[Sunnycat]

DS is 18 months old and says one word: "car". He has said other words but doesn't really use them. He babbles a lot and sings and chats, just doesn't say anything in human English! He communicates well though and always makes known what he wants.

We're in the process of having his hearing tested and I'm looking for a speech pathologist and he has an appointment booked or the developmental paediatrician in a couple of months.

I'm not sure of he's going to start talking on his own or if he's doomed.

Has anyone had a late talker?

[Riotproof]

That was ds. I went to a supported Playgroup run by Lifestart in Sydney. I can't remember if you're in Sydney or not, but they were excellent for teaching me how to encourage him to talk. Also, if there does end up being a problem, they can help with that too.

http://www.lifestart.org.au/category/lifestart-playgroups/

[stressnless9]

My step son was 2 before he started talking now at 3 he speaks better than my nephew who is the same age and was well ahead of him!!

This post has been edited by stressnless9: 21/04/2013, 11:38 PM

[KnightsofNi]

My DD didn't have any words that she regularly said at 18 months. But soon after, she 'woke up' and she had an explosion of words. By 3 she could say anything. Now at nearly 5, she won't stop talking!

I think from memory, the speech therapist that I spoke to at playgrouo told me that if they weren't saying any words at 18 months, to make an appt.

[lsolaBella]

I have had two.

DS1 had less than 10 words at 24m. By three years at "Mummy I think perhaps he train may be coming soon" I stopped worrying. Since 4yo Kinder every teacher has asked "Does he ever shut up" as he is a chatterbox.

DS2 had around 15 words at 2yrs. At 2.5yrs when he finally started talking more I noticed he sounded like he was talking underwater, so hearing test showed moderate hearing loss. From its in just before he turned 3, but he did not gt a 'normal' range hearing test until after 4yrs. Finally his speech started to pick up, but hearing impacts had created social problems. $5k worth of speech in 6m just had him ready to start school (where he is excelling in Prep). Biggest comment from health professionals is how smart he is.

So yes getting hearing checked is very important. Some are just natural late talkers, others do have various problems. Listen to your instincts.

ETA:DD on the other hand at 20m came out with" give me ball back now DS1name" so I have never been worried over her. At 3yrs she is easier to understand on the phone than 5.5yrs DS2.

This post has been edited by lsolaBella: 21/04/2013, 11:43 PM

[No girls here]

DS3 had 2 or 3 words at 18 months I think. I asked the GP for a referral to get his hearing tested at that age. The GP gave me one but didn't seem too concerned, and still said it was in the range of normal for his age.

He is now 22 months and it has only been in the last few weeks he has really been starting to talk - he would now have between 30 and 40 words.

It is not uncommon at all, for boys in particular, to not be talking around that age. I know loads of boys who were not talking at 18 months. However I think if they're still not doing much at 2, it's probably time to seek help.

[GlitterFarts]

DD - only about 15 words at 2.5 - CYHN said that 3 is when they would worry - she was fine, by three, talking up a bloody storm!

DS - He turned 3 last sept and had barely a handful of words. Went to the CYHN - first one said "maybe......hearing check just to be sure"- perfectly fine. Second CYHN said nothing wrong with him, some kids have to be the ones that follow the 'average' group lol

We do have a speechie booked, but they aren't very worried (it's not for ages and he's been bumped once already) and TBH, neither am I - he had a growth spurt recently and his speech is getting better. As long as he doesn't plateau or stall that is

Neither of my kids talked before 3 - where as my third seems to already be on her way She's barely 6months


If you're worried get it checked. My CYHN said that if we were worried, do lots of words games, songs, reading, etc.

[Boyz_Mama]

My ds1 had 5ish words at 11-12months- duck, mum, dad, ta and bye? and then he suddenly stopped. For months and months we tried to get him to say any of those words again and couldnt. At maybe 18months we got referral for hearing test (took 6months to get phonecall about an appt) but by then he'd just started with a few words. He has been a bit behind with learning how to pronounce his consonants(and we're still working on a few sounds), but he's now 4 and chatters all the time. Like a PP said, we desperately try to get him to stop talking sometimes , and his kindy teachers and friends of ours love how he chats and comes out with such grownup phrases.

So yes, theres hope.... But IMO its definitely worth getting on waiting list for hearing checks etc., just in case, whilst you wait for DS to naturally start talking.

[Bottom]

Yes, my son only had about ten words at 2 now at 2.5 I can't count. We have a family of late talkers though. Saw GP and paed and had hearing and speechie assessment at 18 months- none were concerned all said he had finely developed motor skills and suggested that was what his brain was working on first- turned out to be true. They were more concerned about receptive language which was assessed as perfect for age so I didn't worry, but loads of people used to comment about him not talking much - I would just shrug and be patient:)

[kay11]

I was worried about my boy at 18 months too. But apparently animal noises count, so his words included 'mum', 'dad', 'brrm brrm', 'me-uww', 'duck', 'baa' , 'ra-ra' and 'NO' all counted and apparently that was all within range.