Speech Issue?

You may be right, that he has a problem. He may not, though. Second born children tend to develop language more slowly than the first born. Also, boys usually develop more slowly in that area. It's more important that he makes contiued progress than when he reaches different stages. A speech therapist will help you pinpoint the area he's struggling with. It's good to address it, but I don't think you need to stress about it too much.

I'm sure you've already found that reading to him, telling him what you're doing while you do it, and just talking around him alot wiil help.

My nephew, who turned three last May is also a little brother. For the longest time, he wouldn't use words. He did a lot of pointing and grunting and has just recently started speaking like other kids his age. This was around the time that his sister started kindergarten.

Your son could very well have a delay, but not really have a problem. It might just be his temperment. Some kids are just not too interested in speaking. Keep checking into it, but don't be worried, assume he's normal until you hear otherwise. I'm sure that in no time your problem will be getting him to be quiet! :o)

I would definitely have him checked out. My friend had the same problem with her son- at 2 her still wasn't talking like they thought he should have been. A couple people and even her ped suggested not giving in when he would point and trying to make him use words. Turns out (after months of trying different methods to get him to talk) he is autistic. It is a mild form, but in the spectrum nonetheless. They were able to get him into an early program through the school district and have made amazing progress since they figured it out. Bottom line is if you think something may be wrong, investigate. Don't just think its nothing, and the earlier you do, the better it is for everyone. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing, and then you'll be able to relax.

Good luck!

I would contact the early intervention program through your school district (not sure where you live exactly, but pretty much every metro area school district has this program). It is funded through the schools and you can have someone come out to your house to do an evaluation of your child.

If your child is delayed for some reason, you will likely qualify for free speech therapy in your home. Its a great service and could really help your child. In some school districts this program is called "Birth to Three" or "Birth to Five". Do a google search for your city and these terms or call your pediatrician and ask for the number - they will have it for sure.

One way or the other, I would look into getting him evaluated. Nothing good can come from waiting and worrying. Find out if there is a problem and what you can do to help your child. Good luck!!

B.

Hi A.,
I am going through the same thing with my 21 month old daughter right now. After her hearing appointment, we brought her to a pediatric speech pathologist who did a series of tests and she now goes in weekly for therapy. If there is a developmental delay present, ECFE will also do assesments and provide therapy if the delay is considered severe. Let me know if I can be of any help to you, we are stumbling through it, too, and know how scary it is.

A.,

I used to do daycare for 4 year old twins and a 1 year old. The 1 year old spoke better than one of the twins. They did hearing tests and everything. His mom told me one day that her doctor told her to try something new. If he cries and points at something (his way of asking) don't give it to him until he uses words. So she had to say Don use your words please and you can have it. Within 2 months he was talking like his sister.

My cousin was a pretty late talker, didn't even babble much, and maybe your son is "behind" because he doesn't have much to say right now. I know that sounds silly, but that could be the case. I wouldn't worry unless everything else he did was slow (ie. crawling, walking, feeding himself, and other developmental things aside from talking)

Stay strong and good luck!

H.

Does your daughter talk for him a lot. My brother didn't talk until he was 4 because I always spoke for him. It is also true that boys are sometimes slower to talk than girls. I had a friend with a son with the same problem who did need speech therapy and it had to do with how his tongue works. He also had problems with food textures and liked spicy food all of which are connected. He was about 2 1/2 before they started therapy. He speaks very fluently now at 3 1/2.

My son is a second child, having an older sister and he did not start talking until just shy of age 3.... (made me nuts!!!) Once he started talking, he didn't stop and like you, he understood everything that was said to him, just had no desire to talk back...... if his hearing and comprehension are good, I wouldn't worry at all... just make sure sister isn't always talking for him like happened at our house!!!

My daughter did the same thing. Barely any words until 4. Now she is just shy of her 7th birthday and she's a non-stop talker! Just probably quiet and reserved and a watcher. Do not worry. :)

My son had a similar issue. He talked nonstop but I was the only one who could understand him (and I couldn't even understand him half the time). He pronounced words really strangely, like instead of "bath" he said "blah." I think I took him to three different audiologists and his hearing was fine. Speech therapists generally don't even start working with kids that young, but my dad had connections (he's a pediatrician)so we did go to one for a couple of weeks while i was home for an internship. She gave me a few exercises to work on that basically consisted of having him repeat a certain sound he was having problems with a bunch of times, one per week. Now he's almost 4 and much more understandable. Which is fabulous when we are eating out and he announces that hw has to poop. :)

Hi A.,

Since you are the mother you have to go with your gut instinct. If you are concerned you should get this checked out. I scanned other responses and see that one mentioned autism. When a child has autism and is very high functioning, generally there is no indication they are autistic until parents start worrying about speech. Some other typical behaviors are limited eye contact when spoken to or when they are speaking and an "aversion" to others touching them. You sould speak with your pediatrician to address your concerns and see where he/she suggests you go for further testing to see if there might be some other underlying cause.

No-one else is going to look out for your child more than you will. We all want our children to succeed!!

My own son was born with hearing loss and has received services through the school district since he was 5 months old. The district is also a wonderful resource and may help you with an assessment as well.

Good luck and I hope everything turns out ok!