My 18 month old doesn't talk.

Lori - posted on 02/10/2011

My daughter worried me also but at about 27 months the
Words just came!!! I realize that there are instances
when there are other problems... Use your mommy instinct... it's usually right!

Elaine - posted on 02/09/2011

my son had a speech delay just like your at 18months. we went to speech for 6 months. I could believe the difference it had made.he is now 5 and you can't tell he ever had a problem. defently read, read, read. Listen to gut you know this child better than any dr if they don't listen get a new one that will.

Shannan - posted on 02/09/2011

Well I have been a preschool teacher for over 13 years. My primary focus has been toddler to twos. I work with 24 different children each period in a group at one time. I have two years who dont talk anything but Jibber Jabber but they DO get their point across. My son who is now 10 in GT and heading into 6th grade didnt talk regular words and sentences till 2.5. Every child learns at their own pace obvisously. If your child is not around alot of conversation daily then it may take time for him to pick up on many many words, especially if its just you and your husband talking to him when you get the chance. In preschool you have a group of other kids your age and size saying STOP NO MOVE GO,, MINE.. and thats what they learn and how they learn.. And unless you talk non stop all day to your child (which is what happens when they are in preschool someone is always talking) then you may have that lack of communication right now. It sounds like develpmentally he is okay, its just verbally he needs to get more words to get more words. ALOT of people are advocates for NO TV, but I believe the right TV shows are very helpful. Dora talks slow and clear and encourages repetition. Ki-Lin, Wonder Pets, Seasame street.. All good visual and listening shows that encourage communication... There is no "correct" age for anything. My son who didnt talk till 2.5 walked at 9 months. So it all depends on the child.. Good Luck.. and Dont worry...

Lynnda - posted on 02/09/2011

Take your time when speaking to him, what happens they imitate what they hear. Try speaking slower so that he can form the words in his mind and in his mouth...Have a blessed day!

Alisha - posted on 02/07/2011

I wouldn't be too concerned because he is still little and some kids don't talk until over 2 years old. When he wants something and he is pointing at it, repeat its name over and over. It's a matter of him making the connection that everything has a different name. He will get it!

Emma - posted on 02/07/2011

definitely get it checked out - early intervention really is the key. my little boy is nearly three, but only has a handful of words, and had only just starting talking, and this is as a result of speech therapy every day at nursery. I had always suspected that there was something 'wrong' him, as he never 'cooed' or babbled as a baby. he has been seen by a speech therapist since he was 1, and i started using makaton with him, and this really improved his understanding and gave him a means of communication as he couldn't speak. he has been seen by a developmental pediatrician, and we thought that he may be had some level of autism as his lack of speech was causing him to have social interaction problems aswell. however as time has gone on, it appears that he may have dyspraxia. howver the vital thing is to get it looked at straight away - if my son hadn't have had speech therapy, i dread to think where we would be at today

Katherine - posted on 02/04/2011

its normal, all kids learn at thier own pace. if it worries you that much you can take him to daycare where there is other kids his age and he will talk like them adn interact with them. take him to places where moms takes their kids around the same age. play dates are good.

Katie - posted on 02/04/2011

Hi, My son was also a late talker, I work with kids so I just have a few suggestions to add to the other comments, Start writing a list of words you understand that he does say, and keep adding to it as he says a new word, read read read lots of books at least 3 per day, or as many as he can handle, talk to him as much as possible, while doing everyday things just chatter away, poit out things on the street while driving around, tell him what you are diong around the hose, this introduces everyday words, encourage him to answer questons or ask for things, like "drink" ect give him time to respond, and praise him when he does start to say words, repeat them back-not parrot fashion, but in a short sentance. and follow your instincts talk to the doctors and dont let them put you off if you are worried

Anna - posted on 02/03/2011

Yep, it's called First Steps here in Kentucky. Your tax dollars have already paid for it, so see about getting a free developmental screening. There was a sliding scale for us after that if we were accepted into the program based on income (I think we had a $10 copay per month for services). They did an in-home evaluation of our daughter, talked about the results, came up with a plan, etc.

Carlene - posted on 02/02/2011

I agree with the other moms. start with hearing tests, those are the easiest to confirm/rule out. that's what we did with my son. he was developing ok and then he quit talking. i thought it was due to his chronic ear infections. that was part of it. i found out that he's on the autism spectrum. we're not sure how far on the spectrum he is, but that's all we know for now. but go with your gut bc your gut instinct is usually God saying "hey, you should probably do this..."

Rebecca - posted on 02/02/2011

@Sherry: that's pretty much exactly what we're doing! It's called ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) and we have an assessment meeting planed next month to see if he's eligible to continue through the public school preschool program when he turns 3. It's not regular preschool, it's specifically for children who are being in their development. Glad you son is doing well in the program!

Sherry - posted on 02/02/2011

I went through the same thing with my son. I was concerned at 18 months because he wasn't really talking. I was told not to worry about it and he would talk more as he got older. But I was still concerned. I waited until he was 2 and he still wasn't talking much more than he was at 18 months. He wouldn't even say cup or eat. My daycare director referred me to a program called BabyNet through the state of SC. It is a free program that works with children through age 3 with developmental delays. I don't know what state you are in, but you may want to check to see if there is something similar where you are. I had him evaluated and it turned out he does have a speech delay and he scored below average with his cognitive skills as well. That had alot to do with him being hyper and unable to focus. So a Early Interventionist stated working with him on those skills and he started speech therapy soon after. He is much improved. He is more focused and speaking more on his own instead of just mimicking. He has at least 50 words and we are now working on helping him with asking questions. His hearing was tested as well and it is fine. Now that he is about to turn three he may be eligible to continue services through a preschool program with the school district. So I would have him evaluated and go from there. If he needs help it's best to get the help sooner than later. My pediatrician said he should be up to speed by the time he starts kindergarten since we started working with him soon. Be blessed.

KELLIKAYZ - posted on 02/02/2011

IT IS OK, I PROMISE....I WALKED EARLY BUT DID NOT TALK UNTIL LATER...AFTER 18 MONTHS EVEN. NOW MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS MAKE A JOKE OUT OF THIS BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS TALKING NOW....(SMILE)...IT WILL COME, JUST ENJOY HIM AND RELAX AND IT WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT.

Idella - posted on 02/01/2011

my girls who are older than their brother did all the talking for him so he never talked words some other stuff just not words. his sister often interperted what he was saying. going on three I just got frustrated and refused to give him what he wanted until he said it. imagine my surprised when he stumped his feet and yelled juice.....lol

Anne - posted on 02/01/2011

Please understand that I am not making light of your concern! I do have a slightly different thought than most of the moms. So here goes!

I am assuming he is your only child, but if he has older siblings, take a few days to try and notice if they do the talking for him. When our daughters were children I had Child Care in our home. When she was about 2 her best friend, a little girl about 4 months younger did not talk much at our house. Mom said she talked a lot at home. So I sat back and listened to the two girls and noticed that our daughter did most of the talking for her friend. Her friend was letting our daughter do all the talking and she was able to get her needs met. I had to remind our daughter to let her friend answer for her self. It only took about a week for both girls to be talking. If this is not the case at your house, you are doing the right thing by encouraging your son to talk. One way that I have read that is effective (I have used this method for years) is to accept any thing that your son says for what ever he wants. As long as it is not a scream to get his own way tell him you like how nice he uses his big boy words. Do not correct him if his word for drink sounds more like babbling than a real word. If you are comfortable with these ideas try them for a few days to see if you see a difference. Also do not allow any one to "talk baby talk" to him.

Regardless of this advice you are the mom of this child and you and your husband know him better than anyone else and you want the best for him.

Frances M - posted on 01/30/2011

Our son was not talking until he was two years old. I finally realized his older sister was talking for him. I made her quit and he started talking. My neice would jibber jabber to my Mom and I noticed that's the way Mom was talking to her (for fun). Evalyn adored her grandmother and was copying her. I had a talk with Mom when Evalyn was 3 years old and she quit playing. Evalyn's parents thought it was cute until I explained that the other kids would pick on her in pre-school if she could not talk. She was talking better when she started pre-school and within a couple of weeks, she was talking as well as her classmates. I talked to my daughter all the time from the day she was born just like she was an adult. My husband was at sea (NAVY) a lot so she had all my attention most of the time. She said, "What do you suppose I would do with him?" when she was 10 months old. Sit and talk to him just like you would an adult. Make sure he can see your lips and don't let anyone else talk for him. Praying something works for you. Then there is always the possibility that he has something wrong with his vocal cords. When all else fails, take him to the Dr.

Kelsey - posted on 01/28/2011

My oldest also barely talked at 18 months. By the time we went in for the 2 year check up she still barely talked. We made an appt. for another 3 months and if she hadn't improved we would see a speech therapist. Honestly, after 2 weeks from the 2 year chk up my daughter just erupted with w/ words!
I understand your concern, actually this same daughter just failed a hearing test 6 months ago at age 3 and will be recheck when she turns 4.
Remember that every child develops and their own pace. Try and leave your worry to the Lord, and just keep encouraging your child.

Lisa - posted on 01/28/2011

My grandson did the samething. He was toungtied. I told my son and his girlfriend to have him checked when he was 1 but they waited. He is now 3 and is just now starting to say words. His toung was cut in June her turned 3 in Nov. . U might want to see if he is. good luck to u

Rebecca - posted on 01/27/2011

Adding to what Julie said, my pediatrician referred us to a Developmental Pediatrician, so that may be something to keep in mind as you ask questions. I look forward to hearing how his well check goes in a couple weeks! God bless!

Julie - posted on 01/27/2011

I would take him to a pediatrician who can do testing...
Do bear in mind that boys are slower at language development than girls...

Christina - posted on 01/27/2011

Thanks everyone for your advice, and I appreciate your honesty...don't worry about "doom and gloom" I am slightly concerned and my husband is very worried, but I have been trying to tell myself everything is okay so not to panic infront of him. I guess I was just trying not to over react. My son has his 18 month check up with his paediatrician in 2 weeks and I will obviously be bringing this issue up but wanted to know what other moms thought so that I could have some other opinions in the back of my mind when talking to him. When he was born he failed the initial hearing test at the hospital and we had to take him back for another one..so this is also lingering in the back of my mind! So thank you again everyone.

Teresa - posted on 01/27/2011

At 18 months and babbling a lot.... I'd probably wait it out a few months to see if real words start emerging soon. There's nothing wrong w/ getting it checked out now though. If there IS a hearing or speech issue it's better to start working on it earlier than later.

Heather - posted on 01/27/2011

You can check with your doctor, but most doctors will not be concerned this early on. Speech therapy will most likely help if you can afford it. Your doctor might want to check his ears for fluid, or his abnoids (sp?), but most people don't get concerned this early on. My oldest boy was talking shortly after his first birthday, my second son, who does have issues, wasn't talking until he was almost 3. Even knowing that he had fluid in his ears, the only thing they did was put tubes in. They wouldn't start speech therapy until 4 and even then we had to push to get it. Even the school said he was fine when he clearly wasn't. My twins are three and one is talking pretty well, and the other isn't any where near where her sister is. My doctor isn't concerned. They have passed all of their hearing tests and he thinks they will catch on eventually. They don't show the signs that my other son shows of problems, so I'm not concerned. I guess I would say it's 50/50. There might be an issue, or there might not. Most doctors (unless you are on government health care) will not be concerned, even if there is a problem.

My advice is to go with your gut. Don't let anyone else (other than a doctor) tell you that your child needs to be talking, all kids talk at different ages. If you think there is a problem, then pursue it, but if you are only concerned because of family or other moms, then you know your child better than they do. Look up some statistics on when children talk and give them a reply based off that.

Jennifer - posted on 01/27/2011

I do agree that you need to discuss it with his doc, because there could be a problem. Also, he could be perfectly fine. My son was like that. He didn't really even babble. He just grunted (so much we would even call him our little cave man) By his 18 month well check, he wasn't saying near the words he should. His ped said she would give him til his 2 year well check, and if he hadn't improved, then further testing was needed. Right before the visit, he started talking, and I do mean talking. By the time we saw the doc, he was talking in complete sentences and could carry on full adult conversations! She was so amazed by him, that she just sat in the room listening to him talk for like 15 min. So, maybe your child is fine, but do make sure you discuss it with his doc, because delayed speach could mean so many different things.

Rebecca - posted on 01/26/2011

Many people will tell you don't worry about it, but I disagree. Some children just have a speech delay and they'll start talking on their own. Some need speech therapy. Some could have other issues, such as a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD, autism, asbergers).



My old pediatrician kept putting me off when I expressed concern about my son not talking at 18 months, and again when I had concerns at 22 months. He had 2-3 words, and basically was as you described your child. I wanted a hearing test, the doctor said if he can babble he can hear. I disagreed, knowing from my brother that even if you can hear that you could have an auditory processing problem where you may not to be able to hear all sounds and pitches (for example, my brother had trouble hearing the "th" sound, not being able to tell the difference between "there" or "their" and the word "hair").



I finally convinced him to get my son a hearing test, and the ENT said that what he had told me was wrong (glad I pushed and followed my maternal instinct). Just because he can hear doesn't mean he doesn't have a hearing problem. Also, I got a new pediatrician who told me that they would have started looking into his speech delay if he wasn't talking by 18 months instead of waiting. My old one told me he wouldn't do anything until my son was 2. But every doctor I've talked to since said that the longer you wait on a speech delay, the harder it can be to get them caught up.



Turns out my son had PDD. We are working with a speech therapist right now. I'm not suggesting your child has something wrong, but my gut instinct is to go ahead and test. What's wrong with doing something as simple as a hearing test? It's non-invasive and can easily rule out that explanation. Also, having fluid build up on the ears can affect speech. It's not just a question of whether or not he's hard of hearing.



Also, my new doctor did a series of developmental tests in her office (such as playing with blocks and coloring...things she used to determine that he may also have a developmental delay that is the underlying issue...the speech delay was just a symptom of that). It's just so easy to get it checked out sooner than later, and that's what I suggest. I mean, it won't hurt anything to check. Better safe than sorry. And if there is something wrong, he can get whatever help he needs. And if there's not, then he'll probably start talking soon.



I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be "doom and gloom," I just wanted you to know that it can be more serious, and I wouldn't ignore it. Of course, you are the mother, and you will probably have a gut feeling if you think something really is wrong. I did...and I kept getting dismissed, but I just fought until someone helped me and my suspicions were confirmed. But luckily, he is getting speech therapy and has improved greatly over the past 8 months. He has about 30 words now, and is mimicking and picking up new words much more quickly now! He just needed some help.



Good luck to you and your son, I pray it'll all work out!



Edited: typo!