Speech in a 20 month old boy.

[bishop]

Hi forum,

I have a 20 month old son, and his Mother and I are becoming quite concerned about his speech- or lack thereof.

He understands us when we speak to him, and can communicate his needs clearly through gesturing/pointing and the occasional use of 'there' and 'that'. However, that's pretty much the extend of his spoken language. My wife and I were not worried until we saw him with his friends, all of whom were at least able to say 'cat' or 'water'. His friends are a mix of girls and boys, and we are aware that typically boys develop at a slower rate than girls. We also know that comparing one's child to another child is a bad idea anyway, because inevtiably you end up drawing comparisons between them, even if you don't mean to.

Apart from all this, he's getting very frustrated when he can't make himself completely understood. He's had a fairly large change in his life recently, and his tantrums and frustration have hit an all time high, poor bugger.

Is it worth a visit to the GP, to ask about referrals to a SLT? We'd ask our HV, but she's been pretty much useless (handing out ridicolous and outdate3d advice to my wife ad myself since our son was born- such as, give the baby a bottle of formula, perhaps with rice cereal in, to help him sleep longer stretched, when he was around 12wks old)

Or is it worth waiting another 4 months and seeing where we are after he turns 2? His hearing is fine, and his receptive language is great, it's just getting him to SAY something which is a bit of a no-go.

[snowboarder]

See this recent thread with very similar theme...

It's hard to remember already but my little boy said very little beyond yes/no etc at that age - he is now 28m and had a real explosion in terms of language at about 23m...I would say he's still behind some of his friends but he does like to concentrate on action rather than words...

[Saila]

My son is 19 months and we're in exactly the same situation as you.

I've done some research and feel confident that it's nothing to worry about.

A lot of it, I've heard, is down to the emphasis parents have on boys playing physically whereas parents tend to *talk* more to their daughters (this is

A firm belief of one friend of mine who highly recommends a book called 'the gender delusion' ... You can work out the rest)

Imo - I just think girls are a zillion times cleverer and I can't believe men rule the world

Night. X

[Pickle]

Agree - don't worry at this age. For many children speech doesn't start to develop properly until they're over 2. Ironically in our family we were in the situation where our 20 month old could talk, but couldn't walk... so no matter what there's always something to worry about!

[GSJ57]

Our son was almost 3 before he was talking - up 'til then all he could say was Yaya and Gaga for Mama and Dada. Had to go for hearing tests etc. I knew there wasn't a problem with his hearing as could follow commands well, ie: Don't put the doggies tail in your mouth, darling! He would race me up the stairs when he heard me say 'bathtime' ... just wouldn't talk.

Everything changed when he started going to a playgroup at almost 3 - within a few weeks he just started talking in whole sentences!

[Saffron]

Have you thought of starting Tiny Talk classes? This is British sign language for babies and toddlers. Or Makaton? Another type of signing for children. Signing supports speech development. It can help ease frustration for toddlers that don't yet have their words. Equally, if you do find that there is a speech problem you've already got the signing to help you.

I sympathize w you re rubbish advice from HVs. It happened to us too. If you're really worried, of course see your GP. Any GP worthy of their job should be sympathetic. If you're not happy with the outcome, wait two weeks. Go back to the GP and say that you're concerned your problem hasn't been fully explored. Tell the GP that you need help to develop a plan you're all happy with.

Actually you're little boy sounds pretty normal, and I bet in 6 months he'll be bursting with words. But it's never nice to worry. I hope everything gets easier for you soon. xx

[The Nappy Lady]

Hi Bishop

There is a SLT who doesa drop on at Ivydale Children's Centre once a month. She's lovely & really reassuring & informative. If you call Ivydale School (Nunhead) & ask for Andreas in the children's centre he will be able to tell you when sheis next in. I think he is there even though it is school holidays.

One question - is your son being brought up bi-lingual? I suspect you'd have mentioned it, but the reason I ask is that it's very common for bilingual children to take longer to get talking.

I'm sure it's all fine, but in my experience if you as a parent are concerned it is best to see an expert. There is enough to think/worry about as a parent without adding to it!

[The Nappy Lady]

Sorry about the typos - on my phone!

[Lochie]

Hi Bishop - i wrote the original post referred to by snowboarder, we are in a similar boat. My son is now nearly 23 months. There has been no speech explosion since I first wrote, however, he does seem to be picking up one or two new words every week now which he didn't do before.

I too get worried around other (often younger!) children who are garbling away succintly in sentences, whereas my son cannot pronounce words correctly at all (water is wawa, car is dar etc). I was at my local SureStart centre on Friday and luckily enough they arranged a visit by a Southwark speech and language therapist for the playgroup. The therapist said the MOST important thing is that the child listens and understands commands. Often precise language doesn't come til later. She also said until children go to nursery there is a huge disparity between what one child can do/say and another.

So don't worry, but maybe flag to your GP when you next see him/her, who i'm sure will put your mind at rest.

[Mook]

I was in the same situation as yourselves a few months ago, where my son understood everything we asked of him, but had a very limited vocabulary. Other parents told me that he wouldn't be referred to SALT until he was at least 2 yrs old.

I would recommend that when he points to something that he wants, you should encourage him to say the word for it - even if the sound he makes doesn't sound anything like the word you are still encouraging him to ask for it, (we started to do this with my son and we have noticed a big improvement) and try to ask him open ended questions (ie when you see a bus ask him what it is?) Also be aware children aren't going to be able to form words until their facial muscles are fully developed. (Children develop at such different rates)

Another thing to be aware that sometimes children will put one area of development onto the back burner whilst they focus on other areas. When my son was born he was a big baby (10lb+) and all of his physical development milestones came after the "average" age, but he reached them and now he runs around like any other 2 yr old - but I do think that because he was concerntrating on his physical development he has has put his speech and language on the back burner, and also on top of that he decided that at around 26mths he wanted to be potty trained - he took to it like a duck to water.

My son is now 27 mths and the explosion of words is very and truly coming through. He still isn't really putting words together to form sentences but I know that will come and I'm not worrying like I was three months ago. I am going to discuss it with the HV at his 2 - 2 and half development assessment, but my gut feeling is he probably won't need SALT.

There's always something to worry about with children isn't there.

[bluesuperted]

I agree that there's probably nothing to worry about at your son's age, and the variation is huge.

I also think though that it's worth mentioning to your GP just as a precaution and to get it 'logged' as waiting lists for SLT are pretty long round ED.

My thoughts re: ways to augment your son's language are as follows:

1. Label, label, label :)

When your son points to something, brings you something or shows an interest in something with or without a vocalisation, tell him what it is in simple terms: 'it's a dog' 'that's a house' 'oh your shoes' etc. If he vocalises at all, even in babble or incorrectly, affirm what he has said by saying 'yes, it's a dog!'. This will encourage him to keep trying and communicating with you; at this age there's no need to correct speech and like previous posters have said so much is still developing that they may not be physically able to produce a more accurate representation at this point.

2. Reduce questions.

Despite my training I know I am very guilty of this one, I think everyone asks too many questions of children, seems to be human nature! But as much as you can comment or label rather than ask questions the better. Asking a child a question when they are not necessarily focused on the exact thing you are might make a response really hard - for example you point to the bird and say 'what's that?' but they may be much more interested in the tree the bird is in, or a cloud or a bug (you get my gist!). This element was a big part of my training and I find it hard in a professional context let alone as a mum, but I do think it works to reduce pressure and confusion for very young children.

3. Offer lots of time/pausing/slow your own speech.

Also something I find hard as a busy person and a fast talker! Often waiting that extra few seconds can be invaluable with communicating with little ones. There was another good post where someone, I've forgotten who, said about trying not to rush about so much with their toddler, this obviously isn't always possible but adding extra quiet time during the day and specifically in 'chatting' times is great.

Hope some of this helps, am on hols so not checking the forum as much these days! I'd also definitely reiterate that good understanding and desire to communicate (which he obviously has due to his frustration!) is so important and his actual speech and language is probably just around the corner.

[Dudley]

Hi,

I have a 22 month daughter who I also think is a little slow talking.

I was quite worried a few months ago especially as she is a girl and they are supposed to develop language faster than boys.

However I have not pushed for a SALT help yet as I have been following the threads and am happy that:

1) she understands everything we say to extent that we have to spell things if we do not want her to understand eg. I will go to the park later to husband..park has to be spelt as D will get her coat and head for the door on hearing the word park.

2) She has started to say some words steadily over the last few weeks (increasing steadily everyday).

But in terms of tips: everything that has been said above is true (and helpful to me so thank you!).

But also..children find is difficult to filter out background noise so if you are really trying to label things and use words etc, turn off the TV and radio.

They may not distract you but they could hinder your child from hearing words correctly.

This can be hard (esp in the morning where I miss my radio) but I notice I have am really concentrating on anything D is saying and if she does say something new I can repeat it and reaffirm it for her.

Previously I was missing new words she was saying and part of the process is praising them when they do say a new word (even if not perfect) and repeating the 'correct' usually full version for them.

SO what would you like on your toast? 'Ja' Yes JAM...

Hope this helps