16 Month Old Not Saying Any Words

My son was not really saying anything at 15 months old either. Our ped said it is normal for some boys not to really start talking until 19-24 months old. At 15 months my son may have said bye and some animal sounds. At around 16-17 months he said ball, hot. At 18 months he said about 10 words. Now at 27 months he speaks in 2-3 word phrases. I would not worry if you can tell he understands what you say to him,

Call EI and get the process started today! (It will take about a month before everything is complete and you have some answers about whether or not there is a developmental delay that you need to address). I believe that the Early Intervention contact number for Kane County is: ###-###-####

I went through the EI process when my son was 15 months old and it is changing our lives! Even though he understood the things we were saying (Receptive Language), my son didn't have any words at 15 months (Expressive Language). He was evaluated by 5 therapists and then we held a meeting in which all of the therapists reported their findings and made recommendations on what we should do next. My son was eligible for a couple different therapies and he is now thriving! These services are specifically for children aged 0-3yrs. Research shows that the earlier you catch a developmental issue and intervene, the better the long-term prognosis.

Just because some other kids were simply "late bloomers," it doesn't mean that yours is. Even if he doesn't have a delay that needs to be treated, the therapists that come for the evaluation can give you some great tips on how to encourage him as his speech continues to develop.

EI was the first step in catching my son's developmental issues and getting him the help he needs. This does not mean your son will have problems -- but it's just another Mom's perspective. If you want more details about the process or what to expect, please send me a message and I'm happy to share! Best wishes!!

I think Mom L K said it the best, you should have the Early Intervention evaluation. The sooner you get speech therapy, the better. My son also spoke very little at that age, and everyone including our pediatrician at that time said, "wait and see". When we got the evaluation done, the speech pathologist determined that it was not a delay that could be corrected on its own, so I'm glad we got started when we did.

On another note, your pediatrician should have the number to Early Intervention handy, and not just leave you there hanging to figure it out on your own. We used to go to a pediatrician that also was not familiar with referral to EI, and I think that is a very very basic piece of information that all pediatricians should know. We left that office, and found another pediatrician who has been wonderful, and knows all about EI!

my neice had trouble beginning to speak. I'm not sure what tests she had done but the doctors explained that she has a low tone hearing loss. Which, they explained, once she learns how to talk, she nor anyone else would know she had any hearing loss. But the low tone hearing loss is needed to learn words to begin with. So while you're son may hear you just find, the ability to hear the sounds/tones to form the words may not be getting to him clearly - resulting in babble or undecipherable words. My neice would get quite frustrated because she understood what she was saying and it's how she learned/heard it. May not be the same thing with your son but something to check out.

Hi M.,
At 18 months we were concerned b/c our son was not yet walking and I felt like his speech was really limited. So, at our 18 month check up the doc recommended Early Intervention. He faxed them to let them know about it and then they followed up with a call. It moved fairly quickly...I met with a case manager and over the course of a couple of weeks had three different therpists come out. In order to qualify your child has to be at least 30% delayed in a particular area. If they are not, they don't qualify. If they do qualify you will have to pay out of pocket but it's a sliding scale based on income. My son ended up walking one week after the doctor's appointment (go figure!) but he didn't qualify for any of it. Everyone is on their own timeline for these things but having your child evaluated will at least give you peace of mind and it's free for the evaluation so I say go for it! If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a message.
L.

I have 3 sons. My middle son always understood what we were saying to him but was a late talker. He ended up having some disciplinary problems due to his difficulty with expressing himself. I took him to a free preschool screening at 2 1/2 and it turned out he needed speech therapy. I wish I had taken him earlier. He is doing great now at 6. However, my 3rd son had slight speech delay and the doctor told me to get him tested at 18 months. There was more concern because of his brother's speech problems. I did have him tested and he was a little behind but not enough to qualify for any intervention. He is doing great now (age 2 1/2)but I was happy to have him tested just so I knew. I live in DuPage county. I think the doctor or calling Family Services in Kane County may get you the right place. The therapists all came to our house and had the sessions in our home where they played games and asked questions. I would do it for sure. It's free and then you know where you stand. Everything could be totally fine but maybe not. I tis definitely better to catch it early.

The typical response to this in the past was to wait and see if the child will improve on his own. The problem with that advice is that if the child doesn't improve then you have wasted valuable time when you could have provided early intervention. The state provides support to supplement families share in order to provide this early intervention. If, with speech therapy, the child improves then sevices can be dropped or reduced. If services continue to be needed then they can continue, free of charge, from the local school district when your child turns three. It really is a no lose scenario. So proceed with the evaluation, and find out if there is something that warrants services. It is great that he understands so well because that limits the area that needs to be worked on. This service until age three is often done in your home so you will see the process in action. By working on the problem early you will hopefully prevent your child frustration in the future when no one understands what he is saying.

I'm going through the exact same situation with my now 17 month old daughter. She barely even said mamma or dadda at 16 months. Now she's added "up" to her list of words, and she does a lot more gesturing to communicate(reaching and shaking her head no, etc.).

My ped's advice was to wait until 18 months to get the evaluation and start the early intervention process if necessary. That is the path we are are taking.

On a side note, in talking with other moms about whether or not I should be concerned, I have observed that 1st children tend to talk later than 2nd or later children because they just don't have to. We moms tend to read our children anticipate what they need without them having to ask for it.

As a speech therapist I can tell you that he is still in the range for developing his first words (12-18 months) but an evaluation might not be a bad idea. I am not an EI therapist but have had friends who have gone through EI in Kane County for their children and have had good experiences. Good luck!!

I have 2 children who have or aregoing throough this. It is Early Intervention and this time they have been great, first time not so much had a bad case manager. I say to get the evaluation, the more help you can gethim now the better. The therapists if he does qualify co9meto your home. Good luck! They work with him until age 3 and then the school district will take over.

M., Contact your local school district they will assist you in contacting Early Intervention. They will provide a screening program. Through the screening process, they will decide if he needs any further evaluation or will be eligible to receive services through the Early Intervention program. And, yes, children can have expressive language concerns(inability to say what they want to say) but not have receptive language concerns(understanding what's being said). The earlier you have him checked the better. Good luck!

while I don't think I would worry until 18 mos, it doesn't hurt to have him evaluated. There will be two possible outcomes - 1. he has a speech problem and gets help or 2. He doesn't have a speech problem and you don't have to worry any more. NEITHER of these is a bad outcome, so get the eval done.

That being said I have seen LOTS of kids that say nothing at 15 mos but are up to 50 words at 18 months. It's like a light bulb goes on and click they know it all and just add words a few a day once that happens.