My Two Year Old Son Is Not Talking Yet

G.,
I have a 2 1/2 yr old baby girl. She doesn't know sign language (that's really good of you), but she sounds about the same. I think some kids just aren't as vocal. She understands everything I tell her, but just isn't very talkative. Her 3 cousins are the same ages, and they talk talk talk. I'm not an expert, but I say wait it out. Maybe have him play with other kids if you can, cause they tend to copy what each will say.
Good Luck and let me know how he's doing.

there is an excellent special needs program thru the washington elementary school district if you are in their boundries if not i'm sure that your district offers the same type. It is called Search to Serve, and is an early intervention for speech delays. My daughter had almost the same exact problem your son is having and they placed her right away, she is now in their kindergarden for speech delays (it has the same corriculum as the normal kindergarten, but includes 2 speech pathologists a teacher and teacher's aid for 20 students) she has made tremendous progress and will attend a normal first grade class in the fall. It is an awesome program and I have nothing but good things to say about our experience. All services of course are free. Let me know if i can be of further assistance. Here is their website with contact information. They will do all the assessments to place him.

http://www.wesd.k12.az.us/newinter/schools/preschool/snp.php

A.

Something that might help is if you get him around kids his age or a little older that are very vocal. My son was saying lots of words but when he made friends with a toddler about 6 months older than him who was a big talker and he picked up saying all kinds of phrases and sentences. For some reason he picked it up a lot faster from a kid than me working with him, although I'm sure working with me helped too.

PLEASE get him therapy!! I am a Speech-Language Pathologist. He should be putting at least 2 words together, "mommy go" fpr example. Get in touch with Early Intervention/Department of Developmental Disabilities ASAP and if you can pay out of pocket, have him evaluated by a Speech-Language Pathologist. At two year, nine months old, contact your local school district to have him evaluated for special needs preschool services. They will screen and/or evaluate him in all 5 areas of development - communication, motor, cognitive, self-help, and social.

Keep doing what you are doing. Always pair the sign with the verbal word. You did not do wront by teaching him sign - he is communicating with you and that is what's important. does he make choices? For example, if you say "do you want an apple or banana?" Does he point to what he wants? Always give choices for snacks. Play with him to model vocabulary and how we use words.

I wish I could slap sense into every pediatrician who has told parents to wait.

We've used a speech therapist through Search to Serve for a couple of years. My almost five year old has made progress, and he loves his teacher, but he still has problems with "L", "R", and others like "TH". Every child is different, so try not to stress about it- it doesn't mean he's not intelligent. The earilier you can get help, the better. My son goes for 1/2 hour once a week, so it's not a big time factor. I'd recommend it.

M.

What you may want to do is call your local elementary school and ask to speak to the speech teacher. They can sign your child up for free speech testing and then will offer free speech therapy if your child needs it. My daughter is 3 and is getting tested next month!