My Daughter Turned 3 in March, She Can Only Say a Few Words,

We can't know because we're not specialists. Call Early Intervention and have her evaluated. The evaluation and any interventions that they recommend (like speech therapy) will also be free. Since she's three, they might refer you to a different agency, but that's fine - they are the experts and they will know what to do. In California, the contact info for EI is here: https://www.dds.ca.gov/EarlyStart/

T.

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What does your pediatrician say?

I have a friend whose son didn't talk until he was 4. She was sooo freaking worried about him. Told her to keep talking with pediatrician, speech pathologist, etc. but he WILL start talking and when he does? He won't shut up! Well....he's now 8 years old and talks her ears off!

Talk with the pediatrician and figure out a game plan - see if there is something wrong or is your daughter just getting her thoughts together before she speaks them?

Do you encourage her to talk and ask for things? Or do you just give her if she points, grunts or does something else? Your actions are also playing a role in this.

Please, please, please get her to the pediatrician and ask for a speech/language evaluation. You are LATE in doing this. At two years old she should have been evaluated.

Early intervention is critical if she is to succeed in school. PLEASE call your ped TOMORROW!

By 3 years old, yes you should be worried.
If her talking wasn't up to milestones at 2 years old - you should have started worrying a year ago.
Take her to the doctor (hasn't he said anything during well child checkups?),have her evaluated and get her some help.

Your school district will evaluate her for free. Call the district office.

Three of my grandchildren have been evaluated and treatment provided. My youngest isn't talking at two. A speech therapist comes to their house.

Evaluation and treatment are provided as part of the Federal no child left behind law.

It's unfortunate if you didn't talk about the amount she speaks with the pediatrician at her well-child checkup, as that would have been a great time to do it. Sounds like a good time to call your pediatrician and get a referral for a speech evaluation. The other behavior things don't sound like big concerns, but if she really can only say a few words, there seems to be a problem. Only your pediatrician can help you sort out whether there is a problem and how to start evaluating it.

Hasn't her speech come up at her well-child visits at the doctor's office? Most pediatricians ask about this, so it should have come up at her 2 year check-up as well as the 3 year check in March. If your doctor isn't doing this, consider a new one.

Most school systems do early intervention and evaluation for speech and other issues, free of charge. Talk to your pediatrician, call the school district office, and have ready a list of words she says. Playing alone is very common in young children, but do take a few videos of her staring into space or playing alone if she's doing anything you feel is unusual, and show those to the professionals.

more info please:

1. what does her pediatrician say?
2. have you had her hearing tested?
3. are the words she can say clear, intelligible, and do they make sense?
4. does she look at books?
5. what does she play with? toys?
6. does she interact with her sister?
7. how are her sleeping and eating habits?

What does your pediatrician say?

I would talk to your pediatrician and ask that your daughter have her hearing checked and also be evaluated by a speech therapist.

I don't think you should be worried, but I do think you should be proactive. Learning to speak is important. She needs to be able to communicate effectively with you and with others (including doctors, teachers, other adults). If she can't communicate, she will get frustrated. It will also make things more difficult when she does begin school.

This is an important life skill, so you really do need to address this with the pediatrician.

what does her pediatrician think?
khairete
S.

Hi
How many words and which sort of words she can speak? Does She follow all verbal commands? Does she interacts with her younger sister and kids of her age? Does she uses gadgets?
My kid is gonna be 3 next month and u can ask for long stories n u wont be disappointed. At 3 kids hav v good vocabulary and they ask hunderd of questions.
Get her checked , i hope n pray its just a little delay n nothing else.
Try to tell her stories , let her interact with other kids and obviously get her evaluated by speech therapist.

My kids all spoke a little later than most. They spoke gibberish I guess you would say. Some words, but a lot of made up words. What's interesting is, other kids in my extended family have done the same, and then around three it all came together, and by 4 they were talking completely typically. It seemed to click.

One of my children's speech, they considered to be delayed and they did early intervention. He had a lot of hearing issues. However, he made a lot of sounds and interacted a lot with people - it just wasn't 'coherent' is how I would describe it. I, however, could understand what he wanted - he used gestures (pointed) and made sounds - they just weren't clear.

It did come up at the pediatrician's office to have him evaluated. So if your daughter's pediatrician is not concerned (you didn't mention this in your question), maybe there is not enough reason for concern. If it has not come up and you are concerned, then you have to be her advocate.

Good suggestions below :)

*Playing by herself a lot is not that unusual at that age. Mine did. Parallel play is very common (playing alongside other children, but not with them). Staring off into space - not so much. Maybe video that and just show the pediatrician as Diane suggests. Doesn't mean it's anything serious though. I have a niece who did that a lot as a child, and she outgrow it by the time she hit puberty. Still worth showing - if you're at all concerned.

I would take her to a doctor, get a speech and language pathologist to talk with her if possible if you are worried.