How well does your 2 yr old talk?

[Ambah]

I am interested to hear how well other 2 yr olds can talk?...

Aidyn is 25 months, and I know he is behind in his speech.
His daycare haven't moved him up yet to the next group because he never speaks to them at all. Yet kids that are 6 months younger than him have been moved up.
I'm happy for him to stay where he is actually, because I know he is comfortable and secure in the group environment that he's in, so thats no issue with me.
But I wonder just how far behind in his speech he really is, and if I should be seeking a professional opinion, and how do I go about getting one?

He has a few words around 20 but most of them are said incorrectly (usually with extra syllables on the end)
He can say:
Mama
Dadda/Daddy
gawga (water)
kircle (circle)
carcar (car)
baw (ball)
butuba (butterfly)
be (bee)
go
bapple (apple)
nanana (banana)
moomoon (moon)
ka (cat)
bo (boat)
wowower (flower)
boon (balloon)
more
poo-poo
bye-bye
bah (bus)
dep (step)

and then he has noises for other words like train and dummy which I cant even translate here...

Does this sound normal, or do other people's 2 yr old speak much more than this?

Oh, and he doesnt even say 'yes' or 'no'....

[nikbrad]

Mackenzie is a talker, but others at her play group are not, (they are all turning 2 by the end of June). She can manage to get her point across in a few word sentences and is fairly clear in her prenounciation, however I do remember we had a visit from someone when we first started our playgroup from a nurse who said boys were slower to speak then girls. They all develop at their own pace but if you feel he isn't increasing his vocabulary and you are worried then perhaps consult with your MCHN.

[Astrolady]

Does he say Ta or anything like that Ambah ??

Kameron never really talked till he was nearly 3 so I am not overly concerned about Lachlan. Lachlan can say

Mum, Dad, Dayla (Kayla), Ta, Sahsah (Sarah), Bird, Toot Toot, Poo, No, Don't, doggie, BooBah, Teddy, Cheese, Hi, Hello, Seeya, Bye, mine.

Probably others in there that I can't think of atm, but they are the ones from the top of my head.

Love

[Antheia]

Just wondering if Aidyn usually has his dummy in, or only at night? I know Lily is only 18mths old but i was starting to get worried with her not saying anything at all besides babbling and mama, dada. So decided to see if giving her dummy only at night helped, which it did. She can now say hello and her pronounciation is a lot more clearer now that she doesn't have the dummy as often.

[Trillian]

Paige has been very slow to start talking. When Lindsay and Erin were this age (nearly 2) i could have proper conversations with them. She is only just starting to say more in the last three weeks or so. The only words she can say clearly are Mum and No. And i know she can hear and understand perfectly too.

Her other words are;
nanana (banana)
mare-mare (our word for vagina)
Boo
yah (yes)
Bah (bus)
Yuck
Ooosh (juice)
Bopbop (bottle)
Bye
Plus all her animal noises

I was starting to get really worried too, but the last few weeks have assured me she can speak, she is just slow to start.

ETA - Paige doesn't have a dummy either.

[Danni]

my niece could talk very fluently by the age of 2 and also have phone conversations. My nephew was more closer to 2.5 or 3. Remembering boys develop a little slower than girls normally.

[hannanat]

Do you feel that he is understanding what others say to him?

[visitor2]

Kimberley never really said alot of words until she was 3 and she now still doesn't talk to a lot of ppl unless she knows them well. At home she never shuts up from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep.

I was never worried that she wasn't talking at the age of two.

[Tracey]

Maddison was around 3 Adults that talked to her & each other using grown up words constantly. By the time she was 1 we were having clear conversations with her of a few sentences, but she was also reading really early on & just seemed to understand & want to express herself early, she only ever had a dummy at night bedtimes...

My niece was very different, but her Mother was sent away for 8 months when my niece was 5 months old & she lived full time with my Older sister whom had 2 young children too. My niece never moved, crawled, nor said a word for a very long time. As her Mum had drug issues we guessed she had been affected, about 6wks after my sister was back, my niece started crawling & beagn walking soon after at around 18+ months by the time she was 2 she finally started making noises & verballising, then by the time she was 3 we were all bombarded with her conversation!!!

He may just not have much to say, I found with my niece we probably felt sorry for her & babied her a bit more & grabbed things & offered them to her without her having to request it or make a move toward it etc... Which I dont think helped, where as with Maddison she said the correct word because we didnt offer stuff til she had what she wanted, she actually asked for it.

Indah says Mum, Dad, Bye Bye whilst waving, she says Ta.. But I think we all talk a heck of a lot at home!!! hee hee!

[Sana]

I think by two, they are supposed to put two words together. I think if they are having problems, it's good to catch it early. My friend's son was slow with talking. The first thing the G.P did is send him for a hearing test. That came back fine, but the hospital put them in touch with a speech pathologist who comes to the house and plays with the boy for an hour or so once a week, and they also have some group sessions.

[christy]

My friend is an OT and came to playgroup to discuss this recently. She said milestone ages for boys were around 6 months later than girls. Having said that Matilda says heaps of words, and some of her words are the same as Aidyn, nanana, bapple and things like that. She may put 2-3 words together occasionally and sometimes she signs instead of using words. She talks and babbles incoherantly heaps though and gets frustrated when we don't understand her. I've been told this is all completely normal for her age group by the OT.

[Melinda]

I know that other children are ahead with their speech compared to Jacob, but I'm not concerned about it as I know that he understands what we are saying to him, and he has other non-verbal ways of communicating, e.g. gesturing for things. Having said that, his speech is coming on in leaps and bounds, but he does pronounce things funny, like Aidyn does.

Things he can say are:

Mama (or just 'Ma')
Daddy
Nanny
Cat
Car
Cracker (carcar)
Teddy
Tree
Dog
Pea
Corn
Dee (dummy)
Bob (Bob The Builder LOL!)
Tra (truck)
Baw (Ball)
Boo (Book)
Baby
Eye
Hair
Cheek
Tee (Teeth)
Poo
Chee (Chip)
Cee (CD)
No

I think there are others (actually I'm certain of it) but I just can't think what they are. And some of the above I couldn't think how to type them the way he says them IYKWIM?

But as far as we are concerned, the main point is that he understands what is going on around him and can communicate in other ways too. We know that he is always trying to say other things and I know he does say them, we just haven't worked out what they are yet.......

[Ambah]

Natalia - he definately understands what people say to him... I know for a fact that he can understand the meaning of fairly complex sentences we say to him.
However they did mention that when at daycare he doesnt follow instructions too well... but what 2 yr old does?

The other night was the first time I heard him put two words together - he said "more Dadda" (when they were playing rough and tumble)

His hearing also seems fine... he can hear us speaking softly to him... he can hear a car revving two streets away and will say 'carcar!' excitedly to me...

Tegan - I also thought it could have been the dummy, so he mostly only has it at night times now too.

I dont know if I should be worried or not... I dont really think he's intellectually behind others his age at all.
But I wonder if I should just stop stressing about him not speaking as much as others his age and let him take his time. Or if I should be worried and seek a professional opinion.

ETA: the more I think about it, the more words I realise he has... have just added another 5 to his list.

[kelly2202]

Ambah if you are really concerned I suggest that you follow it up. I know that in WA you would have to go to a private Speech Therapist as the government ones have huge waiting lists and are only for kids at school. I don't know what it is like in Qld.

I can not even begin to explain Asha's language here ... she has two older kids to copy though and she says a huge range of words ... I am sure I don't even know half of them. Her latest acomplishment is capsicum (and yes that is exactly how it sounds) and she is often saying 3 or 4 words sentences. She has been put up at child care and has been ion the toddler room since she was 21 months ... but please remember she has a sister who is 10 1/2 and a brother who is almost 8 ... I honestly think that makes a huge difference to her rapid vocab growth.

You could always ring the speech pathology department of the Royal Brisbane Hospital and speak to someone and see what they say or speak with you child health nurse.

I will add that I recently went a PD about langauge acquisition and this is what they say most 2 yr olds should be able to do.

Say at least 50 words eg names of objects, actions and people.
Use sentences that are 2 - 3 words long, even though not all speech will be clear eg "No want", "No go".
Understand about 300 words
Start using questions like "what's that?"
Enjoy listening to simple stories
Have a conversation with his/her dolls/teddies/toys.
Play with a toy for 5 minutes.

It says that if you answered no to any of the questions then it is advisable that you consult a speech and language pathologist. This is research conducted by Diana Rigg and this information came straight out of Speech Sound Screen Book.

Don't mean to alarm you but having worked with kids whose parents have done nothing about something they were aware of from an early age makes it even more difficult once they start school.

Whoops too much and probably not what you wanted to hear. Good luck!

[kelly2202]

Ambah

Thought I should add what they say an 18mth old can do as well so you have some terms of reference.

Say or use at least 10 words eg names of people, familiar objects
Start joining two words together eg "All gone".
Point to familiar body parts.
Sometimes answer the question "What is this?"
Use the word no in protest.
Will ask for more.
Respond to directions with the words in and on.
Use imaginative play eg pretend to sweep the floor, make tea.

If you would like more information or a copy of the Ages & Stages of development let me know and I can copy it at work on Tuesday and post it to you.

Cheers

[Ambah]

Thanks for all of your advice everyone... LOL its a lot to take in!
TBH I haven't been hugely concerned about it, as I have convinced myself that he will develop at his own pace. But more the comments from DP, and knowing there are other kids much more advanced than him has got me thinking...

Thanks for the information Kelly... He can do everything on the 18 month milestone list (except he doesnt say no - he will shake his head no though)
And on the 24 month milstone list I have answered no to #'s 1, 2, 4 and 6.
Hmmm.... I think I will make an appt with my CHN to get his hearing tested, and to see what she thinks.
I don't really know what to think now?

In the meantime I will be using your suggestions Jillian, they sound great... thanks for that!

[Ambah]

I have just downloaded something from Qld Health, its a checklist that Health Professionals use/hand out...
Under the Talking and Understanding section (for 2 year olds) it says they should be able to:

- say 20-50 clear words (he can say just over 20 words, but a lot of them are not clear/perfect)
- say clear two-word sentences (has only done this once that I have heard?)
- name pictures and objects when asked (yes he does this, but only for the objects which he can say the names of obviously)
- follow two step commands (yes)
- show a broad understanding (receptive vocabulary) or 50 or more objects and pictures. (definately yes)
- show interest in books and stories. (definately yes)

So yeah, he is definately a bit behind on the speech part, but I do know he has no problem with comprehension... and he understands a HEAP.
for eg. He has a series of books all about different types of vehicles, - 80 vehicles in total, and he knows what every single one is called... if we try to trip him up by pointing to a front loader and telling him its an excavator he will get very irate and knows thats not what it is, and this applies to all pictures/objects... so I do know he can understand language perfectly...

[Trillian]

I'm glad you found that Ambah, it really helps me a lot. Paige is definately lacking in the first two sections, but like Aidyn, her comprehension is brilliant. So like you I know that the words will follow in their own good time, and even since I first posted in here she has started saying more.