DS is 1 but not saying any word

[hillview]

DS is 1 and took his first steps yesterday (a couple of weeks after he turned 1). He has not said any words (not even mama/dada). We have his 1 year old appt on Friday. Is this in the normal range?
TIA!
/hillary

[brittone2]

IMO, normal. To even be considered delayed, a child usually has to demonstrate something around a 25% delay in skills. So while 1 word around one year of age is pretty typical, it isn't really all that delayed to not have it just yet.

I'd look for pointing, waving bye-bye, etc. and also whether he's babbling at all (and how much variety you hear in that babbling). Not having a word but doing the other things mentioned (now or in the next few weeks) is less concerning than not having a word but also not having much babble, waving/pointing/gesturing, etc.

It is worth keeping an eye on, but if he recently turned 1, I certainly wouldn't worry unless you see other issues that concern you.

eta: fwiw, sometimes if they are really working hard on a new skill like walking, it seems to slow down the development of other skills like talking (this is purely anecdotal, but many therapists have noticed this) for a bit.

[o_mom]

DS is 1 and took his first steps yesterday (a couple of weeks after he turned 1). He has not said any words (not even mama/dada). We have his 1 year old appt on Friday. Is this in the normal range?
TIA!
/hillary


Yes, that is normal. DS3 didn't have any words until 15 months and then all of a sudden got about 10 words in 2 weeks.

I asked at the 12 month appointment because DS1 & DS2 had 2-3 words by that age and she said as long as they are babbling with lots of different sounds and seem to understand things then just give it some time. She said we would revisit it at his 15 month appointment, but generally didn't refer for evaluation until closer to 18 months unless there were other red flags (no babbling, not hearing, etc).

ETA: The Developmental Checklist we have from Early Intervention (DS3 was in it as an infant) says 12-15 months to have one word other than Mama or Dada. Under "possible concerns" it says not trying to talk or repeat words at 15-18 months.

[egoldber]

and also whether he's babbling at all (and how much variety you hear in that babbling).

:yeahthat:

Sarah had no words at 1 year and neither nor my ped was worried. She did end up having expressive language delay and was in speech therapy for about a year and a half.

HOWEVER, when I had Amy I realized, in retrospect, that while she had maybe 1 word at one year how MUCH she babbled and with what variety in comparison to Sarah. Sarah was a very quiet baby and never really babbled much, but I didn't have anything to compare it to so it seemed normal to me. In retrospect I can see that the lack of babbling was a better indicator than the lack of words.

[egoldber]

oops.....dp

[hillview]

DS babbles a TON as in won't shut up -- it sounds like talking but no real words.
/hillary

[lorinick]

I think it's normal. My ds just turned 13mt. and says daddy for everything. He can say mama. I've heard him. But hasn't said it in a while. He just started walking one week before turning 13mts. He also babbles all the time. We yell and babble for his older brother. I'm not really concerned. He waves to everyone and points to things. He's very engaged with everyone around him. I think that is the most important at this age.

[niccig]

DS babbles a TON as in won't shut up -- it sounds like talking but no real words.
/hillary

I wouldn't worry at all. My DS was the same, very complex babbling and the Dr. didn't worry once he heard the babbling. DS was closer to 18 months before talking. Now at 3yo, his vocab is impressive, and people comment all the time. Unfortunately, he still doesn't shut up - drove me crazy yesterday in the car.

[sail731]

As a Speech Pathologist, I can confirm that it is normal to not have said any words at 12 months. Most children speak their first word between 10-15 months. If by 18 months no words have been spoken, you should take your child in for an evaluation. Most peds will monitor language development during your well-baby appts. In the mean time patiently wait, listen, and provide lots of opportunities for meaningful interactions. Even with my background and training, it is hard to wait sometimes for my 15 month old DD to process what I say and respond.:)

[HIU8]

DNiece did not say a word until 18 months. She didn't babble or recognize her name or anything. She started babbling at 18 months. She is now 29 months old and speaks 2-3 word sentences (she was not checked for speech delay b/c my sister, a special ed teacher, kept saying there was nothing wrong...a whole other story....). She is extremely quiet and reserved and really has to warm up to you to speak now.

[maestramommy]

Yes, I think even for children not speech delayed this is very normal.

[maestramommy]

DS babbles a TON as in won't shut up -- it sounds like talking but no real words.
/hillary

This is where Arywn is now. I was a little concerned because of Dora, but my new ped is not at all concerned. He wants to revisit at the 18 mo appt but he is convinced that all kids have their own style of development, and there isn't much a parent can do to hurry it along.

[bubbaray]

I just came from DD#2's 18m check (ooops, she's nearly 20m, LOL!). Speech was one of the issues the dr raised. At 9m she had no words, dr said she had to have 5 words by 12m or she wanted to refer her for an autism evaluation. At 12m, she had 1 word (dada) and rarely used it -- no where near 5 words. DD#1 was already in speech therapy (biweekly) to correct some of her pronounciation (great progress, probably won't need more this fall). The SLP was not at all worried about DD#2, but said to go ahead and put her on the wait list (long here) for ST, which I did. Our SLP didn't even think DD#2 was delayed, especially as a 2nd child.

DD#2 now has 25 "words" that we can recognize, but strangers might only recognize 10 of those. My dr said today that she might be speech delayed and its good to have her on the list for ST. Dr wants her to be using 2 word sentences by her 2y appt.

I know when DD#2 had her 9m appt and the dr was all wigged out about an autism evaluation, it was right around the time that the AAP changed its criteria for autism and milestone dates. So, maybe it was more about her being up to date with that or ???.

DD#2 has no signs of autism and that is no longer on the radar. I'm not even sure she is speech delayed, though compared to DD#1 she is -- DD#1 had about 10 words that even a stranger could understand by 12m. She has always been, and remains, about 2 years "ahead" with vocabulary.

Sorry, this got long.

GL!