Did your twin talk late?

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and came in search of some reassurance.

I have b/g twins who will be 2 in a few weeks. They were born at 36.4 weeks so not too premature. They are perfectly healthy but have done several things a little later. My daughter walked very late but was off and running soon after. But I'm starting to get very concerned about my son. He only knows about 2 words. He babbles a lot and points at things and lots of jibberish comes out but no clear words. When prompted to say words, he doesn't even try. He just doesn't seem interested in doing it. Meanwhile my daughter seems to find it fun to try new words and loves to try to repeat the ones I say.

I have a message in to have him evaluated for speech therapy and I don't mind him doing it. I just pray that it's a simple delay and nothing more.

Has anyone had a twin who really started saying words after 2 years old?

Sharing your experience would be greatly appreciated!

 

Welcome to Twinstuff!

Having him evaluated is your best bet, at this point. There are a lot of kids who just start talking late for no reason, but eventually catch up without a lot of interference. Others need therapy for various reasons.

I have three kiddos who were all late talkers. My older daughter had only one word at 18 months ("uh-oh"), but her language exploded after that, and she was on track by age 2. She's now a very bright, articulate 5-year-old.

My younger daughter was similar to her big sister, but even more delayed. She turned 2 in June, and she's repeating everything, saying several-word phrases, etc. -- but, she's not quite making conversation. I think she's a little bit behind, but I'm not too worried about it, because it's clear that she makes progress every day. We are planning to have her evaluated through the preschool, however.

Her twin brother is another story. He's had a history of oral motor issues -- drooling, poor lip closure, poor chewing, etc. And, he babbled very late, and didn't have any consonant sounds until after age 1 -- only vowels. So, we had him evaluated shortly after that, and he's been in both speech therapy and oral motor therapy since then. The oral motor therapist suspects that he has apraxia of speech, although it's really too early to diagnose.

He has a handful of words now, but not many. He sometimes attempts to repeat sounds and words, but only when it suits him. (It doesn't help that he's also the most stubborn child on the planet!) Therapy is a long, arduous process these days.

Anyhow. I know of many kids who didn't really start talking until after age 2, and they're completely fine, just late. But, there could also be a specific reason, as is the case with my son.

So, get that evaluation as soon as possible!

 

Sort of the same situation as you......

DD was delayed in motor skills...pulling to stand, crawling and walking. In fact we had her in PT for awhile. She finally started walking a week before they turned 20 months.

However, she is ALOT further along with her vocabulary than DS. DD is saying 3-4 word sentences consistently. DD will say some 2 word sentence "Dada go" "Truck go" "Pop's trac" (grandpa's tractor...even though he is saying these words, DH and I are usually the only ones that understand him. I was worried one day and sat down and made a list of the words he was saying. It was alot more than I was giving him credit for. I think I was comparing him to much with DD.

I know he is probably lagging a little....once again, comparing too DD. BUT~it is not enough for me to be concerned with at this point.

I have heard the twin who starts walking/crawling, etc...first is the last one to start talking. Usually the one who takes their time walking, is in the processing of developing their speech while the other is busy learning to walk. Hope that makes sense.

I would suggest that over the next few days really concentrate on the words or jibberish he is saying. Write them down. It might be more than you think.

 

BTW~ :welcome: to twinstuff!

 

Welcome to Twinstuff!!

My girls were both late talkers; it was 18 months before they started talking to us. They would babble to each other, but wouldn't even say "momma" to me or "daddy" to my husband. We started signing with them and it seemed to help a lot. They didn't really talk to us at all until we began sign language, then they just picked up words really quickly. By two they were talking much better. If you are concerned I think seeking an evaluation will answer a lot of questions for you as far as whether he is behind or not. My nephew had speech therapy and it was amazing the progress that he made because of it.

 

Welcome to the club!! My girls were born same time frame as yours...they were both "late talkers." Our pedi wanted them to be evaluated, mainly for their twin talk...which they still do, but at 2 1/2 they have exploded their vocab. We think it was because they spent too much time together and not enough around the rest of the world. Now they both like to sit and "read" their books to mommy and daddy. By all means, have him evaluated, and both together..it will give you some peace of mind.

 

Same here - one walked 2 months earlier, but didn't talk for a year after her sister. Her sister talked for her and she didn't need to. We had her evaluated at 2 and she had a definite delay. Right before we started services, she started talking... (Like 200 words in one week ardon: ) Now 6 months later she is not the talker her sister is, but she can communicate well enough.

I hope it goes that way for you too.. Blessings!

(p.s. I don't regret getting services, I would highly reccommend it!)

 

DS2 (not a twin) had 3 words at 22 months.

My girls (b. 37.1 wks) had ZERO words at 2. They did not talk until 25 and 27 months. It came very, very quickly once they started and both are in the advanced reading and spelling groups in 1st grade.

Late talking runs on both sides of my family. I never had them evaluated, I never had any intervention. All three of them had good receptive language skills, so I knew talking would come, and it did. If your son can follow simple instructions appropriate to his age, I would not be overly worried.

 

I love you guys! I cannot tell you how helpful this is for me to hear your experiences. I'm really not the type of mother who likes to compare or compete with others but it's a fine line b/t knowing if there's actually an issue and being too paranoid that something's wrong. DD also needed about 10 sessions of PT to walk. And by 20 months was going strong. She is the one who has all the words now. DS started walking right at 12 months and is very physical so I've been waiting with thinking it will get better but it just isn't. I'm setting up the evaluation tomorrow and got a good recommendation from my pediatrician. I think it's just hard b/c I've been wondering what I'm doing wrong. We have always read to them a ton and done so much play but sometimes I wonder if I'm "working" on it enough. I try to get him to repeat things and go over simple words again and again but it's not progressing. It's just funny to me that he's been saying the word "BALL" for a few months so clearly and knows exactly what it is and what he's talking about. Why not anything else? Hopefully the evaluation and therapy will get the ball rolling. I also have him in a preschool program 2 days a week this year which I hope encourages it.

 

It's interesting you say that it runs in your family b/c my mother claims that my older brother did not talk until almost 3 for no particular reason. He is 32 and back then they didn't even recommend an evaluation at that point. They just waited. And my MIL tells me that DH didn't talk until almost 3 as well. So it does make me wonder and gives me hope that it will be coming along soon...

 

Everyone had good advice. Much like everyone else, mine were a bit slower for the talking. They were 18 months old before they said mama, by 2 they were saying a bit more (had a few words and you had to pay attention to know that they were "words"), and starting about 3 months ago we started using more 2 word phrases, and in the last month, their language has really taken off and now they do speak in sentences although some of time I'm not sure what they are saying but I can generally pick up words here and there. Getting an evaluation certainly can't hurt...good luck.

 

My son is late, didn't say many words at age 2. I had him evaluated and I still every month to keep an eye on him. At first he was like 9 months behind, now closer to 6. He's starting to put words together, can count a few numbers, knows a few numbers, he's fine with everything else (he's very visual, very good at puzzles, figuring things out, etc.) but just a late talker. My husband didn't say a single word until age 3, so my husband (who's brilliant now) considers him just fine!?! He's doing the same things my girl does, but just a few months later, but clearly making progress.

 

I wanted to recommend the Baby Babble videos -- there are two volumes, and you can get them on Amazon. They're similar to Baby Einstein, but they encourage talking, and there is a parent tutorial that explains how to work with your kids.

We've found them really useful, and the kids like them a lot.

 

I really wouldn't be to worried, my girls said maybe 5 words at 2. There pedi wasn't concerned since they seemed to really understand words, just couldn't say them. They could follow direction, ect. A few months after 2 they just started talking more and more, and everyday would amaze me with new words they would say. Now at over 3, I actually get compliments for them on how well and clear they talk!

 

yay! you guys are making me feel better. i will definitely get those baby babble videos. thanks so much for the suggestion. i do have an evaluation scheduled for the week after next to put my mind at ease. i just want to know how bad the delay is and what we can do to move forward. he definitely understands so much and that's what's keeping me from being too concerned. i feel encouraged already just from having this thread and from what the pathologist was asking me via phone. it's just hard when you're wondering and wondering.