My Two Year Old Isn't Talking Yet. Should I Be Concerned?

[Noel'sMom]

My daughter is 2 years and 3 months and isn't talking yet. I don't think she's autistic but everytime I do a web search about speech delays, I find alot on autism so I thought I'd come here and ask about her. She says a couple words, probably about 5 that she uses on a regular basis. She used to say more but kind of just stopped saying them. But even then, it was probably only 7-8 words. She understands alot though, if I tell her to go get her shoes or go get her blanket and lay down, she will. She follows directions very well. At first we thought she had a problem with her hearing because when she tries to repeat words or sounds that I say, it's something so different. When we count "1, 2, 3" she makes an a, i, o sound... in that order everytime. I talked to her doctor about it and she didn't seem concerned at all, but I am. So, I guess my question is, what could be causing her to not speak? I know that her vocabulary should be much larger than it is and if there is a problem, I want to catch it now and be able to get her in speech therapy or something, anything. I don't really know, I just don't want to find out 5 years from now that she had this problem that would have been better off if I would have gotten her help sooner.

[Noel'sMom]

I wanted to add that she's done pretty much everything late. She sat up at 10-11 months, crawled at 13, cruised at 18 and walked at 21 months.

[CarerQuie]

I think it would be worth getting a referral to a Speech therapist so that they can assess her.This might help to pinpoint the problem.

kris.

[Deester]

Try not to worry. I would get early intervention involved though. They may be able to figure out why she doesn't have more language.

It could also be speech aproxia? How is her pronuciation? My son who is almost 18months just started to say a few words. He too is delayed in many areas, although he did walk early by 10 months. He has some motor planning issues and were still working on hearing loss possiblilites. So many test and they can't tell me for sure about hearing loss. He goes for a ABR at the end of the month and that should tell us for sure.

My son has been receiving early intervention since he was 3 months old. Speech since he was 10 months old. Even with all the speech therapy he just started to say a few words. They help so much with your concerns and giving you helpful hints to encourage speech.

My first daughter is autistic. She is verbal but it's limited. So alot of what I learned in her treatment I apply with him. The biggiest suggestion I have is label everything you do or touch. Give her the speech to form the words.

Denise

[canada6879]

I think the first thing you need to do is get rid of your doctor! If she isn't concerned about your child, then find someone who is.
I would also go and see a "developmental and behavioral pediatrician". They specialize in all sorts of problems including autism. This doctor will be able to test your child and find out what is going on.
Have you had your childs hearing checked? If not, do it now.
I have a 3.5 year old with autism. He didn't sit up until about 8 months, crawl until 14 months, walk until 26 months, and has yet to talk. He made baby talk noises until about 2yrs. and then just stopped.

The one and only thing you NEED to do is to TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!!!!

[themary]

'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. I was late getting my daughter evaluated and missed out on speech therapy for her all that time. Now I see her trying to communicate with kids her age but they just can't understand her. I wish I had taken her sooner than I had. I think it is better to have a child seen by someone who deals with these types of problems on a regular basis. They can even help you get in touch with local groups and get you started on free state programs that offer speech therapy.

[AJarrett]

Hello everyone,

This is so amazing and scary reading these posts because it's like I already posted talking about my two old son Destin. He started doing things early especially walking and as his doctor said early walker, late talker. My son doesn't say too many words like he should. So my husband and I got help from his doctor called Help me grow and someone is coming over to our home to help us and we also plan to have his hearing done next week. I could say so many things but right now I won't only because I'm new here and just want to read and learn right now. But it's great to be able to read what people have to say.

Take care all,

Andrea

[Lisa S]

Have you taken him to a speech therapist yet for an evaluation?

You might want to do that after his hearing is tested.

[HEART-OF-GOLD]

Hi noels mom

I don`t want to alarm you in anyway, but my son couldn`t speak until he was 5yrs old:confused: he kept making grunting noises and pointing.... and then he could only say one word when he reached 5yrs old, and it took him until he was around 7-8 yrs old before he was putting sentences together!

(Having had a speech therepy at his school helped alot)

Like `lisa `says i would try your best in getting a speech therapist to do an asessment ..... because at first i thought my son had hearing problems?

Yet thankfully it was not!

The thing is now i can`t shut him up lol:D

All the best
Tony.