15 Month Old Development

It's still not too late to start baby sign language! A lot of babies will pick up on the fact that they can't say the words correctly, and many just won't say them at all (very like her preference for crawling, which she's good at, versus walking, which she hasn't yet perfected).

Signing provides them with an alternate way of getting their point across, and it also helps them build enough confidence to start speaking. There are lots of great books available, but I'd just start with an ASL website, like this one: http://www.aslpro.com/ It provides videos, so you can actually see how to do the sign. And they even have a dictionary specifically for baby sign.

Start with the words you want her to speak: milk, eat, play, whatever they happen to be. Then just use the sign EVERY SINGLE TIME you say that word; consistency is key. Before you know it, she'll be signing, and then, talking.

At 22 months my cousin's son was only saying Mama, Dada, and Nana - and Nana was anything that was not Mama or Dada! She was getting really concerned but he did understand everything she told him and could follow directions just fine. She was thinking she was going to have to say something to the pediatrician when one day he just came right out saying"Mama, I want an apple." and that was it. His vocabulary just exploded from there and he picked up 10 new words a day and started speaking full sentences. Looking back and now knowing his personality better (he is now 12 and quite the perfectionist) she wonders if he was just waiting until he could get it "just right".

At 15 months my daughter wasn't saying much either, but she picked more and more as time went on. I would start writing down the things she does say and you might be surprised that it is more than you think. They all understand more at this age than they can verbalize, and it takes a while for their mouths, lips and tongues to be developed enough to even start to form the correct sounds. I used to worry about my daughter's verbal development too - she is now 3 and I can't believe it was ever a concern. She talks non-stop now! :)

My daughter also started walking at 14 and 1/2 months. Being on target in everything else makes individual things less of a concern than if there are delays everywhere across the board.

It doesn't hurt to be tracking her vocab, but I think it is really too early to worry. My son only had 3 words up until 18 mo, then he added a few here and there. Suddenly at 21 months he started speaking in perfect grammatical sentences and he hasn't stopped since. By 2.5 he was using words like chrysalis. He has since done the same thing with learning to read and now with learning to write. He likes to observe rather than practice such that it seems like he is lagging behind developmentally. Then suddenly he jumps ahead.

Now, if she also seems to have trouble forming sounds or difficulty using her mouth effectively when eating, it could certainly be worth checking into some speech therapy. We have used occupational therapy when our son struggled to learn how to hold writing utensils correctly and it is a great way to get help in a supportive fun environment for the child. In terms of walking, I agree with the doctor. My nieces are twins, both born slightly premature. One learned to walk at 12 months, but the other preferred crawling until 17 months.

You do want to catch problems with hearing as soon as possible. Is there a history of narrow ear canals in the family or have there been ear aches etc?

they said the same thing about my daughter at age 5 pre k assessment...they ran hours of tests on her-at the end they said she was basically retarded-so they made her go to head start for a yr.after bout 2 weeks-they asked me why she was there..shes just fine-shy but fine-then i was real confused-well then i thought about it-she was with strangers for a whole day-doing stuff she never did before-so her response was not what it was suppose to be.give her time-shes only 15 months...just talk to her all the time-she absorbs everything you say.dont rely on drs.to assess your baby.they only see them a short time.

My daughter was pretty much the same way as far as the language goes. I wanted to seek help (speech therapist) but my husband wanted to wait and see how she did. Long story short, she ended up needed a specialist but we didn't get her in to see one until she was 2. If I could go back in time, I would have gotten her in ASAP! I KNOW that she needed as much help as she could get and the earlier the better. We know now that she has a speech and expressive speech delay. She is now in 3k with a speech pathologish as the teacher working with other kids (it's a small group) to help develope her speech.
In short, it can't hurt to do what the dr. asked you to do. If nothing else, then you get to keep track of how your daughter is developing:) However, if it does turn out to be something of a delay, then at least you're prepared to get her help as early as possible. Time makes all the difference in the world (in our case anyway).
GOOD LUCK!!

Our daughter had only a few words she was saying by 15-18 months, dr recommended speech therapy. I think that is totally unnecessary at that age, so did not take her, a few months later, she was talking up a storm. And remember, once they start talking, they do not stop, ever! :) I think they are so young at that age still that everyone is forcing kids to be older than they are these days. They are going to be grown up before we know it. Just keep an eye on her if in a few or several months nothing is progressing, maybe address it again. Everyone is different, so I don't know how dr's can put specific age #'s on when kids are suppose to do things, within reason. Good luck, she'll be talking your ear off before you know it.

They like to see a kid saying 10 words by 18 months. So I wouldn't worry. Usually they don't do a speech assessment until at least 18 months because there is so much variability. And if she does need speech therapy, it is a lot of fun for them. My twin boys were speech dealyed (one still is) and loved therapy!

Also the normal range for walking is 9-18 months, with AVERAGE being 14 months!

Hi.
My son didn't really say much until almost 22 months. He did a lot of grunting and pointing when he wanted something. Now at 30 months, we can't get him to stop talking. At 15 months he wasn't even really saying Mama or Dada. But he did respond when spoken to and could follow simple instructions. So I never worried nor did our Ped. He also was not walking at 15 months - he could but also chose to crawl (or more often than not, walk on his knees - ouch!) He was about 17 months when he decided to start walking more than crawling. Although he kept crawling on and off for several months after that.

If you feel that your daughter is delayed, then you should take her, at least for another consult. I'd follow your maternal instincts.