concerns 18 mnth old

[december]

Hi, my son is almost 18 mnths old, and this morn my mum claimed that he is a bit slow in the speech dept. He can say mama , dada not always to us though, the dogs name, duck, car, moo, chook, no , but we can make out what they are , but they arent always clear though. but he does a lot of babble & pointing.

Knows simple commands, and knows about 3 or 4 body parts.

Name he knows, as well he has good eye contact. has been walking for about 4 mnths and a happy boy when he isnt throwing tantrums..
Still extra clingy to me, which is annoying..

What i am worried about, is his lack of speech, or maybe its ok, also when he is happy or really exicted he flaps his arms. I guess i am thinking of autism..
would love to know what others are doing and what their 18 mnths are up to..

I guess i am just being paranoid.. he goes to day care a few days a week, and loves playing with the other kids there

[Jennifer13]

Sounds like he's perfectly normal to me. My DD's speech and language development were two separate things. Up until a few months ago she had a fair few words but they weren't always clear and not linked together, but she obviously understood everything we said to her. Then suddenly one day she was able to copy everything we said and used small sentences. Now she uses sentences that are four or five words long and is ahead of the other kids in speaking where she used to trail them a bit.

Their comprehension and ability to speak are developmental milestones and they all reach them at different points. It doesn't sound to me that you should be concerned, although I'm not a professional. I know several 2 year olds who are still at the same level you are talking about with your DS.

[rurumummy]

hi,

My DD is almost 18mths old and she is about the same as your son,she knows mumma and babba (dad) .I would say maybe your son knows a few more words than dd,but she understands alot of words like if i tell her to close the door she does it or if i tell her to pic something up she does it and she understands sleep time,so im not too worried about it.My dd1 was even slower than dd2 and thats probaby because dd2 is picking up so much from her sis.I think that all children develop at different times and your ds sounds up to date to me

[december]

thanks girls, but it is also the arm flapping when excited which i am a little worried about, but i have just googled and this can also ne normal behaviour

[shellbell3]

He sounds normal to me. My nephew has autism and yes he does hand flap but there were plenty of other signs at the time. He stopped babbling and wasn't saying anything, his speech just went backwards. He would go to the playground and just run back and forth along the fenceline staring at it. There were plenty other things too social probs etc and I know different children with autism will show different signs but basically I think if you son is progressing then I wouldn't worry. Children are all developing in different areas at different rates. As long as they are making progress that is the main thing.
My DD is nearly 18 months she says mumma, dadda (not alwasy to right person) doggie, ball, door, shoes, whats that, apple, poo poo, she tries to say bottle and balloon but the often sound like ball too, not all her words are clear but like you said we usually understand what she is saying. She understands alot more than she says, like we can say pick up the pencil and give it to daddy and she will.

[lilima]

Gosh. I would not worry. He says more than my DS, and he is the same age. DS says Mum, dad, nanna, quack, quack, dog, and that is about all I can understand. He also imitates stuff, like neighing like a horse, and moo etc. He understands most things that I say to him now. But really does not say many words.
Don't worry. Sounds like he is fine. If you are worried, mention it at your 18 month MCHN check up.

[DoubleK]

do you have an 18 month check up with you MCHN?

we just had Krystals (even though she is 21 months now, we kept having to cancel appts) they get them to build block, turn the pages of a book, draw with a pencil, they ask how many words they can say, do they respond to their own name etc

i think your nurse would give you reassurance that he is fine, and just make sure you ask about anything that he does, or doesnt do, that your worried about. no worry is too smal when your a mummy!

good luck with it!

[Bid]

Hi there
my 17mth has quite a few words but flaps with excitement like you would not believe. Everything excites him - dogs, cars (particularly "taxis" - go figure!) and he points his toes and curls his hands. but, like your son, he babbles and chats and points and so I think it must be that we have very happy sons! Do see someone if you're worried but he sounds perfectly normal and like he's developing perfectly. an acquaintance who is a psychologist says it is clear when there are problems because the kids simply don't respond to the parents at all.
hope all is going well with you and your boy!

[Nelle]

Hugs Can be easy to worry - but my little guy's about 18 months, doesn't talk OR walk! Lazy creature!
Did your mum have boys? Or just girls? Because I've heard it's fairly common for boys to take a bit longer than girls to communicate with words - heck, my husband's 25 and still mostly grunts! (Nah, he's okay really. )

The eye contact thing sounds reassuring to me, that he's social, and that he knows what things are. I think a lot of these things have to do with their personality, and also what other skills they're developing, since I think they tend to work on one thing at a time. For example, when other kids were starting to talk, mine was learning to pick up tiny things and untie small knots (not a skill I always appreciate!). And with the walking - well he can, until he realises he's walking, decides it's too risky, and slowly (with amazing balance) lowers himself to the ground. So, like his mama, he's not a risk taker and won't try something til he's sure he's got it perfect. Definitely his developing personality coming into play there.

So yeah, be reassured! Sounds like he's going great, and as for the flapping, well, I've been known to flap/wave hands wildly when I'm struggling to articulate what I'm thinking.

[Schmickers]

Sounds pretty normal to me - there are big variations in what is "normal" speech development. In fact, he sounds a little bit ahead of my own 17 month old...*sigh*