Twins Almost 18 Mos with No Vocab

Honey, you can't get my 2 year old to stop talking now. Their words were limited even at 2 years old. It's frustrating for you and them. I know you worry, I did, enjoy them...

I have twin boys also, they are three now, but I remember when they were about 18 months they did pretty much the same thing. I started to read and sing to them a lot. Their vocabulary now is fine, though one of my sons has problems prnouncing "S", and "L" and some words. His pediatrician said that is normal. They usually don't test kids until they are 3 for speech problems, so for now don't worry about it. Remember the more you talk, sing, and read them the better off they will be. Hope this helps.

Start Early Intervention Therapy NOW!!!!! It can be free to you from different ECI programs depending where you live in the city. Are you in San Antonio?

Because they were premmies it is very common for speech to lag, but get intervention now........

good luck,
DH

my daughter was 2 1/2 before she would say anything at all. we checked her hearing and she wasnt deaf, she just wouldnt talk. then all of a sudden. i think your boys might be paying alot of attention right now. listening very carefully so they get it right when they do. now shes 4 and she articulates her words better than i do. she makes me sound like a hillbilly. : D

S.: Your story is nearly identicle to mine. My boys are now 23 months and talking more and better and faster by the day. They were not saying much at 18 months. Don't worry, I think it is normal for twins to start talking a little later. You will love it when they actually start talking to each other in their own peculier way that only they get. Fun times ahead of you. (I am sure their next words will be NO and MINE)!

I have twin boys as well right about the same age. They were early walkers and are doing the same grunting and pointing thing. Our godson and our nephew did the same thing at that age (also early walkers). Basic rule of thumb is walking by 1, talking by 2. Boys (generally) tend to develop vocabulary a little bit later than girls do. They may also be focusing on another skill set right now. If they are curious, alert, interactive and aren't losing the words they have, I wouldn't be overly concerned. If they get a lot of ear infections, or otherwise seem to respond slowly to sounds, you might get their hearing checked, but they sound pretty on track to me. One interesting thing I have found is that my boys continue to add new words in sign language even though they show no interest in adding spoken vocabulary.

Women are from Venus (and little girls too). Little boys are not just from Mars, I think they're from Deep Space 9:) Twins often communicate with each other before they talk to you. Boys are slower in general verbally. I would check with my pediatrician about this, just to be sure.

A neurologist told a friend of mine that children can't develop both speech and walking at the same time. Both tasks are major developments which require the whole brain to learn... They can only handle learning one or the other; they won't learn both simultaneously. Sounds like your boys were early walkers, so it doesn't surprise me that they are not as vocal. (My daughter was very vocal at an early age but didn't start walking until closer to 15 months.)

In case this helps, here is an link to Parents Magazine with a timeline of vocabulary developmental milestones (I'll paste in the pages that apply to their age now): http://www.parents.com/baby/development/intellectual/baby...

I was told by my pedi that they really arent concerned until the age of two. You can then set up an appointment with Early Childhood Intervention. If it makes you feel any better, my daughter is 20 months and says NOTHING!! She, too, grunts. I would think that twins have their own language. Maybe in their lil' world, communication is not so important. I know that Dr's have told me that it is not hereditary. I beg to differ. My husband didnt speak either until he was almost three. He is a software engineer for NASA. So, my point is....dont worry yet...they will be talkin' your ear off in no time. (then you'll be wondering where the off button is!!!)
I fully understand the frustration. I, after many Dr's appointments, had to kind of let it go. As they say, they will talk when they're good and ready!!!

HTH,
Margaret :)

P.S. Look on the bright side...at least yours have a couple of words under their hats...What I wouldnt give for a "yes".

Talk with your doctor. Your doctor has known the boys since birth and can help you make your decision. If you don't like his answer then change doctors. My little sister had a speech problem and my parents caught it early, she was 3. They put her in speech therapy and she graduated 2 in her high school class.

Sounds like you are a great mother - and asking the right questions.

hey S.!
i'm a speech language pathologist, and it sounds like your twins are developing fine. kids usually say their first word @ 12 months....boys develop slower than girls....since i know you were comparing the two.. keep making eye contact when talking and let them see your mouth....i wouldn't worry until at leat 2-2 1/2 years....so now you can relax and enjoy your babies...they won't be little for long!

One of my 7 grandchildren wasn't talking much either around 18 months. We had his hearing tested and that wasn't it so then we had a speech evaluation done and he's been in speech therapy ever since and talks almost non stop & we can all understand him now. The earlier you get help the sooner their speech will be normal or almost normal.

Hi S.,
Your boys should be talking by now. Don't be scared instead take action. Call Easter Seals and have your twins evaluated. They come to your house and a group of professionals will determine what kind of help they can get.

My son is 3yrs old and is speech delayed. I contacted Easter Seals and they came out and sure enough he needed speech therapy. He received speech therapy for one yr thru them. When my son turned 3 Easter Seals refered my son to the public independent school district. He is now in school and we give him private speech therapy once a week. He is talking and sometimes I catch myself telling him to take a 5 minute break (silence). The earlier you get them help the better they will be later in life.

Good luck,
Elisa

your boys are most likely devloping fine but it doesn't hurt to have any early intervention evaluation, at the very least to reassure you. they are free and take a couple of hours. you can even call yourself to refer your boys for the initial consultation - you don't need a doctor's prescription unless routine services are found to be necessary. just tell them your concerns and they will most likely send a speech language pathologist to check it out. (i am a pediatric physical therapist, i used to work for early intervention in el paso before i had my baby) good luck.

My son didn't talk much till almost 3 years old and hasn't stopped since! Having their hearing checked is probably the main thing, but I wouldn't be too concerned just yet. My pediatrician never seemed to be very concerned either...and he was right.

I would not be overly worried about it yet. Boys naturally develop slower than girls do. I saw it with our daughter and son; he was not as progressed as she was by a certain age. The doctor's told me not to worry about it until he was two. It will happen and it will almost seem like a light switch flipped on in them. :o)

Obviously, talk to your doctor if you're worried. But my daughter (oldest child) didn't start talking until she was close to two, maybe even just over.

We'd been signing to her and she knew a few words in sign and few spoken words, but she'd kind of staled out. Then one day (literally, one day) she signed like four new words all at once. By the next week, she was talking. It's like some piece of her brain snapped into place and all of sudden she understood.

So, I don't think you should worry yet. Enjoy the quiet while you have it. <g>

My last son started talking before turning one, complete thoughts. My daughter didn't start talking until about 2 and 1/2. My other son didn't start really talking until after turning 2. Once you know that they know how to say a word, insist on them using it when appropriate.

Sorry - I didn't see all the responses. Sorry to overwhelm you.

I brought up the same issue with my pediatrician at my daughter's 18 month appointment. She said that she wouldn't become concerned until the 2-year-old appointment. Sure enough, she started talking much better right around the time she turned 2.

My sister has twin boys and had the same issue...it turns out that twins have their own language and they understand each other...they will reach a point where they need you to understand them or when they start to be around other kids they will break out of that "twin secret code" because they have to. They understand more than you think.

Just to be sure I would contact ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) It is a free service that comes to your house to evaluate and help with your kiddos. To continue it goes on how much you make and what you need. I had a delayed talker also and at 2 he just took off!! He is five now and does not stop...LOL.

Also, if you have not I would start teaching them sign so that they are not frustrated trying to communicate with you. It will cut down on a lot of tantrums. GOOD LUCK!!

J.

They do not sound that far behind to me, especially since they were 5 weeks early. I have two friends who's boys were saying about that much (20 and 25 months old). They both started theapy with ESI (free service but only deal with children under the age of 3). They are speaking so much more now! If you are concerned, I would definintely contact ESI. You can refer yourself or ask your pediatrician for a referral and contact info. Hopefully you can find the info online. Good luck and don't worry too much at this point.

S.-
You've gotten lots of great advice and insight. I will just add my 2 cents. My second born (a boy) wasn't talking at this age, too. I talked with my pedi and he wasn't worried, but he wasn't worried at 2 yrs, either. Finally at 2 1/2 I contacted ECI. If I knew how easy and painless it was going to be, I would have done it a lot sooner! They told me pedi's usually "wait to see" but ECI recommends getting in as early as possible. I'm telling you this because I wish I would have listened to my mom instincts and put my little boy in a program earlier.
With all that said, I have three boys, and they do tend to talk later than girls. I am sure in the next 6 months your little guys will be talking up a storm. Good luck - I know it can be frustrating!

Hi, I'm an early intervention/Child development specialis and I worked as a speech therapist for 3 yrs. At 18 mos your boys should have 250 wrds. While it is true that boys talk later and twins do too, it is never too early to get your child evaluated. That's why we call it early intervention. My son has been in therapy since he was 3 mos old. He does have down syndrome so I'm not one of those gotta have something wrong with my kid kinda mom's or anything but therapy does help. My son will be 2 in 1 month and still has very limited speech, but he gets therapy, and is walking and climbing and signing. Call the local Early Intervention program in your area. You can find the name on-line or if you need anymore help feel free to e-mail me and I can find the number for you. ____@____.com
hth
J.

You have a good year still - and they are twins! Most twins are more into each other and their world - they probably communicate between each other just fine and so they are great! Also - all kids are different and learn at different paces. Give it time. If they aren't using words or sentences by age 2.5+ then you should get them tested with ECI. You probably won't need to - relax mom and just enjoy - where your daughter has outshined in verbage, etc... find where your boys outshine - it may be a whole different ballgame for them!

Alli

I would definitely ask your pediatrician. I can't remember exactly when my son started talking but i know it was later. I grew concerned b/c everyone at his daycare was speaking or at least attempting to. I got so tired of everyone telling me "oh he will talk when he wants to". As his mother i knew something was not right.
He is currently in speech therapy now. He was diagnosed with a speech delay.
Hopefully your boys will start talking but it is worth it to speak with someone. They say boys are always slower that girls, so they told me not to compare to girls or even other kids.
Good luck and feel free to contact me anytime. S.

I started ECI with my twins at about 20 months due to the same issue. They can understand everything I tell them but still had a big speech delay. They still speak Twinese a lot but have been learning new words everyday. When the ECI therapist comes over, all she does is talk repetitively while she plays with them. She also verbalizes EVERY action they do together. Anyway, I started doing that more and it really works. One of my twins was a huge grunter/pointer but now he even tries to imitate most of the words I say. I'm more of an internal person so I don't think I talked enough for the boys. Of course, I did the same thing with my 5 yr old daughter and she talked on time with no problems. Apparently, boys (especially boy twins) need more stimulation. Also, I bought a bunch of picture books. Whenever they're inclined, they will bring me a book and we work on their vocabulary. If you want me to give you more detailed examples of what the ECI therapist does, you can email me. Good luck!

Hey S.,
I don't think I would worry just yet. Little boys are often a lot slower to speak, and so are second children. I remember my Mum telling me a story about a study done in Preschool rooms. They separated the boys and girls, and found they they made the same amount of noise, but where the little girls were chattering and talking to each other, the little boys were all making zooming sounds with airplanes, crashing noises with cars and lots of other crazy 'boy noises'. Boys just aren't social in the same way.
Also, a little boy in my church who is a little over 18mo has only just started saying more than 'Mama'.
GL.

It is never too early to start intervention. I was told at 18 months that boys were just slower than girls, so I waited until 24 months. I lost 6 months of precious time. Early Childhood Intervention is a governmental service that is based on a sliding scale. The initial interview is free. They will come out and do an evaluation on your boys and determine if the have a delay severe enough to warrant services.
I Googled ECI for Katy and the number I came up with is below. I hope this is the right one for your area. In Williamson County, it is called PRIDE.
Good luck
Katy, TX 77450
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All children do things at different levels. Some are fast at speech some are fast at walking or even potty training.
So dont worry too much. Speak with your pedi doc to see what he thinks. Maybe he has test he can do,like for hearing or sight.i do know some children start off slow then put on the speed and you cann't keep up with them. You watch they will probably start talking then you may wish of quiet, take care.

I am so glad to see you got so many positive responses. One other thing..I didn't read all of them but I remember hearing about a study a while back that came up with the conclusion that most twins have their own language and don't learn ours til a while later.
My daughter was speaking full sentences by 1 year old..but my son hardly spoke a single word till he was almost 2 1/2 ...We came up with the conclusion that our daughter spoke for him, he never needed to speak, she did it all for him. once she started school and was out of the house most of the day...he bloomed, just started speaking full sentences like he had been doing it all along...the little stinker..!
by the way, he still tries to get her to do most of his talking, chores, homework etc...and she does it...
Best of luck, hope you feel more at ease...

"Walk at one, talk at two." Don't worry about it.

I would not worry. My daughter was only saying "ma ma dada and baby" when she was 22 months old. We had her hearing tested and she was evaluated for speech therapy. In time, she just started talking more and more. Now she is almost 4 and we can't stop her from talking! Just mention it at their well baby appointments but I am sure they are just communicating with each other!

They are at the perfect age to start speech therapy. Go to your pediatrician and find out who does early childhood intervention for your area (ECI, Easter Seals, etc.) All three of my boys were late talkers and the therapy was just like a special playtime for them, but the therapist will also give you extra ideas to get them talking. It will happen in their own time, but why not help them along before they get frustrated? I'll bet they have lots they want to tell you! :) Not time to worry, but certainly not a bad time to help them learn better communication.
I also did sign language with my kids and it was so fun! Lots of books on baby signs, and if you do signs as you say the words it's not about taking the place of speech, but adding to their communication skills as they grow.

P. (mom to three boys ages 7,5,3)

I know you will get quite a few responses on not comparing your children but I know where you're coming from. There are time when your instincts tell you something is not quite right.

I have been in this situation and you will see why I suggest the following:

The first thing I would suggest you do is converse with you children, ask them simple things where their respond is necessary, raise the bar - not too high. DO NOT COMPLETE THEIR SENTENCES HAVE THEM ASK FOR THINGS THEMSELVES, you may have to let them know this is a car, etc once and have them repeat it this is to make sure they can actually hear what you are saying. Next time they should know the name, never assume.

The second thing is find out when a hearing test can be done, my son had problems asking and remembering names of things and kept failing hearing test with pediatrician yet not with specialist, try to have them done the same day (pediatrician 8am) - the pediatrician tried but someone wasn't listening. History of ear infections and allergies come into play.

Make and eye exam appointment with Dr. William Bieker, OD. My son, like I mentioned had the above plus health issues, no one at school cared about what our observations he was fine until he did not pass the TAKS exam, easy solution for the school and state - retention. A friend recommended Dr. Bieker due to the success of his son after seing him and following his recommendations. Dr. Bieker told us everything we told what we had observed and the school denied. The problem, eye tracking, ear infections (less than my daughter) and his life saving meds played a role in this. He recommended evaluation, which recommended a program already in one of our schools, which we transferred. What a BLESSING. Dr Bieker explained very well how our eyes, ears, and speech work together and need one another.

He has come along way quite quickly eventhough he lost much precious time (primary years and self esteem). He is a fighter, once our Eduations Department and schools hop on board with real solutions for our struggling students (they need to visit this dr) he, along with many struggling and "problem" children, will no longer have this problem unless by choice.

I asked my optometrist about this "eye tracking" and he told me that this is the first thing they learn yet he did not know anyone practiced it, you just have sit them down and make them learn. HELLO!? learning disabled is real and the solutions is so simple.

Well good luck, hope your case is just a boys will be boys.
Good Luck!

You can definitely contact your local elementary school regarding this concern and they will give you an early intervention screening just to make sure there's no problem. My daughter was not very verbal at that age and she has a speech delay. I would advise you to just make sure everything is fine but not to be worried.

God Bless!

We had this problem with my oldest daughter (child #3), and found out part of the problem was that her older brothers were talking for her. She didnt HAVE to talk! She grunted or pointed and someone got her what she wanted. When I stopped letting her brothers talk for her, and we started letting her know she would have to at least make an attempt,we got more results. Now she's 26, and never stops talking!

Hi, S.,

I was wondering if you have had your twins hearing checked. With them being premature (my son was 3 months early) sometimes hearing loss is an issue. Even if they were screened at birth, it would be worth checking out....

Good luck!
P. M

I don't have twins but I've had a few sets in my daycare classes. From what I learned twins tend to go a little slower than singles. I don't know why, maybe it's the fact that they shared genes in the womb? And I have a three yr old little boy who didn't start REALLY talking til he was three.. (He also has ADHD)

From my experience as a daycare teacher for young children there are a few factors that can slow childrens' speech down. 1)pacifiers
2)sex (I've noticed that boys tend to develop more slowly than girls in speech) It's also true with my kids..My girl is 11 months and already saying about 10 words..which with my boy went a lot slower.
3)any other medical complications
4)being in a multiple birth.

I would get a referral from your boys' pediatrician to a speech therapist. I did it when my son was 3 1/4 and I'd been worried about his speech for a while. Turns out he was fine..and talks great today.

I think they just decide one day that they want to talk too..lol.

Hi there,

This is completely normal especially for boys. My first son did not start talking till he was 2 years old and he went from mama and dada to complete sentences, ever since he speaks with impeccable pronunciation and vocabulary. we too were worried about his speech development. My daughter was the same as yours, talking full sentences at one! Boys develop and all children at their own pace. One of my best friends has twin boys that just celebrated their 2nd birthday and they are just now starting to talk as well. Remember Einstein didn't talk until he was 5 or 6!!!Continue to read to them A LOT and point out everything you see, eventually they will start talking.

I don't know if it's anything to worry about or not, but if it's frustrating to you or them that it's difficult to communicate, try sign language. I bought a book and learned some simple signs like 'milk' and 'more' which helped my daughter communicate with us before she was very verbal. Pretty soon they'll be talking like crazy and you won't be able to get them to be quiet! Good luck!

Hi Shenille,

I have a friend who had preemie twins and they are in occupational therapy for the developmental delays they incurred. Many premature babies will have delays of one type or another and occupational therapy can be very helpful in bringing them up to speed better.

I would NOT wait to have them evaluated though. If they are DX'd with developmental delays you are going to want to start the work right away. As time goes by you are losing ground and they have catching up to do. My friends boys are only a little behind now in speech and motor skills because of the work they have done.

Good luck-
D. ;)

It is true all kids are different so you can't always compare them to siblings. However, if you have a concern I would call Easter Seales. They will come out and give you an assessment with a speech therapist.

When my daughter was 18 months old I had the same concerns. Everyone told me that she was fine and would start talking in no time. Like your boys, she would occasionally make an effort to speak, but it was not intelligible. Sometimes she wouldn't even try at all. At 22 months I had her evaluated and within 15 minutes they told me she "qualified". I am so glad I did. Her speech therapist was never able to pinpoint exactly her "problem" as she had never had an ear infection, had no learning disorders or problems, and her muscles were strong enough to form letters/sounds. (you might want to take them off sippy cups and use only the kind with straws. that does make their mouths work harder and is good for speech. sippy cups are only glorified bottles)

My daughter was in speech therapy for just under 3 years and by the time we entered Kindergarten people were amazed that she had ever had any difficulty. (we even ran into one of her old teachers from Mother's Day Out and they could not believe how well she spoke)

I highly recommend Easter Seals as they will come to your house, it is usually once a week, and you really develop a rapport with the therapist. It has been 3 years since my daughter last had to go (my daughter is now in second grade), but at the time once they turned 3 you could continue with
Easter Seales as long as you went to their office. In our case we had to meet our insurance 250.00 deductible as it was considered out of network, but after that it was covered. You can have the option of going to your local public school when they turn 3, but you will no longer get one on one attention and you will have to get to know a new speech therapist all over again. Not the end of the world to be sure, but still not optimal.

Good luck, your boys will be fine!