[**Clair**]

my DS is two this month and his speach concerns me. My HN at his 18mth check said not to worry about it and that he would catch up but i know he should be saing a lot more b now.

he says mum, "ahh" which means "car" and "argh" which means no or stop it (usually in a cranky voice followed by a slap lol)...um, and that's it.

he has said "nanna" a few times (who is my mother and he recognizes her as nanna) and once or twice he has said no...but he says nothing else.

He understands everything you say to him though and follows instructions well. He just doesn't talk. I am fairly sure his hearing is good. He can hear me call to him from the other room and if he is not looking at me he can follow instructions (for example if his back is to me and i ask him to bring me his cup he will get up and bring it). And he can hear whispered talking as well as loud voices.

my other two were blabbing away and saying short sentences by now, so he has me a little stumped. i am going back to see my health nurse again in two weeks but i'd love to hear from some other mums first

[Xiola]

My DS1 was quite similar at that age. I'd done babysign with him so he knew about 200 signs but didn't really speak (so of course all older relatives blamed it on the signing). I took him to the Dr's and was told to give it until he was 2.5 and then we'd look at hearing tests etc. By the time he was 2 and 4 months he really started talking and we never looked back. Good luck!

[jenchristo]

No idea if his speech is normal or not, but you may want to consider a hearing test to rule out any problems. I think you need a referral from a GP. You also might want to get on the wait list for public speech therapy, as it can be a long wait. If you go private there's probably not much of a wait. I don't think you need a referral, but I'm not sure. Good luck.

[Carmen02]

the fact that he follows instructions and understands you is a great thing, my older 2 have had speech delay DD is 9 now and DS1 is 7 he was my one with severe speech delay (still has moderate at 7) at 2 he wasnt saying a word and didnt understand or follow instructions. I would get his hearing checked (which is a requirement of doing speech therapy) and follow up with a speech therapist (better to get peace of mind) which your health nurse will help with! Even if you go and they say his fine he will catch up it gives you peace of mind!

[Pup-pup]

As someone who works in the industry & has a 2 yr old, I'd get on the waiting list for speech therapy & get a hearing test. Ring Australian Hearing and see if you even need a referral. There's no harm done getting on the waiting lists. My 2 yr old has a few hundred words & is starting to put 2 words together - like daddy gone, more milk etc. I know there is a huge variation, but i'd be getting it checked out.

[libbylu]

The general rule of thumb is that kids should have at least 6 words by 18 months and be combining worlds by 24 months (i.e. big car, mummy bag). Sounds like your guy is running a bit behind so I would make a trip to the GP. You should ask for a referral for a hearing test (even though you think it is good, it's worthwhile anyway) and get a referral to a community speech pathology service. They often have a long waiting list, so even if you are inclined to 'wait and see' a bit longer, it is worth getting on the list. Otherwise, if you are not strapped for cash, take him to a private speechie and they will give you some good tips for getting him going.
At this age, many kids will catch up of their own accord, but since he has a language delay, this puts him at risk of a language disorder, so better to be safe than sorry and look into it early, as you can't really tell if he will catch up without help or not.

[Milly Molly Mand...]

My middle child had very few words at two and didn't get that many more during the age if two. He turned three and just started talking and hasn't stopped since. He got the academic award last year in kindy. When I look back I SHOULD have been more concerned because he wasn't doing what he should have been doing, but I just wasn't worried. It all turned out well in the end but I do think I potentially dropped the ball on it and should have done something about it. In my case my "mummy intuition" was right, but I would be kicking myself if I was wrong.

I comparison DS3 has just turned two and although his language is less than his peers but he is way ahead of DS2.

[erindiv]

My DD was EXACTLY the same, and my MCHN said they would not begin to worry until 2.5. DD went from 0 words at 2 years to hundreds now at 2.5. She is only just starting to combine more than two syllables at a time.

(for example, she used to only say single or double syllables, like 'ta mum' 'big car' 'red ball', just over the last three months she has started combining three syllables, 'bank oo mummy', 'yellow ball', and making sentences 'I love you mummy', 'no more water' etc)

When I posted about DD a year ago I got tons of replies telling me to get it checked out, I did, MCHN said not to worry at all until 2.5.

[deejie]

DS1 was the same. At 2, he had six words: Mum, Dad, Nana, car, mah (more) and uh (up). He could understand everything, point to things, he just couldn't articulate what he wanted.

A couple of months after he turned two, he had a speech explosion. He literally went from saying 6 words to speaking in full sentences in a matter of weeks. Strangely, he is now amongst the most verbally advanced of his peers and is certainly quite the chatterbox.

I did the same as you OP. We saw the MCHN and had an assessment. I was told at the age of two they should have approximately 50 words. We has his hearing tested (fine) and put him on the wait list for speech therapy. My gut instinct as his mother was that he was going to be a late talker and I was right, however, in my opinion there is absolutely no harm in ticking all the boxes and having a back up plan in place ready to go.

[Pleefa]

Hi, My son was very similar to yours. He wasn't really talking until a couple of months before his 3rd birthday. I wasn't too concerned as he understood what I was saying. It was other people that was putting doubt into my mind. I had a hearing test and his hearing was good. I also took him to a speech pathologist, but that didn't help as he wasn't ready to talk. He wouldn't copy words. It's amazing how much he copies now and joins words. All children are different and learn in their own time.