17 Month old not talking - Should I be concerned?

[k2bdeutmeyer]

I did do a quick search and found one thread about a 2yr old not speaking, but given that we are still 7 months from 2yr I'm going to go ahead and start my own thread :)

 

DS is 17 months. He says 5 words (2 of which sound identical to each other, and 1 that is more humming than really a word). They are:

 

Thank you - "dah-dee"

Bye-bye - "dah-dee"

Uh-oh - "hmm-hmmm" (with the intonation you would expect for uh oh)

Hi - "Hi"

Cheese - "beese"

 

He makes no attempt to copy things you say/things you ask him to say. He does sign "eat" and "more" and shake his head no. However, he doesn't necessarily use them correctly. For instance, I will ask him if he wants more and he'll sign "more" - one would assume this means he wants more, but he doesn't necessarily. He's just showing me that he can sign the word "more" about 75% of the time vs actually wanting more.

 

He grunts and screams (think temper tantrum style) to get what he wants. He does point, but not to tell us what he wants, just randomly. It's never in conjunction with his screaming or grunting. He follows directions well and will get his shoes or shut the door if asked.

 

He does get frustrated VERY easily when he doesn't get what he wants (usually because we don't KNOW what he wants), and is a biter when frustrated.

 

I think that's all the relevant info??

 

So, obviously, we have his 18m appointment next month, but in the meantime, I'm curious - should I be concerned?? Or do you think maybe he's just a little slower than average?

 

I really appreciate your input!!

[danivdp]

DD will be 2 later this week and has almost the exact vocabulary, LOL!! I don't worry until they are 3.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would have his hearing tested. It's kind of fun for kids that age (they have toys that make noise that they respond to) and it would go a long way to relieving my fears if it were my child. I'm saying this based on on his actual vocabulary but based on the fact that you say that he doesn't try to copy what you say.

[Old Dominion Heather]

I'm mention it at his appointment, but my oldest was a late talker, too. He didn't really talk much at all and was way behind average until about 22 months when he suddenly (and I mean in one afternoon) started talking in long sentences.

 

Seriously, the first thing that kid ever said to me was "Mommy, that big truck back there has no lights on it."

 

He is probably fine, but I wouldn't hesitate to have it checked out if it is worrying you.

[redsquirrel]

I would be concerned. My son was similar and at almost 6 years of age he is still getting speech therapy. I am so glad I called for help. It was one of the hardest things I ever did but I am so glad I did it.

 

Call your health dept and ask to speak with someone in the early intervention program. it is free. They will schedule a hearing test. They will do an assessment and provide free speech therapy if needed.

 

The assesment and therapy are actually really fun. My son has enjoyed all of his speech therapy. We have become rather attached to some of the therapists over the years.

 

And if it is nothing, then it is nothing and you havn't done anything harmful.

 

Be aware, if you call, they make an appt for an assesment in a couple days. One friend of mine was sort of freaked out that they made an appt for three days from when she called. I think it made her nervous. The health dept is under a mandate to meet with callers and get assessments done in a timely fashion. They are supposed to move quickly. Now, I live in a fairly populated area so it might be quicker here. We have a large health dept. If you live in a rural or sparsly populated area it might be slower.

 

It's in the phone book and it is free. They can provide services until the august after your child's third birthday. They come to your house for the assessement and the therapy. it is really easy.

[NanceXToo]

I would be concerned.

 

(snip)

 

Call your health dept and ask to speak with someone in the early intervention program. it is free. They will schedule a hearing test. They will do an assessment and provide free speech therapy if needed.

 

(snip)

 

And if it is nothing, then it is nothing and you havn't done anything harmful.

 

:iagree: Maybe it's normal. Maybe it's not. My oldest daughter was delayed like that and had continued developmental delays and so on her whole life (even with early intervention, speech therapy, OT, PT, etc).

 

My younger two kids talked much earlier than that/had a much bigger vocabulary at that age.

 

I know that doesn't mean it's NOT normal- kids develop at different rates, and already a few people here have said that late talking was normal for their kids. So maybe it is. But I would want to have it checked out. I'd bring it up at the 18 month appointment and by that point if nothing changed I think I would be calling for an early intervention assessment. It won't do any harm and you might find out it's totally unnecessary, or only necessary for a short period of time, but it's free, and it can't hurt!

 

And if there IS an issue, it might help.

[flobee76]

our 2nd didn't start talking until about 2 yrs old. His vocab exploded a few months after that. Also, he is our more emotional one. When he gets frustrated, he goes from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds. That's just the way he is...

 

Our 3rd just started REALLY wanting to talk and she is 20 mos. :001_smile:

 

I agree with the posters who said to wait it out till your LO is 3.

[jplain]

In your shoes I would get an evaluation done. Can't hurt, might help. Your pediatrician can get the ball rolling, or if your ped isn't yet concerned, you should be able to self-refer to your local early intervention program.

 

I wanted to mention something that may influence how soon you, as a homeschooler, seek an evaluation. In my state we have Birth to 3, and after that, children get services through the school system.

 

Unfortunately, in my state, schools are not legally required to provide services to children who are being homeschooled. So children who are close to age 3 when they are evaluated may never end up getting the services they need, unless the parents are able to pay out of pocket, or are willing to enroll the child in public preschool.

 

The earlier speech therapy is begun, the sooner it will (hopefully!) end. If I had a child that showed signs of a speech delay, I'd want to get all that we could out of Birth to 3. If all went well, we might be done with speech therapy before we needed to decide whether or not to enroll in public preK in order to continue therapy.

 

Your mileage may vary. Your state may be a lot more flexible and willing to provide services regardless of where your child is enrolled. If you have a local homeschooling email list, ask for experiences there.

[foxbridgeacademy]

My daughter only said "Mama, Dada, Bubby, and NO!", until she was 18 mos. old. Everything else was "mmmmmm". Now at 7 we can't get her to stop talking. She does have a slight lisp that caused issues for her when she was younger. But we had her hearing tested several times and she was fine. My nephew didn't really speak until he was 3. He was late to potty train, had a lisp and was also easily frustrated(biter). At 10 he is an intelligent well spoken child, who does well in school, and everything else. My neice spent her first 2 years not talking (about the same as my daugter) except she knew 20+ different signs. Now at almost 4 she has an amazing vocabulary both in speaking and sign language. Every child is different. If you really feel you have cause to be concerned speak to your doctor about testing/speech therapy.

[txhomemom]

My first dd did not start talking until around 18 months (although she walked at 9 months). I started to get concerned around 16 months or so and then one day she started talking and has not stopped since! I am lucky that it worked out okay for my dd, but it is interesting that my dd is an extremely extroverted talkative kid...never would have known when she was an infant (I think she was taking everything in).

 

My second dd is only 7 1/2 months so not sure how talkative she will be (although she likes to make all the typical baby sounds and something that sounds like screaching that practically deafens anyone around), but I am definitely more knowledgeable this time and would not hesitate to do something right away if needed.

 

I definitely think you should get it checked out and look into speech therapy if necessary. It is better to do it now then wait and have speech delays.

[gingersmom]

By the time your child is 3 (if you wait) they will have missed out on nearly 12 months of therapy. There is no shame in calling early intervention. Your pediatrician does not need to be involved. And it is free if you qualify.

[fhjmom]

I am also in the camp of having an evaluation done if for no other reason than to put your concerns to rest. I would especially push for a hearing test by a pediatric audiologist (not a screening in the doctors office).

 

Let us know how it goes!

[wapiti]

5 words by 18 months is my rule of thumb (having had 3 kids do speech therapy through EI, another two who *barely* made the cutoff, and my last one, like all five of her older siblings, with no words yet at 16 months). (FWIW, I don't tend to count "uh oh" as a word, though I suppose it could be.)

 

I don't know whether EI still uses this same rule of thumb.

 

Be aware that it can take EI some time to get an appointment set up for an evaluation. There's nothing wrong with calling now and setting one up. Google Early Intervention and your state. You do not need to wait until you see your ped at the 18-month checkup - though I for one am now lazy when it comes to these things. I am pretty tired of speech therapy :tongue_smilie:. Good luck - hopefully his speech will take off soon!

 

ETA: as the others said, be sure to get a hearing test. Call your ped's office about that.

[JVA]

I'd agree to have an evaluation done- by a speech therapist/pathologist - not just the little hearing test they do at the ped's office.

 

Two of our boys didn't really talk until they were three. One we had evaluated and he received some speech therapy in home. But, once they both started, THEY WOULDN'T SHUT UP. Making up for lost time, I guess. :001_smile:

[TanuvasaMama]

My 22 month old didn't start talking until about 19 months...now she says EVERYTHING!!! She won't be quiet!

[Murmer]

I agree with most of what the PP's said...my dd was similar although her signing vocab was very high...but at 2 she was not connecting words and had a low vocab...we did an eval and everything was fine...we suspect her milk allergy caused so much constant congestion everything was murky that she heard...that said I feel so much better having gotten the eval and finding out she was fine than to wait it out. The early the intervention the more successful at discontinuing the intervention. Our eval was free, the state Infant toddler program did it for us.

[Mergath]

My dd was saying even less than that at 18 months. Shortly after that, we found out that she has a rare genetic disorder, and is missing part of her sixteenth chromosome. From what we read and were told, she would likely be retarded and not speak until the age of three. We started fish oil and speech therapy (though, in my opinion, her therapist is completely incompetent) and now, at one month shy of two and a half, she's saying around 400 words and making two and three word sentences consistently, which is in the normal range.

 

It's worth it to find out if there's a problem, because even small things can make a world of difference. Don't go crazy worrying, because boys tend to be slow talkers anyway, but I'd have an eval done.

[WarriorMama]

My son who said a small handful of words at 18 months - and only selectively, when he felt like it, mostly he screamed and grunted even if he COULD say the word for what he wanted - now says EVERYTHING at age two.

 

I was getting a little freaked out, because my older child talked in sentences by 18 months and has always been very verbal. It was a relief when the language explosion happened.

 

It couldn't hurt to ask about it if you feel like something's wrong. The fact that my son clearly understood everything we said to him reassured me enough to wait it out a little longer, and I'm glad we did.

 

Anyhow, he's still an intense kid and probably always will be. He still sometimes resorts to screeching when it doesn't occur to him to try words first, and he still gets easily frustrated, but much less so than when he didn't have the means to communicate.

 

I hope everything works out okay for you and your little guy!

[teacalm]

My oldest girl is a very late talker. I remember mil upset that I taught her sign language; mil was afraid that my girl will be content in communicating in sign language and won't make an attempt to learn how to talk.

 

She also had difficulty in sounding out sounds when I was teaching her how to read. It made me want to throw up because that is how she was sounding the letter sound. She was gagging and choking on the sounds. She started so slow, but I didn't pay attention to it. I just kept on teaching day by day, patiently waiting until she spits the words out. Our charter school teacher kept on pestering me that I have a dyslexic kid, and push all these materials that is geared towards slow learners or learnings with difficulty. I basically ignored our teacher, and just proceeded to teach my daughter with the materials that I have. When she was in third grade, we used Calvert 3rd grade, and I made her read all the materials aloud. It made for a very long school session, but I noticed that when the year is almost over, she took a big leap, and was reading confidently.

 

Right now, she's on grade level and maybe even ahead in some subjects. And now, she would not stop talking. I seriously thought of driving off a cliff just so I do not have to hear her stories for the next hour or so while driving together towards my parent's house. I could not bear to hush her up, and hurt her feelings. And she is also a voracious reader, often sprinkling her conversations with high sounding vocabulary. Makes me irrated sometimes, and find myself snapping back to tell her to speak plainly.

 

Okay, I digress. Anway, if I had known better, I probably should have taken the time to take her to get a diagnosis. But I didn't, and I'm just thankful she turned out all right. I guess in her case, she just needed the time to bloom in her own time.

[Donna A.]

By the time your child is 3 (if you wait) they will have missed out on nearly 12 months of therapy. There is no shame in calling early intervention. Your pediatrician does not need to be involved. And it is free if you qualify.

 

I agree. In some cases, age 3 is too late. My dd had the exact same symptoms (right down to the screaming and biting, etc.), and she ended up being diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech which *needs* early intervention. They don't "grow out of it" with Apraxia. In fact, without early intervention, it'll just get worse because as they grow and CANNOT communicate, yet everyone around them DOES (including same aged peers), they grow more and more frustrated and then either act out (screaming, biting, etc.) or become withdrawn and won't attempt to communicate at all.

 

Apraxic kids NEED that intervention *while* they're still in the speech-development stage because that's the time that their brains are forming language skills, and without intervention, it affects their vocabulary, reading and writing skills, behavior, and everything else down the road.

 

Our dd's hearing was fine, btw. While I agree with having it tested, you may find that it's perfectly normal, but remember that one doesn't have to have a hearing problem to have a speech problem.

 

Anyway, I don't know if your child has Apraxia.... I'm just encouraging you to have a full developmental evaluation because your child sounds so much like mine at that age. If I'd listened to those who said "Einstein didn't talk until age 6" or whatever it was, we'd have a much, much bigger problem on our hands. :confused:

 

A warning, though.... there is some controversy over whether Apraxia is something that needs special attention. Not even all speech therapists agree on it. We worked with three different therapists, as well as those who did the evaluations (first by the county, and then by a team at a children's hospital), and they all had differing views on how the Apraxia should be dealt with. So be prepared for doubts to come up, and pray that you get someone who really understands this particular condition!

[sbgrace]

My general speech delay advice would be to look at nonverbal information and sounds/motor movements in general. Late talkers will still be making appropriate sounds (in babbling) and be able to do motor mouth movements in a coordinated way. If a child has motor type issues with the mouth (like apraxia of speech) you'd see signs of that in the motor movement and sounds. A typically developing simple late talker will be an excellent nonverbal communicator (pointing, head shaking, shoulder shrugging, etc.) and reader of other people.

 

The issue in your description that makes me a bit concerned honestly is the nonverbal communication. The thinking there would be that lacking proper nonverbal communication development is a sign that something is going on developmentally. Kids who are otherwise typically developing but late talkers are very good nonverbal communicators. The standard is pointing to communicate (specifically to show you things) by 12 months. In addition to pointing to what he wants you'd see a typically developing child pointing at the airplane and then looking back to you to see if you noticed, back the airplane, back to you. You should see those things now and you should have been seeing them much earlier-at least by 12 months. So I think there is reason for concern since he isn't really communicating as well as you would expect nonverbally for 17 months (or younger honestly). He is using some nonverbals though and following directions so that's encouraging. Still, I think it's a flag that needs investigation honestly. I'd do a hearing test as well but I'd be looking at things beyond that because of the nonverbal lag you're describing. Does this child consistently respond to you calling his name?

Edited November 3, 2010 by sbgrace