Updated post #25. How many words does your 18 month old say?

[MSWR0319]

I know there are a lot of us on here with kids around 18 months. How many words are your kids saying and are they understandable or just sounds that you know mean something? I'm a bit concerned about DS2, who has his checkup in a couple of weeks. The only thing he says that I can understand is Mom and it sounds like a goat bleating when he says it. I "think" he may be saying "what is that" when he points to things but am not sure. That's it. The rest is just a bunch of sounds. He is jabbering a lot so that makes me feel better, I just feel like he should be saying a bit more. I asked at his last checkup and the pediatrician wasn't concerned yet, but I did read on the paperwork he gave us that if they aren't saying 6 words by 18 months they will get a hearing check. I kinda hope they do it because DS2 has had a history of fluid and ear infections, so I would feel better knowing he could hear vs. waiting till his 2 year checkup and finding we should have done something.

[queenmama]

Not many, but I never considered that it should be more. We quit going to checkups over a year ago so my only knowledge comes from the Baby Center emails I receive each week. :P

She says: Mama, Dada, Bub (that's Henry!), hi, no, go, there (more like, "daya," said when pointing)... That might be all! She does babble all the time and there are repeats so she must know what she's saying, even if we don't! She also says "hi" (always, "Hiiiieeee!!!" So dang cute) even when someone says, "hello," so I don't think we need to be concerned about her hearing.

I do hope your DS doesn't have any ear problems. I think DD isn't saying as much as DS was at 18mo, but he walked by 12mo and she was more like 16mo, so I know firsthand all kids are different! Crossing my fingers that you have nothing to worry about!

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[Mommy_Mea]

DS1 is 4 now, but he had said maybe two words by 18 months (Papa and ball), and then they disappeared. He did some sign language and babbled, but no words.

Then at 21 months he started talking and hasn't looked back since :-)

[ShanaMama]

My mother always says "boys walk first & girls talk first- and never stop!" I have no idea if there's truth to that but really, every child goes at his/ her own pace. My 18 mo talks a lot. People think he's 2.5 regularly. I don't recall either of my girls talking this much at this age.
I think it's very wise to check his hearing if you have even the tiniest shadow of concern. That's something that can be so easily addressed yet can really set the child back if its not adressed. My 5 yo had garbled speech for years (she literally sounded like he had a mouth full of marbles.) Every time I asked the Ped about it he wasn't concerned. Last year we did tubes along with tonsils & adenoids. She speaks so much more clearly now but she is still working quite hard in speech therapy. I had no indication to do tubes earlier (few EI, etc) but I do wonder if her lack of hearing contributed to her garbled speech.
I don't think this something you new to really lose sleep over, but is definitely pursue a hearing test IIWY. Good luck!

[Simon]

I had one Dc with zero words/sounds at that age and he did qualify for EI. I think the min. expectation was 5-10 words OR sounds that mean something. I'll admit that I pushed forward when others wanted to wait because my Mom radar was going off that something was wrong. He did catch up eventually. Ds3 had about 15-20 "words" at that age but those were mostly animal sounds. He made a bit leap around 19-20 months but until then he was like a walking barnyard!

[mmommy]

I think it varies wildly with each kid. was just trying to remember this with DD1, and I can't remember how much she said. But DD2, who is just shy of 18 months just shocked me by starting phrases. She says "down now please," "help please," "I want more," and a few others. I know DD2 wasn't saying phrases at this point.
No harm can come from a hearing test, so it's certainly worth it. But I also think this is one area where some kids start more slowly than others and they mostly are all caught up to the same place in just a few years. That said, you're right that if there is an issue, early intervention can make a world of difference.

[123LuckyMom]

At 18 months I wouldn't worry, though if you suspect a hearing problem, there's no harm, I would think, in making sure!

I have been concerned about my DD who just turned 19 months, because I feel like DS was saying so many more actual words at her age. I did talk to the pediatrician about it, and he said not to worry at all. At 18 months she could say Mama, Mommy, kitty, dog, Ollie (ah-yee), Oliver (ah-ver), Daddy, hi, yeah, bye, no, what's that (wazzat), and what is it (wah-IHZ-ih).

At 19 months just turned, she has added thank you (fanku), love you (luhvoo), baby, shoe (soo), and it's good (iz gud), and she'll repeat words or phrases we say and surprise us, but they don't really join her vocabulary. I'm planning to wait a month or two longer before worrying. Many of my friends say the language explosion happens at about 21 months.

[JBaxter]

Depended on the child. My oldest was putting 2 words together by that point DS2 said quite a few Nathan had about 15 words at 15 months but then regressed and didn't speak until he was closer 3.5 Jack said a few.

[Melaine]

Mama, daddy, girls, good girl, go, no no, bye bye, bath, car, more, doggy, meow, moo, ball ,night night, nursey, papa, thank you, mouth, nose, eyes, baby.
Now....out of those I am not sure how many that other people could pick out. But those are obviously what he is trying to say. For example, " thank you" is "dah dah" but it is obvious he is trying to say thank you from context.

[lmh2402]

at 18 months DS was speaking in full sentences, almost paragraphs.

DD is not anywhere near that. Right now, at 15.5 months, she's got: hi, bye, Harry (dog), fishies, penguin (odd, but true), ball, that, please, yes, no, pee, poop, diaper, thank you...probably a few more that I'm not thinking of.

But overall, not anywhere near where DS was at this age. Indeed, every kid is different.

[brittone2]

I know there are a lot of us on here with kids around 18 months. How many words are your kids saying and are they understandable or just sounds that you know mean something? I'm a bit concerned about DS2, who has his checkup in a couple of weeks. The only thing he says that I can understand is Mom and it sounds like a goat bleating when he says it. I "think" he may be saying "what is that" when he points to things but am not sure. That's it. The rest is just a bunch of sounds. He is jabbering a lot so that makes me feel better, I just feel like he should be saying a bit more. I asked at his last checkup and the pediatrician wasn't concerned yet, but I did read on the paperwork he gave us that if they aren't saying 6 words by 18 months they will get a hearing check. I kinda hope they do it because DS2 has had a history of fluid and ear infections, so I would feel better knowing he could hear vs. waiting till his 2 year checkup and finding we should have done something.

At that age it is tricky. I worked in EI but as a PT, and regularly was part of eval teams. I had to screen for speech concerns, and worked on eval teams with SLPs. I think sometimes people get too hung up on yes/no answers in terms of checking off a checklist..number of words, etc. A professional is going to look at those skills as part of a greater context.
For my own kids, some things I'd consider are whether I was hearing a lot of varied sounds. Vowels, consonants, lots of variety when babbling. I would also be more concerned if there was a history of ear infections or fluid in the ears. If you have concerns about fluid, I might err on the side of having hearing screened sooner rather than later. Many times they'll ask you that as part of the EI intake, so it might be worth having someone check ears for fluid and so forth now. Having just1 word (or maybe 1-2) without the fluid/ear infection concerns, eh...maybe wait it out a little longer. But taken together with the history of ear infection and fluid, I might have someone screen his hearing, especially if you aren't hearing really varied babbling of consonants, etc. If you end up having to go through a hearing check, then get the EI eval, then possibly few weeks until they start services...it starts to add up.

Does he gesture, point, wave, etc? If you say something like where is _____? (without gesturing), does he look for it? (dad, the dog, a favorite toy you refer to regularly). Speech therapists will also look at both expressive language and receptive language (what is understood). Can the child follow a simple direction, can they point to an object if you ask where X is, etc. The tricky part is we sometimes inadvertently gesture, etc. so you have to make sure you aren't giving clues through your body language when you see if he responds to those questions.

[MSWR0319]

I'm definitely going to bring it up. I keep thinking I'm over thinking this because DS1 was speaking sentences at this point, but just reading the responses DS2 isn't really close to any of your kids (not that I expect him to be exactly the same, just trying to get an idea). Just mom. I think I've heard da-da occasionally and like I said maybe "what's that?" when he points. Can't hurt to get a hearing check right?

[MSWR0319]

At that age it is tricky. I worked in EI but as a PT, and regularly was part of eval teams. I had to screen for speech concerns, and worked on eval teams with SLPs. I think sometimes people get too hung up on yes/no answers in terms of checking off a checklist..number of words, etc. A professional is going to look at those skills as part of a greater context.
For my own kids, some things I'd consider are whether I was hearing a lot of varied sounds. Vowels, consonants, lots of variety when babbling. I would also be more concerned if there was a history of ear infections or fluid in the ears. If you have concerns about fluid, I might err on the side of having hearing screened sooner rather than later. Many times they'll ask you that as part of the EI intake, so it might be worth having someone check ears for fluid and so forth now. Having just1 word (or maybe 1-2) without the fluid/ear infection concerns, eh...maybe wait it out a little longer. But taken together with the history of ear infection and fluid, I might have someone screen his hearing, especially if you aren't hearing really varied babbling of consonants, etc. If you end up having to go through a hearing check, then get the EI eval, then possibly few weeks until they start services...it starts to add up.

Does he gesture, point, wave, etc? If you say something like where is _____? (without gesturing), does he look for it? (dad, the dog, a favorite toy you refer to regularly). Speech therapists will also look at both expressive language and receptive language (what is understood). Can the child follow a simple direction, can they point to an object if you ask where X is, etc. The tricky part is we sometimes inadvertently gesture, etc. so you have to make sure you aren't giving clues through your body language when you see if he responds to those questions.

He does gesture and point if he comes up to us trying to say something. He seems to understand us well when we ask him a question. Then sometimes he just stands there and acts like he didn't hear a thing. Usually that's when DH is talking to him. I think he's hearing noises, I'm just wondering if they aren't muffled because of fluid thus resulting in him thinking he's talking to us but it's not understandable. I'll have to make sure I'm not gesturing when I ask questions, because I know I gesture more than DH does.

[BabyBearsMom]

I would probably ask to have his ears tested iiwm. I have girls so I know that is different. I can't remember how many words dD1 had at 18 mos but DD2 is that age and talks up a storm. I think part of it is that she is at preschool all day and wants to make her desires known clearly. Also she and DD1 are always chatting and DD1 relishes teaching her new words. I know boys are usually slower verbally but I would still get him checked out if you are concerned

[Philly Mom]

DD1 had 3 words at 18 months. She did not qualify for EI. Her comprehension was good. By 20 months she had over 100. Now at 27 months she is quite advanced. I wished I had not worried because she was fine I just needed to give it time.

[Indianamom2]

DD had maybe one word. She had no hearing issues or a history of ear infections (we did check). She didn't babble at all really. Her Dr. was concerned and we contacted EI. She ended up being at least a full year behind in her expressive speech and way ahead in receptive (what she understood). Today she is 9 years old and still has speech to work on her "R" sound (it's about 50% of the way!!). Then she'll be done. She had a long road though many have longer.

Ds, around 18 months only had a couple of words. He was quiet but he did make lots of quiet sounds and babbles. No hearing problems/ear infections. We contacted EI due to our prior history with DD. He spent about 4 months in speech and then he was talking in sentences. I knew he'd be fine and requested that speech end. No more problems. He's 4 yrs. old now.

I write this to show that at 18 months, there can be warning signs, but it can also be nothing. Definitely look into a hearing check. That's just a good idea either way. Contact EI and at least get on the list because it can take a while to find an available speech therapist. It may end up being nothing, but you can always change your mind if you don't need intervention. If you do need it....take any and all help you can because the earlier a speech problem is caught, the better.

[ShanaMama]

He does gesture and point if he comes up to us trying to say something. He seems to understand us well when we ask him a question. Then sometimes he just stands there and acts like he didn't hear a thing. Usually that's when DH is talking to him. I think he's hearing noises, I'm just wondering if they aren't muffled because of fluid thus resulting in him thinking he's talking to us but it's not understandable. I'll have to make sure I'm not gesturing when I ask questions, because I know I gesture more than DH does.
Does he have any other health issues going on? I ask because I was quite sure my DD (mentioned earlier) was hearing. After all, she didn't get a lot of ear infections & I'd see her responding well. But she got strep frequently. And the key was *when she did have fluid in her ears * she had significantly decreased hearing (based on hearing test). So even though she didn't have frequent ear infections, if she had fluid for one week out of the month then she wasn't hearing 1/4 of the time.
I really don't see how you can go wrong by testing his hearing. Either it's great & you're reassured or its not and you know he needs intervention.

[barkley1]

Not many at all (5-10?). I was worried and had a EI screening done, but she didnt qualify bc her receptive and other areas were good. No hearing issues, big brother was NOT talking for her (wanted to slap the next person that told me that!), no language explosion at 21 months either. So, i planned to get her rescreened at 24 months when the criteria to qualify changed, but right around then she started making different sounds and picking up a few new words. Now she is 26 months and is saying several new words every day!

[mom2binsd]

DD at 18 months was speaking full sentences, but could barely walk.

DS at 18 months said mama...I'm an SLP so not very impressive, he didn't qualify for EI speech services a few months later either and only had about 5-7 words, around 2 years 4 -6 months his speech and language really started developing.

There is so much more than "how many words can they say", it's all about how they respond to words around them, how they interact with others, follow directions, respond to others speech, etc....

[Tenasparkl]

My DS is 18 months now. So far he says: mama, dada, zo-zo (what he calls his sister), sister, choo choo, milk, eggs, eyes, nose, chin, toes, hat, hot, baa-man , spy-man, eye-man, car, cat, outside, airplane, no!, ok, bath, all done, want, bear, mimmy (Minnie), doc, baby, duck, cheese, pumpkin, Elmo, iPad, Disney, paci, apple, pizza, banana, cracker, a few of his friends names, his babysitter's name and lots of animal sounds. He's putting some together like "want milk"

[♥ms.pacman♥]

at 18 months, DS probably had well over 100 words, and was putting two words together. DD though only had about 5 words (including mama, dada) by 18 months. it really, really varies.

[MamaSnoo]

DS seems a little slower to talk than DD was. It seems like a hearing eval would be reasonable for your son.

He currently says: mama, dada, cheese, up, octy (as in octopus), his sister's name, hat, eye, bath, snack, duck, ball, papa, apple, bottle (what he calls all drinks, even though he has not had a baby bottle for about 8 months now!)

He signs no, milk, sleep, more, all done

He also makes a little ruff-ruff sound when he sees a dog, and makes a "fft" sound when he sees a rabbit (DD has a stuffy rabbit named "Softy," and I think he is trying to say that)

He can point to eyes, ears, nose, mouth, feet, elbow, toes, fingers. He will follow really simple instructions most of the time (i.e. put the leaf in the trash; go find daddy, etc), so I think his receptive language is ahead of his expressive language.

[sntm]

Mine are talkers but DS2 us almost 18 mo and says mama, dada, nana, jack, a version of the dog!s name, Tanya (the nanny), meow, ball, book, choo choo, cereal, ba(na)na, apple, orange, cracker, pasta, pista(pizza), juice, milk, punkin, Lola, signing (times), stars, sun, bus, no, blue, purple, up, down, eyes, spoon, moon, bath, owl, night, (R)ita, potty, triangle, hot, this and possibly more I'm forgetting.

He doesn't sleep tho so maybe he has more time for talking ;)

[lalasmama]

DGS can say a handful of words. Mamama, Dadada, some recognizable form of his brother's name, ba (ball), ink (drink). There may be a few others. I think the important part of language development around this age is an attempt at communication... so the word may not be "right" but as long as there's a noise that's pretty consistent each time, and he gets his point across, then things are good. But, I'm not a professional. You can always google "Ages and Stages Questionnaire" and do one online. It will let you know if there's cause for concern.

[MSWR0319]

Update: DS needs tubes and speech therapy. Last week he got another ear infection and at his checkup yesterday one ear is totally blocked (I'm not sure with what, but last week the dr who took care of DS said there was wax in it) and the other is full of fluid. This is what started the cycle last year. We'd get an ear infection, then fluid that wouldn't clear, then another infection. So we have an appt. with an ENT in a few weeks and were told to call the county to get EI services started to help him catch up once his ears are clear.

[llama8]

My DD1 had about 30-40 words at 18 months and my DD2 was talking in paragraphs by 13 months. All of the kids are so different.

I would only worry if your DC has no words by 18 months. It could be a delay that needs EI, but it could be nothing to worry about too.

[Hemlock]

DS just turned 18 months, he says Mommy, Daddy, Sissy (sister), Tom (brother), puppy, meow, no, can't, sit down, snack (sounds more like "nack"), baba (drink), ball, hat, up, down.

Not really related to speech, but he is still not walking.

[ShanaMama]

Update: DS needs tubes and speech therapy. Last week he got another ear infection and at his checkup yesterday one ear is totally blocked (I'm not sure with what, but last week the dr who took care of DS said there was wax in it) and the other is full of fluid. This is what started the cycle last year. We'd get an ear infection, then fluid that wouldn't clear, then another infection. So we have an appt. with an ENT in a few weeks and were told to call the county to get EI services started to help him catch up once his ears are clear.

Ok then, it's really great that you're going to address it at this age. My DD got tubes @ age 4 & we are now working on speech therapy. We had no indication to do it earlier but I wonder how much better her speech would be if I had done it sooner.

My SIL had tubes put in her DD around 18 months IIRC. After the surgery DN wanted to know why the fridge was making noise. She literally didn't hear it previously.