17 months and no words yet.

The boys are 17 months now, born a month early. They occassionally say mama and dada but nothing else. Should I be concerned? Do I need EI or speech therapy or something? They do know how to sign 'more', 'milk', 'sit' and 'cookie'. I know I shouldn't compare to other kids their age but I do and all the other kids I know their age are saying a hand full of words.

 

My girls are the same age as your boys, also born a month early and they also don't talk yet. I'm trying to not be concerned, I've heard that around 18 months they have a language explosion, so maybe if ours were a month early that will happen around 19 months?

I am going to try to give it a few months before I bring it up to my pedi but if you are worried about it I don't think it would hurt to call.

 

We had EI for other issues and I had brought up language issues and they said that for twins they typically won't evaluate them for language issues until they are at least 18 months old. If they are communicating what they want to you by using signs or gestures then they are probably on target.

 

mine are 16 months old, and, i was also concerned slightly. i asked my Regional Center (the ones who sponser ie's) and my pt said there was a great program i might qualify for. turns out i did, and i'm now taking tthe class. i was planning to share about it here as soon as i learn more (only one session so far). it's based on a book called it takes two to talk which apparently is full of good info/ideas about how to help parents get kids to talk. you might want to check it out (the book or the class).

 

I agree with the pp & would say that if you are really concerned, talk it over with your pedi to see if she recommends an evaluation. If so, EI is a GREAT program & does wonders.. GL!

 

My boys are going to be 18 months old on Saturday...and nope..no words either. None. OK-So they say mamama and dadada...BUT-not in the right context-my Dr was concerned about that. I guess you can say they say dog and duck...they say, "DUH!" whenever they see a dog or a duck...

At the 15 mth appt(it was really 16 mths when we finally saw pedi) he was concerned and said we should call up EI. I wasn't going to as my friend said they needed to be at an 11 month old level and she didn't think they were(she does EI as well). I ended up calling because I felt like if they really need it, the longer I waited, the less time they would have with the therapy.

They come out on May 8th to evaluate them. They have to have a 30% delay in speech, which I am not sure they will, but we'll find out. But if you are worried-call EI. It certainly doesn't hurt and IF they needed services, you can get the ball rolling now.

I just think some kids are late talkers(my uncle is a Dr and talked at 3...my mom at 3....). And others might need a little help just getting out those words...

 

Ohhhh us too! They are 16 Months. They say momma dadda, a couple words like pretty or hot. But that is about it. They can make a dog/cat sound.

They understand alot and can follow directions, but not much going on vocally.

I will see what doc says at 18 month check up. But my oldest DS goes to speech and I asked his thearpist, she said not to worry and that twins can be slower than singletons.

 

I haven't been there with the language, but if you are concerned, just remember that you are empowered to call EI any time you want to. It is a program you pay for with your taxes, and it's there for you. No one has to give you permission to call, though certainly you should consult your pedi if you want to! I called EI for my boys around 12 months due to some other concerns, and they came out and did a thorough eval for both boys. Everything was fine with their development, but the peace of mind was invaluable. YOu can google "Early Intervention" and the name of your state to find resources. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! :hug:

 

My boys are also 17 months. Both say mama and dada. Calvin also knows a few animal sounds and occasionally says "duh" for duck and "moh" for more or milk. Luke has no other words. I mentioned this to our pedi at 15 months and she said not to worry because their receptive speech (understanding) was good. She did mention that they are a little behind but not to worry and re-evaluate at 18 months. So we'll see what happens in a month.

From my experience, EI requires kids to be VERY behind before they qualify for the program.

 

In PA children have to have a 20% delay to qualify for services. We had our DS evulated because he would not move his legs when he tried to crawl. Of course, by the time EI came out, he started to crawl but they gave him a through evulation and determined he did not need services. I say if you are concerned an EI evulation is worth the time, it's free. If your child does not qualify they will give you info and suggestions on things to do with them to encourage development. Good luck to you!!

 

QUOTE(2pugmom @ Apr 16 2009, 03:15 PM) [snapback]1276129[/snapback]
We had EI for other issues and I had brought up language issues and they said that for twins they typically won't evaluate them for language issues until they are at least 18 months old. If they are communicating what they want to you by using signs or gestures then they are probably on target.


We qualified for EI at 8 months because of speech issues. I thought (and still do) that it was ridiculous. My boys were 7 weeks early and when they assess, they do not use adjusted age. We were borderline on verbal communication (they weren't babbling vowel/consonent combos) and EI decided to reevaluate at 1 year. We did and they then were fine on the verbal communication, but behind in following directions (audio comm.). They had a hearing test (came back fine) and I asked to be taken out of EI. We had fallen though the cracks (and had 4 case managers in 1 yr) so I decided the boys were fine. They know a lot of sign language and the week before their 18th WB I added up all the "words" they can say and got up to 45. Even if its a word you understand, but noone else would, it counts. When they sign do they make any sounds? When mind do "more" they say "ma"...that counts as a word. The Ped said at that age they should have (I think) 8-15 words. As with any milestone, I think you should give or take 2 months. But, it couldn't hurt to call EI and get it checked out.

Sorry that seems wordier in print than it did in my head!