2 Year Old Not Talking Well.

Welcome to the world of the 2nd child! When my son was that age, his older sister did all the talking for him! (I hear that this is very common if the older child is female). Don't worry, she will talk in time. My son really didn't talk much till he was 3 (when his sister was in school, and couldn't rely on her doing all the talking for him!)

Everyone has given good advice. A couple of other things to look at are pacifier use and the possibility of apraxia of speech. If all else fails, have your child tested for it. It is correctable but not all uncommon.

L.,
When my older 2 kids were younger (2 years apart)..the younger one was only speaking 11 words at age 2. Of course my oldest was talking complete sentences by 2 so i freaked out. I took him to the doc and first she laughed at me, but then she said.... are you letting nichole answer questions for him..etc... I asked what she meant i.e when tony points does nichole jump out and say "tony wants such and such" I sat and watched and that was going on... I started making HIM tell me or he didnt get When it was just him and i with books and so on, I acted like i didnt know what it was so he would tell me.... Just a couple thoughts hope it helps

I had the same exact thing, down to the oldest having such great language skills. He talked so much, we got annoyed! I truly understand "be careful what you ask for!" My youngest will be 4 in October. He knew things, but was very guarded about sharing his knowledge. He is strong willed and would give us gifts of vocabulary as he decided when he would show us what he knew. He would often misname things just to be funny (we didn't recognize this until later). When my oldest went to kindergarten and my youngest turned 3, he started using his vocabulary on a regular basis. My oldest never seemed to talk for him, but still seemed to be the larger personality in the room. When they spent less time together, my youngest had room to be himself. We even had a speech specialist (Early On) come to our house a few times to work with him. He does everything on his own terms. Given your description, it sounds like your daughter is similar. She will decide when you are ready to hear what she has to say. My son waits a long time to do something new and then does it definitively: He refuses to use the toilet, but I know when he does it will be as if he was doing it for years. So I hope our similar experience helps you feel better. I know how you feel. I wasn't sure what to think either. I hope this makes you feel more at ease.

Hi L.. I had the same thing with my son and now my grandson. My son was only saying "up, dino, and me by the time he was 2 1/2. My cousins still joke with him about it, he's now 22. I had him evaluated with a speech and hearing specialist, she told me he was emotionally impaired and he needed to go to school 5 days a week all day. I was devistated. My doctor said there was nothing wrong with Nick and I ended up taking him to the speech teacher my brother had in school, she talked to him, and told me he was a busy boy with an older sister who talks non stop, he didn't need to talk to get what he needed. I started taking him to her, we basiclally played, again he was 2 1/2, and while playing she got him to start talking. He was in speech until he was in fourth grade. Now I have the same thing with my grandson, he's my daughters son, and her only child. I've been working with him doing the same things Nicks speech teacher was doing, Ayden was 2 in January, but I'm not having much luck at this point. I'm not worried about it however, only because of my experience with Nick. Ayden will get it sooner or later, he is just a busy boy, just like his uncle. So have patience, your daughter sounds like she's doing fine in every other way. Good luck:)Sue

Play a lot with your child and talk to them constantly. When she says something that is unclear - say the correct word for her. Or, even just repeat what she says 'yes, that's right, this is a cup!".

If you have concerns about her speech and not using enough words - I recommend you call Early On of MI (they are an early intervention service that is FREE!) They can evaluate your child and determine if speech therapy would help her. Also - your school district can do an assesment and provide FREE speech therapy if necessary.

My son has been recieving speech services for almost 3 years now and it has made a HUGE difference. I would much rather get his speech corrected now - before school age! Currently, my son is very receptive to speech therapy (its basically a lot of play time - but the therapist has him working on different sounds, etc.)

My son did this. Im not sure where in the 2 she is but my son started non stop talking at 2 1/2 its like he learnd a whole new vocabulary over night. It was amazing. Now...He wont shut up :-X

Hi L.,

I have a 10 month old so I am not speaking from personal experience but from what my brother experienced with his now 5 year old. They had the same problem. My nephew would grunt and point and mumble all the time. You know HE KNEW what he wanted and most of the time we could all figure out too. It was just frustrating that he couldn;t say what he wanted. Basically what was happenening was my brother and sister in law were speaking for him. He got what he wanted by just pointing and grunting so he didn't have to speak. So they corrected that, not instantly but with consistancy within a couple months by telling him to use his words so mommy or daddy can give him what he wants/needs. This way your daughter won't get used to the fact that if she mumbles or points that she gets what she wants. Hopefully this helps you.
J.

I have a Sept. 2005 baby and he also isn't talking well. Unlike your dd he doesn't point to anything in a book. Kaden quilified for speech therapy. The therapist gave me these things to do with him, which like you I have already been doing.

*read books to your child frequently.
*talk simply, clearly, and slowly to your child.
*enjoy many activities w/ your child to stimulate language,
vocabulary, and communication skills-take walks, go shopping, have a picnic, clean house, plant flowers, and talk about things as you are doing them and again later in the day.
*look at your child when he or she talks to you
*describe what your child is doing, feeling, and hearing in short 3-word sentences
*make speaking and listening experiences pleasant, worthwhile, and fun for your child
*let the child listen to children's music and book recordings
*respond to your child's attempts at communication in a meaningful way.

Every time you say a word, just try to get her to repeat it, it may take her a minute. When she does repeat a word, get all excited and clap and say YAY. She will see shes getting attention from it, she will try to do it more often. Thats how I did it with my 4 year old when she was doing the same thing. Good luck!

Ask her questions that require more than just a yes or no answer and get some books that you can point out pictures of animals or whatever together and get her to say their names.

i would encorage her to speak a friend of mine used m&m as a reward.just make it about fun new words she will catch on and make sure her wonderful big sister is not speaking for her

you can check with your local schools if she isn't speaking any better by the time she's three they probably offer speech therapy. my neice has already started speech thereapy and she's only three and it has helped her speech alot in only the past month. My nephew will be starting speech therapy in august when he starts kindergarten. Most of the local schools offer free speech therapy for kids with speech problems. I know at least lawton and portage schools do. Well, good luck. hope this helps.