Parents of late talkers: UNITE!

[aliceinwonderland]

Can we discuss the late-talking a bit, I need some help thinking through this...

Erik is 17 months old I am resisting the need to ask for an early intervention eval, as I want him to do his thing when he's ready to do it, not when I think he should (this is very hard for me to do!). But it's hard. I know they say if receptive language is ok, then I should not worry, but I am not even sure that THAT is ok...two things I know he understands is, when you ask him to bring his shoes, he does so and sits at a designated spot where we always put his shoes on (so cute!)--yesterday, he was about to put a Cherio in his mouth, and I said "Can I have a cherio", and he made a complete reversal (cherio was almost in his mouth) and offered it to me (I let him have it, but what a generous little boy, don;t you think?!). Other than that, no, I can't randomly say names of things and have him point to them in a room, that does not happen. He also says something remotely like "Thank you" each time you hand him something, this is consistent.He makes all the different sounds, will repeat words when said to him (most recently, "The Bears!!" after DH says it), but he will not repeat said word otherwise...He also says Dad consistently. That's it.

For mamas/papas who have or had late talkers: do you think it was a develomental delay, or just them taking their time to do something which in the end they did the same as their peers? Did your kid ever really "catch up"? Is there a reason for this? If it is just taking him longer to get where he should be, I am fine with that, what I fear is a protracted delay...I spoke clearly at 9 months, but my sister only 18 months younger did not speak properly till 2 yrs old. She is very smart and all, but we always felt (and she shares this belief) that she felt "younger" than her peer group going through the grades...

We will get his hearing checked at his next appt (within a month). It does not help that I sent a bunch of summer pictures to my mom and she had said (not to me, but to other sister who told me) that it looks like Erik has not grown that much...Grr, what does she want, his calculus homework? She last saw him in May.

Any thoughs are appreciated.

PS> Yea, we're trying to raise him bilingual, but that has little to do with it I think, becuase the main words we say to him in English...His sitter speaks to him in the other language, though.

[m448]

Ian was saying maybe one or two words at 18-19 months. All of a sudden at 20 months (of course after the doc worried me at his 18mos appt and mentioned possibly calling EI) he had a major language explosion. As in multiple words acquired each day, he wakes up pointing at things and saying the words and will now sit in his back seat car seat calling out the people in his life (momma, daddy, Lucy, Charlie, Emma, lawnmower etc. LOL).

I knew there was nothing wrong and I too want to raise him bilingual but really speak mainly English to him. We read a ton to him and started at an early age. We did introduce signs to him but he didn't sign back consistently until he was around 15 mos old. It really helped during that frustration period where verbal doesn't match up with his needs. He then dropped his signs as soon as he acquired the verbal equivalent.

[kedss]

mine is 21 months and he seems to understand a lot but has very few words. He says ma and da and 'I got it'(or something like it when he is chasing after a ball), bye-bye, that sort of thing... I didn't really talk til I was 3, but then I talked in complete sentences, maybe our kids are just listeners? I'm not really worried at this point, but I can't wait til he can ask for things instead of whining for them, makes me a bit frustrated...sigh

[HannaAddict]

I think we must be pretty mellow for Type A types since we haven't worried about my son being more or less a late talker. I was told I was a late talker too, no idea how late or what that really means (my mom is deceased) but I was an early and advanced reader and have had no problems academically. And I've had the same joke repeated over and over, that though I was a late talker, once I did, I never shut up. And I became an attorney, notorious profession for "talking" and my posts on this board are not usually super short!

My son says a few things, mostly related to the dogs (loves the dogs), dad (not mom so much), shoes ("spidey shoes"), and lately "go, go" like go dog go or ready, set, go. He understands a bunch of things including instructions. But he doesn't make all the animal sounds our friend's child did at 14 months and hasn't just started explosively talking yet like the same child did at 18 months (it was amazing to see this child start talking literally overnight!). I don't think he is delayed at all and seems very smart to us and our ped is mellow too and not worried. And my son is incredibly advanced on fine and gross motor skills and puzzles, etc. versus the great talking child. So, I think each is just developing in his own way, at his own pace.

Kimberly

[aliceinwonderland]

I hear you on the whinning: DS has abandoned all signs he used to do and now has one and only, Erik-invented sign for everything. Streches his arms out and also moves his fingers inward as in saying "Come here!). He does this for everything, but I have to fill in the blanks of what he wants, LOL.

[aliceinwonderland]

yes, it does not help that we do not partake in any playgroups, classes, etc. so it is hard for me to judge him compared with his peers. We did take a music class this summer and though the youngest in the room, you can definately see how differently each kid is developing(and you could also tell that mine was the least shy in the room, but that's for a diffewrent discussion!).

[kedss]

yeah, my DS is very tall for his age, he looks like he's 3 even tho' he hasn't turned two yet...I've been taking him to a children's museum in town so he can play with other kids, and I'm hoping the exposure will help with talking, he actually plays very well with other kids :)

[hobokenmom]

First off, I'm from a family of late talkers. My brother was a very late talker, and I have a few nephews/nieces that were also late.

My own son, was a late talker. Honestly, when I watch his video from his second birthday, he said about four words -- "Mama, Dada, Up, and pease (please)" I remember him having good receptive language. I really wasn't ever worried.

At around 26-27 months, I swear on my life that he got one up morning and said, "Mommy, I want to wear the Santa Claus pajamas" He literally went from not talking to complex complete sentences. At eight years old, he's very verbal, has an excellent vocabulary, and has no trouble whatsoever academically.

I thought my daughter was going to be an early talker, and she really wasn't either. At around 2, she really started talking, and from that point on she hasn't stopped. She's very articulate, and her preschool teachers were always shocked at her verbal abilities. She's now in Kindergarten, and continues to be very mature (both verbally and in her actions) I'm shocked sometimes at how babyish her friends sound)

My third son is 14 months, and he has a few definite words (Mom, Dad, up, woof woof, night night, bye) but that's it. Unless I was feeling very frustrated by him, I wouldn't get him evaluated at all, because I know I have late talkers.

On the other hand, my sister's son just turned 2, and he says NOTHING except "Ga" which can mean a lot of things. He's incredibly frustrating because clearly he can't get his point across, and we all know 2 year olds are very opinionated about what they do/do not want. My sister was waiting until he was 2 to be evaluated, and if I were in her shoes I think I would have done it sooner. Her pediatrician has said he's not autistic, as he's too social and has pretty good receptive language. I worry a smidge about him. He really doesn't say anything.

All right, that's my experience. I really think some of it is gut feeling. I think both of my children would have been found to be speech-delayed if they had been evaluated. Who knows whether they would have benefited from speech therapy or not. They are obviously just fine now at age 5 and 8.

Good luck!!

[aliceinwonderland]

I really appreciate hearing about your experience. Love the Santa Claus PJ story, that is great!!

[R2sweetboys]

Hi Eri! I'm not a professional, just a mom, but I think Erik is doing just fine. His receptive lang. seems right on track and he is able to say some words. At 17 mos. he's very young for IE in my (humble :) ) opinion. But, if it's really bothering you, and from other posts it seems like it is, maybe you should do IE for reassurance. I think he's doing well though.
~Leslie

SAHM to...
Ryan 8/14/00
Matthew 2/14/03

[aliceinwonderland]

thanks Leslie. It is bothering me and has for months, but I do not want to do EI for *my* reassurance alone, you know??

My parents were very big on what we were "supposed" to be doing and their standards were a tad unrealistic at times, so I don't want to do that...:)

[octmom]

I know how hard it is not to worry, but Erik sounds just fine to me. Sean has never been a big talker, but at around 20 months (coincidentally the same time he got tubes in his ears), he started picking up lots and lots of words. I have no idea how many he has now, but there are many, many words. He puts some together (2 and 3 words), but doesn't speak in complex sentences nor are all of his words terribly clear, though many are. He is in daycare with a classful of kids his age. Some are more verbal and others are not. Some barely speak at all and others can explain what they want to do next. When Sean wasn't speaking much and a little friend two months older than him said to me "want build a tower", I was floored by that child's language skills and really worried about Sean. But, soon after that, Sean's vocabulary increased dramatically and he is steadily improving.

I'd give Erik a bit more time with this. Ask your ped, of course, if you are really concerned, but I do think this is another developmental thing that can vary greatly from child to child.

FWIW, I think some parents also (ETA: UNINTENTIONALLY) exaggerate their DC's verbal skills and make others worry about their DC lagging behind. It sounds like you aren't experiencing this in person, but you may be reading about others online and feeling that way. Justa guess. A friend whose son is a month older than Sean gives her DS lots of credit for complex sentences and ideas. I see this child every day at daycare and we spend time with the family outside of daycare. He is ahead of Sean verbally, but I don't think he is nearly as advanced as his mom makes it sound. I was a bit paranoid about Sean's verbal development for a while because I thought he was so far behind this friend. After watching the friend, I realized for myself that he is not as advanced as his mom makes it seem and Sean is not lagging that far behind.

Soon enough, I'll bet Erik will be jabbering away all the time, probably in two languages! :)

Jerilyn
DS, Sean 10/03

http://bd.lilypie.com/UB6Bm4/.png


"Baby makes days shorter, nights longer, home happier, and love stronger."

[JBaxter]

Nathan is 22 months and all though he has in the past said a few words his vocabulary now consists of Mommy, Daddy, bye bye ledle ledle ( which means lights off) muck ( milk) and Shut up ( thanks to his older brothers). He chatters ALL the time but nothing understandable. He know complex comands such as turn off the tv and get your shoes but he SAY any of them. I mentioned it to my ped at a recent sick visit and he said if he isnt speaking better my his 2 yr check up then we may want to have him evaluated.

My nephew as a late talker around 3 one morning he walked into the kitchen and said " can I have eggs for breakfast" My sister about hit the floor.

[aliceinwonderland]

Mine is jabbering away all the time, but of course I do not understand and then feel so sad because his facial expression leads one to believe he is either explaining something to you, really mad about something, or asking you a question :(

[bcky2]

ds #1 by the age of 2 wouldnt talk and my ped just had a hearing test done to make sure he could hear alright. he could point to stuff and bring me things that i would ask for so he was not really worried. he said if he didnt talk by 2 and a half then we would send him to a speech therapist. not but a month later he was saying 2 and 3 word sentences :)
my ds now talks really well, better then alot of kids his age that we know. hang in there, my ds is 16 months now and says alot less then your ds does :) and as for growing, dont let that bother you either, he has only grown 2 inches and less then 2lbs in 6 months. he is our runt of the litter ;)

[Andrea S]

Andrew exploded right before his 2nd birthday and then again 6 mos later. Now he talks non stop.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02
& #2 EDD 3/28/06

[darby24]

I've posted before on this subject, my older nephew was very delayed in talking. But, he never got frustrated (because WE never got frustrated) and has now "exploded" in his own way. Part of his problem was the fact he did not trying to talk, any prompting by an adult ("can you say dog?") led to the sharp response of "NO!"

I'm saying when he was 2, he had only the bare words: "momma, daddy, no" and there wasn't much more than that. He had tons of signs though (maybe 50+?) many of which he made up on his own. He also only started the signing when he was already 2. About a month before his third birthday (yes, 3) all his words started slowly appearing. He's still behind the "normal" range, but we can understand him, have a conversation and he's picking up new words every few days. He actually loves watching Signing Time now because he is learning the words instead of the signs.

My sister had his hearing checked back in March (a few months before his language appeared) and he tested normal. Also, my sister and bil aren't big into worrying about these types of things and had no desire to send him to speech therapy.

My other nephew is just a month older than Erik (he's just 18 months) and has few words right now. Momma, Daddy, Diddy (dog), Kitty, Didi (grandma), Bop (Grandpa), Poop (though it's just a fun "word" to say right now) and Beep (when he's backing up, so it's a sound, not really a word.) He has a few signs (more, all done, hungry, down/out and music -that's all I can remember right now) and that's about it.

My bil was a late talker (not sure how late, but had therapy when he was around 2) and one of our cousins didn't speak clearly (so that adults could understand) until he was FIVE!

Of course none of this lack of language has hurt my nephew Jay. He's always been a normal kid. Of course I do love now that he can talk, it's fun learning what his favourite colour of the day is. He loves Wed, Boo, Geeeeen and Yeahyo, thanks to Signing time's rainbow song!

Don't worry, Erik sounds completely normal! :-)

[lmintzer]

Joshua (22 months) is in the late talkers' club. This is really different for us, as Jack was speaking in sentences at this age. Well, at least in phrases, and certainly in sentences by his 2nd birthday.

Joshua says maybe 5-10 words, none of which are mommy and daddy (which drives my dad and grandma crazy but doesn't really bother us--we know he knows who we are). He reliably says "shoe," "diapaer," and "hi". He tries to count to 3 (if you say "one" he'll say "two" and "three"). He off and on says food words--cracker, chicken, pretzel. But that's about it. Oh--I guess he has one phrase "light on". But to him, that may just mean "light".

He IS frustrated, though. I can tell. It's especially obvious in the high chair or when dealing with his brother when they are trying to play with the same toy. I'm thinking we're going to wait to get the speech eval, though. I'm watching him carefully, and his development in other areas is good. He's also progressing in terms of his receptive language abilities, seems to have no trouble hearing (and has never had an ear infection). He also can "joke" and goof around with all of us, and although he can play independently and sometimes likes to be alone, will certainly engage us sometimes. I'm thinking I want to get him evaluated if we don't see substantial progress with expressive language by 25 months (2 years when age corrected for his gestational age).

Eric is still little, IMO. I wouldn't worry. He sounds like he's doing just fine, especially for a boy (they tend to talk later). I know it's hard not to be concerned, but from what you are saying, he sounds like he's doing great.

[Smiles81]

My son is a little older than yours, and is around the same in the language department. He says around 10 words, and has good receptive language but thats it. I'm not really worried yet, b/c he does seem very smart, I just think he is taking his time. One of my friends is a speech therapist, and she told me he is fine. I think 10-15 words is the min for 18 months, as well as receptive language. Before we know it they will be talking non stop!
Reena
Mom to Dovi 3/16/04

[kijip]

Toby did not start talking very much at all until fairly recently (last 5 or 6 months int seems- he is 2 years, 3 months now) and now he chatters like there is no tomorrow and uses pretty complex sentances ("Maybe it would be good idea take Toby to ballgame"). Just this morning he said, when handed a new snack, "yummm this is good. Toby think this is tasty. Let buy more soooon." But at 1 year until nearly 2 he certainly had fewer wordes than most kids his age that we know.

So I guess my point is that 18 months does not seem too old to not be talking very much to me. I would not worry about EI just yet unless you know in your heart that something is wrong or if he passes the age 2 without talking much.

[spanannie]

Zach didn't start talking until he was 2.5. He did say some words early, but the birth of his sister around his 2nd birthday, seemed to delay things further. We did end up doing some ECI in our home shortly after he turned 2. It really didn't help him talk, but taught me how to encourage his verbal development. What made Zach's speech take off was Preschool. He started Preschool 2 days/week at age 2 and by 2.5 we couldn't keep him from talking. He's 3 now, and seems advance to me. ECI couldn't ever find anything wrong with him; he just was choosing not to talk. I guess he was taking it all in, so he could talk our arms off now.

If ECI will ease your mind, I'd recommend it. It's inexpensive and govt sponsored for people of all incomes. I thought it was a good program, and helped me learn how to best communicate with him to encourage speech.

[HannaAddict]

Just remember that it is a big bell curve and even these so-called "late talkers" are well within the normal range. The little boy I know who is the most amazing early talker and who can make amazingly realistic animal noises, is acutally bilingual, mom and dad both speak French and English at home (mom is French, dad American).

Kimberly

[wendmatt]

DD was a late talker, she didn't say any words at 18mths, didn't even babble. She was eval'd at EI and had speech therapy and occuaptional therapy for a year (still having speech). She does speak quite well now, still struggles with some sounds, but the speech therapist says they are normal sounds to have probs with, she also says her vocab is advanced, so all the talking and reading has helped.
They did think she had developmental apraxia, where her brain could not process the words, like dyslexia for speaking. She seems OK now so hopefully she has grown out of it (she's almost 3), but if I say "can you say....." she still often says "NO". But mostly she'll try whereas she used to say no to everything.
I think if Erik is being raised bilingual, that will often make a child speak later, but if you are a concerned it's really no biggie to get an eval done at EI, they just play and ask you q's.
For us the speech therapy has been wonderful, helped me to help DD, without getting frustrated. I highly recommend it as if there is a problem (and there doesn't sound like there is with Erik as he does say somethings) early intervention is a huge benefit. It's just structured play and DD really enjoyed it.
HTH

[wagner36]

I think you probably know this already, but we had Charlie in speech therapy from about 13 to 19 months. Our concern wasn't that he wasn't talking, but that he wasn't making enough sounds. At 13 months, he'd never said babababa or mamamamama. We did not go the early intervention route - our ped just referred us to a local practice (they were wonderful) and we paid for it through insurance. The evaluation they did had him quite behind. We just had to stimulate his mouth muscles a lot (sticky foods, sour foods, nuk brushes in his mouth, thick foods, vibrating toothbrush, etc.) They were concerned that he might have apraxia, but he did not.

To be totally honest, I'm not sure the speech therapy helped that much, but we enjoyed it and after insurance it was only $10 a week. We worked with him at home too (the book "The Late Talker" has great ideas to encourcage speech during play - I can send it to you if you want). He ended up making some huge leaps within a matter of days from time to time, and that's how he's still developing. One day, he just doubles his vocab and his sentences are 2 works longer.

Even today, he's a bit behind some children of friends in terms of pronounciation, but at the same time, he is vastly ahead in gross motor, so developmentally I'm not concerned. He has met all of his speech milestones, so we're no longer concerned at all.

[TaChapm]

Don't worry!!! Eric will talk when he is ready. Sometimes I hate how so many timeframes are set for children. Each child is different and will crawl, walk, talk at their own pace.

Jackson was almost 2 1/2 before he started really talking and he now speaks in complete sentences. At 2 he had maybe 10-15 words in his vocabulary (that is including animal sounds which our speech therapist said counted as words). His ped. signed him up for the ECI program. I was devistated because from birth I have read non stop to him. He loves reading. I am at home with him all day playing and talking with him constantly doing the things I was taught to do in my child development classes. It didn't help that my sister and I talked so early and my mom was constantly bringing that up.

We had the speach therapist come to our house 3 times and I hated the program. They told me to say "Get Ball" as opposed to "go get the ball" which I thought was totally rediculous. I didn't want to teach him broken english so I stopped the program and just did my own thing. In March he just started speaking complete sentences and hasn't shut up since then! :) (LOL) I think some children just want to wait until they can speak perfect before they say anything.

FWIW Jackson was the same way with walking. He never took baby steps but at 14 months he took off walking across the room and never looked back. He just seems to wait until he has things mastered before he shows us he can do it at all. :)

Give Eric time and it will come to him soon enough.
Tara
Mommy to Jackson 11-10-02
Tyler William 6-9-05
http://lilypie.com/baby3/021110/0/2/1/-6/.png


http://lilypie.com/baby1/060609/3/0/1/-6/.png

[o_mom]

I may be in the minority here, but I don't see a down side to an evaluation. My experience with EI (not speech) was very positive. They will give you suggestions at the eval. even if you don't qualify for services, and it will give them a baseline later if the delay becomes larger. They should take into account the bilingual environment in the assessment.

With most developmental delays, the earlier it is identified, the better the outcome. Yes, many would go on to be fine, but if there is no harm in the therapy, why not go ahead? From family members and friends who have had speech therapy through EI, kids usually enjoy the therapy since it is presented as fun and games.

Who knows, they may tell you he is just fine, and then you won't have to worry about it! :-)

ETA: Even if you start services and decide they don't work for your family, you can drop them at any time and will not be penalized if you later want to restart. Also, you can refuse one service and it will not affect any other services if you qualify for multiple services.

E2TA: You can also request to switch therapists and service coordinators if they are not working for you. We were close to switching service coordinators, but were very close to discharge from the program so we stuck it out.

[jmac588]

My ds started talking at 9 months. His first word besides mom and dad was pumpkin. After that he never stopped. When he started daycare at 12 months I told them the words he could say and they just shook their heads like, 'yeah lady, right' and he ran right up to a school bus toy and said the words clear as day. Within a few weeks they were telling me how he could use pronouns correctly and they had never seen a child like that.

Fast forward to dd, and she was not saying mama even at 24 months. Maybe she said the one syllable 'ma' and that was it but I'm not even sure she was saying it for the right reasons! It was the only sound she could make. So a very different experience as you can see between child #1 and #2.

Not only could DD not talk, but she had some sensory issues as well as loads of frustration from her inability to communicate. Ped wasn't at all worried. Neither child is sick very often so we only saw the ped at regularly scheduled well-visits and he never showed any concern. He said if she wasn't talking at 24mos then he would send her for an eval. Well, that visit came, he asked her how old she was, and she couldn't respond and it wasn't clear that she even knew what he was talking about so he sent us for the eval. Never mentioned EI, just sent us to a speech therapist.

Long story short, the speech therapist was overbooked and told me about the EI program since DD was only 24mos. It was the best thing I ever did. They are so wonderful in that program and have so many ideas.

Get rid of bottles and pacifiers. Have the child drink from straws to strengthen the muscles. No sippy cups. Have the child blow up balloons and blow into those party favor noise makers. Whistles. Harmonica. Anything where they will need to use their tongue and lips. Little ideas that I didn't really think about that much. And it appears as if reflux babies do talk a bit later than others (which she was).

We had her hearing checked and it was normal and there didn't appear to be any medical reason for not speaking. The therapist said she was confident DD would speak eventually. I decided to continue with the program since DD was reluctant to even try to speak around me, but really enjoyed the playtime with the therapist during the eval process...and also because I thought she would have less sensory and frustration issues if she could speak.

Well, when she was 2 1/2 (almost exactly) she started to say a slew of words within a week and it just got better from that point on. Within four months of starting EI the therapist and I agreed that she no longer needed it and she will have her last session this week!

She has really progressed and I see such a difference in her. At one point I really thought she might be autistic because she exhibited some of the signs, so to have her happy and speaking now has been worth it. Maybe some would see it as pushing or forcing her to speak, but EI is really just very fun structured play and DD was thrilled to do it every week. Before EI, I had a child that screamed non-stop for her first 24 months. I wish now that the ped had been more concerned since I felt strongly about the fact that something might not be right. If she had EI at an earlier age, she might have been happier during those first 2 years.

I agree about it being a gut decision. I knew that she would benefit from some form of help in the speech area. We'll never really know if she would have just started talking on her own regardless, but she's so much happier now that the words have come to her. I would say if the child exhibited frustration over the ability to communicate, then go ahead and look for some help.

Mom to DS, 1/19/01 and DD, 3/18/03

[muskiesusan]

Alex is a few days older than Erik (if I remember correctly, lol). He just said his first word two weeks ago, "Maya" (our dog) and now says "yea." He babbles all day, and has complete conversations with speech emphasis and everything, but we do not understand a word of it. He has also given up signing in favor of pointing, grunting, and throwing himself against things to indicate what he wants (the refrigerator for milk, dishwasher for a fig newton). He can also get his shoes when asked, runs to the stereo if you say music, and goes to the basement door if you ask him if he wants to play. I think that's about it, but I will have to test him to see what else he understands! It seems to me he is too busy playing with his belly button and manly parts to be bothered to speak real words.

I am not yet worried. It helps that my ped is the one recommended by the EI therapists. I also have a close friend whose DD is unfortunatly in a ton of OT, PT, and ST, so I know from the materials she is given what is deemed in the range of normal. It also helps that my newphew, one week younger than Alex, isn't saying much more (I might be a bit more competitive if this wasn't true!).

Nick was not a huge talker until well past 2. He had more words than Alex by now (his first word was "Chelsea" our other dog), but not a ton and they were pretty simple. I just remember one day he seem to wake up talking in sentences.

I know it is frustrating, but I also agree with a pp that I think this is another thing that parents tend to exaggerate about (like sleeping!).

It would be nice to hear a "mama" though!

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[trumansmom]

Eleanor is in the medium range, I think. She has several consistent words like mama, joo (juice), bah (bath), nigh nigh (night night), puppy (which can mean a dog or a horse or a pillow, oddly enough!). They aren't all that clear, but are the same from one day to the next. However, just today she said a few things VERY clearly. She announced, "No Nap!" and "Daddy" very clearly. It wasn't Dada as she has said in the past. She actually sounded like a child instead of a baby. (wah!)

I have a friend whose daughter is a week older than DD. At her 15 month appointment she already had a 150 word vocabulary! This child was saying and ennunciating "peaches" and "buttons" at 10 months old! I actually heard her say at 16 months, "No chicken, Mommy. I want beef." I almost fell off my chair and put Eleanor in special ed!! Alanna is a VERY, VERY gifted child!

I wouldn't worry at this point. If he understands what you are saying, that's really the most important thing at this age.

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04
Independent Consultant, Do-Re-Me & You!

[stefani]

I would not say DS as a late talker, but he is (was?) definitely not an early talker.

For his 18 month appointment, he has ~15 English words, ~10 Indonesian words, and ~30 signs. So he was not considered for EI. It is a little difficult when DH "spoke in paragraphs" by 18 months old, and our neighbor's son who is 3 weeks older was an early talker though :-)

I started Signing Time with him at 15 months, and I think that helped him to communicate, and he had a language explosion around 17 months. He gets all excited when he signed and we (mostly I) cheered and understood him! In a way I wish I had started signing earlier. DH objected to signing saying that DS would talk soon, but relented when DS had to be nebulized, and it was obvious that DS picked on signs quickly.

DS is multilingual, I speak Indonesian almost exclusively to him, but I am a WOHM, so his daycare & my MIL and DH gives him English. Now he goes to a Chinese school (starting at age 2) but I don't speak Chinese, so only in school he gets Chinese. It is cute when he mixes languages (generally No followed by many things, LOL!) I have been told that he would learn to differentiate it soon. He bables a lot, I say that he is fluent in "Kiranese" (his name is Kiran)! He tells lots of stories, a few words here and there that I would catch, but mostly it is just cute, LOL!

My friend's DS (who is 3.5 years old now) was in an EI program at 2 and he started talking lots at 2.5 years old and now speaks quite clearly, and using complex sentences. His parents did not want to do bilingual because they were concerned that it would delay his language development.

DS's ped's son is bilingual (English and Spanish) so DS's ped has been saying to count the words in all the languages for milestones.

So, after all of that, Erik is probably OK, but as lots of PPs mentioned, EI is not horrible (not like getting those PKU tests!) so if that assures you that all is well, or if it helps Erik, why not?

Good luck and HTH!

[aliceinwonderland]

OMG, Susan!! what you describe in the first paragraph (giving up signing in favor for other ways to communicate) is exactly what Erik has doen too!!, also the conversations, etc. I thought my kid was the only one...It's almost like regression, as he knew (Knows?) so many signs), but then not really as he somehow finds a way to tell us what he wants. LOL

[ppshah]

First of all, I'll start out by saying- I'm completely biased. We were worried about DS's language development at 12 months- but of couse as it turned out DS has Autism so we had a reason to be worried. Since then I have read a lot about language devleopment and here are my humble 2 cents.

I agree with you- 17 months is way too early to get worried about an expressive language delay. If your childs receptive language is normal then I would relax and wait until he is 2. It seems however you're not sure if his receptive language is normal.

Does he anwser to his name?
If you ask where's Daddy? Does he look at DH?
How does he communicate with you?
What if he wants a toy that is out of reach or is hungry or thirsty- Does he point, pull you to where he wants you to be?
Does he point to show you things? (ie airplane, dog)
Can he follow simple one step commands- "Clap your hands, bring me the ball?"

It seems you are worried- because you have posted about this several times. Maybe just get an evaluation to see where he's at. Be sure to use someone experience in young children. If he tests normal in the receptive area then I think you're okay to hold off any intervention and he's likely to catch-up.

Good luck and follow you instincts.

[ppshah]

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[ppshah]

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[TraciG]

Well Sydney will be 23 months in a few days & she still doesn't say much, but this month she has said more words then ever for her. At her 21 month doc appointment I told the doc that she understands EVERYTHING but barely say's words, he wasn't concerned but he did give me the EI phone #, so we had her evaluated & today we had her meeting, she is going to get speech therapy 2 days a week. I have a feeling that in the next few months she will start to say a lot more, I feel like this is just EXTRA help & I am grateful for it.

So I wouldn't worry since he is understanding. If my mother wasn't worried & asking me If I was worried ( which I wasn't ) I probably wouldn't have even called EI !

[TraciG]

Well Sydney will be 23 months in a few days & she still doesn't say much, but this month she has said more words then ever for her. At her 21 month doc appointment I told the doc that she understands EVERYTHING but barely say's words, he wasn't concerned but he did give me the EI phone #, so we had her evaluated & today we had her meeting, she is going to get speech therapy 2 days a week. I have a feeling that in the next few months she will start to say a lot more, I feel like this is just EXTRA help & I am grateful for it.

So I wouldn't worry since he is understanding. If my mother wasn't worried & asking me If I was worried ( which I wasn't ) I probably wouldn't have even called EI !

[buttergirl12]

Eri, I wish I could help you not to be so worried. I was a little worried at 18 month when Joshua only had two words. Now I'm just anxious for him to talk because I think it would make things easier. Joshua will be 2 in less than 3 weeks and he knows a bunch of words (at least 50) but he doesn't use them much to communicate. I think he is just a little lazy. The words he knows are pretty useless for him to communicate his needs and wants anyway. But I know he is smart and understands everything. We just came back from a 2 week visit to my parents in Germany and he picked up some German words and seemed to understand a lot of the things my parents said to him. It was amazing considering how little German I actually speak to him. He can also tell the difference between the two languages - he is only trying to snatch the phone from me when I speak German because he knows it's my parents. He also understood the concept of going on the plane. He clearly made the connection of being on the plane and seeing them fly overhead. All these things make me believe that everything is ok with him and he is just a little late. Erik seems to be the same way - cute story about sharing his cheerios.
I'd say have his hearing tested to give you peace of mind and see how he develops until his second birthday. If your gut feeling still tells you something is wrong have him evaluated so you don't have to worry anymore.

Manja
WAHM to Joshua 10/2003

http://lilypie.com/baby2/031011/0/5/3/-5/.png[/img] (http://lilypie.com)

18 month checkup - 32lbs - 36in