When should i worry about not talking?

My DD talks a ton!! I mean she says all sorta of words... and i know girls talk earlier/more than boys (normally)

Now DS only says 5 words. hieeeee, Mama, Dada, Baba, and Ba (ball) Oh cant forget the EEEHHH??!! He is the social one too. Hes not very scared around strangers. DD is, She crys around new people and will not even talk.. she just kinda hides.

Should i worry? or is it still to early for that?

 

Mine are almost 18 mos and I have one talker and one listener. My ped says all is fine if at this point she's understanding - they all just talk at different paces. I'm not going to worry again until after 2. In fact, she only had a few words last week and just w/i the last week she's added several more. Try not to worry.

 

We had the boys evaluated at 18 months actual, 17 months (adjusted) by EI per our ped- and they did not qualify. At that time, B's vocabulary had about 5 "words" (dada, mama, ba- ball, da- dog, and du-duck.) Joel had less. THough the way EI scores (at least in our state) they average all of their scores together, including comprehensive language, which the boys are very good at. So overall, they had a language of a 14 month old, which was not enough to qualify. However, my ped is not happy with their language, despite EI's assessment, and she is having us do another evaluation this week.

My best friend's SIL is a speech therapist, and she said not to worry until they are at 18 months- then evaluate them, which we did. So since yours are only 15 months, I wouldn't stress yet, but I'd definitely talk to your ped at their next WBV and get his/her opinion. Part of me isn't too worried- they are twins, which is a common factor, and they really do understand a ton of what we say. But since our ped feels strongly that they should be further, I am definitely willing to get them help if they can qualify for it. It certainly can't hurt anything!

Sorry, that was a little rambly... but moral of the story- ask your ped, call EI if your gut tells you to- it's a free service, and if nothing else you'll get a better understanding about how far along they are! Good luck!

 

I second what Mrs. BQ02 says! Although our situation was a little different and ours were evaluated at 12 months per ped's and they qualified.

 

I forgot to add... That he listens VERY well. He understands.. He just doesnt talk.

 

Our pedi was happy with 5 words, which is exactly what we had at 15 months. I was inclined not to worry at that point because they so clearly understood what we said, and about a month later they had really started to ramp up. Now they talk a lot, and sometimes we even understand! So I'd second what pp said about not sweating it too much, especially if they're getting half the communication (comprehension) so well.

 

Both of my boys talked late. At 2 years old, our pediatrician said we could have them evaluated...I think they were saying about five words. I decided just to wait and see what happened, because their comprehension was very good, they just weren't saying very many words. By three years old they were talking a lot better, but still didn't talk as well as my daughter did before she was two! At almost four years old they are talking very well now on their own. We're just working on pronouncing a couple of letters they have a hard time with.

 

Receptive language (listening) sounds like its fine, and that is what is more important at that stage.
Once the Expressive (talking) part catches up, they are fine.
My boys didn't really talk much until 2, and now, my god...they don't shut up! No worries...just ask at your next
Pedi visit for reassurance.

 

Short answer, don't worry until 18 months. Five words at 15 months is perfectly fine, he's right on target. Mine didn't say anything except maybe hi and cat until 18 months, then they both took off.

 

My DS and DD understood EVERYTHING at that age and were following multiple step commands but said very little. In the past month, their language has really taken off and they repeat everything and say a ton.

Everyone told me at 15mos not to worry, that it would soon take off. I did not believe them because it seemed so impossible to picture them talking so much, but, they ARE!!!