Ideas on Getting My Son to Start Talking

My son did not talk until he was 2 1/2 years old, but when he did talk, he knew his alphabet and could count to 10 and started to form sentences with in a few weeks. In the meantime, while we were looking at books, magazines, etc. I always told him the numbers and letters. In my opinion, I don't think you can make a child talk before he wants to.
(Oh, by the way, by the time my son was three, he was reading the newspaper and the encyclopedia.)

Get him started on baby sign language. You can look up signs on the computer, books at the library, buy videos to watch. Animal signs are fun for children, as well as everyday things like an airplane overhead. I do daycare and have seen it "click" with several children that had delays for all different reasons.

I studied speech-language pathology in college and was a special ed teacher; also taught a boy with autism and have two young children of my own. Although all of these can be very different, there is one thing that works very well for in teaching them to speak. I taught all of the above sign - language in some form or another. Now, I am not very good at it myself, but there are videos and books that can make it very easy to learn. Sign language is words in concept. Like the word "lion" you form a lion's mane with your hand; or "eat/food" is putting your hand to your mouth, etc. Anyway, I found, at my LIBRARY, some great videos called "Signing Time with Alex and Leah" or just "Signing Time" They also have a website: www.signingtime.com Fantastic - Because it teaches the sign language through song, it taught me and my kids sign-language faster than the two classes I took on it.
Good luck!

If he's been to a speech therapist for 6 months and they can't find anything "wrong" maybe there isn't anything wrong with his delayed speech. This article explains more from another Mom's point of view http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2005/mar/02/family...

My nephew was late talking, and then suddenly when he did talk it was in sentences. Imagine our shock. Your son may have all the stuff stored away and will start babbling anytime.

Good luck! And try not to be discouraged by what other people think is "normal" most kids develop in their own time, and you have done the right thing by seeking speech therapy for your son, now it's up to him.

He will learn at his own pace! Not all children are the same. I think one of the biggest mistakes parents often make (I fell into this myself when my now six-year old was not talking at two) is thinking that we have to push our timetable on our children. Just continue playing with him and encouraging him. When he is ready, he will start talking, and then you will not get him to stop. LOL Allow him to be himself!

K.

My son is 21 months old and is also not saying any words. He has been receiving speech therapy with First Steps since he turned one. I would talk with his speech therapist and see if she has any concerns and find out what his scores are in receptive (what he understands) and expressive language (what he is able to communicate). I have been told that ideally they should not be more than 3 months apart - once you understand a word you should be able to express it within 3 months. If this gap is larger (my son's gap is about 10-12 months apart) it may indicate something else going on, which is my son's case. Also, have you had his ears checked??? My son only had one ear infection, but when we saw an ENT for a separate issue, she discovered he had chronic fluid in his ears, and because of his speech delay at the time, she went ahead and put tubes in his ears (he also failed a hearing test at CMH). Once he got the tubes, his receptive/expressive scores did jump considerably, but he still has this huge gap between the two. Is he using sign language at all??

Hi S.,

Keep in mind, all kids do things in their own time...not ours!! Yes, it must be frustrating to have a two-year old that doesn't even say, "Mama". The only advice I can give you is to be patient...it'll come. In the meantime, you could always teach him sign language. There are many books and videos out there that can teach you both! As you learn the sign, say it aloud with him. He may start to mimic you not only with the signs, but with the words.

Good luck! You're doing a fabulous job as a "mama". :) ls

If you've already taken him to have his hearing checked I wouldn't worry too much about it. My son didn't start talking until around 2 - but when he did, it wasn't one or two words, it was three, four & five word sentences! As long as your little boy is physically fine, try to let it go. He'll start talking on his timetable, not yours. (A very frustrating lesson for Mommies!)

That was something I had to let go of too!! :)

S.,
Just wait. Many kids don't talk til later.
Introduce lots of music - learn to sing Barney songs (really) and make it fun.
My best friend's girl didn't bother to speak until she was nearly 4. For one thing, she didn't need to. Her mom responded to her every cue. And, she didn't want to. When she did talk, it was in complete sentences.
It's like me and French. I don't want to 'babble' so I won't speak it until I can get an entire thought out for others to understand. Maybe your son is that way too.
If he is successfully communicating with you and others, don't sweat the word thing. Just keep loving that boy.

I am an slp n would highly rec using sign language. I would hope ur provider is already teaching this to both of you.

I also highly recommend teaching him to sign. There are wonderful videos out there called Signing Time and you can get them from the library if you don't want to go to the expense of purchasing them. They are the best I've seen and kids really love them. It helps that kids are teaching the signs, there is a lot of music, animals and fun!! My daughter is almost 3 now and still loves to watch the videos so I continue to buy them and allow her to learn. What I have noticed is that many of her motor skills are now far advanced because of sign...instead of being the big communicator for us we now find that signing is a challenge she enjoys. She loves to attempt to make each sign correctly on her own now and asks for help if she can't quite get her fingers there. The more we sign the better she gets. Also, she uses both hands to sign, working both her left and right brain! Signing is great for getting your kids to at least learn the value of communication but excellent for so many other things as well. I can't believe how many people out there have noticed us signing and have started signing to my daughter.

Hi S.,

Have him tested through the state (in Kansas it's called Tiny K). If there is nothing wrong, they'll tell you. If there is, they'll give you free services. Our oldest wasn't talking at 18 months and his ped. was concerned. We had his hearing tested and he had fluid build up and needed tubes. I thought he could hear perfectly because I'd tell him to get things/do things and he would. She explained there is a difference between receptive vocabulary (what they understand) and expressive vocabulary (what they say). It will cost you nothing! Our oldest is now 4 and has quite an extensive vocabulary and he won't stop talking!!

Good Morning S., our gr son Zane turned two on the 24, he is just like your little one. Babbles alot can say Mama, daddy, Nana, Papa, Truck, Stuck, socks Shoooooes. No & Yes, no sentences that anyone can understand just babble.

One thing we noticed or his mama did, She called me one night and said I know why Zane won't talk! It's because when he does he is speaking Chinese. I thought she was joking. Last Friday we were watching Kai'Lan ( cartoon network) and Zane was saying everything this little character was saying. Zane calls his fish AuAu? which is Grandpa in Chinese. I sat there with my mouth open and called his mama at work. I told her I thought you were Joking about the Chinese stuff!! He just sat here and repeated every word Kai'Lan said. She said I told ya Chinese was his First language not English....lol

I've been concerned about him not speaking more, I know each and ever child is different in how they learn and how quickly they comprehend. He understands every thing we say.
His big Brother Corbin 4, was speaking in sentences at 19 months, carries on adult like conversations.
I read to him constantly, Zane won't let us read to him.

Our youngest son didn't talk until he was about 2 1/2, as I had to tell his brother to Stop talking for him. He could do it just let his brother do all the talking.

He will talk soon S., keep up with the First Step, he will have a break through soon.

God Bless you as you love, study and have the desires of your heart.
K. Nana of 5

It may just come with time. My son said very few words and then all of a sudden when he turned 3 he was a talking machine....now you can't get him to stop :) It sounds like you are doing the right things by having him in speech and keeping up with your doctor on the issue.

Children are all on their own development schedules and especially little boys. Many are smart and yet 'babies' for so much longer than most little girls. Girls talk and never stop and boys like to look at pictures and play with toys and sometimes are not mature at even 2 years old. One reason why I think home schooling is great as you can move at the rate they need when they need and are ready. Anyhow, our first child, a boy, was slow talking and I often gave him things or did for him without him having to ask. Be sure you aren't doing that and then if hearing is fine and the speech therapist hasn't mentioned anything major I'd just let him enjoy looking at pictures and pointing to words and saying the word and having fun. He will talk when he's ready.

We went through the same situation; we were extremely worried because we had no words but lots of babble. He did not address me at all, and would only call for "mama" when I was out of town for three days. (On my return, I received only a smile and a hug, no mama). We were referred to a specialist and did the hearing check too, but were told to be patient because the doc felt comprehension was there. Our son is now 2 1/2 and talking like crazy, but I would say most of it has occured in the last two weeks. I think you are doing everything right and just keep working on it without pressuring too much...Good luck!

Hi S.. My heart goes out to you because we experienced the same thing with our son when he was 2 1/2. (He is now 7 and talks away!) Yes, we even had early intervention come in for a couple of months before I kindly asked them to stop coming because they were not helping him at all and were actually exacerbating the problem. {roll eyes} Every child is different and trust your gut instincts about your child. Be patient and resist the temptation to compare your child to those around him. An excellent website/group that was very helpful to me is: www.latetalking.org. I encourage you to check it out.
I homeschool my son and did not send him to any speech therapists. I did a lot of reading with him, talking and showing pictures to him, and encouraging him to "use your words." I also used the suggestions given in the website. For my son--it was a matter of waiting for his speech development to catch up with him. He started talking in his own time and now, one would never know that he was a late talker.

Also, regarding your "withholding something from him to try to tempt him to say the word," I'd probably handle it differently. I used to say what the item was at least 3 times and encouraged him to say it as well, and would give it to him. No use upsetting and confusing him by withholding the item. A child looks to the parent to provide his needs, and we can encourage their learning process by equipping them with the words to use.

Just my 2 cents worth! I'll be praying for you and your son! Yes, there IS light at the end of the tunnel. (My son didn't say "Mama" until he was 3.5 years old, and boy oh boy--what a precious moment that was for me. Your day IS coming!! :) )

give him time and always talk to him. i promise he is absorbing everything. my daughter is three and she always amazes me by stuff she says. the day i dropped something and she blurted omg shocked me.

I highly recommend getting early intervention services in your home. They are federally funded (in conjunction with insurance or medicaid) speech pathologists, behavioral therapists, physical therapists, etc. that will come in and work with him. My mom is a speech path. and gave me a few tricks to do early on (i only have an 11-month old) but I highly recommend getting a professional in to provide assistance. Many friends of mine have done this, all of us are highly educated and have NO shame in asking for help!
I have an occupational therapist coming in to help with our daughter's gross motor skills. HUGE help to me, since I wouldn't have known exactly how to help her. Every state has this program, just ask your health department. in kansas, it's tiny-tots. I dearly love them, they are so helpful and come weekly...our daughter is very mobile and doing great thanks to their help. she was born a premie, so we had concerns to start with...but they do 3 month assessments to reassure us that she's on track. these services only go up until 3 years old...so, do get on it quickly! good luck, and my best friend's 2 year old is doing the same thing...babbles but no words...

I read through the posts and just thought i'd add a few things. My son started speech therapy at 2 and is still in it at 4. His receptive is fine, but the words get jumbled in his brain before they get to his tongue.

First, relax because you're doing everything right .. you have the speech therapist involved and everyone is right that for the majority of kids you'll wake up one day to find him talking.

Sign language is a great idea, but I am a certified sign language interpreter and couldn't manage to be consistent with signing with my child. As a single mom, you may be finding the suggestions of learning a new language a little daunting too.

We had a breakthrough though with just one sign - 'more'. I would give him what he wanted without asking (because of course we moms know), but if he wanted more, I would make his hands do the sign for more before he would get it and make a big deal out of it (oh, you want MORE, ok here is MORE). we did a lot of practicing with M&Ms. Then it finally clicked in his mind that there was such a thing as two way communication.

The other thing I didn't see mentioned is pictures. My son's speech therapist gave us dozens of magnets with pictures of every day things. When it was lunch time I'd take a picture of a hotdog, grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese down to his level and ask him to show me which one he wanted for lunch. (if he doesn't choose at first you say, OK let's have grilled cheese (especially if you know his favorite is hot dogs) - point to it and leave that picture at his level) Again, showing the benefits of communication without the frustration .. he's going to eat either way, but this way he gets a choice.