Tell me again that it's OK...

[Susan in TN]

...that my (almost) 13mo isn't saying words. I mean babytalk words that you know mean something - mama, dada, ball, book etc. She jabbers and strings out syllables, but nothing yet that tells us she is definitely referring to something. She doesn't appear to have trouble hearing. She will shake her head vigorously "YES" when I ask if she wants milkies or some food, she waves bye-bye, and likes to play peek-a-boo.

 

I dread going for her 12mo check-up because they always ask if she is putting 2 words together, and none of my kids ever are at that age.

[melik]

My 20mo old was a little behind your little one. Now within the the last month and a half she is putting together 3 words at a time. It seems like she says 2 or 3 new words everyday.

 

She is the youngest and had no trouble getting her point across. But it is a big relief now that the words are starting to come!

 

Meli

[KidsHappen]

Some of my kids were very late talking and my grandbaby is 17 months old and the only things he can say are mama, dada, hello and stop. I personally wouldn't worry yet especially if you know that she can hear and understand you.

[lionfamily1999]

Are your other kids okay? Then don't worry. My sister's sons did not learn to walk until 13 months. They're all three athletic now, but they started a little later. Some families walk to the beat of a different drummer... yours talk iykwIm ;) No worries :grouphug: If the doctor seems concerned then compare with your other children and look at where they are now :)

[Tree House Academy]

When my 6 year old was 24 mos old, he could say, "muh" (I think it meant either milk or more) and a string of babble that sounded like Blue on "Blues Clues." We put him in speech therapy from age 2-3 and now he never stops talking. He talks better than my 10 year old with regards to pronunciation and such. So yes...it is OKAY!

[Laurie4b]

You know, if you are concerned about it, I would push your pediatrician for information. Sometimes moms are concerned about normal developmental variations and sometimes they have reason to be concerned and people blow them off. If there is any issue at all, the sooner you get on it, the better. So pursue the issue with your pediatrician until you have a comfort level with it.

[Catherine]

He reassured ME when I mentioned little guy didn't say any words yet. He did not say *any* intelligible words until 18 months-but spoke full sentences 3 months later. He's 16 now and really, he hasn't shut up since!

[Sandra in FL]

I always think that "mother knows best." I was concerned about my second son and the pediatrician brushed off my concerns with "he's a boy... don't compare him with your daughter, etc. " Not testing early resulted in 5 years of intensive speech therapy. This is not to scare you but a hearing test will at least rule out that the input is okay.

 

HTH,

Sandra

[Sputterduck]

My son was about there at that age, but way way above where he was supposed to be by his 2 year doctor visit.

[myfatherslily]

I don't think my 25 month old niece says more than 5 words:) She understands everything and, believe me, she's one smart little girl!

 

I hope your pediatrician doesn't make it sound like your children should be putting two words together at 12 months old?? Mine will ask questions just to see where they are, but he's always clear that it's okay if they're not there yet!

[delaney]

Oh that's normal! Of all my 6 the only one that spoke that early was DS #1 and he knew his dang colors at 15 months!! My little guy just grunts, shakes his head no, waves bye, and does all the "tricks" that his siblings taught him. He was also running by 10 months which was new for me too. Don't stress b/c soon enough you will be looking for tape!!

[Desert Rat]

My ds didn't say more that 3 or 4 words until he was well over 2! Don't worry!

[lllll]

Our dc were similar. Especially the older ones. Oldest ds was over 2yo before he was saying a lot of words. Now we just wish he'd stop talking. :) All our dc were born weighing 10-11 pounds and on the upper end of the growth scale,btw. Is your dd big for her age?

[PinkTulip]

My son was 27 months and still had not said any meaningful words, like mom, ball, etc. He clearly understood everything we said, but was not speaking. We had been through speech therapy with his older brother, and had an appointment for later in the month for the initial evaluation to get started on that route.

 

One night we were having a family barbeque, with limeade to drink. My 27 month old came up to me, holding a cup and said his first word(s) ever: "More ... lime ... juice ... please ... mom?" He is now 8, has been evaluated and found to be profoundly gifted in several areas. I think for those first two years, he was just processing everything around him.

 

I wouldn't worry yet at 13 months, but like others said, check with your ped.

[HayesW]

My 15 mo old says cup and please. That's it, and only when he is repeating. Good kid. He is talking all the time, but we have yet to find an interpreter.

[Terabith]

13 month olds are NOT supposed to be stringing two words together!!!!

 

At this age you are looking primarily for receptive language. (What does she understand.) And it sounds like she's doing fine.

 

What they DO like to see is five words (and signs or gestures like nodding/ shaking of head count) by 15 months. Not stringing them together, just having them.

 

I'm a HUGE proponent of early intervention and "if you have any doubts, get it checked, bc it ain't gonna hurt anything," but I really think she sounds fine.

 

Oh, the other thing they look for is if she's pointing or gesturing. Pointing is a big thing, as is joint attention, where if you point, does she look to where you are pointing/ looking.

 

But really, she sounds FINE.

[gardening momma]

Dd4 was not saying words at that age. She didn't have more than 5-10 words in her vocabulary at 2.5 years old. She preferred to point to something and say, "Na!" It was at 2.5 that our family doctor referred us to our county's early intervention agency (like speech therapy--and other therapy when needed--for children under 3).

 

I would not worry about it at all at 13 mo.

[MelissaMom]

My sixth was the same way. She's now 2 and still doesn't say a whole lot (she tries and has her own way of saying them). She totally understands what we are saying to her. I asked the ped. at her visit for 18 months and he said, not to worry, baby #6 in a big family gets what she needs and doesn't have to say a lot. :001_smile: Some kids are just on their own timetable.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I don't think my oldest son had any words (even mama/dada) until at least 14 or 15 months. At the age of 3, he was pretending to fish while in the back seat of the car. I asked him what he was fishing for and his answer was, 'speckled trout for the mayor's dinner.' His vocabulary at the age of 8 is unreal. He also reads voraciously. I wouldn't worry about a thing at 13 months.

[EKS]

It's ok--unless it goes on until she's 13 *years* old--which is what I thought you post said at first.

[melissel]

My DD4 didn't have any words until she was 16 months or so, which completely freaked me out considering my first started at 9 months (and hasn't stopped since :willy_nilly:). I wouldn't worry AT ALL about it at this age :grouphug:

[oldskool]

My son didn't speak until he turned two except for mama and dad. One day I put on a Thomas the Tank Engine video and afterward DS started making train noises and within a week he was speaking in sentences. We are still amazed by that. He loved Thomas and trains for many years after. So, I think with kids you never know what might get them talking. It really can just be a trigger that gets it started.

 

Lesley

[3littlekeets]

Have you considered baby signing, like Signing Time? If you are concerned about basic communication of wants, needs, likes -- children can sign much earlier than they can speak words. It was a saving grace with all three of my kids. My oldest, J now 11, didn't speak words much until around 20 mos. , so we were very worried!

 

We started signing around 16 mos and it was awesome! He communicated so much. Then, when he started speaking -- really speaking -- around 2 years, it was always in complete sentences. And, he has always had perfect verb conjugation, etc. Odd :lol:. He also started reading at 2.5 years old and was reading Boxcar Children at 4.

 

My youngest, now 7, signed by 8 mos. for his basics and started talking at 10 mos. He hasn't shut up since :tongue_smilie:.

 

My middle has special needs so signing we did with her oldest brother was perfect for her. For her diagnosis, her delays are minimal. She has Down syndrome and at 8 years old, NO receptive delays, and her vocab is on target for her age, too. Her delays are mainly articulation for speech. Math -- a different story! All her Speech Therapists and educators are blown away, and say she is a prime example of the research suggesting signing helps, not hurts, oral communication.

 

 

I know TMI! but, just a thought :lol:. We love the signingtime videos and my kids are fairly proficient at ASL at 7, 8, and 11. A great extra skill to have!

[Susan in TN]

Thank you, All!

 

I really feel that she is doing fine communication / hearing / otherwise. My 5yods has definite speech/cognitive delays, but the others speak fine and none of them have been early talkers.

 

Thanks for your encouragement and the fun stories! (My dh reminded me that she *was* saying "shhhhh" and "Odo" at 10 months. We're not positive, but we think she must have been refering to the shape shifter on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. :))

[runamuk]

My son said "dada" at 7 months and didn't say another thing until he was 15 months old. He learned to sign and could communicate well, but just wasn't interested in talking. He has two older sisters who are always chattering away, so maybe he just couldn't get a word in, lol.

 

(My dh reminded me that she *was* saying "shhhhh" and "Odo" at 10 months. We're not positive, but we think she must have been refering to the shape shifter on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. :))

 

 

One of the first words he started saying around 15 months was "Odo". My husband said I needed to turn off Star Trek and let him watch Sesame Street, lol.

[ereks mom]

You know, if you are concerned about it, I would push your pediatrician for information. Sometimes moms are concerned about normal developmental variations and sometimes they have reason to be concerned and people blow them off. If there is any issue at all, the sooner you get on it, the better. So pursue the issue with your pediatrician until you have a comfort level with it.

 

...nearly 3. Now she's 5 and talks incessantly!

 

So do talk to your pediatrician and ask lots of questions -- that's what you pay him for! :) But in all likelihood, your dd will be fine, just given time. My niece didn't get any kind of speech therapy, but was simply allowed time to develop. I had been concerned about her speech delay, but only because I was comparing her to my own dc, who were both early talkers (EK began putting sentences together at 15 months & was talking REALLY well by 18 months, and ER--who was a premie--was also talking clearly before he was 2. Just goes to show you that it's true that every kid is different. ;)

[KerriF]

I sure hope so :) because my almost 15 month old chatters all the time but only says "hi" and waves "bye,bye"

[Impish]

Princess hasn't been a talker. She turned 3 in Sept. I've always maintained that its a case of Youngest Child Syndrome. Everyone interprets for her, ie she'll hand someone a cup, and they'll just go get her a drink, or ask her a yes or no question.

 

I've attempted to put a stop to it (Wolf is the biggest offender :lol:) and sure enough, she's started talking more. She still clips the ends off words, ie 'ju' instead of 'juice', but when prompted can say the words properly, she's just lazy about it, and as I said, folks around here interpret for her. Except for mean ole Mommy of course ;)

 

She understands everything, jabbers in a language that I can understand, she's just working on clarity. Some would be freaking out, but I figure she'll gain clarity when she has to...which would be sooner than later if I could get everyone to quit interpreting! :lol:

[Mom-ninja.]

None of my kids talked that early. I think my oldest said mama, dada, ball, cat when he was about 18 months old.

 

My middler was 2 yrs old before he started words. He does have speech issues though.

 

My youngest is 14 months and says dada and oh oh. However, he definately knows how to get his point across with gestures. He'll even take your hand and lead you to what he wants.

 

My mom is always saying that my kids talk late because I give them what they when they gesture or point. If I didn't "give in" to them then they would be forced to talk. I spoil them into laziness and not having to talk, you see. :glare:

[Mom-ninja.]

Princess hasn't been a talker. She turned 3 in Sept. I've always maintained that its a case of Youngest Child Syndrome. Everyone interprets for her, ie she'll hand someone a cup, and they'll just go get her a drink, or ask her a yes or no question.

 

I've attempted to put a stop to it (Wolf is the biggest offender :lol:) and sure enough, she's started talking more. She still clips the ends off words, ie 'ju' instead of 'juice', but when prompted can say the words properly, she's just lazy about it, and as I said, folks around here interpret for her. Except for mean ole Mommy of course ;)

 

She understands everything, jabbers in a language that I can understand, she's just working on clarity. Some would be freaking out, but I figure she'll gain clarity when she has to...which would be sooner than later if I could get everyone to quit interpreting! :lol:

 

 

This is what I was told by a speech therapist about my middle ds. She said we needed to pretend that we didn't understand him to force him to talk correctly. At the time he was also very good at sign language (baby signs) and she told me to stop all signing. (Oh, and my oldest ds was his interpreter as well.) That just did not make sense to me. Signing was his most effective way to communicate. I listened to her advice for a few months and ds stopped trying to communicate at all. I went to a different speech therapist, and she asked why in the world I would take away a perfectly capable form of communication for him. She said he truely had speech issues (he has motor control problems with his tongue and mouth) and that by stopping signing and trying to force him to say words correctly by pretending we didn't understand him, only frustrated and isolated him. We went back to signing.

 

He just turned 6 and is getting much better. He still has to work hard to be able to pronounce some sounds, but it has nothing to do with my giving in to him.

 

So, take my story and apply it as you want. :auto: :001_smile:

[MeaganS]

Man, if you should worry, then I should really worry. My daughter is 18 months old and still says nothing. She babbles and all that, but there's no meaning in it that I can tell. Don't worry, 13 months is completely fine! From all my research, it seems like 18 months is the time to worry (which is why we're getting her evaluated), so you've still got a ways to go.

 

Was your baby a late walker or crawler? Sometimes, if they're late with that, they're late with other things because they're focusing on other skills. My daughter didn't roll over until 8 months old, so she didn't learn to crawl until 12 months, or walk until 14 months. All of that makes sense.

 

Don't worry, I'm sure your baby is fine.

[Laurie4b]

I always think that "mother knows best." I was concerned about my second son and the pediatrician brushed off my concerns with "he's a boy... don't compare him with your daughter, etc. " Not testing early resulted in 5 years of intensive speech therapy. This is not to scare you but a hearing test will at least rule out that the input is okay.

 

HTH,

Sandra

 

I have a friend whose firstborn is profoundly hearing impaired. The pediatrician blew her off, too. She knew he was smart, because he knew which key went into the door, etc., but the lack of talking was concerning her. I don't remember what age it was a concern, though. I do know that he lived happily ever after because once he was evaluated correctly (and the ped. apologized profusely), she refused to listen to professional who said he should go at age 4 to a boarding school for the deaf, and she homeschooled him. She taught him cued speech instead of sign language and he learned to read lips. "They" told her he'd never read past a 3rd grade level; "She" just saw him graduate from a state university with very high gpa. :) Anyway, that is a "worst case scenario" story that turned out well due to a determined mama. Your kiddo is probably fine, but if you have "concerned mama" feelings, pursue them.

[3and3]

I have twins 23 months one talks alot 10-15 words. The other might know 5 words. They all develope differently even twins! If your concerned ask your doctor, but don't make too big of a deal of it. Also, it sounds like she is making signs instead which is what my boy does. Why talk when he can use signs and people understand. With on of my dd who spoke late we taught baby signs because she was getting frustrated, but by the time she was 2 1/2 we couldn't get her to stop talking. She never really did baby talk she went straight to sentences.

 

Jen in MD