Late talkers

[shiremummy]

I've talked on here before about DS (17 months) who seem to be a late talker. I've had him assessed by a SP as I want to be proactive as I have a history of speech delays/developmental issues in my family.

I was just wondering: mums with late talkers, how often did your bub jabber at this age? DS doesn't seem to and SP sounded a bit concerned, but MIL told me that DH didn't jabber much too. I'm wondering if it can be a personality/genetic thing?

I'm in trouble with my family for taking DS to the SP, but my gut is tellingly I need to be proactive about this.

[teresa]

DS is 2 in a couple of weeks and he still doesnt say too much. he jabbers every now and then and quite often comes out with words or sentences but very rarely does he say much.

tbh i am not at all concerned. we can see his little mind ticking over when he plays or interacts with others. and as our carer said, why should he talk when his needs are being met by grabbing our hands and showing us what he wants.

every child is different and boys especially like to be late bloomers with everything. he might just be one of those children who wont talk until he knows what he is saying is the correct way to say it then you will be going "oh why did i want him to talk so much"

good luck! i am sure he is all good.

[Artechim]

Stop stressing! A 17 month old is not a late talker. Wait until he is around 2 and he will most likely have the language explosion like most other kids. If he isn't saying much by around 2.5 then have him seen again xx

[shiremummy]

Artechim he only has 2 words there and yes. He doesn't say mommy or daddy and the concern at this stage is that he will say a sound/word and never again. The SP is leaning towards oral-motor issues, possibly dyspraxia. He seems to have an inability to form certain sounds.

[Jellyfish]

Artechim he only has 2 words there and yes. He doesn't say mommy or daddy and the concern at this stage is that he will say a sound/word and never again. The SP is leaning towards oral-motor issues, possibly dyspraxia. He seems to have an inability to form certain sounds.

I don't have much time to reply but my daughter has verbal dyspraxia, will be back a bit later when I have more time.

[Me+him+bub]

my son is 2 and a half and still doesn't say any sentences except night night mumma and in the car (when we go out) oh and "where is he" (waiting for dadda to come home) I am a nurse and spoke to the speechies at work and they said no point getting anything done unless he has an attention span of around half an hour as spech sessions require concentration and one on one. there is no way my son would sit for half an hour! so I just have to wait until he can and if he hasn't improved then off he will go. He prob has about 20 words now so he is delayed but there is nothing I can do for him right now but encourage him at home and repeat everything! best of luck maybe see your GP for a referral at least.

[Miss.B]

Hun, I wouldn't stress too much, but by all means go with your gut feeling & don't worry about your family. My DS has been late with all his milestones, including talking. He is 22 months old and he only says mama, gaga, dede, makes some other sounds which includes a sound for wind, and a sound for a lion but as soon as he does it he gets upset because he doesn't like the sound of it. Weird! He used to do the broom broom car noise all the time when he was younger but then he stopped. He does make a few more sounds (words that mean something to him but not to us), but I am still taking him to a developmental paed as he does do arm flapping which has concerned me for a long time. He used to flap a lot more before he started walking at 19 months, but he still does it when he gets really excited. If you are concerned Hun, seek some opinions, even if your family is against it. There is nothing like a gut feeling and early intervention if need be. GL hunni xox

[Purple Penguin]

My nephew was diagnosed with Verbal Dyspraxia at the age of about 2 1/2 - 3, he's had 2 years of speech therapy and now apart from a few minor things, you'd never know.

If you're gut is telling you to follow it up, then do so, it's better to get on top of any potential issues early.

[Aligater]

My DD1 was a late talker I got her into a SP and wish I hadnt she was 2.5 and 2 weeks before her apointment she started speaking now my 2nd is 2 and dosnt speak but im not worried as she will most likely do the same thing. She understands everything we say though

[Jellyfish]

Speech sessions don't really require much concentration in my experience and are actually a lot of fun (for the toddler and the parent, one of my favourite times of the week!) Currently my daughter only goes for 20-40min each week depending on how she is that day, if she is getting frustrated or bored with an activity then they move onto another and if she doesn't seem to want to continue to engage at all then the session is ended. Activities are just like games that you would play at home - blowing bubbles, playing with different colour balls, having tea parties - the only difference is the speechie will help concentrate on words/sounds and make it fun for them to attempt things which helps me to learn how to do so when we play at home! My daughter also learns signing at the speechie which has helped so much with her behaviour as she can communicate now whereas before she would get very frustrated as she knows the words but cannot form them. For example, our last session involved DD1 hiding objects "under", "on", "in", "behind" etc and learning the signs for each along the way. She now knows 100s of signs and can use full sentences with them, she has also mastered the first tier of sounds and has gone from ~3 words at 2 to 50+ words although some do still retain incorrect sounds so it has definitely been really great for us. It was so hard watching my daughter's frustration before we began signing.

My daughter began around the age of 2, her father also had verbal dyspraxia and saw a speechie from a young age. Verbal dyspraxia is something that can be completely managed by school age to the point you would never even know (this is the case with her dad) so this is why we wanted to start early. The signs my DD displayed were saying words but then being unable to recreate them at a later stage, using the same sound for many different things (such as cheese and please sounding exactly the same, shoes and juice etc), understanding what things were 100% but being blank at trying to say them/forming her mouth wrong for the sound.

It might be worth waiting till 2 as that is generally the age most children explode with words but definitely don't feel there is any harm in seeing someone. I'm sorry your family aren't more supportive.

[Miss E]

Artechim he only has 2 words there and yes. He doesn't say mommy or daddy and the concern at this stage is that he will say a sound/word and never again. The SP is leaning towards oral-motor issues, possibly dyspraxia. He seems to have an inability to form certain sounds.

My DS was the same at around the 18 month mark. All he had was 'no' and 'bye bye'. He had said a few other things, mama, dada etc earlier on but didn't use them in context. He also wasn't a big babbler.

Even at 2 the vast majority of his words were animal noises. he did have mummy and daddy, and a few others by then, but not a great deal. Fast forward to now (2.5) and his language is actually quite advanced.

I'm no expert, but based on my experience I think you're worrying a bit too early. Like someone else said, I would be waiting till 2.5 before I started getting really concerned.... JMO

[LuluHB]

DD1 didn't speak any words at all until she was about 2yrs+3 months. Not a word. She wasn't even particularly verbal - little noises but it wasn't as if there was lots of babble that didn't make sense. She was well ahead of developmental milestones for just about everything else but speaking way behind.

FWIW, she is now the biggest chatterbox with an enormous vocabulary. She speaks very clearly with no issues whatsoever.

I think being proactive is great - if there is a problem the quicker you get on it the better - but some kids just do things later than others. They all seem to catch up in the end.

[~Hestia~]

My almost 2.5 year old isn't a big talker, I'm getting his hearing tested just to rule that out...but my gut is telling me he is fine. As for a genetic thing, my mother tells me I was not very verbal until I was about 3 years old. I actually remember people asking if I was mute!

I can't remember how many words Moo was saying at your son's age, but he only says about 25 now. He seems to say a word (like the time he came out with a very clear 'banana' quite young!) and not say it again too. knowing my son and his personality, I feel that this is due to needing to perfect everything and not seeing a need to do something once he has mastered it itms?

Good luck

[Three Graces]

Hi there,

My two sons talked at very different ages (one was well before 2 and the other well after 2).
I myself didn't talk til I was 3! I had an older brother and sister to do my bidding for me (and presumably, didn't feel the need to speak much).
I even remember my mum taking me to see somebody about it and screaming the whole time.
Don't let your family make you feel bad for being proactive and checking it out - best case scenario is that everything's fine and you don't have to worry and worst case scenario - your son might need help with some area and you can get onto it earlier, rather than later. A few friends have kids who have had trouble hearing, which has affected their speech development.
Mums know best, so just do what is right for you and your son
Wishing you all the best!

[Three Graces]

Don't mind the title to my previous thread, it was just me stuffing up the image verification!