I have a 20 month old DS, and he has very very limited language skills. Basically he still babbles like a small baby. Words like "dadada", and "mamama". He is accurate however when he says it (points to daddy, and momma). Other words he might say, "Color", "flower"... (trying hard to think of other words...) Mainly he just babbles for any word. Isn't he supposed to be talking more? How am I to homeschool him in all that I want to if he can't talk?! I try hard with him everyday: talking constantly, pointing things out, reading lots of books, making him ask for things by name if he wants something and if he doesn't say it then he doesn't get it. What else can I do? Doctor said quite a few months ago that he will probably have a small delay sue to the fact that he had such severe ear infections that rendered him basically deaf for most of his life. When he got his tubes in he greatly improved, but now has just hit a plateau. :/ It's frustrating!!!!!
be patient.... really, he's not even two. Now that his hearing has improved, he will likely explode with his language development...and some kids just talk later. Keep in constant communication with your Dr. to ensure if he may need speech classes you get them to him. Also check with your dept of education website. Here in TN speech classes are free up till a child's third birthday through the department of education.
I am a former speech therapist to young children. A 20 month old is young. The range of normal for that age is wide. If you are concerned I would recommend getting him tested by your local Early Intervention program. They can take a closer look to see if he is showing some good signs that he will talk more soon. Meanwhile you can peruse a website I put together to help parents help their own kids at home. I listed quite a number of strategies that you can use at home with him. In short the best things to do are to talk less providing more pauses for your child to fill in, talk in short word phrases, and introduce sign language. I know those may seem to be counter to common sense, but they work well.
My oldest didn't speak until 3.5 years. The ear infection thing will make a definite difference. Also-I agree with Embassy. Lastly-don't worry about the words-it's important to note that he is using the correct words with things. Also-when he's 10 and telling you over and over how he doesn't want to do that workbook page you'll look back and think...."remember when you weren't even 2 and you just kinda babbled...." ~
Embassy's website looks awesome. I'll just echo that children develop speech at different times. You can't rush a child's development any more than you can talk a flower into growing faster. You can still do a lot of fun homeschool preschool stuff with him like reading, pointing to colors and objects, coloring, painting, etc.
Thanks alot guys!! Your suggestions have helped immensely! Embassy, your website ROCKS! I have booked marked it so my dh and I can look at it. I think we will also try some sign language to go with the words. Maybe that will help. DH and I used sign language with oldest DS (will be 3 in July) when he was younger and shy about talking and it helped him gain confidence. Don't know why I didn't think of it until now! Thank you for the suggestion, Embassy! I guess the bug for the kiddos to succeed and be good at everything early kinda bit me! Thanks for your support guys!
Also, beware of punishing him for not speaking (not giving him something unless he uses the word). I'm certainly not an expert in anything close to this area (or anything at all, really. ha!), but that seems like a bad idea to me.
2 of our three boys were not speaking much more than that - if that much - at that age. Both are comparable to their peers now - one is actually a real motor mouth. He can't get all the grammar or vocab right but he doesn't let little details like that slow m down.
I was trained to teach the deaf, so my professional opinion is YES to everything everyone else said! Yu might also want to teach him a bit of sign language. Believe it or not, it can actually IMPROVE speech! Just talk a lot to him, give him a running narration of everything you're doing, ask questions, etc.
wow! I had to read that one twice 20 months I think he is doing well for his age. One he more then likely has everyone else talking for him. He's a baby he will talk in a few years you will be saying doesn't he ever shut up. LOL I am sure things are fine, let him be just keep doing what you are doing and I am sure he will talk when he is ready too. I have a story I have two girls, my dh was very upset because youngest one didn't talk much at 2 years old. We went to the doctor did tons of test they found nothing wrong. Well we keep working with her and found out that her older sister always talk for her she never had to talk. LOL
I actually took my son to the dr. yesterday for a check up and was talking to him about this very topic. He too is 20 mo.old and saying mama, dada,nana, ghouls (girls-when he is trying to get his older sisters attention) and mostly pointing at things and saying dat (that). Nothing else. The doctor refered me to a program called babynet, which I think is through the health dept. He has an appointment in 2 weeks with the speech pathologist to evaluate him. Then we'll see where we go from there. He told me not to worry that kids develop at all different rates. He also told me that boys tend to talk later than girls, and your 2nd child is usually a later talker than your first, your 3rd is later than your 2nd and so on.
I would go with the sign language too. My DS didn't have any delays, but we started him signing at a year and what a difference! Signing Time is an excellent program and could also help with learning colors, alphabet, etc. Good luck.
Please, don't get taken by the what if? syndrome. If everything that we worried about happened, wow, we would all be dead or homeless. If he isn't even two years old, I hope you aren't trying to homeschool him now. Plus, you help your child learn to their personal potential--not to what everyone else expects. Also, remember that Einstein spoke very late. He obviously did well with learning.
The "what if" idea is something to consider. Some children just develop at different rates. I would say a very small percentage of children who develop later start talking in full sentences. Einstein was not typical of a child with delayed language. I have worked with many later talking children who did not start to get help until they were 3 and 4 and they still needed assistance in the elementary years. Some struggled with language arts because their language skills were delayed. Just because a person starts talking doesn't mean their language skills are appropriate either. I am all for delaying academics, but getting help for language issues early on makes a big difference. The younger you start the quicker they catch up. I've started with a late talker as soon as 15 months. While it is still in the normal range for a child of 15 months to have no words, there are many skills necessary that come before words are spoken. Play skills are important too because children with a good imagination tend to have better language skills. Pretend play builds language skills. It is also important in building language skills to follow the child's lead. Working on language skills in the early years isn't about sitting down and teaching your child how to say words. It is about getting down on the floor and playing, talking, and following the child's lead. There is no harm in that. In fact, there is much benefit to that. As for withholding items until he says the word there are ways you can do that without putting unnatural pressure on the child to say the word. I don't find that putting pressure on the child to say words is the most effective path to take. You can do simple things like make up a cookie song when your child wants a cookie. Let him hear the word "cookie" over and over and over again without asking him to say it. You can also talk about the cookie using short phrases. Be silly too. You can also play dumb. When you know he wants a cookie put a cracker in his hand. When he indicates that it is wrong you can continue to find the wrong thing to see if he will try to say the word cookie. If you are playing dumb most little ones will find this fun. Doing this when a child is cranky or hungry isn't the same. If you already know he can say the word this can help him practice saying the word in a more natural situation. I find it helpful to remember that communication is not about repeating what someone wants you to say, but the back and forth exchange. A child can participate in a back and forth exchange before he has spoken one word by using gestures or sounds. Those back and forth exchanges are just as important as words spoken. Hope that helps
YES, YES, and YES!!! True for ALL children, delayed or not, but ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for delayed kids! Play with them, talk with them, explain everything you're doing with them, describe over and over again, READ TO THEM DAILY (!!!), involve them in EVERYTHING, and make language a big part of that!
Reading your sig tells me he's your second. I've noticed that each of my later kids spoke later; my 2nd started talking later than my 1st, then my 3rd started later than my 2nd, then I NEVER thought my 4th was gonna talk. The other kids were always "helping." I sent my oldest to her grandmother's for a week and my 2nd started talking up a storm. I'm sure that the other points - development, hearing - contribute, but birth order may be a contributing factor as well.
I just wanted to encourage you! My 3rd child didn't say ANYTHING (he cried Mama, but never spoke it) until after 2yo, when we finally convinced the pedi to let us try speech therapy. He took off! My 8th child was saying TONS of words at 12mo and almost nothing by 18mo. I had him in for speech and OT because of not eating solids (still really doesn't eat any more than he did then!), and we've been working on speech too. First off, my son is VERY strong willed! He will NOT do anything unless HE wants to do it. Not eat, not talk, not even walk! LOL Anyway, what has made the most difference for us is books. I have picture books and he LOVES them. His fave is "My Little Word Book" by Priddy Books. (Go to priddybooks dot com, then search for the book.) It has great, REAL pictures. My son LOVES to look at it, point at pictures, and repeat what they are Your son will be just fine and talk in HIS time!
