20 Month Old Not Talking - Womelsdorf,PA

A.,

My son did not start to talk coherently until he was over 2. And it was probably until he was 2 1/2 until people could really understand him. I knew what the sounds meant because I spent so much time with him, but it was mostly one syllables and other gibberish. Can you understand any of what she says? When I took him to his 2 year old appointment, the dr told me that as long as I could understand half of what he said, not to worry.

A.,
It's not something I would really worry about. My twins are 18 months and my sone doesn't say much at all. My daughter has about the same vocabulary as well. I was a preschool teacher for this age (toddler class) and it's perfectly normal. They understand WAY more than they can say. As long as she is making an effort...that is great. It's so hard for their little mouths to form all those words. Like right now, my daughter is calling every food...Cake. She points to everything and says it. I'm not worried...I don't think you should be either. Hope I was some bit of a help!!!

Hi A.,
I don't have any children this age but I work in daycare and work with this age group. The vocabulary is so wide-ranged. But if you are concerned, maybe you should consider having your child evaluated by Early Intervention services. They would probably tell you best if there is a potential problem. If your child is at least 25% delayed, they will provide speech therapy - they come right to your house to do it!
Good Luck!

A.
I would be very careful at this age. Sadly doctors are NOT taught very well with delays/autism. I hate throwing that word out there HOWEVER there are 3 major components for a diagnosis
1. Lack of Language
2. Social Skills
3. Repetative behavior

You DON'T have to have all 3 to be dx'ed. My son had A LOT of words, never combined and we had slight behavioral things (thought it was a boy thing) well needless to say he was dx'ed PDD-NOS which is on the Autism Spectrum.

I would definately get the child's hearing checked first to rule out any hearing issues. Kids can read lips believe it or not.
I would seek early intervention from your local county.
I have been getting my son service for at total of 1yr now and is doing great. He'll NEVER be cured, but he has come a LONG way.

I don't mean to scare you/alarm you just make you aware of how important to seek invervention if it be the case. Early treatment for ANY delays has great PROVEN success.

Good Luck
N.

Hi A.,

Between my sister , brother , and myself, there are going to be 10 grandkids by Aug.(2 on the way) My sister has the youngest one right now, being a little over 2. We have a 3 and 2 4yr olds too. I think it is normal the way ur daughter is speaking. My sisters 2 yr old, I can only understand some things she says, the rest is still hard. She has many siblings/cousins to learn from also, but I believe it is jsut that age. Mine were the same way too. So far, lol, all the kids are turning out just fine.

As long as her doctor doesn't see an issue, she is fine.

I hope this helps you to relax. Just remember to always pronounce things and not use baby talk too much,and she'll be talkin sentences before you know it.

Take care and God bless.

L.

My daughter, Ashleigh, was like this. She was delayed in speech, fine & gross motor skills. Her speech was not alot when she was 20 months old. I taught her to point to the refrig for food when she was hungry & the kitchen was she wanted a drink. It worked for us.

You can get her tested. We went to a child development dr then she referred us to Early Inventation where she was put into the program until she turned 3. Then, she entered into the preschool program. We are in Butler County, PA. EI was free.

One thing I learned with all of Ashleigh's therapy is to repeat your words. Try to get your daughter to say it, too. Make it into a game if it helps. I do this a lot with our son & he is not delayed.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Hi A., my daughter would say; thank you, please, drink and so on and so fourth when she was 1, and all of a sudden stopped talking all together * sigh *
So i was so worried i called early intervention and they came right out like a week later and she did need help with speech.
She exceled in all other areas where a 2.5 - 3 yo would ( climbing, jumping, running, hopping ect. ), but no talking.
Ill make this short since i see its getting long lol.
I had a teacher for my daughter since june last yr, and my daughter now can say A LOT more then she did!
She also talks in 2-4 words in a sentence!
I really think early intervention is a great help in matters like this, also talk to the ped maybe your daughter needs her ears checked.
I really hope u can get some help, as a mom i totally understand your worries and wishes, but then once she starts talking your gonna be like, omg please shhhh lol
Goodluck and best wishes

My son is now 3yo and my third child. I began to worry when he too wasn't speaking as much as other children at his daycare. However, he has taken off in his language skills over the last 6 months. Before that he would talk a lot but little could be understood. I did have him tested at a center near where I live just to be sure, but his pediatrician assured us that some kids are just later at talking, just like some walk later. I encourage you to talk to her doctor first and get her tested if that will help. But if she is understanding you then realx, she isn't ready to hold a conversation :)

I'm sure that it's nothing to worry about at this point. I always got told that children talk when they want to. She seems to understand everything you say to her so I wouldn't worry about it. If you are that concerned speak to your doctor. I sure she is just fine. It's probably just nervous jitters for first time parents. I have a two year old little girl and another on the way and I worried about everything, I sitll do. I'm sure she's fine just talk to your doctor.

My son didnt talk until he was 2 1/2 - some kids are late talkers. You can contact your local early intervention dept. if you are truly concerned. They will evaulate and determine if therapy is necessary.

My daughter did the same thing she now is 3 years old going to be four in May and is talking great. don't worry i was the same way. I was freaking out that she wasnt talking. my grand mother told me that children start there mildstones when there ready like walking, talking ect ...... I started making her say what she wanted instead of her pointing to it for example if she wanted juice id make her say juice ect... Don't stress about it she sounds very bright and might just find no reason to talk yet but trust me when she does start she will not stop lol well good luck and hope i helped alitte .

Hi A.. I have a 3 yr old daugther who also has the gibberish talk and i now take her to speech therpy once a week in berks county its called BCIU and they are great she's had two sesions so far and is talking alil more now but they work great with her. i suggest you take her to a speech therpist for her speech it will help her alot to get more words in her vocabulary i know what your going thru if u need more information feel free to contact me. good luck i know she will in time improve.
Jayda.

Hi A.... My oldest son didn't have any words at 20 months. Our pediatrician recommended a speech eval. Although we were not worried about it we went ahead with it and he received services. We were living in TX at the time, but I'm sure there are similar programs in PA. It was free and the therapist came to our house. He loved it and eventually began talking. We were never sure if it was their influence or he was just ready. I"m not sure where you live, but I do know there is a place called Chester County Intermediate Unit. I think they do speech for early childhood.

Good Luck!

well my son is 28 monyhs and finally said his first word in the beginning if this month, and it was only "uh oh" its good that she is saying some words but if you are still worried you could always get early intervention to help her out.

Hi A.! I suggest you investigate taking her to a speech therapist. A therapist may be able to help you a lot and answer some of your questions. My son was premature and I guess I was in denial about his speech until he got to kindergarten and the teacher suggested that he receive speech services at school. The speech therapist suggested that he get a hearing test and come to find out, he had a retracted eardrum. He is now in the 1st grade and doing very well. So I'm glad we had a specialist to guide us along because it has helped him a great deal! But for now, just keep talking with your daughter. She is still fairly young. Her vocabulary will probably increase as time goes on. Try not to worry!

My first didn't do much talking very early. She used baby sign language primarily until nearly 2. She finally realized it was easier to just talk and then she did. She basically went right to talking in sentences. She's 3.5 now. Her vocabularly is great. She is still shy and often doesn't like to talk to people she doesn't know, but that isn't all bad.

Your daughter sounds a lot like my two kids.
My 20 month old daughter does the same thing as your daughter - small vocabulary and a lot of gibberish. My son who will be 3 in June also did the same at 20 months. When he was 18 months old I was concerned and talked to the pediatrician. She felt he was a little behind the norm, but said it was good that he understood directions and used facial gestures and hand gestures. She told me to watch him carefully before his 2 year check up and record ANY advances he made, even if it was only one word every two weeks. Sure enough, when he turned two his vocabulary expanded to a few new words every week. Now he doesn't stop talking. LOL! By the time we went to his 2 year check up we agreed that he didn't need any further professional assessments. The theory was that he was putting more energy into walking, playing, climbing, etc. So...I am not to worried right now about my daughter's development since it is mimicing my son's. If however, I haven't noticed any improvement by her two year check up I will speak to the pediatrician then.

Hope this helps ease your mind. But as always, if your instincts are telling you something different, seek help.

i was thinking she might be tounge tied, but since you said she can say some words, then thats not it,have her hearing checked, sometimes that could be why, or else she could be like one of my sisters kids, who we were beginning to wonder if he might not be mute, he could say mom dad, eat, but most of it was gibberish, then one day he started talking and hasent shut up since, she just might be waiting to talk your ear off,