Hello...I have a 13 month old son who is perfect in every way...but I have some concerns about his language development. The doctor does not see a problem, but I was hoping some other moms could give me some feedback. Jacob is always babbling...constantly making sounds, etc. He also has said several words (hi, thank you, mama, dada, here) However, with each new word, he will say it, in the appropriate context, for about a week or so, and then he doesn't say it anymore. He does still know what you are talking about when you say it to him though (ex: when I hand him something and say "here", he will hold his hand out to take it). With the dramatic increase in children with autism, I freak out about these things and obsess about his language. Jacob is always smiling, laughing, and interacting with others. He does have seperation anxiety really bad though, and does not like going to anybody but my husband and I. He has hit all of his developmental milestones on time as well. Should I be concerned, or do you think this is normal??
Moms,
Thank you so much for the feedback. Martha- I apologize...I was not in any way trying to say that I will only accept perfection as normal...I was just saying that my son is "perfect" in every way because like any mother, I do think he is wonderful and "perfect" in my eyes. I admire any mother of an autistic child, and commend them for their strength and understanding. I know if I did have an autistic child, I would be the same way and do all I could to make sure my child knew he was loved and the most important thing to me. So I am sorry if that was taken the wrong way. I posted this question because I know early intervention is the best, and when I look at developmental milestones in language, it worried me when it seemed like Jacob was not hitting some of those language milestones and that he would say a word all the time one week, and then would stop....which I was worried was regression. I will be the first person to tell you that I am a worry wart, and it is not healthy...I am trying every day to let go of my control isssues...so anyways, THANKS AGAIN! -H.
Hi H.,
I'm an OT with 7 years working with kids.
Here's what a speech therapist taught me: infants and toddlers *should* babble: normal.
Once an infant "gets" a word, they may quit using it for a time (months, even) in order to work on new words to start building their vocabulary: normal.
A child at one year should be using single words, but understanding more: normal.
Good job, mama. t
Mom, the babbling and just saying the words at all is wonderful and completely normal, some babies at this age are not even trying to say words yet., Saying new words and sounds out of context is completely normal, I have had a number of child development classes in college since I teach young children , you may want to read some books on child development and they will confirm his development as normal. Be sure when your baby talks or babbles that you and family members acknowledge his "talking" by making eye contact, smiling and talking bk to him. THis will encourage more babbles and eventually more words. You should also read to him daily, simple board books are great and quite sturdy for toddlers to hold too Point out things in pictures and say the words while you read to him. Play and sing children's music for your son when you are at home and in the car too. Musician Raffe, has some great music CDs for little ones. Other types of music are great too , classical, jazz and instrumental too. Children love music and it will encourage his language skills too. You son's separation anxiety is so common at this age until mid twos. Remember you and Dad are his whole world and he feels haooiest and safest with you 2. He will come around more with others over time. Good luck Mom
Wow, you're concerned at 13 months!?! I have a son who is 28 months old and doesn't say thank you or here. Relax and don't be so hard on yourself or your son, that is still a BABY!
Yes, he's typical. My oldest didn't say her first word until she was 13 months, and didn't talk alot until she was 2, but she's 9 now and never shuts up! lol. My 33 month old started talking at 8 months and will also never be quiet. The range of "normal" is varied and you shouldn't be worried.
Every child is different. Boys, verbally, develop slower than girls....thank God, because my daughter starting talking at 18 months and has not stopped....literally....all...day...long. I get to hear every thought. ;)
My 1st son talked up a storm, but couldn't understand a darned thing he was saying until about 22 months. Everyone told me how early that was for a boy. Um, ok.
My 2nd son never said much and now talks a lot, but is lazy about his enunciation. He's 4 and I can understand my 2 year old better than I can him. Nothing wrong with him, just being who he is.
My 3 year old nephew smiles constantly and laughs and is super bright, but refuses to talk. He points at stuff and grunts. Drives me crazy. He does say Mama, Dada, tank you, etc but not much more than that.
Don't obsess about his language. You don't want to cause a problem that isn't there. Sounds like he's actually early for his language skills.
Totally normal. He just has his own ideas about what he should do when.
So normal! Apparently when I was a baby I was a total babbler and my mom wondered if I would ever say real words. And I was the third child, so my mom was no novice. But needless to say, I began peppering my babble with real words and eventually spoke just fine (still do!) Our daughter (1st child) said her first word at 10 months ("hat") and she said it several times over those next few days, but then she didn't say it again until she was almost one. She used "baby signs" mostly. So this is on it's own is so not a red flag. The fact that he's using any words at all means that he's ahead of some other completely normal kids his age. Don't stress. Enjoy! :)
My son did the same thing..I called it his "mulling over period". When he would say something new, he would combine a few of the words he already knew..and eventually he was talking sentences. Mine was a late talker sort of and we were concerned but he made all the right sounds..he's just not much of a talker. He can talk just fine..in fact very articulate..reads at an 8th grade level (he's going into 5th)..he just doesn't talk a lot. He can make a lot of noise though..he's an expert sound effect maker LOL. But all in all he would say a word for a few days and then drop it for awhile. No amount of coaxing seemed to help so we just let it go..I asked my mom about it...she said some kids just do that basically. I decided to let it go..none of his preschool teachers said a word about his speaking ability except for P's and R's for awhile..but he got over that too..now he's into trying to imitate the accents he hears people use when they talk :)
H.,
Don't worry. My daughter was the same. She was and still very shy and even if I talk none stop she just wouldn't (maybe because I talk to much I never leave time, lol). She would finally say something and we would keep asking to repeat it and next you know, she would stop, uggg!
Out of no where (when she was around 18 months I think) she just start talking and repeating, we never really change anything so I think she did knew them but just didn't want talk or didn't knew we were expecting her to talk back, lol.
You are right, I am also concerned about the high rise of children with autism, but somebody told me once that kids with autism don't really show much affection (hug, kiss, etc) and for what you say your little one is very well in any other aspect
Take care
My son did the exact same thing. When he was 8 months old, he pointed to the sky and said, very clearly, "airplane". I was shocked, and thought I had a little genius on my hands, but he didn't say it again for many months. He did this repeatedly with many words, and I finally got used to it, and stopped expecting him to continue to say these words. He ended up being very advanced verbally, speakin in full sentences by 1.5 years, and I think part of it was his experimenting with words.
My little girl used to drop new words after a couple of weeks too. The words pop back up again later, now in partial sentences, and take me by surprise everytime. She has no developmental issues at all and interacts with everyone she sees, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
words are just like everything else in a babies development. alot of times they will use a word (or gesture ) alot because they are proud that they learned it. then they will stop for a while. not because they unlearned it, but because they are moving onto something new and exciting, for example my 11mnth old use to throw his hands up in the air everytime we asked how big he was. now he is so excited about learning to clap his hands that thats the only gesture he wants to do. oh and the average 13 mnth old only can say one or two words besides mama and dada, and you have listed three, so he seems to be doing great to me
At this point I wouldn't worry. There is a broad range of normal in speech. Most drs won't write a speech referal till 18 months or later because so much can happen in the next 5 months.
I know how much I want to hear my kids first words..and I've waited till after 18 months. Even then I had to push drs for the referal and the speech therapists think they are ready to admit need for services. They will evaluate how well they understand language and how well they speak language separately.
I think he is perfectly normal!
My son at 13 months was speaking maybe 2-3 words. The doctor wasn't worried because he was communicating by pointing and gesturing, and clearly understood. By 18 months, he still wasn't speaking much but had added some sign language. Now, at 4 years, he is very advanced with his language. He listens very carefully to every word spoken, often repeats the entire sentence under his breath, and asks about every word he doesn't know the meaning of. After asking about a new word, he will them remember that word and begin using it himself.
Some kids (especially more reserved ones) learn by observing, and then processing, but don't DO the thing they are learning. It sounds like your son is learning it all, but doesn't feel the need to speak just yet. Babies can only focus on one thing at a time, and it sounds like he is focusing on the mental part of learning words and meanings, but will worry about speaking and forming the words later.
H.,
At 13 months there is nothing that is off kilter. Your fears are way off base, and you should calm down about autism. What you mean to say is is this "typical" not is this normal, because even atypical kids are normal. You should stop expecting perfection because that is setting you up for heartache that you need not even think about. Your son is not perfect, and he will show you again and again that he is instead, human, which is typical.
Every glitch is not autism, and if you had a child with an issue, you would have a long, long way to go to accept them as they should be accepted which is "perfect" for his Mom. Autism is not the end of the world, it is just a different world than you expected, and the way you deal with it is to realize that unreasonable expectations are going to set you up for disapointment, even if you have a perfectly typical developing child.
M.
