Talking Toddlers

To start, my son is almost 25 months old and was not talking all that much before he was two. I was worried and the Doc. put him the early ons. program and they put my son in speech. The one thing that I learned is to not push him. The less I pushed the more he tried to talk. And, if he says the wrong word don't tell him no and say the right word, just say the right word. And, if he says a word wrong, he is trying, so you say the word the right way. Just give it time, I was really worried also but now I just realize my son will do things when he wants to. Good Luck !!!

If you have concerns about his speech and not using enough words - I recommend you call Early On of MI, 1-900-earlyon(they are an early intervention service that is FREE!) They can evaluate your child and determine if speech therapy would help him. Also - your school district can do an assesment and provide FREE speech therapy if necessary.

Do you take him to playgroups where he can interact with other children his age? That might help. There are many playgroups on yahoo that you can find that are active.

That's a hard one... It sounds as if he has the vocabulary but is having difficulty applying it to everyday "conversation." Keep doing what your doing by immersing him in language experiences and try to get him in as many playdates with same age children. It might help your child to see how other children interact with each other and their parents.

Hi there.. As long as he can understand you.. Don't worry about it.. I know you're thinking "easier said than done", etc.. I thought the same thing when people told me that about my daughter.. She was only saying a few words clear and the rest literally sounded like chinese or other foreign language.. She didn't start talking well until around 2 yrs 9 months old.. Just before turning 3.. but thats just when it "took off".. Then it started coming out more and more.. and now she'll be 4 in April and is talking good. She still trips herself up a little here and there when trying to talk too fast, but she is where she is suppose to be. It really helped a lot when put in her preschool/day care in Feb 2007 (she turned 3 April 2007).. Also.. She was in a program called TOTE (teaching our tots early) Its through your school district.. Ask your pediatrician. A teacher comes out to YOUR house and does an evaluation. They did the first evaluation on my daughter at 19 months and said that she didn't qualify.. So then they did another one at her 2nd(April 2006) birthday and she did qualify for the program because of what she was NOT saying yet.. So, I was reassured by the teacher that my daughter was fine and that its "just a speech delay".. The teacher comes to your house for aprx 1 hour - 1.5 hours 2 times a week. They work with the child and show you things you can do with them, etc. The woman we had was great.. We miss her! In May 2007 after she turned 3, the teacher did another evaluation and she was pleased to tell me that my daughter was well within the normal range now and did not need the program anymore. Once we had to put her into day care, the teacher changed her schedule of coming to our house 2 times a week, to going to the daycare 2 times a week. They work with you a lot. This was through the Woodhaven School district (we live in allen park). Good luck. But don't worry, just keep talking to him and repeating things, he'll pick it up..

Hi, C.. This is K.. I am s Special-Needs Parent Advocate for Parent Support and Advocacy Program. We serve the Parents of Wayne County for free. One of our free services is a quick evaluation for kids who may or may not be developmentally behind, or in your son's case, maybe just speech-delayed. Call 1-###-###-#### and get your questions answered and your mind put at ease. Hope this helps-K..

I know its frustrating. Kids talk when they are ready. But before you hand him a cup of milk say " Here is your cup of milk" talk to him like an adult. Also pay attention to whether you may be quick to get him things without making him ask for it. My sister did that with my niece she was a very late talker but my sister never knew she was doing it until we pointed it out to her. Good Luck!

I would try talking to him more, almost as if you are talking to yourself. If you are quiet and he is home with you, it may help if you are more vocal. Ask him questions all the time, and don't let him point or nod, just don't do anything until he uses his words. Say the phrase, "use your words please". "I can't understand, use your words, please", etc. Try not to ask yes or no questions. Use lots of descriptive words when you talk, instead of saying the ball, say the little blue ball.

Be careful in demanding the response though, it needs to be made fun and exciting, not like criticism. You can only push so far, maybe once or twice, and if he doesn't respond immediately then you can offer "do you mean you want the green apple?" and then wait again? then say "say green apple please". At this point if they make any kind of sound, praise him and give him a hug and the apple.

I have used this type of technique with all my kids so far, and they seem to have responded very well, and enjoy talking. Good luck.

My son did the same thing. He turned 2 in November, and by mid December, all those words he'd said once or twice started to come out in full sentances. He never -stops- talking now, even in his sleep. I think, if you just keep talking to him, doing whatever you're doing, it'll happen when he's ready. It was almost as if a switch just flipped on one day for us.