18-month speech

Hi...

I know we shouldn't compare against other children but that's basically what is done at doctor visits/evaluations. How many clear words are your 18 month olds daying? How early were they? What sex?

We do have the kids evaluated every 3 months by state and haven't yet qualified for therapy (which is good) but then I go to my 18 month check up and my doctor has me concerned the kids aren't saying 2 word phrases and has us come in at 21 months instead of waiting until 24.

Just wondering.

nicole

 

My two are just starting now to say two word phrases and they will be 2 next month.

I had mine observed for speech in Aug. when they were 18 months before their PT released them, and they did not qualify. At that point they were only saying about 10 words, but jibbering ALL the time.

No Emilie speaks much better than Trevor, which is pretty typical of girls I believe, and will repeat everything you are saying. If they have not qualified for speech as of now, then I wouldn't worry too much at this point. I have noticed that what peds look at and ST/PT look at are different, they are not always on the same page.

 

If you are concerned, then have them evaluated regardless of what your ped says. My ped was not concerned at our 18 month visit, but to appease me, gave me a referral to a speech therapist. The therapist found they have a delay and I am now getting an evaluation from Early Intervention through the state. Our appointment is at the end of the month. Mine are 19 months old and babble all the time but only have a couple fo "words" each.

You are the parent. If you think they need help, then just get the appointment on your own.
Good luck!!!

 

Give them a couple more months.

I was starting to really worry about mine b/c they wern't saying anything but dada, mama and NO!

Finally about 2 weeks ago they started to say all kinds of words. I kept hearing it would be a word explosion but never believed it until now. They amaze me each day b/c they add or try some new word.

My guys will be 21 mos next week.

 

At 18 months mine were talking quite a bit, one of them in two or more word phrases, the other not. But since then their language has just continued to explode. I wouldn't worry yet. It's good your doctor will evaluate in 3 months, just in case, but don't stress too much.

I think girls talk earlier than boys, for the most part.

 

The only 2 word phrases my boys say is 'Lets go' and 'get down' (That is all I say to them since they are always climbing). They do have a handful of words but just 2 phrases.

I have always heard that if kids need speech therapy, it is better to address it before the age of 2. So that is good that he wants to see you sooner.

So many friends kids and my nephews were later talkers. My niece also talked at 2 or a little later.

 

Ditto Stephe. Give it a while and you'll be surprised. My boys have a lot of words, but I wouldn't call them 'impressive communicators'. They say simple 2-word sentences (bye-bye poo-poo is our current favorite. ).

We probably have 150-200 words? I always surprise myself when I sit down and count them...it's always WAY more than I thought it was. However, they aren't saying 50% of those words "clearly". I know what they are saying, the people who are around them (DH, both sets of gparents) know what they are saying, and they understand each other. But a stranger would have a hard time understanding that "Pay-oo-EE" means "Potato Head".

For our 18 m apt. my doctor had us make a list of all their verbal words, their signs (sign language), and the body parts/animals/objects they could recognize/point out. It was actually kind of fun to make the list (yes, I'm neurotic), and made me realize how much they do know.

Now they are little parrots. Joe recently started saying, "Oh, CRAP!" (which he picked up from DH during a recent football game with perfect intonation and complete with a fist pounding the coffee table)

Hang in there...you won't be able to shut them up soon!

 

Amy was saying 2-word phrases at 18 months. Sarah was not, and the doctor wasn't concerned but said I could have her evaluated if I want. According to the eval (done at 23 months) she does have a slight expressive speech delay. We did therapy for a while, but the therapist said Sarah's problem was more about articulation than speech processing (which I agree with) and it was likely to resolve on its own -- if it doesn't, we can come back for more therapy later.

My completely amateur opinion is that if your kids are saying quite a few words at 18 months, and appear to be learning more words, don't worry so much about the 2-word phrases. Also, as Sweetpea suggested, make a list. Even if you only hear something once, it counts if you can tell what the child meant by it. Sarah's list turned out to be 20-30 words at 18 months, and more by the time we did the eval.

 

Mine weren't saying that much either at 18 months..I have no idea how many clear words but I can tell you that since they turned 2 on December 21st all of a sudden they are talking in 2,3 even 4 word sentences granted I have to tell them to repeat sometimes but they had a language explosion within the last few weeks....so I wouldn't worry.

 

I guess part of my problem is even though mine "talk" all day, I still have no idea what they mean or are referring to. And I am a SAHM, so I am with them all the time, and try to pay close attention, as I am obsessed with it. I am very anxious for their EI eval and hope they qualify for therapy, becuase I think they need it.

 

The phrases that jump out at me are "all done" and "I love you", I know there are more but they use those alot. I haven't counted recently but I would guess they have atleast 50 words each. It has only recently increased, and I still don't think they are near the language "explosion".
Mine were 37w5d.

HTH

 

We just had our appointment, and I knew our ped would ask me to estimate how many words they were saying, so I sat down that day and counted. I got up to 65 words and stopped counting, although I think I got most of the ones they say often. They try to mimick almost everything though, if they are asked. They are saying a few 2 word sentences. My babies are 19 months.

Justin and Hannah, my 2 oldest kids, were definitely not talking as much as Josh and the babies at this age.

As far as who is talking more out of the babies, I think it's a toss up really.

 

I was really worried when my boys were 18 months as well - they were only saying a few of words then (mama, dada and a few animal sounds). Our doctor said it was early to worry, especially since they seemed to understand us very well when we spoke to them. Around 19 months they had a language explosion. They now have probably about 40-50 words each, and though the only 2 word phrase they say is 'all done', they seem to say about 5 new words a day.

I know it's stressful to wait, and you could always get them evaluated if it makes you feel better, but I've known very few 18 month olds who speak 2 word phrases. Be patient and they may surprise you. Also, if you loosen your definition of what constitutes a word, you may find they have lots of words already (my boys still call cats 'eow' for 'meow', and that counts as a word to me!).

 

Well, we get re-evaluated in February and go back to pediatrician in beginning of April. I don't feel like I pick up on "their" words (ex. Po-a-ee means Potato Head as someone mentioned) and you think I should since I am a SAHM. Reading how many words your children know is not stressing me out more. My daughter is definitely a lot better than my son. My husband says not to worry but of course I do.

 

QUOTE(nicolepag @ Jan 15 2008, 10:02 AM) [snapback]573153[/snapback]
Well, we get re-evaluated in February and go back to pediatrician in beginning of April. I don't feel like I pick up on "their" words (ex. Po-a-ee means Potato Head as someone mentioned) and you think I should since I am a SAHM. Reading how many words your children know is not stressing me out more. My daughter is definitely a lot better than my son. My husband says not to worry but of course I do.



I agree.
I am also blown away by how many words some of you ladies kids are saying.
It makes me worry even more. I know some kids have a language explosion, but I just don't see it happening. I really cannot wait for our EI evaluation. I feel so helpless right now...

 

Mine started two word phrases at 19-20 months old. They had about 50 words at 18.5 months. They said their first word at 16 months.

There was just a thread about how many words your 18 month old should be able to say and most people's doctors gave them a pretty low number and there was no talk of phrases. It just goes to show you that every doctor expects something different.