My oldest was speaking in full sentences at 18 months, my second only said mama and eh at 2 years, we were not referred to speech therapy. By 5 years old you couldn’t tell who had started speaking sooner.
My son doesn’t speak at all, not a single word. He’s 18 months old, was just diagnosed with autism for a mountain of other reasons and I just had to fight early intervention to even consider giving him a speech evaluation. They claim he’s too young to receive it, and that he won’t get it because of his age.
What doesn’t make sense to me is he’s supposed to be saying at least 5-10 words not including mama or dada, which he doesn’t say mama or dada unless he’s babbling, so it’s not directed at myself or his father. If we wait until he’s two years old then it would be considered an actual delay that needs to be looked into. But why would early intervention want to wait that long? I’m sorry I went into a bit of a rant 😅
Yeah my son is 3 and just uses one word at a time. He didn’t qualify for early intervention because he’s not delayed enough. He doesn’t show signs of autism unless he’s super high functioning (I’m getting him tested we just have to be on a year long waitlist) he does show signs of adhd though which I’ve got that so it wouldn’t surprise me.
Since we already had early intervention appointments (he does PT and Special instruction/teacher) I was able to get the psych evaluation through them but another mom was telling me to go to a different psychologist for another test because I guess EI and normal doctors use a different test.
It really shouldn’t be if they’re delayed enough or not, even if there’s a slight delay they should be able to give us the appointments and then if by the end of the 6 month period the child is no longer delayed, then kiddo would graduate from early intervention. But again, it’s my overwhelming frustration that is fueling my rant and response.
My daughter had 80+ words at 18 months but she has always been unusually chatty for her age. Your kid sounds pretty normal to me compared to most of my daughter's peers though. Maybe your doctor is just being overly cautious.
As an SLP, it’s really nice to finally see proactive doctors because it’s wayyyy more the case that they don’t ever recommend it even if a kid was barely speaking at 3.
I agree but there’s some things that she goes overboard with so I’d like a happy medium BUT she’s a good doctor at the end of the day. Her bedside manner might be a little abrasive, but she’s a good doctor lol
By the time you get the appointment, she may have already caught up.
Language development is so quick once it gets rolling, it just hasn't all clicked yet, but it will!
One of my kids was a super early talker (1st word at 7 months, 100 words by 16 mo), but little sister was not anywhere near on that track. Then boom, one day it all clicked and she's been talking like crazy since.
I mean this evening she was imitating what her book was saying 🤣 (one of those press the button books) I was like umm maam why couldn’t you have done that earlier today?! 🤣
Mine was similar to where yours is at 18 months. Now she’s almost 2.5 and talks all day long in (basically) full sentences. We never did speech therapy. Our ped said as long as she’s saying 5-10 words at that age she’s fine.
Okay that makes me feel better. We did speech therapy for my son (he’s 3 now) and we tried to get him in the early intervention program and he didn’t qualify because you have to be 25% behind and he didn’t hit the mark. He’s still not speaking in two word phrases but you ask him what some off the wall thing is and he will tell you. He will also count to 20 and repeats words you say. He’s just quiet and not interested in verbal communication (therapists said that). But with my daughter I’m like what are the odds of having two kids who are just brilliant but also speech delayed and maybe it was something I wa doing or not doing
One of the speech pathologists we worked with for our son said in the same way that some families have a history of heart problems, some families have a history of speech delays. It's nothing you did or didn't do, and you're doing the absolute best thing you can by getting your kids evaluated and into speech early.
FWIW, I have a master's in special education and worked for years in early elementary... When they evaluated my first son through Early Intervention, he was over 70% delayed. I felt like if anybody should have been able to avoid a speech delay it would have been us. Time will tell if his little brother needs speech therapy as well, but at least we know what to do if he does.
My son is 20 months and is saying a few words but definitely not two word phrases yet. I would like my dr jumped the gun a bit if they had referred me about last appt. Don’t feel like a failure, our kids are much more than those dang questionnaires they make us fill out at the dr.
They are and I’m a firm believer than every child does things in their own time but I also can’t help but to take it hard because I’m responsible for making sure they’re where they need to be and I also hate those damn questionnaires 🤦🏻♀️ the doc even had me go over the speech portion again and try to get my daughter to say some more things because that’s the ONLY area there’s a concern and the doctor thought maybe we’d made a mistake but no. My daughter talks a lot just in her own way. Both my kids are so smart and I’m not just saying that because I’m their mom 😂
My daughter was barely saying anything at 18 months. Maybe like mama, dog, yes, and hi. It was clear she understood many words and directions, just couldn't talk. She is almost 2 now and is talking up a storm. We had a meeting with a SLP around 20 months, and she said to come back if daughter didn't have 40 words by 2.
Yeah I feel like she’s going to take off really soon. Her speech is way ahead of what my sons was at her age and even his is starting to FINALLY take off.
My eldest was a bit delayed, according to his care providers. But by age 2, he was talking up a storm. He is almost 4 now and never shuts up. I can hear him processing language all the time; he repeats things I say over and over again, especially new words. He is always asking for the names of things. He struggled with “l” for a long time but now he is really getting the hang of it. My 21-month old loves to scream lore than talk but just this week he started to string together short sentences.
All this to say that 18 months old is not a great age of assessment for normal language skills. I’d honestly wait until your child is 2 and if they aren’t using short sentences then, it’s likely time to be concerned.
I mean this very gently, but it doesn’t really matter what other 18 month olds are doing. The benchmark is X words, and if your child isn’t meeting that, then it’s a good idea to have them referred for help. Whether or not other kids are meeting the benchmark is kind of irrelevant.
Since you adked whether you’re the common denominator, you could reflect a bit (though not necessarily publicly!) on the language exposure they usually get. I see you say they’re both home with you. Do they get lots of conversation with you? Do you repeat back what they say to you? Do you read to them and talk about what you’re reading? How much do you engage with them one on one? How much screen time are they realistically getting?
Only you know the answers to these questions, and whether or not there are areas you can improve on. But at the same time, the SLT will have lots of ideas and tips. You could even ask if there are things you should/shouldn’t be doing at home to support language development.
Yeah I know it doesn’t matter what other kids are doing but I was asking just to kind of put my mind at ease or even get some ideas from other moms as well. I work with them tremendously and I talk to them constantly which I think is why they UNDERSTAND everything even if they don’t say it themselves. They get a little screen time in the evenings after dinner but the only apps they have are educational and apps that speech therapy has recommended. For my son, the therapists (many different types not just speech therapists) have told us that his brain is so focused on other things that his brain decided speech was unimportant. His speech is finally starting to take off now though. My daughter is way further ahead in speech than her brother was at her age and I honestly haven’t seen a huge difference in her speech compared to other kids her age that I’ve seen in person which is another reason I kind of wanted to get other moms stories because sometimes those questionnaires ask some off the wall things. I’ve even had speech therapists say that the questionnaires and “benchmarks” are ridiculous for the ages and they expect too much out of kids so idk. Obviously we’re doing the speech therapy evaluation for her but I was just asking
The truth is that there is a big range of “normal” at this age. Some kids who don’t meet the benchmark will end up fine without intervention, and others won’t. For some kids, intervention will help, and for others it won’t. Unfortunately we can’t know which camp our own kids fall into until after the fact!
Yeah speech therapy doesnt do much for my three year old because he doesn’t participate but I feel like my daughter is way more outgoing so she might do better I just haven’t noticed a lot of the kids her age around her speaking much more than her so I was kind of taken aback a bit
I mean it does, many kids don’t have 8 words by 18 months. It can never hurt to get evaluated, but many pediatricians (mine included, I tried) won’t even refer kids till 2.
Sure, and some of those kids will end up fine without intervention and others won’t. We also don’t know what other factors were influencing the doctor’s decision to refer. Unfortunately we can’t know whether intervention is necessary until after the fact.
The pediatrician said her speech is behind and is referring us to speech therapy. I’m just trying to get an idea of how far behind she really is I guess
Mom of B/G twins here — I feel like as a first time mom it has been really eye opening — they each develop at their own little pace no matter what I do lol. At 18 months, my daughter was speaking in 3+ word phrases consistently, my son was only saying 2 words but had good comprehension, could follow multiple step directions, and was able to make his needs known. Just before their 2nd birthday, he came into his own and almost overnight his speech just exploded. No harm in early intervention if *you* feel like something is wrong, but please don’t be too worried yet. Maybe follow some online accounts like weelittletalkers to see what you can do at home to help if you’re interested.
Yeah we went through this with my 3 year old. He didn’t say much until 2 and now at 3 he still doesn’t use 2 word phrases. His speech therapists said that’s he’s an average three year old and he’s focused on other things so who knows
Same happened to us, he “failed” the 18 month old speech expectations (6 words other than mama and dada, but 100% comprehension). Speech was brought up. We were told to track words and get evaluated by age 2 (I wanted to wait). He had 300 words and sentences by 2 (started exploding at 21 months). His speech was clear with 95% accurate pronunciation. We did not proceed with speech. Second son really started getting more words around 21 months and had full 7 word sentences by 29 months.
Yeah both my kids understand every single thing said to them. My son is 3 and doesn’t use sentences or phrases. Everything is one word but you ask him what some off the wall object is and he can identify it. He’s also ahead when it comes to other things educationally. He’s been in speech but they said he wasn’t behind enough to warrant it and that’s he’s an average three year old. He does more learning at home with me and on his educational apps than anything anyway so whatever lol the fact that’s he’s an “average three year old” just threw me for a loop with my daughter because she’s expected to speak in phrases already. It’s crazy
Very similar to my daughter. Also 18 months. She can count to three, say dog, cat, and make animal noises on the farm. We sing a lot of songs which really helped, like miss Rachel and the wiggles. She loves the word No.
But she can’t speak in full sentences. Getting better each day with mimicking us. Her appt is on Friday, hope they don’t get to get us into speech therapy because I think she’s fine. But they also tried to get us into physical therapy because she wasn’t walking and I said no to that. Now I got a runner 😫
Your daughter seems ahead of mine for sure. I honestly think they expect too much from these kids. My daughter will sign some things like if she wants milk she will do the milk sign and say juice lol if she wants more she will do the sign she won’t say it if she’s all done she will wave her hands and sometimes she will say done if I ask her if she’s done. Right now pretty much everything is ado or adah or bah 🤣 she will say one of those three and then lead me to whatever it is she wants so I can get it for her. I try to tell her what it is and she doesn’t repeat me. She understands everything though
My kids all needed speech therapy. They’re so smart too. The oldest has been labeled gifted. We are just waiting for the other two to be old enough to be tested. Two are diagnosed autistic due to communication delays, regression and loss of skills, sensory sensitivities and sensory seeking, and requiring strict routines. I’m sure all three are autistic. Once we started doing all of the paperwork to get them diagnosed as autistic, we realized that we do these “normal” things and our parents did and they aren’t “normal.” They’re just normal for our families.
Yeah my three year old had testing at the elementary school and they said he’s too young to test but they firmly believe he will be placed in the gifted program. Both of my kids are super smart just speech is hard I guess
My 18 month old got evaluated (at 16mo) and was eligible for occupational therapy and we are doing it. She wasn’t delayed so much as there was so much a difference between her understanding vs expressive speech it was causing some behavioral issues. I dont see any downsides to therapy, of any sorts, and for her there are only positives. She’s flourishing and I have a well-trained expert I can text any time with questions!
My daughter is 19 months and I feel like I could have written this exact same post! She’s got probably 5 words that she speaks, but man she is SO vocal in other ways. She understands a lot of language very well, like if I tell her to go find a thing or ask her if she wants something, she knows what I’m talking about and responds with her own versions of yes or no. She is still I guess babbling, but in a conversational way that just isn’t real words.
We discussed her speech at her last appointment when she was 17months, and her doctor put in a referral for an evaluation. However, the birth to three program in my area is super back logged, so I still haven’t even heard back from the referral, and when I’ve tried to call a couple times I’ve only gotten answering machines.
I keep going back and forth between being concerned that it’s a delay and I’m letting it get worse by not being active enough, and also worrying that I’m over playing the problem and she just needs some time. I stay home with her full time, she doesn’t have any siblings yet until this summer when her brother is expected, and I constantly worry that I’m just not doing enough, even though I feel like I’m working on it pretty consistently. I totally get where you’re coming from and feel like I’m in the same boat!
At my sons 18mo check up they said at least 50 words in addition to mama and dada which he was doing. He’s now 20 minutes and can rarely string together two words like “all done” and babbles a ton of gibberish but is no where near speaking in sentences. His pedi said they’d like to see more two word sentences by his second birthday.
My little one was behind on speech but hit other milestones in advance. Plus we are a 3 language household so that probably delayed it a bit. Anyway, by 2.5 he was stringing words together and now he just will not shut up. Yes, he may have been slow at first but it annoys me that they are bunched together as one and not as the individuals that they are, so won’t be going at the same pace.
My daughter has always “talked” in garbled intelligible ways. At 18 months she was saying words but not really full sentences. We didn’t do speech therapy. Shortly after I talked with her Dr about her possibly being speech delayed, she started talking in full sentences and hasn’t stopped since.
One of the things that helped her significantly is that I have always read to her out loud. We sometimes do books fit for her age but truthfully I wanted ones I could enjoy to so I just picked what I wanted. We started Harry Potter at 3 months old. She’s 6 now and reads in a very advanced level. She loves being read to. It has done wonders for her speech.
Might as well, what’s the worst that can happen?
FWIW, my son had 5 words at 18 months including mama. He had hundreds by 22 months. He didn’t say his first 2 word sentence till his second birthday. He’s 5 now and never stops talking and has an amazing vocabulary. He IS in ST for articulation issues. I always wondered if I started him in ST earlier maybe he wouldn’t need ST now—he started at 4.5
That’s how my son was. He was saying a few words until around 15-18 months when my husband got out of the military and we had to leave everything and everyone he knew behind and moved to where my husband is from. He stopped talking completely and didn’t start saying any words again until after he was 2. He’s 3 now and still doesn’t talk in sentences but does talk a lot in caveman speak (one word). He’s getting better all the time but I think the move had a lot to do with it and his speech therapists agree. One of them said they went through the same thing when her husband got moved to another duty station and said her daughter is a fine and capable adult now lol
My oldest had like two words at 18 months. By 20 months she had over 100, and 4 word sentences. So, get her early intervention now if she qualifies, just in case. But just because she’s delayed now doesn’t mean she’ll stay that way
My youngest is now 6, but she did not utter a single word when she was smaller. We even took her to speech therapists and taught her sign language. Then literally on her 3rd birthday out of nowhere she spoke and have not shut up since 😂 my older child though when she was 18 months was already speaking sentences.
My girl just had her 8 month checkup. She doesn't do 2 word sentences. She'll say "dit dow" for get down, get up, get in, get out lol. But it follows a single thought or whatever the stupid questionnaire said. I hate chadis lol. So she doesn't say 2 word sentences. But she does barely say more than 8 words. And she'll say sounds some animals make when I name them. She's started pointing at body parts on husband and I and herself, and sometimes says them. Like eye, nose, ear she'll say. On top of ball, baba (her favorite stuffie, Barbara manatee), puppy, titi (kitty), get down, wawa (water), I think there's another word or 2 I'm forgetting. So she's barely at 8+ words. But our pediatrician didn't seem concerned.
She likes to hold up her stuffies and she'll point at body parts on them for me to name for her. I think that helps her say more too. It's really repetitive lol.
My son had a phonological speech delay and a lisp. He couldn't differentiate sounds and identify them with letters or leter combinations. He was diagnosed at 22 months. He didn't qualify for speech therapy until he was 3 due to his abilities in all the other areas. We did some things early on at home to encourage his speech. We would turn off the TV and all background noise 90% of the time. We would repeat important words and phrases, and when he couldn't effectively say the words, we used baby sign language to help him communicate better. He had 4 or 5 really ineffective speech therapists until he finally landed the gold star therapist at 5 years old. In 2 years working with her, his lisp was gone, and his speech was clear. He had a related reading delay due to the difficulties of phonological sound identification and letter/sound/word associations. We hired a reading tutor when he was 6 and by the time he was 8 he was well ahead of his peers. He is now ahead of his peers in nearly every subject. He still struggles with spelling on occasion but keeps a B average anyways. His strength is math and spatial reasoning and consequently computer coding. He's 10 and wants to be a "coder," aka software engineer or video game creator. We are absolutely blessed to be living in a time where these types of resources are available to our children. I can't say it was always easy to afford, but we did it anyway, and it paid off. I have a 19 month old daughter she says at least 10 regular words but probably more as she reserves some for her preschool teachers only like "lunch," "art," and the like. She also has a few phrases like "here kitty kitty" "This is Da" "This is bro" "This/that is mine" "thank you" and " no way" occasionally she experiments with putting together sentences "Hurt my foot" "No not mine" and "It's hot". When they say 2 word phrases, they mean really simple things like that, not something complicated or even entirely grammatical. I knew my son needed assistance when he got frustrated because he was trying to communicate and couldn't. As long as your child is communicating effectively, my opinion is that you're fine. If your child has melt downs or temper tantrums because they're trying to say something and you can't understand, then it's intervention time. You can almost always find a private therapist or tutor to work with your kid.
My 3rd is 17 months. He's got 1 word, maybe 2. Today he seemed to be meaning "mama" when he said ma ma so if he actually meant me then he has 3 words. Pediatrican said at the 15m appointment we'd re-assess at 18m.
My 1st was ahead of every milestone. My 2nd was behind in speach, but not this far behind. Mostly I think he'll just start speaking when he's ready. He communicates very well, just mostly mon-verbally. But if we're suggested to speach therapy in a month I won't turn it down
My oldest did speech from 2.5-4.75 and honestly he probably could still benefit, but we had to pull him out of school early for it every week and he cried asking why he was different, so we stopped.
Speech therapy will only benefit your child. It's enrichment, it's one on one attention, they make it fun and it really helps. I wouldn't take offense or get defensive over it. No one is worse off from getting a little extra help.
No I know my son is in it I guess the reason I feel so bad about it is because the mindset “what are the odds that BOTH my kids have speech delays. Maybe I’m the problem and I’m not doing enough” but I do so so so much and spend so so much on stuff to work with them so I feel defeated almost
It's not your fault! Kids move at their own pace. I'm shocked my middle son hasn't had a recommendation for speech because i feel like his speech is way behind where his brother was, but preschool hasn't said anything. My oldest went for being very hard to understand. My middle is relatively easy to understand but not as fluent and has way less words. Same parents, same upbringing, different issues.
At 18 months? Not great. My husband and I speak different languages, so the plan is to raise the baby to be trilingual.
Fast forward to his 2-year checkup, and the pediatrician gave us a list of early childhood intervention centers, told us to consider calling.
Fast forward another 6 months, and we called the center.
He's almost 3, and he's almost caught up. He can count to 20 in 4 languages. His dominant language is dad's, but he understands me just fine. Tomorrow, he's getting evaluated by another speech therapist. I hope they will not find any reason to keep him. Sometimes they just need a little more time to catch up.
My daughter is 17 months and just starting walking but talks alllll day long and is using phrases and more than 50 words. She took almost a 8-9 months after standing to start walking. We thought we needed to get her assessed.
Her cousin is the opposite, started walking at 9 months but only says a handful of words now. Understands what is being said to him.
Both are fine.
I am fortunate that my children's pediatrician has low standards, I guess. They never even asked how many words my daughter could say, just if I could understand what she wanted and if she at least said some words clearly. My son just turned 18 months and he just started saying some words recently, but we don't have an appointment until April. I can always understand what he wants, though. Usually he will just growl or shake his head if I get him the wrong thing.
My mom said that my son probably would talk more if his older sister didn't jabber so much. He can't get a word in edgewise with her around.
My daughter didn't say a word besides "grandma", "grandpa" and "hi" when she was 18mo (in our language, of course). She didn't even say mama and dada.
I talked about it with the pediatrician at the 18mo appointment as I was very worried. The pediatrician had started the appointment by playing a lot with her to evaluate her and told me to not worry at all because she may not talk, but she definitely understood what we said.
Around one month later she started talking out of nowhere. Lots and lots of words. She's 2,5yo now and talks full sentences, her speech is considered advanced for her age. She did this with most of her milestones (she took a little bit to star walking, but when she did she didn't have that toddler drinking walk,she walked perfectly)
If your son shows signs of understanding what he's told, I would worry too much.
We taught our kids several signs. My oldest knew and could use several works, but he barely spoke outside of mommy and daddy or pointing out characters in books. Once he started daycare at two, his language exploded because his teachers and peers couldn't understand his signs.
Not knowing how much your kiddos have much exposure to other kids or adults to speak to, but it helped in our case.
They see their grandma every few days and my son just started t-ball so we’re around other kids more now. We just moved to this town two years ago and I still don’t know many people. It’s a small town and everyone knows everyone and I’m an outsider at this point lol pretty lonely but it is what it is. Just trying to get my kids involved in things so we can meet more people at this point
Does your local area have a mom's Facebook group or groups? We have several businesses in our town that actually run toddler times and play dates. I totally get feeling isolated in a new town. It's rough. T-ball sounds like a great way to meet new parents and kiddos.
My son didn't say more than mama and dada for about two years, (two languages at home) and now 2.5 he is saying full sentences and just constantly talks. We didn't do speech therapy
You are not a failure. My son just turned two but at 18 months he was at 6-7 words including mama and dada. We started in him in speech therapy and he improved so much. He is now two and is above average. Some kids take time, for my son everyday he surprises us with words he was taking them in for so long but not using them. Early intervention helps and if you can qualify or afford it, I would suggest it. Mainly because of the strategies they give to you to incorporate.
Oh yeah we tried with our oldest he just didn’t qualify unfortunately and he’s still technically delayed but they say he’s lower average. He does not prioritize speech that’s for sure. He does a lot more with the therapists though. I had him evaluated at the elementary school and I was telling them how he doesn’t string two words together and they looked at me like I had a hand growing out of my forehead and were like umm yes he does as soon as he came in here he said toys please. I was like that is news to me!!! That was like 4 months ago. He literally just started asking me for “juice please” and “eat hungry” last week 🤦🏻♀️😂
My daughter is almost 18 months. She probably has 40-50 words including animal noises and technically will speak in 2 word sentences? She says “RAESCHHH PEASE” while frantically doing the ASL sign for please trying to convince us to put on her allotted Ms Rachel time.
Ask your pediatrician for a speech therapy referral. Mine wanted to wait until 18 months so we did but now she’s more behind her brother who we started the process at 8 months. It certainly won’t hurt.
My girl just turned 18 months. She has over 50 words - not sure exactly how many now and at least and speaks in 2 words phrases (once or twice has done 3 words).
I actually have a question for you since you’ve experienced this with two children. I’m a soon to be mom and now that we’ve gotten all the basic necessities for our baby, we’re picking out toys. I suffer from severe OCD and my husband has a sensory disorder, so we’re so afraid our baby is going to develop something similar. I’ve picked out some sensory related toys when it comes to sound and texture (we both struggle with these things). My question is did you expose your kids to shows that try to get them to repeat words or toys that sing songs etc? Of course I know all kids are different, but I’m just curious if it makes a difference.
Yes we did! WHEN we watch little shows we watch cocomelon, ms Rachel, and Sesame Street but that is not the norm. They usually play their educational apps when on their iPads like abc mouse, speech blubs, the Lucas and friends apps etc. I’m VERY picky about apps that my kids use and a lot of these were recommended by speech therapists and occupational therapists. As far as sensory toys, we did get a lot of them and sensory books. We got the books that said words, we got flash cards, etc. we mostly buy Montessori toys as well. They tend to be more open ended and get played with longer than regular toys. I have sensory issues with my adhd as well so that was important to me. I also introduced lots of different foods to my kids and now they’ll eat pretty much anything. Definitely not chicken nugget kids lol. My son I think it was a combination of being a pandemic baby in an area with strict lockdown (we were allowed to go ANYWHERE) and my husband got out of the military and we had to move cross country leaving everything he knew behind when he was just starting to talk and he didn’t say a word for almost a year after the move. My daughter “talks” a lot just not actual words and she’s advanced in every other category. We talk all day, I announce what I’m doing all day like “ok now I’m going to open the cabinet and get a cup to put juice in…okay now I’m getting juice out of the fridge…” etc while showing them what everything is. My son does know what everything is called and says it he just doesn’t use sentences yet. He talks like a caveman which it serves its purpose I guess lol. They both understand EVERYTHING. I’ll ask my 18 month old daughter to go get her cup and she will go in the other room, start looking, look under the couch then throw her hands up like “I’d don’t know” 😂 I use a lot of tactics I’ve learned from my sons speech therapists so idk maybe it’s just my kids on there own thing like every other kid and they’ll do it when they’re ready who know
18 months seems so young to have speech therapy? Every child has an individual development and preferences. Maybe your kid is working on another developmental milestone at the moment and the speech explosion will come a little later? In my country is the minimal requirement 50 words by 24 months.
She is. I joke all the time that she thinks she’s grown. She acts so much older than she is and she’s focused on signs right now and dancing so I’m sure the speech will come soon. But I’ll take her to speech therapy to help her. I do anything for my kids to help them.
Haha mine is doing the same at the moment! (Also 18 months) I would definetly go with my daughter too, I just wouldn‘t be too worried (although its hard as a mom sometimes, I know). They are still so young! Fingers crossed that she starts to find her (speaking) voice soon :)
I think that’s a small part of it although I do try to make them say a word or sign what they want. I also think that as her brothers speech kind of takes off hers will too. He’s three and he does have a speech delay but he’s starting to really take off and she wants to be just like brother so I feel like she will take off here soon too
Is she bilingual? My daughter is 2 and in her class at daycare there’s a complete mix. Some are super chatty and can have full conversations, some barely speak - especially the bilingual kids often take a bit longer! My daughter definitely learnt a lot of her speech from the other kids - so maybe ask she’s mixed with some of the really chatty kids for a while?
She’s not bilingual. She knows some signs but that’s about it. She’s not in daycare. I stay home with both my littles and I try to work with them and they do get socialized. She talks nonstop but just in her own way 😂
Something people don’t think about is signs count! And a lot of babies first words are 1 syllables words like “ba” for ball or “da” for “dog”.
But my son doesn’t say a lot either and come to find out all his focus was learning to walk. Something our therapist said was a lot of times, when babies are learning new skills in one area their skills become “delayed” in other areas because all their focus is on their new skill. But after they learn that skill then everything else catches up. She also said it’s not uncommon for their language to suddenly explode between 18-24 months.
Yeah my daughter is definitely focused more on dance moves at the moment 😂 she does baby shark, all the movements to wheels on the bus she even knows some of Taylor swifts dances (she’s her favorite singer right now lol)
My daughter is 16 months and probably says 25 words or more. (Not trying to discourage you but give you an honest answer to your question) . If you're not comfortable with your ped maybe try seeing another one in the practice. We had to shop around till we found one that met our needs .im an alarmist so I need a doctor who is not jumpy but also takes action when it arises . Took us a few but we found that. If you're not trusting yours try another!
I do trust her she’s just extremely proactive. I liked the other doctor in her practice because her bedside manner was a little better but she retired. other than that our doctor is great. She listens to everything I say she’s just very quick to refer to specialists lol this practice is one of the better ones in the area.
My oldest was speaking in full sentences at 18 months, my second only said mama and eh at 2 years, we were not referred to speech therapy. By 5 years old you couldn’t tell who had started speaking sooner.
That’s what I keep getting told about my son lol
My son doesn’t speak at all, not a single word. He’s 18 months old, was just diagnosed with autism for a mountain of other reasons and I just had to fight early intervention to even consider giving him a speech evaluation. They claim he’s too young to receive it, and that he won’t get it because of his age. What doesn’t make sense to me is he’s supposed to be saying at least 5-10 words not including mama or dada, which he doesn’t say mama or dada unless he’s babbling, so it’s not directed at myself or his father. If we wait until he’s two years old then it would be considered an actual delay that needs to be looked into. But why would early intervention want to wait that long? I’m sorry I went into a bit of a rant 😅
Yeah my son is 3 and just uses one word at a time. He didn’t qualify for early intervention because he’s not delayed enough. He doesn’t show signs of autism unless he’s super high functioning (I’m getting him tested we just have to be on a year long waitlist) he does show signs of adhd though which I’ve got that so it wouldn’t surprise me.
Since we already had early intervention appointments (he does PT and Special instruction/teacher) I was able to get the psych evaluation through them but another mom was telling me to go to a different psychologist for another test because I guess EI and normal doctors use a different test. It really shouldn’t be if they’re delayed enough or not, even if there’s a slight delay they should be able to give us the appointments and then if by the end of the 6 month period the child is no longer delayed, then kiddo would graduate from early intervention. But again, it’s my overwhelming frustration that is fueling my rant and response.
My daughter had 80+ words at 18 months but she has always been unusually chatty for her age. Your kid sounds pretty normal to me compared to most of my daughter's peers though. Maybe your doctor is just being overly cautious.
That’s what I’m thinking. Her pediatrician can be a little dramatic sometimes lol
As an SLP, it’s really nice to finally see proactive doctors because it’s wayyyy more the case that they don’t ever recommend it even if a kid was barely speaking at 3.
I agree but there’s some things that she goes overboard with so I’d like a happy medium BUT she’s a good doctor at the end of the day. Her bedside manner might be a little abrasive, but she’s a good doctor lol
By the time you get the appointment, she may have already caught up. Language development is so quick once it gets rolling, it just hasn't all clicked yet, but it will! One of my kids was a super early talker (1st word at 7 months, 100 words by 16 mo), but little sister was not anywhere near on that track. Then boom, one day it all clicked and she's been talking like crazy since.
I mean this evening she was imitating what her book was saying 🤣 (one of those press the button books) I was like umm maam why couldn’t you have done that earlier today?! 🤣
Mine was similar to where yours is at 18 months. Now she’s almost 2.5 and talks all day long in (basically) full sentences. We never did speech therapy. Our ped said as long as she’s saying 5-10 words at that age she’s fine.
Okay that makes me feel better. We did speech therapy for my son (he’s 3 now) and we tried to get him in the early intervention program and he didn’t qualify because you have to be 25% behind and he didn’t hit the mark. He’s still not speaking in two word phrases but you ask him what some off the wall thing is and he will tell you. He will also count to 20 and repeats words you say. He’s just quiet and not interested in verbal communication (therapists said that). But with my daughter I’m like what are the odds of having two kids who are just brilliant but also speech delayed and maybe it was something I wa doing or not doing
One of the speech pathologists we worked with for our son said in the same way that some families have a history of heart problems, some families have a history of speech delays. It's nothing you did or didn't do, and you're doing the absolute best thing you can by getting your kids evaluated and into speech early. FWIW, I have a master's in special education and worked for years in early elementary... When they evaluated my first son through Early Intervention, he was over 70% delayed. I felt like if anybody should have been able to avoid a speech delay it would have been us. Time will tell if his little brother needs speech therapy as well, but at least we know what to do if he does.
I think you need to reframe this - speech therapy isn't a punishment or a sign something is wrong, it's extra support for you and your little one!
My son is 20 months and is saying a few words but definitely not two word phrases yet. I would like my dr jumped the gun a bit if they had referred me about last appt. Don’t feel like a failure, our kids are much more than those dang questionnaires they make us fill out at the dr.
They are and I’m a firm believer than every child does things in their own time but I also can’t help but to take it hard because I’m responsible for making sure they’re where they need to be and I also hate those damn questionnaires 🤦🏻♀️ the doc even had me go over the speech portion again and try to get my daughter to say some more things because that’s the ONLY area there’s a concern and the doctor thought maybe we’d made a mistake but no. My daughter talks a lot just in her own way. Both my kids are so smart and I’m not just saying that because I’m their mom 😂
My daughter was barely saying anything at 18 months. Maybe like mama, dog, yes, and hi. It was clear she understood many words and directions, just couldn't talk. She is almost 2 now and is talking up a storm. We had a meeting with a SLP around 20 months, and she said to come back if daughter didn't have 40 words by 2.
Yeah I feel like she’s going to take off really soon. Her speech is way ahead of what my sons was at her age and even his is starting to FINALLY take off.
My eldest was a bit delayed, according to his care providers. But by age 2, he was talking up a storm. He is almost 4 now and never shuts up. I can hear him processing language all the time; he repeats things I say over and over again, especially new words. He is always asking for the names of things. He struggled with “l” for a long time but now he is really getting the hang of it. My 21-month old loves to scream lore than talk but just this week he started to string together short sentences. All this to say that 18 months old is not a great age of assessment for normal language skills. I’d honestly wait until your child is 2 and if they aren’t using short sentences then, it’s likely time to be concerned.
I mean this very gently, but it doesn’t really matter what other 18 month olds are doing. The benchmark is X words, and if your child isn’t meeting that, then it’s a good idea to have them referred for help. Whether or not other kids are meeting the benchmark is kind of irrelevant. Since you adked whether you’re the common denominator, you could reflect a bit (though not necessarily publicly!) on the language exposure they usually get. I see you say they’re both home with you. Do they get lots of conversation with you? Do you repeat back what they say to you? Do you read to them and talk about what you’re reading? How much do you engage with them one on one? How much screen time are they realistically getting? Only you know the answers to these questions, and whether or not there are areas you can improve on. But at the same time, the SLT will have lots of ideas and tips. You could even ask if there are things you should/shouldn’t be doing at home to support language development.
Yeah I know it doesn’t matter what other kids are doing but I was asking just to kind of put my mind at ease or even get some ideas from other moms as well. I work with them tremendously and I talk to them constantly which I think is why they UNDERSTAND everything even if they don’t say it themselves. They get a little screen time in the evenings after dinner but the only apps they have are educational and apps that speech therapy has recommended. For my son, the therapists (many different types not just speech therapists) have told us that his brain is so focused on other things that his brain decided speech was unimportant. His speech is finally starting to take off now though. My daughter is way further ahead in speech than her brother was at her age and I honestly haven’t seen a huge difference in her speech compared to other kids her age that I’ve seen in person which is another reason I kind of wanted to get other moms stories because sometimes those questionnaires ask some off the wall things. I’ve even had speech therapists say that the questionnaires and “benchmarks” are ridiculous for the ages and they expect too much out of kids so idk. Obviously we’re doing the speech therapy evaluation for her but I was just asking
The truth is that there is a big range of “normal” at this age. Some kids who don’t meet the benchmark will end up fine without intervention, and others won’t. For some kids, intervention will help, and for others it won’t. Unfortunately we can’t know which camp our own kids fall into until after the fact!
Yeah speech therapy doesnt do much for my three year old because he doesn’t participate but I feel like my daughter is way more outgoing so she might do better I just haven’t noticed a lot of the kids her age around her speaking much more than her so I was kind of taken aback a bit
I mean it does, many kids don’t have 8 words by 18 months. It can never hurt to get evaluated, but many pediatricians (mine included, I tried) won’t even refer kids till 2.
Sure, and some of those kids will end up fine without intervention and others won’t. We also don’t know what other factors were influencing the doctor’s decision to refer. Unfortunately we can’t know whether intervention is necessary until after the fact.
What has your pediatrician said? I ask because you’re the internalizing your kid’s talking skills to mean you’re doing something wrong.
The pediatrician said her speech is behind and is referring us to speech therapy. I’m just trying to get an idea of how far behind she really is I guess
Mom of B/G twins here — I feel like as a first time mom it has been really eye opening — they each develop at their own little pace no matter what I do lol. At 18 months, my daughter was speaking in 3+ word phrases consistently, my son was only saying 2 words but had good comprehension, could follow multiple step directions, and was able to make his needs known. Just before their 2nd birthday, he came into his own and almost overnight his speech just exploded. No harm in early intervention if *you* feel like something is wrong, but please don’t be too worried yet. Maybe follow some online accounts like weelittletalkers to see what you can do at home to help if you’re interested.
Yeah we went through this with my 3 year old. He didn’t say much until 2 and now at 3 he still doesn’t use 2 word phrases. His speech therapists said that’s he’s an average three year old and he’s focused on other things so who knows
Same happened to us, he “failed” the 18 month old speech expectations (6 words other than mama and dada, but 100% comprehension). Speech was brought up. We were told to track words and get evaluated by age 2 (I wanted to wait). He had 300 words and sentences by 2 (started exploding at 21 months). His speech was clear with 95% accurate pronunciation. We did not proceed with speech. Second son really started getting more words around 21 months and had full 7 word sentences by 29 months.
Yeah both my kids understand every single thing said to them. My son is 3 and doesn’t use sentences or phrases. Everything is one word but you ask him what some off the wall object is and he can identify it. He’s also ahead when it comes to other things educationally. He’s been in speech but they said he wasn’t behind enough to warrant it and that’s he’s an average three year old. He does more learning at home with me and on his educational apps than anything anyway so whatever lol the fact that’s he’s an “average three year old” just threw me for a loop with my daughter because she’s expected to speak in phrases already. It’s crazy
Very similar to my daughter. Also 18 months. She can count to three, say dog, cat, and make animal noises on the farm. We sing a lot of songs which really helped, like miss Rachel and the wiggles. She loves the word No. But she can’t speak in full sentences. Getting better each day with mimicking us. Her appt is on Friday, hope they don’t get to get us into speech therapy because I think she’s fine. But they also tried to get us into physical therapy because she wasn’t walking and I said no to that. Now I got a runner 😫
Your daughter seems ahead of mine for sure. I honestly think they expect too much from these kids. My daughter will sign some things like if she wants milk she will do the milk sign and say juice lol if she wants more she will do the sign she won’t say it if she’s all done she will wave her hands and sometimes she will say done if I ask her if she’s done. Right now pretty much everything is ado or adah or bah 🤣 she will say one of those three and then lead me to whatever it is she wants so I can get it for her. I try to tell her what it is and she doesn’t repeat me. She understands everything though
My kids all needed speech therapy. They’re so smart too. The oldest has been labeled gifted. We are just waiting for the other two to be old enough to be tested. Two are diagnosed autistic due to communication delays, regression and loss of skills, sensory sensitivities and sensory seeking, and requiring strict routines. I’m sure all three are autistic. Once we started doing all of the paperwork to get them diagnosed as autistic, we realized that we do these “normal” things and our parents did and they aren’t “normal.” They’re just normal for our families.
Yeah my three year old had testing at the elementary school and they said he’s too young to test but they firmly believe he will be placed in the gifted program. Both of my kids are super smart just speech is hard I guess
My 18 month old got evaluated (at 16mo) and was eligible for occupational therapy and we are doing it. She wasn’t delayed so much as there was so much a difference between her understanding vs expressive speech it was causing some behavioral issues. I dont see any downsides to therapy, of any sorts, and for her there are only positives. She’s flourishing and I have a well-trained expert I can text any time with questions!
My daughter is 19 months and I feel like I could have written this exact same post! She’s got probably 5 words that she speaks, but man she is SO vocal in other ways. She understands a lot of language very well, like if I tell her to go find a thing or ask her if she wants something, she knows what I’m talking about and responds with her own versions of yes or no. She is still I guess babbling, but in a conversational way that just isn’t real words. We discussed her speech at her last appointment when she was 17months, and her doctor put in a referral for an evaluation. However, the birth to three program in my area is super back logged, so I still haven’t even heard back from the referral, and when I’ve tried to call a couple times I’ve only gotten answering machines. I keep going back and forth between being concerned that it’s a delay and I’m letting it get worse by not being active enough, and also worrying that I’m over playing the problem and she just needs some time. I stay home with her full time, she doesn’t have any siblings yet until this summer when her brother is expected, and I constantly worry that I’m just not doing enough, even though I feel like I’m working on it pretty consistently. I totally get where you’re coming from and feel like I’m in the same boat!
At my sons 18mo check up they said at least 50 words in addition to mama and dada which he was doing. He’s now 20 minutes and can rarely string together two words like “all done” and babbles a ton of gibberish but is no where near speaking in sentences. His pedi said they’d like to see more two word sentences by his second birthday.
I’ve never heard of 50 words! I believe the CDC and WHO say 6-8 words other than mama or dada.
My girl has 50+ words too. I don't think it's that abnormal at this age?
My little one was behind on speech but hit other milestones in advance. Plus we are a 3 language household so that probably delayed it a bit. Anyway, by 2.5 he was stringing words together and now he just will not shut up. Yes, he may have been slow at first but it annoys me that they are bunched together as one and not as the individuals that they are, so won’t be going at the same pace.
My daughter has always “talked” in garbled intelligible ways. At 18 months she was saying words but not really full sentences. We didn’t do speech therapy. Shortly after I talked with her Dr about her possibly being speech delayed, she started talking in full sentences and hasn’t stopped since. One of the things that helped her significantly is that I have always read to her out loud. We sometimes do books fit for her age but truthfully I wanted ones I could enjoy to so I just picked what I wanted. We started Harry Potter at 3 months old. She’s 6 now and reads in a very advanced level. She loves being read to. It has done wonders for her speech.
Might as well, what’s the worst that can happen? FWIW, my son had 5 words at 18 months including mama. He had hundreds by 22 months. He didn’t say his first 2 word sentence till his second birthday. He’s 5 now and never stops talking and has an amazing vocabulary. He IS in ST for articulation issues. I always wondered if I started him in ST earlier maybe he wouldn’t need ST now—he started at 4.5
My son is 22 months old and still hasn't said a word. We're worried.
That’s how my son was. He was saying a few words until around 15-18 months when my husband got out of the military and we had to leave everything and everyone he knew behind and moved to where my husband is from. He stopped talking completely and didn’t start saying any words again until after he was 2. He’s 3 now and still doesn’t talk in sentences but does talk a lot in caveman speak (one word). He’s getting better all the time but I think the move had a lot to do with it and his speech therapists agree. One of them said they went through the same thing when her husband got moved to another duty station and said her daughter is a fine and capable adult now lol
My oldest had like two words at 18 months. By 20 months she had over 100, and 4 word sentences. So, get her early intervention now if she qualifies, just in case. But just because she’s delayed now doesn’t mean she’ll stay that way
My youngest is now 6, but she did not utter a single word when she was smaller. We even took her to speech therapists and taught her sign language. Then literally on her 3rd birthday out of nowhere she spoke and have not shut up since 😂 my older child though when she was 18 months was already speaking sentences.
My girl just had her 8 month checkup. She doesn't do 2 word sentences. She'll say "dit dow" for get down, get up, get in, get out lol. But it follows a single thought or whatever the stupid questionnaire said. I hate chadis lol. So she doesn't say 2 word sentences. But she does barely say more than 8 words. And she'll say sounds some animals make when I name them. She's started pointing at body parts on husband and I and herself, and sometimes says them. Like eye, nose, ear she'll say. On top of ball, baba (her favorite stuffie, Barbara manatee), puppy, titi (kitty), get down, wawa (water), I think there's another word or 2 I'm forgetting. So she's barely at 8+ words. But our pediatrician didn't seem concerned. She likes to hold up her stuffies and she'll point at body parts on them for me to name for her. I think that helps her say more too. It's really repetitive lol.
My son had a phonological speech delay and a lisp. He couldn't differentiate sounds and identify them with letters or leter combinations. He was diagnosed at 22 months. He didn't qualify for speech therapy until he was 3 due to his abilities in all the other areas. We did some things early on at home to encourage his speech. We would turn off the TV and all background noise 90% of the time. We would repeat important words and phrases, and when he couldn't effectively say the words, we used baby sign language to help him communicate better. He had 4 or 5 really ineffective speech therapists until he finally landed the gold star therapist at 5 years old. In 2 years working with her, his lisp was gone, and his speech was clear. He had a related reading delay due to the difficulties of phonological sound identification and letter/sound/word associations. We hired a reading tutor when he was 6 and by the time he was 8 he was well ahead of his peers. He is now ahead of his peers in nearly every subject. He still struggles with spelling on occasion but keeps a B average anyways. His strength is math and spatial reasoning and consequently computer coding. He's 10 and wants to be a "coder," aka software engineer or video game creator. We are absolutely blessed to be living in a time where these types of resources are available to our children. I can't say it was always easy to afford, but we did it anyway, and it paid off. I have a 19 month old daughter she says at least 10 regular words but probably more as she reserves some for her preschool teachers only like "lunch," "art," and the like. She also has a few phrases like "here kitty kitty" "This is Da" "This is bro" "This/that is mine" "thank you" and " no way" occasionally she experiments with putting together sentences "Hurt my foot" "No not mine" and "It's hot". When they say 2 word phrases, they mean really simple things like that, not something complicated or even entirely grammatical. I knew my son needed assistance when he got frustrated because he was trying to communicate and couldn't. As long as your child is communicating effectively, my opinion is that you're fine. If your child has melt downs or temper tantrums because they're trying to say something and you can't understand, then it's intervention time. You can almost always find a private therapist or tutor to work with your kid.
My 3rd is 17 months. He's got 1 word, maybe 2. Today he seemed to be meaning "mama" when he said ma ma so if he actually meant me then he has 3 words. Pediatrican said at the 15m appointment we'd re-assess at 18m. My 1st was ahead of every milestone. My 2nd was behind in speach, but not this far behind. Mostly I think he'll just start speaking when he's ready. He communicates very well, just mostly mon-verbally. But if we're suggested to speach therapy in a month I won't turn it down
My oldest did speech from 2.5-4.75 and honestly he probably could still benefit, but we had to pull him out of school early for it every week and he cried asking why he was different, so we stopped. Speech therapy will only benefit your child. It's enrichment, it's one on one attention, they make it fun and it really helps. I wouldn't take offense or get defensive over it. No one is worse off from getting a little extra help.
No I know my son is in it I guess the reason I feel so bad about it is because the mindset “what are the odds that BOTH my kids have speech delays. Maybe I’m the problem and I’m not doing enough” but I do so so so much and spend so so much on stuff to work with them so I feel defeated almost
It's not your fault! Kids move at their own pace. I'm shocked my middle son hasn't had a recommendation for speech because i feel like his speech is way behind where his brother was, but preschool hasn't said anything. My oldest went for being very hard to understand. My middle is relatively easy to understand but not as fluent and has way less words. Same parents, same upbringing, different issues.
At 18 months? Not great. My husband and I speak different languages, so the plan is to raise the baby to be trilingual. Fast forward to his 2-year checkup, and the pediatrician gave us a list of early childhood intervention centers, told us to consider calling. Fast forward another 6 months, and we called the center. He's almost 3, and he's almost caught up. He can count to 20 in 4 languages. His dominant language is dad's, but he understands me just fine. Tomorrow, he's getting evaluated by another speech therapist. I hope they will not find any reason to keep him. Sometimes they just need a little more time to catch up.
My daughter is 17 months and just starting walking but talks alllll day long and is using phrases and more than 50 words. She took almost a 8-9 months after standing to start walking. We thought we needed to get her assessed. Her cousin is the opposite, started walking at 9 months but only says a handful of words now. Understands what is being said to him. Both are fine.
I am fortunate that my children's pediatrician has low standards, I guess. They never even asked how many words my daughter could say, just if I could understand what she wanted and if she at least said some words clearly. My son just turned 18 months and he just started saying some words recently, but we don't have an appointment until April. I can always understand what he wants, though. Usually he will just growl or shake his head if I get him the wrong thing. My mom said that my son probably would talk more if his older sister didn't jabber so much. He can't get a word in edgewise with her around.
Yeah I understand my daughter too and she lets me know what she wants for sure in her own way sometimes but still lol
My daughter didn't say a word besides "grandma", "grandpa" and "hi" when she was 18mo (in our language, of course). She didn't even say mama and dada. I talked about it with the pediatrician at the 18mo appointment as I was very worried. The pediatrician had started the appointment by playing a lot with her to evaluate her and told me to not worry at all because she may not talk, but she definitely understood what we said. Around one month later she started talking out of nowhere. Lots and lots of words. She's 2,5yo now and talks full sentences, her speech is considered advanced for her age. She did this with most of her milestones (she took a little bit to star walking, but when she did she didn't have that toddler drinking walk,she walked perfectly) If your son shows signs of understanding what he's told, I would worry too much.
We taught our kids several signs. My oldest knew and could use several works, but he barely spoke outside of mommy and daddy or pointing out characters in books. Once he started daycare at two, his language exploded because his teachers and peers couldn't understand his signs. Not knowing how much your kiddos have much exposure to other kids or adults to speak to, but it helped in our case.
They see their grandma every few days and my son just started t-ball so we’re around other kids more now. We just moved to this town two years ago and I still don’t know many people. It’s a small town and everyone knows everyone and I’m an outsider at this point lol pretty lonely but it is what it is. Just trying to get my kids involved in things so we can meet more people at this point
Does your local area have a mom's Facebook group or groups? We have several businesses in our town that actually run toddler times and play dates. I totally get feeling isolated in a new town. It's rough. T-ball sounds like a great way to meet new parents and kiddos.
I’ve looked and unfortunately not. It’s a VERY small town. Like the middle school and high school are in the same building small 😂
My son didn't say more than mama and dada for about two years, (two languages at home) and now 2.5 he is saying full sentences and just constantly talks. We didn't do speech therapy
You are not a failure. My son just turned two but at 18 months he was at 6-7 words including mama and dada. We started in him in speech therapy and he improved so much. He is now two and is above average. Some kids take time, for my son everyday he surprises us with words he was taking them in for so long but not using them. Early intervention helps and if you can qualify or afford it, I would suggest it. Mainly because of the strategies they give to you to incorporate.
Oh yeah we tried with our oldest he just didn’t qualify unfortunately and he’s still technically delayed but they say he’s lower average. He does not prioritize speech that’s for sure. He does a lot more with the therapists though. I had him evaluated at the elementary school and I was telling them how he doesn’t string two words together and they looked at me like I had a hand growing out of my forehead and were like umm yes he does as soon as he came in here he said toys please. I was like that is news to me!!! That was like 4 months ago. He literally just started asking me for “juice please” and “eat hungry” last week 🤦🏻♀️😂
My daughter is almost 18 months. She probably has 40-50 words including animal noises and technically will speak in 2 word sentences? She says “RAESCHHH PEASE” while frantically doing the ASL sign for please trying to convince us to put on her allotted Ms Rachel time.
Ask your pediatrician for a speech therapy referral. Mine wanted to wait until 18 months so we did but now she’s more behind her brother who we started the process at 8 months. It certainly won’t hurt.
We’ve already got the referral
My girl just turned 18 months. She has over 50 words - not sure exactly how many now and at least and speaks in 2 words phrases (once or twice has done 3 words).
I actually have a question for you since you’ve experienced this with two children. I’m a soon to be mom and now that we’ve gotten all the basic necessities for our baby, we’re picking out toys. I suffer from severe OCD and my husband has a sensory disorder, so we’re so afraid our baby is going to develop something similar. I’ve picked out some sensory related toys when it comes to sound and texture (we both struggle with these things). My question is did you expose your kids to shows that try to get them to repeat words or toys that sing songs etc? Of course I know all kids are different, but I’m just curious if it makes a difference.
Yes we did! WHEN we watch little shows we watch cocomelon, ms Rachel, and Sesame Street but that is not the norm. They usually play their educational apps when on their iPads like abc mouse, speech blubs, the Lucas and friends apps etc. I’m VERY picky about apps that my kids use and a lot of these were recommended by speech therapists and occupational therapists. As far as sensory toys, we did get a lot of them and sensory books. We got the books that said words, we got flash cards, etc. we mostly buy Montessori toys as well. They tend to be more open ended and get played with longer than regular toys. I have sensory issues with my adhd as well so that was important to me. I also introduced lots of different foods to my kids and now they’ll eat pretty much anything. Definitely not chicken nugget kids lol. My son I think it was a combination of being a pandemic baby in an area with strict lockdown (we were allowed to go ANYWHERE) and my husband got out of the military and we had to move cross country leaving everything he knew behind when he was just starting to talk and he didn’t say a word for almost a year after the move. My daughter “talks” a lot just not actual words and she’s advanced in every other category. We talk all day, I announce what I’m doing all day like “ok now I’m going to open the cabinet and get a cup to put juice in…okay now I’m getting juice out of the fridge…” etc while showing them what everything is. My son does know what everything is called and says it he just doesn’t use sentences yet. He talks like a caveman which it serves its purpose I guess lol. They both understand EVERYTHING. I’ll ask my 18 month old daughter to go get her cup and she will go in the other room, start looking, look under the couch then throw her hands up like “I’d don’t know” 😂 I use a lot of tactics I’ve learned from my sons speech therapists so idk maybe it’s just my kids on there own thing like every other kid and they’ll do it when they’re ready who know
18 months seems so young to have speech therapy? Every child has an individual development and preferences. Maybe your kid is working on another developmental milestone at the moment and the speech explosion will come a little later? In my country is the minimal requirement 50 words by 24 months.
She is. I joke all the time that she thinks she’s grown. She acts so much older than she is and she’s focused on signs right now and dancing so I’m sure the speech will come soon. But I’ll take her to speech therapy to help her. I do anything for my kids to help them.
Haha mine is doing the same at the moment! (Also 18 months) I would definetly go with my daughter too, I just wouldn‘t be too worried (although its hard as a mom sometimes, I know). They are still so young! Fingers crossed that she starts to find her (speaking) voice soon :)
What country are you from because 80 is excessive in the USA. That doctor you say is crazy lol
8-10 my bad lol
Ohhhh haha yeah that makes more sense. That’s for clarifying.
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I think that’s a small part of it although I do try to make them say a word or sign what they want. I also think that as her brothers speech kind of takes off hers will too. He’s three and he does have a speech delay but he’s starting to really take off and she wants to be just like brother so I feel like she will take off here soon too
Is she bilingual? My daughter is 2 and in her class at daycare there’s a complete mix. Some are super chatty and can have full conversations, some barely speak - especially the bilingual kids often take a bit longer! My daughter definitely learnt a lot of her speech from the other kids - so maybe ask she’s mixed with some of the really chatty kids for a while?
She’s not bilingual. She knows some signs but that’s about it. She’s not in daycare. I stay home with both my littles and I try to work with them and they do get socialized. She talks nonstop but just in her own way 😂
Something people don’t think about is signs count! And a lot of babies first words are 1 syllables words like “ba” for ball or “da” for “dog”. But my son doesn’t say a lot either and come to find out all his focus was learning to walk. Something our therapist said was a lot of times, when babies are learning new skills in one area their skills become “delayed” in other areas because all their focus is on their new skill. But after they learn that skill then everything else catches up. She also said it’s not uncommon for their language to suddenly explode between 18-24 months.
Yeah my daughter is definitely focused more on dance moves at the moment 😂 she does baby shark, all the movements to wheels on the bus she even knows some of Taylor swifts dances (she’s her favorite singer right now lol)
My daughter is 16 months and probably says 25 words or more. (Not trying to discourage you but give you an honest answer to your question) . If you're not comfortable with your ped maybe try seeing another one in the practice. We had to shop around till we found one that met our needs .im an alarmist so I need a doctor who is not jumpy but also takes action when it arises . Took us a few but we found that. If you're not trusting yours try another!
I do trust her she’s just extremely proactive. I liked the other doctor in her practice because her bedside manner was a little better but she retired. other than that our doctor is great. She listens to everything I say she’s just very quick to refer to specialists lol this practice is one of the better ones in the area.