Toddler talking?

Hello everyone,
I would just like some advice on my son who is 3 in December. My sister in law is suggesting he needs a speech therapist as he is not talking properly yet. He does talk. He counts from 1 - 10, says 80% of the letters in the alphabet, some colours, and says everyday words like car, teddy, his brothers name etc. Problem is he doesn't communicate back to us with words yet when we talk to him. It's not a hearing problem as he understands us - shows this with actions.
If you could give me advice on when your toddlers first started talking to you properly and whether you think a speech therapist is required. Should I be worried?\
Thanks
;)

Is he getting frustrated because he can't communicate with you? If not, then I think he is talking just as much as he needs to.

If he is the younger child, then maybe the older kids are "talking" for him and he doesn't need to IYKWIM. You might need to ask them to stop. My sister had to do this with her two older children. They talked for their sister so much that she barely talked until she was 2 and a half because someone else took care of it for her.

Were you concerned before you SIL said anything? If yes, then take him to the GP but if not, then I suggest give him more time. If not much has changed in 6 months, then get him checked out just to be on the safe side.

He can talk. He chooses not to.

DS can talk like the blazes. But then he'll point or babble at other times. Or just scream. It's so frustrating because he KNOWS the word, just doesn't use it. But that's normal behaviour, he can talk so no worries there.

At 18m DS has a lot of words and phrases, basic sentances, talks to himself (in babble usually) while playing - this is developmentally a bit advanced.

At 3 a child should be able to say words recognisable by people other than Mama (I'm the only one who can have a conversation with DS because other people don't recognise his words a lot, although agree with my translations) but some children are naturally quieter than others. Just because my DS doesn't shut up doesn't mean every child should be the same.

Maybe ask him for the word when he points, say you can't understand without words. If that helps all your worries will be over! A speech therapist isn't going to make a reluctant talker talk, but will say if he can talk and hear then he's fine.

Different kids talk earlier than others. And boys are generally a little slower than girls. So it's probably nothing to worry about. I was once told by an MCHN that they should be able to understand simple commands, and speak around about 50 words, and put two words together by 2 1/2. If you are worried though, it never hurts to see a GP to ask about a referral. A speechie will do an assessment first anyway, and will only proceed with treatment if necessary. GL.