If you have a 2ish year old, how are they talking?

[pinkmomagain]

Have you spoken with the ped? Is he/she concerned at all? If there is something popping up on your mama radar, I would not hesitate to pursue it further -- either through the ped or scheduling an eval through EI. They'll either tell you he's on target (yeah!) or he needs some extra help through speech therapy (yeah too, he'll get help if he needs it).

[ciw]

DS turned two last week. He has a pretty large vocabulary and can say fairly large words: octopus, rhinoceros, excavator, etc. He can count to 15 but is still working on the alphabet. He can hold simple conversations. A recent one went like this:
DS: "Mommy, there's a bulldozer."
Me: "Yes, that's a bulldozer. What color is it?"
DS: "Yellow."
Me: "What is it doing?"
DS: "Pushing dirt and driving....It's coming to see me!"
Me: "Yes, it's driving this way."
DS: "I want to ride it."
So, the sentences are usually just a few words but conversations are starting.
But he still needs to work on articulation. For example, he can pronounce the "ck" sound when it's in the middle or at the end of a word like duck. But he has trouble pronouncing it when it's at the beginning of a word. So crane and train are both pronounced "train".
We've also found that WE need to work on OUR language. I'm not talking about foul language -- neither DH or I swear. I'm talking about just speaking slowly so DS understands how a word should sound and using proper language rather than slang. For example, DS recently quit saying "yes" and instead started answering with "yep" (that's DH) or "mmm-hhmm" (both DH and I do that on occasion). So we're all concentrating on saying "yes!"
Another help: DS loves music and we've found that songs really help him learn new words.
I wouldn't dismiss the idea that your DC's language may come on quickly. At about 21 months, DS went from single or double words to sentences very quickly. And now he's quite the chatterbox!

[hillview]

When DS2 was 2 he wasn't talking much. Maybe a few words. he qualified for EI. It sounds like your DC is more advanced than he was at age 2.
/hillary

[Momof3Labs]

DS1 was like that. By 2.5yo, we were ready to invest in ear plugs because he wouldn't stop talking. He went through a huge burst of language development a couple of months after his second birthday and by 2.5 was talking in paragraphs for hours on end.

Karen, you've had two girls, and as hard as it is, you can't really compare your boy to the girls. The third-born thing may come into play too (can he get a word in edgewise, lol?). I wouldn't be worried yet.

[alexsmommy]

Our boy neighbor, who is three months younger than DS2 was speaking in sentences at 2 and paragraphs now at almost 2.5. DS2 was still using two word phrases up until he was 2.5. Just when I was getting mildly concerned and considered calling EI for a quick eval before he turns three, he had a language explosion. My dad (who watches the boys with my mom on days I work) still can't get over it, it felt like it happened overnight. Now he's narrating everything. Previously I wasn't too worried because his receptive vocabulary was excellent, but it was noticable when he was with other kids his age. He's now caught up and then some.

[srhs]

DS1 is 23 months and speaks in phrases/short sentences, albeit awkward ones. For example, this morning he asked me, "Where'd he go, daddy?" If I ask him a question he doesn't know the answer to, he'll repeat me. He can repeat pretty much anything with some mumble in there.
Letter sounds...I've noticed he's not good with x ending...which makes for some funny "Break it! Fick it, mommy!" And "wipe" was really hard for him for awhile-- "ipe" even though he could say other w words like "water."

I think he is very verbal because he is stuck with me (a talker) all day AND he's the firstborn. Just sharing funny kiddo stories, I've had 2 friends of similarly aged boys who remarked that their boys were just speaking in 1-syllables. Both, though, are 3rd children, and I would guess that has far more to do with it. One's PAT gal said she sees a vast difference in boys and girls.
One more thing...I attribute A LOT of his language development to the Baby and regular Signing Times (ty, BBB!). In addition to the signs, he learned quickly that everything has a word, has a sign, etc.

[sste]

OP, your child sounds very normal speech-wise. Our son, who is now 2.5, was at that exact stage at that age. HOWEVER, he was under very close evaluation from speech therapists so they were able to tell us exactly where he was. And when he was using two or three word phrases right before age 2 they told us that was normal and we would begin speech therapy phasedown. They told us articulation is not something to worry about for at least another year.

Also, receptive language is a better predictor than speech output. And learning curve for non-speech is an excellent predictor.

So, what you need to do. Every time your son says two words, add a verb. He says "blue car" you say "blue car go!" and then wait for him to repeat it. The easiest verb for them to learn is "want." He says big cookie you say "want big cookie." The trick is that every time he talks you "model" a slighly longer phrase or crude subject verb sentence. Try to get him to trying saying "want toy" for example before you give it to him.

Once he starts incorporating verbs into short phrases - - which should be over the next few months - - then add pronouns. Pronouns are tricky and will take some practice.

Our DS is now 2.5 and he is measuring as somewhat ahead verbally (after gross delays in babyhood!) and he will now say things like, "You and I go down the stairs" or most recently heard from his rear-facing carseat, "I am UNCOMFORTABLE!" He also imitates us so he sounds like a little game show host. When his babysitter came yesterday, he met her at the door and said, "Nice to see you, Grace."

Anyway, count your blessings as your DC really does sound fine. If you are concerned at all talk to your pedi or call EI but in my non-professional opinion I really don't think your DC will qualify for EI, at least not absent a major receptive language deficit.

[lovin2shop]

I posted something very similar about my now 26 month old DS recently. He uses mostly single words, has poor articulation, but has very good receptive speech. He is no where near the level that my oldest talked at this age, so I was a bit concerned. My ped wasn't overly concerned, and didn't really recommend an EI evaluation at this point. It does seem like he'll periodically have a language burst where he learns several new words in the matter of a day, but then doesn't progress again for awhile. Every once in awhile he'll put together a phrase (usually "I want that!" or "I don't know!" in response to me asking what something is, LOL).

So, basically, we're just in the cautiously observing stage. My gut instinct is that he is doing fine, but if I start to worry again, I'll do the EI evaluation without hesitation. We did this for my older son for a different issue and it actually was a great experience.

Also, thanks to sste for the suggestion on adding the verb and then later pronouns! This seems like a great way to help the sentence progression.

[edurnemk]

DS is 26 months old and is very verbal for a boy. Some of his friends are not as talkative. He started saying simple phrases about 3 months ago, I think. I feel he sometimes takes huge leaps and then sort of remains the same for a couple of weeks. He's using more verbs now, but is still very confused by pronouns (using "I, me or mine" when talking about himself versus "you, yours" for other people).

When DS was 23 months old he mostly used one or two word phrases and a lot of his "words" only I could understand, but he's a lot more articulate now. To me your DS sounds normal. My DS took a huge leap after his second birthday, he really surprised me.

Oh, I should point out DS is bilingual, we've spoken 2 languages to him since birth, although he's more fluent in English. A book I read about raising bilingual children says the whole idea about bilingual kids taking longer to learn how to talk is a myth and that the range of normal age for speech development is very wide.

[sariana]

My DD is 26 months tomorrow. (She was born a month early, but now that she's 2 I don't correct anymore.) She speaks in 2-4 word sentences, but she is not consistent. Often I need to see what she's doing/looking at to understand what she is saying. She was evaluated at 16 months and again at 19 months (or so) and was deemed fine. I do not generally see leaps and bounds of progress, but she will sometimes surprise me with a new word or sentence structure.

I have a DS who is now 5 1/2 (6 in July). He was born 2 months early but actually has a strength in speech. I think he was a little more advanced at this age than DD is, but I have read/heard that first children tend to speak earlier. My mom always talked about how I spoke much later than my sister because she did all my speaking for me.

DS is a huge talker. It is a wonder DD can get a word in edgewise.

Your DS sounds perfectly normal to me. Language acquisition is a complicated process, and all children approach it differently. Articulation generally is the last piece to fall into place; they simply want to get out their thoughts and aren't, at this age, concerned about pronunciation and syntax.