my son is not talking and he is 2 1/2 years old... should i be worried ???

Amber - posted on 01/31/2010

My son is 3 and he doens't talk very much. At 2 i enrolled him in a school for speech therapy. He enjoys it and he's starting to open up more about using words. I don't think it's a developmental problem. I think it's just him being stubborn. You can always take him to a developmental pediatrician if you have concerns after that. My son I found does have a disorder, so if you need any advice on how to help talk, i can give you some tips that worked for me and you can try them. No garuntees but hopefully he breaks free of it. I'd definately see about something where he has more kids his own age that talk at different levels. It's helped my son tremendously in a little under a year. I hope it helps and I wish you guys the best of luck :)

Randi - posted on 01/31/2010

thank you all for your advice and just like i thought it is the best advice ive gotten, from mom's who know and have gone through the same things .... thank you all so much it means the world to me!!! i am so happy to have this opportunity with this mommy circle thing, so far its the best support group ive had. you all are great and i will be more proactive about this! thanks again and hope to keep in touch:) ill keep you all updated too:) with love and gratitude,
randi

Sarah - posted on 01/31/2010

I would deffinately get him evaluated for his speech. If you are in the US call your local school they will set you up with the local AEA that can do a speech evaluation. If they feel that he needs some speech therapy they will set you up with that. All that is free!! If you feel in your gut that something is wrong often times you are right. Keep pushing for answers and help. I have found that if you don't push you don't get help and the child falls behind. Also do some reading about different kinds of speech delays and disablities. I watch a 3 yr old that can't say the ending of ANY of his words. He really wants to just his brain does not let him. I started to notice the problem when he was about 2 1/2 yrs and was not progressing like the other kids. I would place him as a 12-18 mos. old in his speech. I have also seen the importance in getting that early help RIGHT AWAY!! The sooner you get help the better. There is so much that they are learning at that age that the longer they go without help the further behind they get.

Sunny - posted on 01/31/2010

Hey Randi, my names sunshine and i feel your pain! My son is almost 3 and has only just started talking but it's gone straight from nothing to full sentences! All my friends with kids say its like it just clicks one day ii didnt believe it but now ive seen it with my son. i have to say though my son is full on like your's running all day and hard to calm down to pay attention when your trying to teach them new language but one thing that i have found that works with my son is cooking. i sit him up on the bench have everything out and because he gets to mix and crush and bang around i can say things like we can mix mix mix, we can crush crush crush, it'll be yum yum yum yum! and he would really get into it. but that's really all i can think of. You know your child better than anyone so if you dont think there is something wrong than go with your gut. Just try to make it fun and not like a lesson because they can feel your stress too. Good luck.

Jen - posted on 01/31/2010

I would try to get him into speech therapy. They will work with him on the places he's having trouble. It doesn't sound like he has developmental problems because it sounds like he understands what you are tell him, but at 2.5 he should really be talking your head off (I wish my 26 month old girl would stop talking sometimes lol). In speech therapy they will play with him and teach him to talk. My friend had both son's put in speech shortly after turning 2 (early for the younger one) and it I've seen it work wonders for the older one. The younger son has more problems so he's still a year behind where he should be, but he's improving. Look into it. If it's a money issue, there are probably programs in your area that will do a free evaluation and refer your son to someone free on charge if he has at least a 25% delay for his age. Good luck.