Trying to Get My Two Year Old to Talk

I was worried about my oldest son who is now three. He did not talk very much until around 2 1/2. I would give it more time and try to be patient. All children are different and they all develop at their own pace. My little girl started talking at 6 months and is very much more advance, she is doing things that my three year still doesn't do.

Hi,im 30 yrs old anda stay at home mom. My son is 4 and a half who takes speech therapy. Just is enthusiastic about saying things. Just point at a car and say it and let him repeat after u. Do it with objects of any nature.

My son didn't really start talking regularly until maybe 2 1/2.
Partly the reason was because my husband and I are raising him bilingual...Spanish and English...but also boys usually start talking later than girls do. My niece, who's 2 months older, was a "chatty Cathy" like at 1 1/2, and her language is still more than my son's. I'm not an expert, but he could just be a late talker. I hope everything works out!
M.

Hey A., My grandson who is now 4 (Jan.16) didn't talk and I finally was able to get him tested and he was given speech therapy, he is now in his first year of head start where he is also seen by a speech therapist.. I believe that he has Autism, no doubt in my mind and we try to make him say everything and he has really started to try and talk but you can hardly understand anything he says! Yes certain words but he still throws his fits and gets very upset when no one can understand him...he also gets in alot my trouble now that I know he knows alot more then he wants us to know but all of this is a sign of Autism, does your child, hit the wall or things and grunts alot?? did he use to just stare off like into space or just play alone for longs periods of time? Don't be afraid of Autism as I was...the best I can figure with my son is that he is soooooo smart but has a hard time with speech there is nothing wrong with their brains!!! I know I have rambled on and I am sorry but if you would like to talk to me then please write to me...my 6 year old son ask me to tell you to make your son repeat everything you say and do it all the time and he will learn to start saying things on his own..My son always has helped with my grandson and still does and it is just the sweetest thing!!! good luck.. hope to hear from you... D.

My son rarely said a word. Medically he was cleared of any possible problems.I debated getting a speech therapist, but I had a stranger share her story with me about her son also not talking. She said when he was close to four he was so angry he started yelling that he hated peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The ice was broken and off he went talking. My son had a similar experience he was so pissed about moving away from the beach (FL) that he blew up at me a month after moving here just before his third birthday. Since then he hasn't shut up. I would suggest letting time take it's course and when he has something to say he will. It also may be a good idea to do a mothers day out program once or twice a week. I signed my son up for two days a week and at school he would not talk to anyone and I thought here we go again. Someone suggested forcing him to order at McDonalds, a place we rarely go to so its really a treat for him, and Chick Filet. If he wanted that toy in the box, he had to earn it. He still is reserved talking to people he doesn't know, but he will if he needs to.

I didn't notice that my son didn't talk much when he was 2 until I visited my sister and spent some time with her two granddaughters. The girls are 6 months and 6 weeks older respectively. The girls chattered on in full sentences while my son used one word to get his point across. When we got home a week later I started making my son talk more by prompting him we he spoke. If he said "More!" I prompted him with more what? And would make him repeat a phrase. It drove him a little nuts so I stepped back a bit and tried not to push so hard. But part of the problem is that his Dad and I responded to what he wanted without him needing to speak much. Why talk if you're getting what you want by pointing, grunting and saying a brief word? Several folks told me that boys are slower to speak and their boys went from being monosylabic to speaking in full paragraphs. My son is now 2 1/2 and is very verbal. I did also sometimes narrate what was going on or try to ask open ended questions and engage him in conversation. Since you're deaf are you teaching him to sign? He may find it easier to communicate. Being bilingual (English and ASL) would be a benefit in the future.

Have your child evaluated thru early intervention. They can give you explainations for why this delay is happening. Don't wait you will be losing valuable time.

We're dealing with very similar problems here. I have a 31 mo son who speaks his "own language" about 98% of the time and only has about 15 understandable words. We have just started speech therapy and special instruction and are working on an evaluation for autism. The best advice I've received is to make sure to work with him EVERY day, not just when the therapist comes to see him. And ask lots of questions on ways to help him improve. Good luck!!!!

I am having the same problem w/my two and a half year old son. He speaks what we call Pipspeak (his name is Pip), but is often very quiet. He will grunt when he wants something or take your hand and lead you to it. He has been involved in early intervention w/speech and developmental therapy for 5 months. He's gone from 8-over 50 words in 5 months, but it's been slow. In the last month, we've seen great improvement as my husband and I have constantly "forced" him to talk. If he wants anything, chips, juice, oatmeal, up, down, movie, anything at all, he has to at least try to say the word for it. It takes LOTS of encouragement and he is sometimes frustrated, but he learned about 20 words last month, so we're keeping at it. I take his favorite toy, his train set, and hand it to him piece by piece as he repeats the words I say, "blue, car, eat, cup, foot, nose," etc. You get the idea. Also, we started teaching him to sign. I'm sure you know some sign language if you are deaf. It will let him communicate if he can't get the word out and alleviate some frustration. Our son now talks (some) and signs at the same time. He's getting there and starting to put two words together. But it takes work every single day and I take every single opportunity to make him speak. Truly, it's exhausting. I read this book (fiction) entitled Daniel Isn't Talking, which gave me some great tricks about getting kids to talk. Then I got a book on autism (though my son does not have it), called More than Words. It has so many games and hints in there. It really is working. Best of luck.

We had the same problem with our son. My aunt has a daughter that was the same age and she took her to a speech therapist. I thought it was ludicrious. Some children just develop faster in motor skills than vocally and they will catch up pretty fast once they are ready. My son never shuts up now!! And I also heard that you can try chewing exercises. If you are sure he won't shollow it give him a small amount of chewing gum to chew, or carrot sticks. Sucking can delay speech. If he is still sucking on a bottle or sucking his sippy you should change him to a big boy cup.

I had the same problem with my son. He isn't going to a speach therapist yet, because when the dr made me aware of the problem I started working with him. I used flash cards and had him watching sesame street and Dora the explorer and Go Diego Go. He speaks a LOT more now and he will be beginning 3 yr old preschool soon. The therapist said sometimes just being in the same room with other kids who talk can help.

I just wanted to suggest two things that may help. I studied Speech Pathology in college and remember many stories that were told of childeren suddenly speaking full sentences. However, in the short term, that does not relieve your frustration. So you may try these.

1. If you have not already done so have his hearing checked. Many times children who have even slight hearing loss will have trouble speaking.

2. Try teaching sign language. It will help your child communicate better, and it is a lot of fun to learn. My son signed long before he could speak. You may think that if you sign he will not ever learn to speak, but giving him a means to communicate more clearly may relieve his fear or frustration if that is what he is feeling. Try making it a game and give lots of praise for comminication, verbal or non-verbal.

Keep in mind that the English language is a verbal language, if he is understanding you, then he does have a language base to pull from.

Good Luck, God Bless

My daughter was carrying on conversations at age 1, and has never stopped talking since (literally!hehe). Though my son, now 3 1/2, did not talk really understandably at all until right about his third birthday. He too, was evaluated by a speech pathologist, and they said he did qualify for early intervention, for speech only. His other skills were great overall. However, it's a long process getting them out to work with him (at least it is here) and by the time they actually came to our house, almost his third birthday, he no longer needed help at all. It was like he just started speaking sentences OVERNIGHT. I STILL can't believe it when I hear him talk long sentences and carry on a conversation, because it seemed like he would NEVER talk. So, I would not worry, personally, think MOST boys are just slower at talking, at least from my experience. There are some exceptions, of course. But I would not worry as long as his motor skills are fine. My son could count to 20 before he could put together a full sentence, then it just fixed itself with lots of prayers and time....it will happen. Don't worry!

I have the same problem with my son. He is 2 1/2. When we went for his 2 yr check up, I voiced my concern to his doctor. She assured me that he would start talking soon. We kept waiting and now his speech is becoming clearer. He was talking the whole time, we just couldn't and sometimes still can't understand "his" language. Just give it some time. That's what I had to do. It was difficult to be around other moms with children the same age or younger that could speak clearly. Also, my doctor said that my son was too busy working on his motor skills to be worried with his speech. He is busy playing and be a BOY. That's when I realized that my son could do things physically that some children his age couldn't. I was proud of THAT. Keep your head up don't worry about the things you can't change, cause you will miss out on a whole lot of really enjoyable things.