Worried - 14 Month Old Doesn't Talk

i am a licensed day care home in new lenox. I've been doing this for 5 years. I have referances and am available from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Ask your pediatrician about Early Interventions in your area-get the phone number and you can set up an evaluation. Too much to type-I had similiar experience-call me at ###-###-####-Im all about helping a worried mom ahead of time :)

First of all .. don't worry you are doing EVERYTHING RIGHT!!! Second contact Easter Seals to get an eval through Early Intervention. EI is a program Birth-3. Both of my boys were int his program and had very few words by age 2. The great thing about EI is once the eval and paperwork process is done... which takes a while you get Speech therapy in your home or at the day care depending on where the child is for a minimal family fee. Early Intervention is the key so get the appointments in!! Don't fret she will be talking before you know it!!

If you need anything else let me know. I have contact info if you will be in Will County.

hi
My friend had the same issue, she was concerned because her two year old was not speaking very well and seemed to have a limited vocabulary. She sought the help of a speech therapist. and within a few months, she began speaking the words that she had been hearing at home. Her previous grunting and screaming was actually her own frustration not being able to communicate her need. My advice is this. Your daughter is still very young, many children seem to catapult into understandable speech at about 1.5 -2years old. Dont be overly concrened about statistics that state she should have more than ten words. Thats like saying all children are alike! My son didnt speak fluently until he was two, my daughter could hold a conversation at the age of one. your baby is only 14 months old, just keep the conversations in your household flowing and she will come into her own words. And dont use baby talk, it confuses kids. If she continues to struggle three or four months from now, then I would consult with someone.

That what you read in books is the norm is, not always reality. Your daughter is a special individual and she will develop on her time. She is talking, you just may not understand what she is saying. I have a almost 20 month old and in the last week his vocabulary has started beyond MaMa. Not only is he talking, but talking with 2 word sentences.

Your daughter will be fine.

Enjoy her!!!!

K....

My eldest daughter didn't start talking (besides baby talk) til she was 2 years old and she would stutter. I took her to a speech therapist and got her tested for speech and also for hyper active because she would never stay stil (couldn't stay sitting down watching tv or coloring, etc.) for more than 5 minutes (and at this time she was almost 3 years old). To make a long story short... she was find and finally at the age of 4.5 she all of a sudden stopped stuttering and her vocabulary expanded to a normal kid her age. She outgrew her speech problem (and you can't get her to keep quiet)... and she is an honor student. I would still have her looked at, but not all kids grow and the same speed... she may just catch-up (like my daughter). Hope this helps

K.,
Hi! I have a 2 1/2 year old boy and he didn't talk either - he called me "dada" until he was almost 2! We used flash cards with pictures of his everday things (cup, bowl, snack, dog, etc) and when he would grunt, we would get the flash cards and say "point to the word" . . .and then say whatever he was pointing to over and over until he made a noise similar. We also did very basic sign language with him (lots of books and internet sites were helpful) and eventually he just got the hang of it. It was even as simple as if he wanted more of something and we knew he couldn't say "more" he could say the "m" sound, so he would ask for more by using the sign for more and saying "mmmmmm".
Pay no attention to those statistics out there. I remember reading something once that said that he should have 20 words and I think he had 5 (and those were only words that my husband and I could recognize).
If you'd like to talk more, I'd be happy to chat or share insight or even be an understanding ear if you need one. I do completely understand what you are going through.
B.
p.s. My best friend lives in Brookside Glenn. I also have friends in NL, I will see if anyone knows anythign about day cares.

My friends son also did not talk at that age. His pediatrician told his mother that he should have 5 words by 12-15 months which caused lots of concern as he had none. 5 months later, although still quiet, he is talking more and more - lots of 'mama', 'baby' and he's fine. I know its hard, but I really wouldn't worry about it too much - she'll get there when she's ready.

My sister didn't speak until she was 3. She was taken to the speech therapist where, for the first time ever, she spoke properly. They said she was learning by watching and perhaps didn't feel comfortable speaking until she felt she could do it well. Apparently, some kids are like that.

my son just turned three, but it wseems not that long ago i was in the same situation. when you go to your dr. ask him/her EARLY INTERVENTION. the dr has to prescribe it though. these people work with kids until age 3 and then the schools will take over if needed. my son did not talk until he was 16 months old. but now we can't get him to sshh

Hi! I am a speech therapist and can assure you that there is a wide range on this topic. The key things at this age are that 1) she continues to show that she is understanding and learning to understand more. 2) she continues to increase/change positively the amount and type of babbling that she is doing. Also is she very good with motor skills - many times a child is either a better walker or talker, but not both. At the appt you can certainly have her hearing checked and discuss the other things you note with your doc. There are easy Early Intervention evals that can be done to put your mind at ease, give you additional suggestions and/or schedule some therapy if needed. Don't hesitate to ask me more.

K.,
You need to relax. It sounds like you're doing the right things. Reading, pointing and labeling everything. I was told to use action verbs alot (look, you're jumping! Watch Mommy cleaning. Now we're washing our hands. ) Sit on the floor and roll a ball back and forth. Separate his toys into colors and go over each color. Their attention span is like 10 mins at this age. He's still just a baby!!! My daughter didn't speak until she was 2 1/2 and I was told by MANY speech pathologists not to really worry until age 3, but to try these simple exercises (above) and some others that your little one is too young for. If he's saying Mama and dada and making consonant sounds, then he's doing fine. If you hear him making 'd' sounds, then you make 'd's right back. Same with 's' and 'g'. I heard 'L' and "r" are more difficult. Again, it's hard not to compare him with other kids in group settings. Other Moms are quick to point out what their kids can do or say. Your son may be way more coordinated than theirs. I know being around other kids (slightly older) may help with picking up speech sounds. You're doing fine. He's doing fine. Tune everyone out and keep doing what you're doing. good luck.

K.,

Our son is fifteen months and in the same predicament. However, he has had a lot of ear infections and the doctor is referring him to an ENT to see about getting tubes. The pediatrican thinks that he has some hearing loss due to the ear infections and thinks he will start talking more once he gets the tubes. She did recommend that Early Intervention come out and evaluate him just in case. So, EI came out and the want to start him on Speech therapy 1x/wk and Occupational therapy 2x/mth. I've been told that getting tubes is very common in children and that he will be fine, but I still worry. That's our job as mothers, right? Anyway, I hope this info helps.

hugs,
K.

My daughter did not speak at 15 months and I was concerned as well. Fortunately the school district I was living in at the time did evaluations on children of that age and she was determined to be speech delayed. She received many services, including a speech therapist who came to the house. Today (at 17) she talks so much we marvel that we were ever concerned about her being quiet.
Contact the school district and see what they have available, but also discuss it with the pediatrician, because he/she may recommend a hearing exam as well.

Good Luck,
S.

Don't worry about it. She probably has words for things that you don't even realize. My first daughter was a very late talker-she didn't even make animal sounds, but she understood everything I said to her. If you asked what a cow said she would just point to a cow or go get a toy cow. At her 15 month check-up my pediatrician recommended speech therapy if there wasn't any improvement by the next check up. I never brought her to a therapist, she's 2-1/2 now and speaks very well. Just give her some time and keep talking to her and repeating words. Good luck!

Hi K.,

I also have a 19 month old who doesn't talk much either. I also happen to be a school psychologist so I'm very familiar with kids who have developmental delays. Here's my suggestions. At your next appt. discuss the speech issue with your pediatrician and see what he thinks. I waited until my 18-month appt. before I had the dr. give me a diagnosis of Apraxia (a very severe speech disorder). I doubt my daughter really has Apraxia, but it's really for insurance purposes. You will need a diagnosis in order to reap any medical insurance benefits. You can also contact the Child & Family Connections Easter Seals Society of Metro Chicago, 14930 S. Cicero, 3rd Floor, Oak Forest, 708/535-7057. The CFC Manager is Peter Byrne. They do evaluations I believe at no charge. It's a good place to start as I will be doing the same very soon. In order to qualify for services your daughter would need to demonstrate a 30% delay in her speech. If you try to just contact a speech/language clinic you'll find that you'll have a huge wait! My understanding is that CFC is pretty good with getting evaluations done in a timely matter, plus they have contracts with speech therapists to provide services. I would also suggest looking into getting a sign language video so you can teach your daughter sign language to get her wants and needs known. It may help with the grunting, etc. which is very annoying--I know!!! Good luck and let me know if you have any further questions.

Take care,
G..

Rest assured K.. I went through the same thing with my son except he was even alot older than your daughter. I think my son was around 2 years old before myself and the pediatrician thought that he should get assessed. I got in touch with the recommended agency and they were absolutely wonderful with him. They came to my house once a week. They said he was a lazy talker. He is the youngest of 5 older sisters, that did got him anything he wanted if he pointed. With some therapy and daycare, he is now 3 and talking. Sometimes he is hard to understand compared to other kids his age, but all kids are individuals and learn at their own pace. Another thing, is her hearing O.K? My daughter before my son was a late talker as well, again she had (3) older sisters. I did not get therapy for her, but just incouraged her to ask for things versus grunting. She is now 6 years old and speaks very eloquently for her age. If you are interested, I can give you the agency name and phone number. Good Luck!

Hi K.,

I have a 14 month old son, and he doesn't really 'talk' either. He does say some words. We thought he would be talking more by now because he said 'ball' at 9 months. He says 'da da', 'mama', 'bye bye', 'uh-oh'. He's now trying to say 'baby'. I'm not worried about it. He does sign language for 3 words (more, night night, and eat). I actually didn't teach him to sign - he just did it himself. So weird. I hear that around 18 months that their vocabulary increases overnight. Definitely voice your concern to the peditrician next month. If they suspect a problem, they could recommend your daughter see an early intervention specialist. It may be a bit too early for that, though. Good luck...and try not to stress too much about it. She'll talk when she's good and ready. :-)

Hi K.!

I honestly don't think that you have anything to worry about. Kids all develop in their own time, no matter WHAT time tables those experts put out. ;) All I could advise you to do, is to continue to speak clearly to her- try to encourage her to say the word when she starts pointing. And see how long YOU can stand not giving it to her until she at least tries. I don't think that labeling things would really work for her age- it's more verbal communication that needs the focus. Just keep working with her, and try just starting with individual sounds- like dada. Keep it simple for now. I know what it's like to WANT them to talk- but believe me, once she does start, you're gonna wish that she couldn't!! :)

Take care!

B.

My 18 month old just started speaking out loud. I think she knew more than she let on b/c she is talking in sentences. My mom said I did not speak until I was 4. Kids develop language at their own pace. As a teacher I see a lot of this. Some kids choose not to speak, like I did. I would not worry yet, even with a pediatrician, b/c there is what is considered the "norm" and then there is reality. In reality, kids all develop diffenently and you can not compare kids. Your child may know words, but is choosing right now not to use language. Is your child in day care? My 18 month old did not start talking much until she was in child care and around kids her age talking. Kids are funny. I would not worry yet! I know it is easier said than done though. I hope this helped
M.
Mother of a 4 yr old and 18 month old both girls
Teacher

I will be starting a home based Daycare Monday thru Friday from 6:00am to 6:00pm. I have a 9 yr old daughter and a son that will be 5 months old at the end of this month. I am located in Tinley Park. I was employed full time but have decided not to return to work after the birth of my son. If you would like to contact me please feel free to contact me at ###-###-####.

I know its hard but try not to worry too much. My son did not really start talking until 18 months and it has been not stop since then. I get so many people surprised by how well he talks for only being 2.5. He did not say mama till that time too.