My twins don't talk!

Does anyone one else out there have twins that seem late in talking? My twin boys are 18 months old and can barely say 5 words. We work with them all the time, but they just don't seem to care or want to try to talk. I get so frustrated when other kids their age can sing songs, count to 10, etc. Our doc wants them to be evaluated. I know their hearing is fine and they are smart, they just DON'T TALK!

Any advice? Anybody else out there have the same problem??

 

Ok neither of mine kids can count to 10, or sing songs. DD had quite a few words at 18 months 10-15 I guess DS only knew 2 no and mama but just this past weekend he learned Elmo (momo), more, Molly(moji) I know several people on here said that around 18-22 months boys verbal skills take off I always doubted it to but now I am a beliver ! HTH

 

At 18 months one of my girls had about 10-15 words and the other only had (and still only has ) about 5-7. Lauren has recently had a language explosion and is saying a ton of words now. Emma, on the other hand, is scheduled for an evaluation next week.

In talking with others around here, and IRL, I guess sometimes this is normal. I wouldn't hesitate to have an eval done. Our pedi said not to worry, and it's not that I'm techincally worried, but if she does need help, I would rather do it sooner rather than later.

 

Yes! My boys did not say anything at 18 months. They had a few single words when they turned two. I started them in early preschool that year (three half days per week) to see if some socialization would jump start the talking and it did. By the time they turned three they were talking in full sentences. Adam still seemed behind until this year. His teacher says he has completely caught up with his peers.

I never had them evaluated because I really felt they needed socialization rather than therapy. "Mommy and me" classes and weekly playdates did not seem to be enough.

ETA: Also, don't compare boys to girls when it comes to speech development. Typically, boys learn to talk much later than girls.

 

Mine are only 12 months, but they aren't talking either and I am starting to get a little concerned. My pedi said that twins sometimes talk later then singles, but the only thing they say consistenly is Da-Dee and I hear a Ma outta Breena every once in awhile.

 

No words - NONE - until 22 months. We had them evaluated at 36 months because they were still behind. I suspect that they are still lagging, but since they are bilingual I figure that they will still catch up.

 

I was in your same position when my girls were 18 months old! They turn 2 in 2 weeks, and in the last 7 days have exploded with words, and started putting words together at the same time! My pedi told me twins have there own language so can be slow with talking!

 

Mine didnt talk until after they were 2 .. but they did have an EI eval and qualified for services. Cant hurt to get the eval done and see whats up. Good luck !

 

Thanks everyone for the reassurance! I hope one day soon they will just explode with words! I hate that they can't communicate with me. They get so frustrated when they want something and I can't figure out what. It's funny b/c at times they start to move their mouths like they are going to say an "s" sound or "m" sound, so that way I can kinda tell if it's "shoes" or more", depending on what we are doing... but they never SAY anything. Anybody else have kids that just attempted the first letter of the word, but didn't really move beyond that?

 

I posted about this same things last week... my grandsons will be 18 months tomorrow and they have about 2 words each. They will be starting a new daycare next week with more kids and DD is hoping the socialization will help them along....

 

QUOTE(marshalltwins @ May 28 2008, 07:26 PM) [snapback]798192[/snapback]
Thanks everyone for the reassurance! I hope one day soon they will just explode with words! I hate that they can't communicate with me. They get so frustrated when they want something and I can't figure out what. It's funny b/c at times they start to move their mouths like they are going to say an "s" sound or "m" sound, so that way I can kinda tell if it's "shoes" or more", depending on what we are doing... but they never SAY anything. Anybody else have kids that just attempted the first letter of the word, but didn't really move beyond that?

I haven't experienced the one letter sound, all I get is "eh, eh, eh, eh....waaaaaaaaah". So I can relate to the frustration on both sides. :hug99:

 

I can so relate! My boys will be 2 at the end of next month, and they don't have much language. I was an early childhood special education teacher before my boys were born, so I had them evaluated pretty early. Ryan has been getting speech since October; Matthew didn't qualify, but I'm going to have him re-eval'd in the next month or so, b/c he says about as many (or fewer) words than his brother.

We've done some with signing, and that has cut down on their frustration level a bit, but there are some things that I absolutely don't get that they're trying to tell me. Upsetting to both of us!

 

I agree with pp, don't compare them to girls, boys usually talk later. Have you tried teaching them some simple signs, it might help with frustration.
Also, I am a big fan of EI, but if you are just concerned about speech, I would wait until they are at least 2 yr. A lot of kids of an explosion of speech around two and also, because they are so young they may miss out of qualifing for services by one or two words. Things will be clearer around 2.


Debbi

DS - Daniel 7/12/95
DS - Andrew 8/13/97
DS - David 10/14/04
DS Sam 10/14/04

 

Every child is differnt, but here is my situation:
at 21 months DS has 5 words: mama, dada, mommy, daddy, ball. That's it.
at 21 months DD has a bazillion words. This is BRAND new (just started 1 week or so ago). DD is in EI for "functional play issues" and they told us boys talk later than girls so not to compare. They each had speech eval's about 6 weeks ago and EI said they do NOT need speech; just time. Pedi also said that if they understand everything, not to worry. It will come.
We practiced sign language starting at 12 months, and they didn't get it until 6 months later. It was SO frustrating. But now they sign the basics like crazy and it has helped SOOOO MUCH. (they sign hungry; more; all done; water; milk; I want.)

 

I agree 100% that there's no harm in having them evaluated for EI. Can't hurt and the services are great.

 

My daughter was talking so early and my boys didn't say a word until they were two. Five months later they are now speaking in complete sentences - it's like someone turned on a switch. There are still those, "what?" moments when DH and I look at each other trying to figure out what they just said but they are getting better every day.

 

My guys are really just now (over the past 3-4 months) picking up in the language department. Even our pedi said that twins are often later than singletons.

 

My DS is 18 mo. also and only says mama, dada, night night and uh oh. I am so worried so we have really been trying to say any and everything to him and he is trying but I guess I can't expect miracles overnight. Good luck!

 

I have been worried about my girls speech since they were about 18 months old. They only had a few words (5 or less) at that time. Our Pedi was not concerned since they clearly were understanding what we said to them. At their 2 year WBV we asked for info to have them evaluated because they still weren't saying many words. The early intervention people came to our house and did an evaluation. They said they do not qualify for services. The said they are about 4% below the curve for language expression, but they are about 4% above the curve for language comprehension. They suggested we keep doing what we are doing and that they will become more expressive. I am still a little worried, but in the past few weeks, they have both started speaking more and are starting to put two words together.

 

I worry about my girls as well. They'll be 2 in July and say about 4-5 words each. They do however, have lengthy conversations with each other, in what I'm guessing is there own twin language. My twin sister and I did the same thing, and my mother tells me we all of a sudden just starting talking in sentences. That's what I'm hoping for. There are great services out there, I agree that it wouldn't hurt to have an eval done!

 

My girls are 18 months and one of them has about 10-15 words and the other has maybe 5. I have tried really hard not to compare them because one DD has always taken a little longer to meet "milestones." I'm not really concerned at all about one DD and I'm not ready to be concerned yet about DD with even fewer words because the pedi still factors in that they were 2 months pre-mature and I also realize that she comprehends a lot of what we say. Both of them are at about the same level of comprehension.

If their language skills don't seem to progress over the next few months then maybe I will think about having an eval done. But, for now, and especially after ready these posts I'm not overly concerned.

 

Okay, so I just replied to another post that had to do with this... but I promise I'm not obsessed. Have you considered teaching them sign language? I really think sign language helped my sons vocabulary explode. My daughter was really verbal early and has an easier time with pronunciation, but my son signed first and I think it really helped his language and comprehension. This of couse should not be considered in lieu of talking with a specialist/doctor to make sure everything is okay, but I do think that no matter what it can help. Sign language has been an awesome tool for us and I think it might help you understand whether or not it's a communication or simply just a language thing...

Warmly,
Colette

 

My boys just started talking in the last month or so (they'll be 2.5 at the end of June). It actually started about 2 months ago when Caleb started saying his letters - we'd be out in public and he'd get so excited and tell us what they were - it wasn't long until we realized that if he can pronounce his letters, he can talk and just wasn't!!!!

Now both have really started going and have realized how much easier it is to communicate - We did have them assessed back in March and they ended up telling us not to worry at all - it was obvious they understood everything and were just late talkers.

 

Mine are 20 months. DD says more words than I can count, plus signs like crazy. DS says a few words and has a few signs. I'm having him evaluated in the next month if he doesn't start making some serious gains. But for what it's worth, DH is a twin and he was "the quieter twin who didn't even talk in pre-school." Trust me...he learned to talk. I really think a lot of twins are just later.

 

Both of mine are late, but DS is way ahead of DD. Neither do two-word phrases. DD says "d" for drink and "b" for blanket. She has several signs, though. They have been evaluated and their receptive language is fine (they understand what we say), but their expressive language is delayed. Could be prematurity, could be they are home with me all day, could be a lot of things.

I figure that if I still have a problem by 3, I'll go to a developmental pedi. Until then, they get weekly EI, but I don't think it's doing anything. That's another story...

 

I think all babies talk at different ages. Some just don't want to talk or need to talk. I have a great great neice that my nephew (her grandfather) swears talks up a storm and has been since about 11 months old. It made me worry about my grandsons who I thought were talking fluently and very early and actually they were, but I worried because of my little neice. I had nothing to worry about, but by the same token we have a nephew who was well over two before he ever uttered a word. We were truly concerned. He's a grown man now and still a man of few words - but they are all filled with wisdom. He didn't have a need to talk and did so when he was ready - not when we were ready for him to.