: )

Good Luck!: )
M. (mom to Sirena 8 and Aiden 3)

M. Briant
Sign2Me Presenter, San Diego
Author: "Baby Sign Language Basics" and "Sign, Sing, and Play!"
Phone: ###-###-####
____@____.com
www.babysignlanguage.net

Call Regional Center right away. (You should be able to find the phone no. in the phone book) They will come to your home and evaluate her. My daughter had speech delay and at 2 yrs started speech therapy. Now (she'll be 5 on Sunday) she talks all the time, sometimes a little too much. Regional Center found her a wonderful public preschool too starting at age 3.

I don't think you should worry just yet...keep talking, singing, and reading to your baby...she'll probably surprise you very soon! Maybe you can join a mommy and me or Gymboree to socialize her with other babies...best wishes!

My 2 1/2 yr old doesn't talk very much. My older daughter was a late talker too. I didn't worry too much because by the time she was 3 she talked very well.

I am going to take my 2 1/2 yr old in though, even though her words are starting to come faster. The reason is because the better she talks and understands the easier it will be for her to begin learning letter sounds and reading.

We are also doing this because we are going to take our 8 yr old in for a more in depth hearing evaluation as well. I know they can check hearing at 2 yrs old but my 8 yr old has had her hearing checked over and over, what most evaluations overlook is that just because they can hear a "beep" doesn't mean they can understand words they are hearing.