2 1/2 Year Old Still Not Talking!

What does Early Intervention say and recommend? My grandson gets help from the school district all summer long. The summer he was 2 1/2 he had speech therapy, home visits, and a 4 weeks socialization group.

If the speech therapist thinks he's doing fine and didn't recommend continued speech therapy I wouldn't be concerned. I would rely on professional people to know whether or not he needs additional therapy.

Nah, my daughter is the same way. She will be three at the end of Sept and JUST started putting words together maybe two months ago. We were all worried about it too, then one day she just decided that she wanted to talk. She also knows the alphabet, can count, can read several words etc. She is making progress and that is what is important. When I told my grandma that we took her for a speech evaluation, she said, "honey I never even heard of such a thing until my grandkids had kids. In my day when they talked they talked, end of story." It made me feel strangely comforted.

What do the Early Intervention and speech therapy folks have to say about it? Does he seem to understand everything you tell him (i.e., following instructions like get your jacket from the closet and put it on)? What about encouraging him to talk more by not giving into him simply pointing and fussing? Telling him, "You need to use your words" or telling him what he should be saying, like "Juice please!"

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Since Early Intervention only goes to age 3, how many months will he have left with them when the school year starts again? If it's only 1 or 2, it might be worth looking into whether your insurance will cover private speech therapy, and if it does, just start now. Our insurance covered my son's private speech therapy, and I liked that it was 30 min. twice a week instead of 1 hour once a week. I thought he did better that way, but maybe he was just going through a growth spurt anyway.

Don't worry too much though. 2 of my 4 children needed speech therapy, and I found that things progressed pretty slowly in the beginning, and then they just within a 2 week period had an explosion of language, and started being able to say sooo much more.

Blessings...

Did the speech therapist give you any good tips to keep him going through the summer? I hope they didn't just stop and then say you're on your own for the entire summer. Kids can lose a lot of knowledge in those months! Did they leave you any resources??

It sounds like you're doing all the right things, so I'd keep up what you're doing. Worried may be a little much, but yes, I think if he's already in Early Intervention then there are concerns. However, it seems he has a lot of words and maybe he's just waiting for it all to click. Hang in there and see if you can look online for some tips to keep him focussed through the summer. Can he still get the classes after 3? If not, I might look into a private speech therapist to at least evaluate him. Good luck.

You said he does a lot of talking when it comes to naming things like animals, counts to 20 (impressive), and knows shapes and alphabet. Maybe try and hold out to encourage him to say what he wants... like he wants a snack you have two choices, show him, and ask which one he wants. When he points say I need you to try and tell mommy which one and hold out for a minute. It sounds like he can talk if he wants (from what you describe anyways) but maybe doesn't feel the need to talk. But I'm not familiar with his speech problems ( you said he's in speech therapy) so I'm just going off you describing all these things he can do and say :)

Up until 3wks ago, I was in your exact situation. My son turned 3 in March. Like your son, our boy seemed farther ahead in some areas but very behind in his speech compared to others his age. Numbers, letters, sounds of letters, and even reading small words. But we never got more that 2 words out of him at a time. He was unable to respond to questions that required more that yes/no answers. We finally made him start repeating every word in a sentence when he wanted something (not too sure if thats actually helpful). I was at a loss! I was so heart broke when he would try to play with others and they wouldn't be able understand him so they would just walk away and leave him standing on the playground alone :o( I called all of our family and asked for there prayers and decided that we would just give him time and continue to do exactly what you are doing: read, speak, play, and love. It may sound silly but I found comfort in reading the children's book "Ruby" (In Her Own Time) to him every night. It talked about this little duckling who never hit the development stages others did, when they did. But in the end, she seemed to go above and beyond everyone's expectations! I am happy to say that today he is speaking more clearly and has even begun 3-5 word sentences. I know it can be frustrating when you see your child struggle in anyway but I believe you are doing a wonderful job at nurturing and raising your son. Keep it up momma and you will see the fruits of your labor!

My middle son did not talk until he was over three and then started with sentences. I would say just hold on for a few months and it will probably change overnight. The people at early intervention should be able to tell you more after the three months off but you sound like you are doing great encouraging him.

My son was a late talker too. He could talk but just didn't. He was pretty silent at 2 but by 3 he was talking quite a bit. Now at 3 1/2 he talks a lot, but he will still point and show me things he wants without talking occasionally. I still have to encourage him to use his words when he wants something. Just keep working with him and encouraging him. He will pick up more and more. Good Luck.

Is he your only child? We ran into this dilemma with our first son and ended up enrolling him in Early Intervention also, when he was two. Then we started sending him to Headstart for half-days, 4x/week. We have since seen a RIDICULOUS verbal explosion over the course of the last year and a half. But not only verbal - his self esteem has also improved and he doesn't tantrum as much. I know some of that can be attributed to just progressing with age, but there is a great deal to be said about having your child interact with other KIDS. There is something about a kid seeing another kid do something that makes them advance too. In fact, my 19m/o son has had NONE of the speech delays that our firstborn had, because he has his older brother to set the example. He's also more exploratory and social than his older brother was at his age.

So try to get your boy out and playing with other kids more often. It's good that you're teaching him things, but kids really need other kids to mimic.

It's more normal than some might think it is. My sister has two sons. Neither of them did much talking until the age of three. The oldest is almost 12, and he's a very bright, social, communicates great. It hasn't hindered him in the long run at all. Her other son is almost 5 years old now. He is doing great too. I think he might be slightly behind what is typical, but mentally he's very bright and is following in his brother's footsteps. Boys tend to take longer on average than girls! (not that they always do, as some boys are early talkers). I know it's easier said than done, but I don't think you should be worried right now. He sounds very bright. He reminds me of my sister's boys. It just didn't click in their brain until they were older...and they were clearly very bright!

Edit: My sister does no speech therapy or anything for her boys, and they figured it out just fine. Not saying therapy is bad (I've used it for my daughter!), just that they ended up not needing it in the long run.

Thomas Edison didn't learn to talk until he was almost four! As long as your son is healthy and happy, I wouldn't bother comparing with other kids' development. Every child is different.

I have a daughter who is now 6. We were in speech therapy with few results for a while. The occupational therapist started chatting with me one day and had me try some OT. We used a weighted ball and rolled it over her limbs followed by walking her on her hands like a wheelbarrow. The other one they had us try was brushing (using a soft surgical brush, firmly over the limbs) followed by joint compressions. Within a couple of weeks we had a word explosion. Do some research about the different body systems (proprioceptive, etc). It's very interesting how they relate to our ability to concentrate, speak, etc. Who knows whether it will work for your son, but it sure worked for us. Good luck.

Try matching what he can do. Use concrete examples, like his toys. Here's an idea: You say, O for Octopus. He says it, you repeat it, then he says it again. This time you add one more word, such as O for orange octopus. Then wait for him to respond. It may take a few minutes as he processes the word you added. Just be patient. He may copy what you said or change it to another word or color.

With matching you are playing with him at his level, helping him to see that he can be successful at playing games with you. Then you challenge him with just a small added skill.

2 1/2 is not unusual for a child to still be talking in single words. It takes time and neurological pathways need to be built before he can start putting those words into sentences. Right now he is using concrete words. Words that mean something in his everyday life. But in sentences we use linking words that are ideas. This is a major leap for a toddler!

Give it time and try to be patient, he'll get there.

I can't remember when my son started getting it together but we have had a lot of issues with speech. Our Early Intervention carried him through the summer until he turned 3, then we had to wait for the school year, but I also had him seeing someone privately who said he had an expressive and receptive language disorder. It is like he knows what he wants but he couldn't find the correct words to get out what he wanted. So he would point and fuss like you said your son does. The speech therapist told me to give him the words but make him say them back to me, "you want cookie? yes? then say 'I want cookie'" and make him say it back before I gave in and gave it to him. I would also get a thorough hearing evaluation from an Ear Nose and Throat doctor. We had 2 done by Early Intervention, but he fussed to much for them to do the really in depth one. By the time we actually got to an ENT at 3 1/2 it was noted that almost everything he heard was muffled, like he was hearing under water, and this greatly contributed to the speech delay. At almost 5 he is a lot better, still not always clear and occassionally resorts to the pointing.

oh god no he smokes mine he is just being lazy cause he can

EI should not run on the school year, esp for speech. If that were so, my son would not have had any speech therepy! We, got with EI at 2.5 due to speech/behaivor issues and they would never stop simply b/c school is out ... I would re address your concerns w/ speech and get them to supply another or bite the bullet for the summer and find a way to pay for a speech therepist for the summer since at 3 he will age out of ECI and go into the school district system.

Hi. Our son is in the same position. Some thoughts:
1. Our dr said sometimes boys talk later.
2. We are bilingual....which also delays speech
3. turns out our son may also have blocked ears (from enlarged adenoids) which impacts speech.

HTH. Jilly

Honestly...you shouldn't be worried. Take it easy, he doesn't need Speech Therapy either. He is normal, and many probably most of the kids speak and talk at 3 or older than that. Keep doing what you are doing, he is going to be great. Relax!

I am very unclear as to why his Early Intervention is ending. He gets those services until he 3 on the dot. It has nothing to do with the school year unless he is turning 3 in July or August and he can't start the town's preschool until September. Yes, the other moms are right, your best resource is your speech therapist. Does he get any other therapies? Most of the time they don't just give you 1 therapy. Children should be putting 2 words together by age 2. Can he answer questions that you just throw at him or does he know those things because he is really just memorizing the things you guys do drills on? The main concern I think is that although he knows a lot of words he is not using language functionally. So not only is he not putting words together, he is not using the words to get his thoughts and feeling across. Is his speech your only area of concern? My son was in EI and he really took off at 2 1/2. I think you need to have a serious talk with your speech therapist because (I am assuming he's been getting therapy for a little while now) he should be more advanced. Good for you for being so involved!

I agree with DVMMOM - say the words that you would like him to say and wait for him to repeat them. When he's pointing to the crackers, say "crackers please . . . can you say that to mommy?" Wait . . .then say again "crackers please." He may pitch a small fit as you're waiting (as my daughter did), but he'll eventually learn.

My daughter is almost three and doesn't stop talking! We're working on changing "I want it!" to "May I have it please?" We use the same method. When she says, "I want milk." We say, "May I have some milk please?" When she repeats it back to us, she gets the milk.

He'll come around. :)

Children develop in different areas at different times. The speech therapists can let you know if it is something to worry about but you are getting him help so that is what is important. I had a son that would not walk, I actually began to think he was handicapped but after 3 Doctors looked him over they came up with the Diagnosis that : He was Lazy! After all my worrying!! That kid never sat still as a Teenager----I could never find him!! Keep doing what you are doing and I am sure it will all connect together soon. My Doctor told me , when they seem behind in one thing, they are usually working on another thing but in the end it all starts working together. I am a mom of five and have a Bachelors in Psychology. Trust me I have seen it all!