I'm starting to worry

Okay, I'm trying not to worry. It's not working anymore. My twins are 17.5 months. My DD has maybe 8 or 10 words now. My DS doesn't really have any words yet. He says Mama occasionally, but I'm not really sure if it's directed at me (sometimes it is, but he doesn't use it consistently). He "talks" a lot, but it sounds like gibberish. He is very aware of his surroundings. He points out airplanes and other familiar objects, he loves to "read" books. He responds to conversations from us. I think everything else is fairly normal, but his language development.
We have our 18 month check up in a few weeks. I wasn't worried at 15 months, but now I'm getting there. sigh.
any words of encouragement?
TIA, Beth

 

I'm in a similar situation. At our 18-month appt. our pedi asked if they had 10 words. At the time, I thought they did. Abby definitely did. Ellie sort of did. She'd repeat things, but it never came out right. It always sounds like, ma, da, ba, etc. Our pedi didn't seem worried at all, since she was trying and definitely understood and followed directios. Since then, Abby is talking more and more, but Ellie is still behind. She is starting to say ma ma and da da more, which is new. I keep telling myself that lots of kids don't start to talk until 2 and because they are twins, it's common for one to talk less. Of course, I still worry. It's hard not to compare. I'm going to wait until our 2-year appt. and see what the dr. says then. She will probably have her get evaluate by EI. I'm hoping she starts talking on her own before then.

 

:hug: I was in your shoes 6 months ago! I honestly think that if you have any concerns to have Early Intervention come out and do an evaluation. It's free and they are WONDERFUL! Your ped can give you the info and make sure that you have a list of questions for your ped.
Some kids do talk later and it's okay, but for me it was sooo obvious that my ds was delayed. His twin sister was talking circles around him and still does. But at least now I know two things. 1. He is delayed but getting therapy and at his 2 year eval he was just about at the 2 yr mark. 2. His twin sister is above average in everything and I can NOT compare him to her.
I couple things that have really helped him are flash cards and sign language. Those are things that I can do while they are eating in their high chairs and I feel like they actually get it.
:hug: It's also around 20 months when my ds had a huge vocab explosion!! You never know when it's going to happen. I would talk to your ped. GL! and you're NOT alone!

 

Mine are talking a little but its mainly gibberish but they are also growing up in a bilingual environment so I guess they will take longer to speak. They understand both languages well and respond to directions so Im not concerned. My grandma told me that my aunt didnt speak until she was 3 years old so I guess each child is different. Talk to your pedi about it for peace of mind but I wouldnt worry just yet. GL!

 

well now your making me worry more than I already was,lol. DD just started saying mama, but I dont think she knows what it means...other than that she has NO words. DS does have maybe 6 words, but only knows what a few mean (i.e. he can say car and we will point to a picture of a car in a book and he will repeat car, but then he also points to the dog and says car, to the banana and says car, ect)
I was actually planning on calling EI tomorrow to get them scheduled for an eval. When I talked to our pedi she said she gives them until 2 and if they dont have words then she refers for an eval...but I'm thinking thats an autism eval. I dont think dd is autistic, I just think she could benefit from some speech therapy.

 

its hard not to worry that's for sure! I don't think we were "supposed to have 10 words" at 18 mo. I'm pretty sure we had less, but our dr. wasn't concerned. our twins are now really starting to say so much more at 21 months. my ds has always said more, and dd less... what's neat is when they say a word out of the blue... we were in a waiting room and the Aflak commerical came on, and my dd was facing it and said "Du"... and pointed at the duck! I have found now that they don't say so much in their normal situations (like in the tub w/their ducks)...

at 15 mo. I think my ds maybe had 1 or 2 words... and my dd, any? who knows...

anyway - if you think you need EI then definitely get evaluated. Just know that there are many kids that don't talk as much as others... but you also don't want to be missing crucial timing to get help. Especially since there aren't any well visits between 18 and 24 months...

 

If you feel something is not right, get an eval from EI. Like others have said, the eval is free and if he does need therapy the sooner you start the better. Many people I know (including myself before I had twins) never heard of EI and most parents find out their kids have a delay when they go in for their preschool screening. In order to qualify for thereapy there has to be at least a 30% delay.

Both my boys are in speech and developmental therapy. Jake has taken off and will be released soon, but I voiced my concern with Josh for months. They finally did an occupational therapy eval and we found out he has Sesory Processing Disorder. When he's playing he becomes hyperfocused and he pretty much tunes you out. You can scream his name and he'll be deep into his toy. He's done this since he was about a year old and when I mentioned it to the therapists they just brushed me off. Finally in September the developmental therapist told me I should look into getting him an OT eval. :headbang:

My feeling is that if Josh received OT first before speech and DT, he would be further along. He has gotten better, but not as much as I expected.

Good Luck

 

Thanks for all of the input! I think I'll ask for an evaluation and see what happens. I'll give you an update after we have our 18 month appointment in March.

 

Mine were about the same at 18 months, and I was worried too. I was struggling to come up with 10-20 words that they had. Within a few weeks after their 18 month appointment, their language just exploded. By two, they were talking in complete sentences, with pronouns and some correct verb tenses, saying their ABCs, counting to 12. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think you need to be too worried yet. Talk to your pedi, but they sound normal to me, and I'd expect to see a lot of language development over the next 6 months.

 

You're not alone. We were worried, and our doctor was worried, enough about our 15 month olds with no words we had them see a developmental pediatrician last Thursday. He observed their play and interaction and says they are normal.

He also told me that MOST kids he sees that are speech delayed end up catching up and do not have any medical or long-lasting developmental problems. This was a HUGE relief to me, as what you find on the internet (even ASHA) says otherwise.



What he told us is he doesn’t really get concerned if at two kids are not beginning to use two word phrases by two. This surprised me, because this is what I’ve been told from people raising kids 20 years ago… and not what I've heard recently even from their pediatrician and other pediatricians at their regular Dr. I think he is saying don't ignore it, but it's not alarming.




He doesn’t worry much before that… but we should check in with him in a few months if they still don’t have words. I think he would probably recommend EI at 18 months if ours aren’t talking by then (CA doesn’t offer for speech before then, anyway.

I'd see if you could get an appointment with EI or a developmental pediatrician who can observe his play and behaviour to put your mind at ease.

So.... IMO not being an expert and per our recent experience with our twins, i do think he is delayed in speech, but the good news is (per a developmental pediatrician) MOST kids he sees that are speech delayed end up catching up and do not have any medical or long-lasting developmental problems. This doesn't mean don't get him checked out or get him help, though... who knows, it could be something as simple as fluid build-up in his ears.

Also there are studies that show a large percent of twins (upwards of 70% plus) have at least a mild speech delay. But this doesn't mean ignore it... most have problems with learning to read, etc. later on as a result. Not cognitive problems, but delay. I will post the article about this if I can find this again. Most likely due to environmental factors.

 

Thank you for posting all of that but I wanted to add that in CA you can be put in speech through EI if they are delayed enough, my ds was in before that.
The other thing I want to mention is that the earlier you get them therapy the better.

 

Ok, here it is. It's an old article (1996). The study started at age 2-4 years, but it is interesting.

http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=506



"'I found twins' and triplets' speech development differed from singletons. The multiple birth children had delayed speech development (79 percent of twins and 73 percent of triplets possessed at least a mild delay in speech development).'"


"Also as part of her thesis, she re-assessed the twin groups at the age of seven.

'I found while their speech was clear, their reading skills were below those of their peers. We related this to their early speech difficulties so it's imperative parents seek help early if problems are detected,' she said."