DD still not talking... is this normal?

[Happy 2B mommy]

DD is 15 months and still isn't talking. I'm not expecting the world, but a "mama" or "dada" directed to us would be nice. She really doesn't do what I think is babbling, either, just a lot of extended vowels with inflection. I don't have anything to compare her progress to, except her cousin who said both "HI" and "Mama" before she was a year and seems really advanced in speech.

We do some signing and DD uses about 7 signs, but not really to let us know what she wants ( ex. when she has her cup of milk, she signs 'milk', but to let me know she wants milk all she does is cry).

Any thoughts?

TIA

Kerri

[egoldber]

Have you had your 15 month check up? At that time they expect about 3-5 "words" and lots of babbling. I would definitely mention it to your ped. My first DD had no words at 15 months and at 18 months only a couple, so we were referred to EI. She did have language delay and she had speech therapy for about a year and a half. Although to hear her go on and on now at age 6 you'd never know there was a delay!! :)

[sidmand]

We had DS evaluated by Early Intervention at about 15 months old. He wasn't talking. He babbled, but nothing consistent. He actually had quite a few signs, but not until around 18-20 months old.

It can't hurt to get her evaluated. They can either ease your mind or help you with resources. It's very hard to hear that your baby might not be perfect, but usually if you're wondering, and think there might be something to it, there is. I had stopped reading milestone books because DS just didn't meet most of them!

I'm not an expert by any means, but it does sound like she might be a bit behind. They can catch up quickly though, especially if they're very young.

They told us too, that even when DS was probably closer to two, and had quite a few signs, they weren't really "functional" signs. So he would sign things like "peach" just because he could, not because he actually wanted a peach (if that makes sense).

Some people say their kids had a word explosion around age two, but there's no way to know if your child will be one of those or there is something to work with and by age two, not that it's too late, but you've lost a lot of time (IYKWIM).

DS has been in EI for over a year and now his words have just exploded. It took until two though before he ever said "Mama" and "Dada"! And that's hard. Especially when that's all you want to hear :)

Again, it can't hurt to get her evaluated. It should be free, they should come out within a couple of months and they can get you started or ease your mind...

Good luck!

[HIU8]

Talk to you ped. I am in a situation where my DN (who is 22 months) did not utter a word or respond to her name until 1 month ago. I begged my sister to talk to her ped about this as I am concerned that my DN is delayed. She swears she asked her ped who said it was nothing to worry about (I'm pretty sure she lied because she lies about whether DN has eaten or been bathed or in clean clothes on a regular basis to me-- she often leaves DN with me on the weekends so she can get things done-that is another post in itself though).

For awhile DN babbled like my 8 month old does and shook her hands(but this did not start happening until she was around 17 months). Now she is starting to talk but the words are very jumpled. This is very unlike my DS who spoke in 2 word sentences at 12 months and my 8 month old who says Dada to DH.

On the other hand, I know someone who'se DS didn't talk until they put him in preschool at 2. He understood, but never uttered a word. It turned out that the nanny did not interact with him, so he just didn't speak. Now he speaks very well.

[maestramommy]

DD1 was not saying any words by 18 months, so Dh and I agreed to ask for an EI referral. She was evaluated and qualified for services. She has been getting speech therapy since last June. It took until shortly after her 2nd birthday, but the words just suddenly started coming, and around Christmas it really snowballed. She now has 40 clear words and a bunch of word approximations. We're to keep track until she reaches 50 words.

I really can't say enough about the EI services we've received. Not only did she finally start talking, but her personality really blossomed as well. She shows an even much stronger desire to communicate and use words than she did when we first started. She's much more social, and less shy with strangers or people she doesn't see often. She's still an introvert, but a much chattier introvert LOL!

[Gena]

She really doesn't do what I think is babbling, either, just a lot of extended vowels with inflection.

To me, this is a greater cause for concern than the lack of words. If your daughter isn't doing reduplicative babbling ("babababa", "mamamama", etc.) or have a lot of consonant sounds, this can be a sign of a speech problem or a hearing problem.

As the others have said, an eval by EI never hurts. If there is a problem, it's best to catch it early.

[Happy 2B mommy]

Thanks so much for the informed and quick responses. DD's Dr. appt is on Tuesday, but my ped is sort of laid back so I wanted to have a clear idea if there really is a problem before we go in. I need to know how hard to push this concern.

So, with language delays, is there also an issue with the child understanding when she is spoken to? DD seems to understand a HUGE amount. Dh and I were discussing the car and at the word 'car' DD got her coat and started to wave bye-bye. She will also point to the correct pictures in a book if I ask "where's the X?" and correctly identifies several body parts. Is this typical?

Thanks

Kerri

[egoldber]

There is a difference in receptive language and expressive language. The fact that her receptive language seems fine is a really good sign. :) It would be more concerning if she had delays in both areas.

ETA: You know it wasn't until now when I have Amy, who is developing language at a normal rate, that I realize in retrospect how delayed Sarah was. She babbles soooo much and constantly (she's almost 16 months) and I remember how quiet Sarah was in comparison. Again, NOT quiet now! ROFL

[sidmand]

So, with language delays, is there also an issue with the child understanding when she is spoken to? DD seems to understand a HUGE amount. Dh and I were discussing the car and at the word 'car' DD got her coat and started to wave bye-bye. She will also point to the correct pictures in a book if I ask "where's the X?" and correctly identifies several body parts. Is this typical?

Like Beth said, there is a difference between receptive (understanding what's said TO you) and expressive (being able to "talk") language. DS's receptive skills were always pretty much on target, but he had a fairly big expressive language delay.

It's great that she understands, because then you know her receptive language is pretty good. It's great that she's pointing to and recognizing pictures and body parts. It may just be her expressive language that is behind, but a qualified person can tell better.

My pediatrician is actually the person who pushed us. At our 12-month appointment, she said if DS didn't have any words by his 15-month appt, she would strongly suggest EI. I wasn't ready to hear it at 12 months (and didn't think it was such a problem). But when DS still had no words at 15 months and really wasn't gesturing or pointing...we actually saw a nurse at his 15-month appointment who was going to push us off until 18 months, but I said I wanted the numbers and I called that day! I did end up in tears when they told me that from everything I described, DS would qualify for services, but it was the best thing that could have happened.

[maestramommy]

This is the same as our situation. At the evaluation Dora tested above age level for receptive language. But we knew that already because she effectively understood everything we said to her. It's usually a great concern if the receptive AND expressive language are delayed. The SLP who works with her says that her comprehension continues to be advanced, so now it's just a matter of helping her catch up with the speech.

One interesting thing the SLP told me was that for most kids learning to talk is a very natural automatic process, but for some kids it is a deliberate process in which they need help. Something like they over think it, so it makes it harder. Also, Dora had a lot of signs, and betwen that, pointing and grunting she was able to make herself understood, so she wasn't as motivated to use words. The speech therapy is play based, so the SLP makes it a lot of fun to "speak." Now when Dora comes up with a new word she is extremely proud of herself, and likes to say the word over and over to herself, use it as much as she can with us. Ironically, her newest utterance is "uh oh", and she just can't say it enough:rolleye0014:

We are told she is progressing down the normal track for all children, just several months later than most other kids. That is reassuring news for us. We know it is just a matter of time before she is at age level.

In several states (like ours, CA) you can self refer. You don't need a ped referral.

[AngelaS]

None of my kids spoke until 2. They did use lots of baby signs and communicated fine and understood lots. I didn't have any evaluated and now that they're 3, 5 and 10, somedays I long for the good ol' days. ;)

[hillview]

Def would talk to ped and call EI if you are worried. DS was border line at his 15 month appt -- doc said if at 18 month visit he wasn't talking a lot more he'd need EI. DS was saying "woof" and babbling. That was it. At month 16/17 he started talking 100s of words and was on track at 18 months. He is 2.5 years and talking in never ending sentences with great vocab.

Point is that kids develop language at different rates BUT if you are at all concerned call EI. It is free!!
/hillary