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Helping kids to talk
My DD is 17 months and makes lots of noise, but isn't very consistent with actual talking. She has come out with some random words (dance, song) but she doesn't repeat them again.
I'm not worried, she is a big babbler and has some words, but was wondering what sort of things i can do to give her the best chance. She was sick last week, and her words have been even less since then. She will point at things to show what she wants, and say yes and no. I have been saying 'you want your drink, here is your drink, yummy drink..' so repeating the thing she wants 3 or 4 times as i give it to her. she never tries to copy the work though. am i doing the right thing, should i do more, or just leave her be?
ta
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TBH I’d just let her be. Talk to her just as you normally would (definitely don’t talk to her in baby-talk or anything like that, not that you would). I always have in my head “walk at 1, talk at 2” and of course, lots of variations on that are normal as well. FWIW my DS1 didn’t really talk much at all at 2. When DD was born I think all he could say was Maa, Daa, Cat, things like that. I know he definitely couldn’t say her name. But by the time he was 3 we couldn’t shut him up.
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I'd actually keep up the "baby talk" to be honest. If I had my time over I would have worried more about my son's speech and I wish I'd "dumbed down" my talking earlier to help him. He's 3.5 and I'm being told to talk to him in one and two word sentences when possible. I should have been doing that 2 years ago! I'd say things like "Drink! Here it is". Offer lots of clear one word names for things. Then you can add the descriptors like you're doing. "Cup. Blue cup", "Apple. Yummy apple" etc. If she is pointing and using joint attention (look at you, look at the item etc) then I wouldn't stress though.
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When I say “baby-talk” I mean that cutesy sort of voice with occasional mispronounced letters. I have noticed my mother sometimes speaking to my kids with that sort of voice and it drives me wild, I hate it, and it’s not recommended for language development. By all means use simple, clear, short sentences.
This website has some good tips: Language development: an amazing journey | Raising Children Network
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Books are awesome too - get some rhyming books like Hairy Maclary or Mr McGee. Once she's familiar with the story, leave off the second rhyming word (ie - Out of the gate and off for a walk went Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy - leaving off the "dairy" for her to say). We found this works a treat!
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Yeah, I would just do what you're doing. That's all I do, just talk to them all the time about everything we're doing and DD1 is a chatterbox and DD2 said her first word at 5.5 months. I think there's just sooooo much variation on what's 'normal'. They have a what is called a 'language explosion' around 18 months - 2 yrs. One day she will just all of a sudden 'get it' and start learning heaps of new words every day! It's amazing!
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We read lots, and go to rhyme time as well as lots of singing in the car. At the moment if i waited for her to complete the sentence, she would just look at me amusingly. She will sing to songs but its generally just her language. Might get more of the rhyming books out.
She has some words, but that link from Epacris said by 18 months kids use about 50 words, she definitely wouldn't have that many.
I have a MCHN appt at 18 months and will see what she thinks. i get along pretty well with her.
ETA- a few people think she is just going to have an explosion of words (DH, my MUm) cos she understands things, just isn't verbalising in a way that we understand
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Yeah, I think my DS1 had about 10 words at 2 years. I remember mentioning it to our GP at a check-up but he wasn’t concerned, there is so much variation.
But like meow’s experience, it can sometimes be hard to know what is normal variation and what is indicative of a potential problem.
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My son was the same at around the age of your daughter.
Then at 19 months he started using real words and he hasn't stopped. Every day now is a new word and the new trick of putting them together. It's really amazing to watch.
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gosh my DS had about 3 words at 18months, and mum wasn't one of them.
He babbled too a lot. He could definitely understand and we had signs so him and I got along fine. I was a little worried (DD at the same age could count to 10, recite the alphabet, sings lots of songs, animal noises, colours etc), but just used short sentences a lot, got DD to direct conversation his way etc. About six months ago he started with a few words, and now he does sentences.
Not all kids reach the same milestones at the same time. If there is a cause for concern I'm sure your MCHN will listen.
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Your DD sounds a lot like my Moo, the intellect is there but he just doesn't verbalise it. He says maybe a couple of dozen single words and a few little sentences (like "where is it?" and "see you soon") at 2 years old. But I know he understands me and he knows so much more than he actually says. Just yesterday I said something to DH about not having a gold coin for the trolley...up pipes Moo in the back seat with "gold, gold, gold!" Then he wouldn't say it when prompted but today he said it again with a cheeky look on his faceso I feel like he just doesn't feel the need to say things ITMS.
We read heaps, he loves books so we read all through the day. We go to Hey Dee Ho music once a week and I'm always talking to him. I elaborate on general things like instead of truck I say green truck etc. I've always done this with him but he's still not a huge talker. It was worrying me but I've kinda relaxed now that I can see how much knowledge he really has!
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My DD2 had speech therapy and her speechie couldn't stress enough how important it was to NOT talk the way they did or talk like a baby to them. Speaking to them in short sentences is fine if they have a problem with comprehension etc, but if they say 'dink' for 'drink' always say 'drink'.
HotI, just keep talking to her all the time. Use words as much as you can. If she tends to point things out to you that she wants, always say what it is and not just give it to her kwim? And reading is wonderful for helping them pick up words as well. So you are doing all the things that will help her eventually gain words. She is still only little and at her age I wouldn't be overly worried unless there were other things as well, like not understanding you or not being able to follow simple instructions etc. If she had trouble in those areas, then I would be alert (not alarmed about it) but as it stands, it sounds like the only thing you're worried about is her lack of words, but give her time and they will come
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Sounds like you are doing all the right things, I don't think there is much else you could or should be doing. We are at the start of the speech pathology journey (Speech Dyspraxia) and I will say, it is a very involved thing that can require weekly visits and daily exercises... I'd probably see how she is at 2 before pushing too much further as it is very normal for the 'word explosion' to occur around then, at 17mo she definitely has time but really, do what makes you feel comfortable and if that is seeking some medical opinions, do it!
For us, DD didn't start trying to say words before 2 but was doing noises of things (animals, trucks, planes etc); she could (and can) understand complex concepts (her hearing tester [which will be what they look into first should there be a concern] had her partaking in things usually set aside for those of preschool age) so we knew it wasn't to do with a lack of comprehension and that sounds like your DD too which is a good sign, really. The thing that was of concern with us was the way in which she was trying to speak; saying the same word slightly differently every time or being unable to repeat a word she had said again, leaving off consonants at the start or end of a word such as Caaaaa for Cat or Uuuuuck for Truck so those would be the things I would look out for personally rather than worrying too much about a number of words.
I stressed that I had left things so long without doing more (I brought things up with our GP when she was around 2y3m) as she had such a high comprehension I wasn't really concerned with her being less than verbal but our speech pathologist reassured me that things were being addressed at a good time and it definitely hadn't been left too late so I don't think you have to worry too much about seeing how things go for now.
ETA: One other thing maybe worth mentioning though is that if you have to access things through the public system, I have heard you can be looking at long waiting lists so it might be worth thinking about getting things rolling sooner rather than later just to get her name down if it is needed. We had private cover for this sort of thing so from the GP, we were able to get her hearing assesed that same week and then into the speechie a couple of weeks after.
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I'm another one whose first born never said anything. I remember vivdly being given a speech path referrral. I also remember looking at BB threads and asking friends and deciding that for us, waiting was ok. Now he never shuts up. His speech is excellent. In my mother's group of 6, he and another boy are incredible with their conversations, and the others are less interested in talking so much and yet at 2 he was so far 'behind'. He is still interested in words and asks what things are and how to say things and repeats it and then uses it later.
I know now that he was listening. To EVERYTHING i said. He just didn't have to talk, and didn't feel the need for it. He communicated non-verbally quite adequately for his needs.
Now, is there an off button for him...
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Good point- my son has trouble with comprehension so that's why we've had to go back and shorten the sentences. It took us a while to realise he had a speech issue at all as he learns in scripts so he says really long sentences but he doesn't understand the individual words. He was actually saying over 100 words at 18 months so we didn't realise there were problems then.
In my experience, the children not talking at that age generally end up talking- I'd be looking more for her social communication skills which you've already said sound good HotI as you said she points.
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LOL my DH keeps complaining that he wishes Moo would talk more, I keep saying one day he won't stop and we'll be saying the opposite!
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Trillian pretty much said what I was going to say so you can read her post twice and the second time pretend it is me.
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Ergh, I have a non-talker too and we've already declined a speechie appointment. He doesn't have a single word, not mum, nothing. He's about 15 months.
He points for things he wants, he scratches at the door to get in or out, comes up to me whining when he's poopy or hungry or thirsty. Poopy is easy to tell, hungry and thirsty are harder to pick, the easy way is to offer him an empty cup and if he lunges at it, he's thirsty. He seems to understand virtually everything but Will. Not. Talk.
HOWEVER he chatters away to his 3yo big sister in what sounds like whale song, lots of squeaks and whistles. The pair of them make exactly the same noises and he copies perfectly all the silly noises she makes. But he will NOT copy us, only her. And she won't talk properly to him. Drives me bonkers that he's so keen on copying her and won't copy us. You hear stories about twins that make up their own language, watching these two its not hard to see how it happens.
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