Will my DS ever talk? (20 months, no words)

My DS is 20 months old and has no words. None. He really only babbles and even his babbling is one-constanant sounds like ba-ba or da-da. No baby jargon or anything like that. He understands a good bit of what I say but I have to admit his receptive language isn't as good as his sisters. He can't always follow simple commands, but sometimes he can. He doesn't know that I am "Mommy" but he does know who "Elmo" is. Stuff like that. I think he may have some oral motor planning problems as he does have gross and fine motor planning problems but that is getting a lot better with OT. He has a hard time "pointing" (again fine motor planning problem) but can tell me when he needs something by putting his hand on it or bringing it to me. He did have some hearing problems for about one year (from when he was 9 months to 18 months, a big portion of the speech aquisition period).

He is getting a speech eval Feb. 8 but I hear that speech services are tough to get around here when they are not yet 2 years old (even though he will be less than 3 months from the 2 year mark at that eval).

I just want to know if anyone else has/had a child with this kind of delay and what your experience was with your child. When did he finally talk, what activities helped get the verbal stuff going, etc.

Thanks, Karen

 

My DS is 20 months old and has no words. None. He really only babbles and even his babbling is one-constanant sounds like ba-ba or da-da. No baby jargon or anything like that. He understands a good bit of what I say but I have to admit his receptive language isn't as good as his sisters. He can't always follow simple commands, but sometimes he can. He doesn't know that I am "Mommy" but he does know who "Elmo" is. Stuff like that. I think he may have some oral motor planning problems as he does have gross and fine motor planning problems but that is getting a lot better with OT. He has a hard time "pointing" (again fine motor planning problem) but can tell me when he needs something by putting his hand on it or bringing it to me. He did have some hearing problems for about one year (from when he was 9 months to 18 months, a big portion of the speech aquisition period).

He is getting a speech eval Feb. 8 but I hear that speech services are tough to get around here when they are not yet 2 years old (even though he will be less than 3 months from the 2 year mark at that eval).

I just want to know if anyone else has/had a child with this kind of delay and what your experience was with your child. When did he finally talk, what activities helped get the verbal stuff going, etc.

Thanks, Karen

 

I just wanted to tell you that even if you get a referral for speech- get him on a waiting list- and it will probably take 3-4 months to get in and then he'll be 2, right? Our pedi didn't want to give us a referral for therapy services (even though we desperately needed them) until my girls were 1 year adjusted- but I asked her to anyhow because of the waiting time involved! I hope you get some answers really soon! I have to say mine are doing well in speech- but are delayed in gross motor. And I've read when they are trying to conquer and learn gross- speech will be delayed, and vice versa.

 

I am not sure but I do remember when I was worried about Owen not talking they said not to worry because when he turned two his vocabulary would soar and it did. I am now quite certain that Elliott did all of the talking for him. He is right up to speed with no services although Elliott continues to have a much wider vocabulary. Hang in there and let us know how Feb 8th goes!!!

 

My boys are in the same boat. They know who Dad is, who the cats are, they love Elmo, Dora, and all the Veggie Tales characters. However, if you ask them where Mommy is, they look confused. We have started to ask them where the lady who feeds them and changes their diapers is. They are still confused.

My boys babble constantly. Josh, in the past, has said 'kitty cat' (not just kitty, but kitty cat), 'hairbrush' (veggie tales song) and 'Daddy'. Nate likes to babble and yell. He really enjoys that.

My concern is moreso ... when they start talking, how do I get them to stop?

Holly

 

My Zoe is very similar in the speech department. She hardly says anything and is in speech. The speech therapist noted that when she is alone without Drew she does much better!
She failed her hearing test at 1 year and we had to have tubes put in. We just had her hearing checked again and thankfully she passed. The audiologist said basically my baby didn't hear until they put those tubes in so her listening skills are behind. Once those catch up her speaking skills will too.
I would get a referral to speech and see what they say!

 

Joshua is the same way, he says 2 main words "door" and "sishes" (fishes) he babbles a lot but he hardly says anything I can understand. He understands and listens much better than Katie though. She says all kinds of words and some 3-4 word sentences here and there. I will bring it up at his 2 yr appt if he isn't saying more. I dont want to over worry because my now 5 yr old didn't say a whole lot until he was 2 1/2.
I do think if you feel there is a problem to get it checked out.

 

Mine are very close in age to Veronica's. Mine also only have a few main words as you put it. Gregory was saying SO many words when the twins were born. He was only 16 months and he even knew how to say baby. So I really noticed when the twins did not start speaking sooner. Zach is a real babbler with a few words that go together. Kee is his favorite word which is binky. They both of course know NO. I will also bring it up at their 2 year appointment. Sometimes I wonder if they have the twin language thing going on between them, which I have heard can slow them down. I am not trying to make excuses. But I will be asking about it too.

 

My twins are 19 months old and the closest word I've gotten out of them is car.. thats it... and of course mama, papa, and agua (water). Good luck!

Marta

 

The first thing I thought of (since I'm a teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) was....maybe it's his ears?? I would get a hearing test I think.

I would also get him on a waiting list for speech/language if it is a problem getting him checked this young. The worst that could happen is that he starts talking and you have to cancel the appointment.

Also remember that boys tend to be a bit behind the girls in developing language. I would start sign language with him right away if you aren't doing so already. Even if he doesn't have a hearing loss, it can only many regular hearing kids smarter!!

Bridget

 

Mine are also 20 months and say few words. They say some words, but understand a lot.
I was told no worries. Boys talk later than girls, and also they are twins, which could delay the speech. Call for an EI evaluation, and keep us updated!

 

Hey, Karen. I talked to our family planner person at the state agency and she told me that they typically don't think the kids are ready until about two. I have wondered about getting formal speech therapy for my boys as well. I have kind of put a bug in our therapists ear. Let mek now if you find out more, maybe I need to get a move on to get them going. Also, I know when Jan came to our house she mentioned that she knew a speech therapist that could help out if we needed one.

Are they doing the speech eval. at your home? Who is doing it?

I know with my daughter, she babbled a lot, but as she got older, no one could understand her. We just kep working with her on enunciation. We also put her in preschool. With the boys, I just keep pointing out things. Matthew finally said ball the other day and I haven't even been focusing on that. But they don't say some of the things they used to. For example, they used to point to their nose, but don't seem to now. The DT asked the ST and she said they can become overwhelmed with speech and seem to "lose" some of the stuff they had learned.

Keep me posted. I know it is frustrating. I know that my guys are getting frustrated too, especially Matthew. They consistently only say "uh-oh". We still have dada somtimes, but it seems like "mama" is gone now. Also, how is his "signing" working out? Is that helping at all?

 

Hi Karen, both my boys were evaluated at 18 mos and now receieve speech, OT, and developmental therapies. They will be 2 in February. At 18 mos they did not point, had no words (and also didn't call us momma/dadda), didn't seem to really listen to us,didn't follow any kinds of commands, etc. Well speech therapy has been amazing. We got therapists quickly through EI and started speech and OT within 2 weeks of the eval. The speech therpist started with getting them to anticipate us, make more eye contact, etc. and I am so happy with their progress. While they still have NO words yet, they each do some signs and are communicating with us! They are following some commands too and Gabe amazed us by pointing to the baby in a picture book when we asked him. I won't go on and on but just wanted to say that I think you should pursue therapy. It really has worked so well and if you are already receiving OT services those therapies really complement each other (our therapists even hold co-sessions sometimes). Good luck with everything!!!