18 Month Old Not Talking Yet

My son only had 2-3 words at 18 months. At 21 months his language exploded and by 22 months he was speaking full sentences. Many boys speak later than their female counterparts. Unless you think he is having trouble hearing or has some actual physical issues holding him back from making sounds I wouldn't worry for at least a few more months. In terms of helping him: spend lots of time narrating what you are doing, naming things you give him, and read to him more than 15 minutes every day. Also teach him sign language for some basic words (milk, hungry, more, please, thank you, all done, and any others you think he would use a lot) if you haven't already.

I was concerned about my son's speech at 18 months, too. He wasn't saying anything other mama or daddy. His doctor wasn't concerned. He is now 23 months and using a lot more words. He still doesn't say 2 words together but I'm not stressing about it. I've always heard that boys talk later and that kids that do physical milestones early speak later; which is the case with my son. If you're concerned and your doctor recommended something then do what your doctor recommended.

Stacy,

At my son's 18 month check up it was my doctor who was concerned about him not talking. There was no reason at that point to believe he had a problem, but my doctor thought the sooner you catch a problem the easier it is to solve.

So, we kept a word journal and had his hearing tested. by the time he was 22 months, he had the speech of a two year old, 50 plus words in vocabulary and using two words together.

To encourage him to speak, we would ask him to use his words- for example, if he wanted something out of reach and grunted for it, we would say "use your words, what do you want?" Rather than just handing him the item.

I know a few boys who didn't really say much until they were two. (I wouldn't worry about it too much)

-Jo

Hello Stacy,
I would contact your school district ECFE to start the screening process as well as take him to a speach therapist for an exam. If there is something causing his delay it's better to find out now and do something rather than wait.

We had concerns with my first daughter and held off until she was 2. When we brought her in to be seen by a speach therapist she was referred on to a child psychologist and diagnosed on the autism spectrum. We immediately contacted the city, mpls, and received help on their end as well as entered her in a preschool program at Fraser. I'm happy to say that now, almost 3 years later, she has been cleared of the Autism diagnosis and no-one would ever know she had a speach delay.

Good luck and feel free to contact me directly with any other questions.

Sincerely,
A.

My son was the same way. He said very few words as well, but by 18 months could point out all his colors, various objects and all his body parts, etc. Our ped. wasn't worried, even though our ECFE instructor had also provided intervention information for us as well. Needless to say, he is turning three on Sunday, and has developed a really remarkable vocabulary for a three year old. He is speaking in complex sentences, and will tell whole stories...paragraphs. He is fine! Some little guys just take longer! Good luck!

I have a son who's just about 2 years old and he's just starting to have his "language explosion". When he was 18 months there were a few words here and there we could understand, but a lot of what he was saying was still babble....we knew he knew what he was saying, because he'd repeat exactly the same thing if we asked, "What"...but we couldn't understand a lot of it. We still struggle to tell my son to use his words, he does a lot of pointing and grunting. I guess I'd give it a bit.

I'd try reading lots of books, maybe an educational video or 2 (baby einstein ect?)when you are out and about point out common things like a ball or trees ect, see if he picks up on some stuff.

I have often heard that boys and girls develope at different rates and talking is often something boys do slower.

I just wanted to send you a response to let you know that you are not alone. My son is 20 months and does not say a word yet. Not even mama or dada. The first step was to have his hearing tested. He passed with flying colors. The next step we are taking is the Early childhood screening through the school district. Ours happens to be Columbia Heights. I have the appt set up but we have not had it yet. So far the general concensus is that he will talk when he is ready...but that does not help me with my worrying. Just thought that maybe you would like to know that others are going through the exact same thing.

18 months is a bit early to be concerned w/ a boy. My son, who will be 3 in December just started talking in June. I had asked my pediatrician at his 2 year appt and she said not to worry because he was really good w/ the physical stuff. Kids who are really good at the physical stuff (can throw a ball, kick a ball, hop or skip etc...) talk later. It was amazing when my son did start to talk because he was talking in complete sentences. His speech is very deliberate. He thinks about what he is saying and you can understand almost everything he is saying.

My pediatrician did say when she first started practicing she was sending almost every 2 year old who didn't talk to the speech people and then realized that it was normal for some kids not to talk early.

We were a bit concerned w/ our son, but now there is nothing wrong w/ how he talks. BTW, he was very good at non verbal communication and could make his needs known (we didn't use sign language w/ him).

My daughter turned 18 mo on the 5th of Oct. She only says four words right now. Her peditrician also recomended the early childhood intervention program. She had her first visit at our home last week and now today in fact, she is having her follow up to see if she qualifies for the program (to qualify, it depends on her knowledge level, nothing to do with parents income). If they can intervene early, before school age, they may not have to require special ed or help in school. Their job is to help the child catch up. It's free if you qualify, well paid for thru taxes.

Hi S. -

I agree with Joanne's response, as we had a very similar experience. When our daughter was 18 mos she was only saying a few words, and the pediatrician thought we should just have someone evaluate her, just to be sure. It was free and easy. A couple of speech therapists came to see her, checked her comprehension and ability to follow simple directions. She passed easily. They said if she wasn't speaking at 2, they would like to see her again. By that time, she was speaking short sentences.

My advice is to take advantage of the free evaluation for the peace of mind. (I believe the clinic gave us the contact number, or the other advice of going through the ECFE program would work well too, I'm sure.) As long as his language comprehension is fine, he'll start talking when he is ready to do so!

L.

Your local ECFE program can connect you with someone that does free screening. They can give you a feel for where he's at, and and if they find him delayed enough they offer free speech therapy. It's worth a try if you are worried.

I have 3 year old twins who had the same problem when they were 18 months old, 1 more than the other. We did start them in the ECFE speech therapy program where the speech therapist came to our house. Now that they are three they go to speech therapy twice a week at the center. It really did seem to help, and it gave us some new ideas as to how to promote speech. Are they perfect speakers right now? No, but they are talking alot better than I think they would have if we hadn't done the therapy. It is also free through your school system, which is a nice bonus. Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions!

Hi S.,

My neighbor does evaluations for ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) in the summer, and I asked her about my sons' speech at 12 months. She said that if they are not speaking 50 words by 2 then it is considered a problem - and ECFE refers them/recommends a speech therapist. She told me that in the mean time the best thing I can do is keep talking to my boys and encourage/promote speaking by asking questions and repeating back what they do say (to show mimicking as a behavior I assumed). Since mine aren't 18 months old yet, I'm not sure if those recommendations are quite the same, but I would get a head start on speech issues if you can. I bet your son would like it, too.

My daughter is like that. She talks a lot just not in English. It's just how it is for her. And I've heard from a few sources that this is just fine. I'd wait at least until she's 2 before seeing any sort of specialist, and even then it would depend on her other skills acquired by that time. And wasn't Mozart not really talking til he was 3? Just say your boy is working on more complex tasks and patterns.