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I'm a speech therapist professionally so I have a few recommendations for you. First of all, it's pretty common that kids who have had any kind of medical complication as an infant to be late talkers. If it's a delay, she will catch up with her age like peers.
What I usually tell moms of late talkers is to just talk to them all day. Tell her what you're doing all the time: "Mommy's washing the dishes! Now I put them away!" "I'm getting in car! Car go!" Use simple sentences to describe your actions. Typically by 2, toddlers start putting words together, but they aren't always all that clear because they are trying new words that they cannot pronounce very well.
If everything else is totally typically developing, I wouldn't worry too much. The doctor will probably recommend a speech eval. Good luck!
My son did not really start talking until he was about 2.5 years old. We just kept talking to him about everything - just like the previous poster said. If he would point for something I would say "Oh do you want your Sippy cup" at a nice speed for him and sometimes I would ask him to say words without trying to push him too hard by making it into a game or something fun.
Honestly, I found the best thing for his speech (because he has no other siblings) was putting him into daycare. That is when a lot started changing. There were other children to really listen to and he had to learn to communicate with the daycare providers.
The other piece of advice I have is something that took me a while to get. I would always have other mom's say "oh so and so's little girl or boy isn't doing such and such yet". I learned that yes there are some milestones that need to be reached by a certain time, but don't let those milestones stress you out too much. Each child is different and they do all reach those milestones at different times. A lot can change with a 2 year old in just a couple months. If you are still concerned in a couple months and there is no change then you can always try a speech therapist - they really are amazing.
p.s as for the book thing, it wasn't until my son was again about 2.5 before he stopped turning the pages on me. Children are busy and they are just excited to move onto the next thing lol.
THANK YOU! i have breathed a sigh of relief, I shall now be known as motormouth mommy :> I am guilty of comparing her to other children her age and that really freaked me out. Some are way more advanced but they have siblings I think that makes a difference especially when they play. Now i know what to expect when i go in to see her physician
I really don't think you need to worry, as she's already saying some words. I had one who talked very well,very young (18 months), and another who took her good old time and could hardly be understood until she was well over two. I never considered there was anything wrong with her, as each child develops at different rates. You can drive yourself crazy with worry by comparing.
Keep trying to read to her...she'll eventually learn to sit still and help you turn the pages. It's a learning process for both of you, so try and relax. I know it's hard, but it will come in time!
Is your household bilingual? I babysit two little girls where Spanish was primarily spoken in the home and outside the home everything was in English. They were both about 2.5 years before really speaking ..... but when they did, they were fluent in both Spanish and English. I guess it just took them a while longer to process the multiple languages.
Mrs. Avacado (aka ThatWife) just wrote about this issue with her own child. Maybe you'll get something out of it. There's also a bunch of good comments on it.
My daughter (who is now 8) was a very late talker. She could understand everything you said and would follow all instructions but not a lot of talking until she was well over 2. When she did talk it was very hard to understand her. But because she could follow complicated instructions her pediatrician was not concerned. And sure enough, she began to talk a mile a minute kind of all of a sudden.
What state are you in? Check in to your states Early Intervention programs. In most states, as long as she is under 3, you can get a free in-home evaluation with a speech language pathologist, a developmental specialist, and an occupational therapist through Early Intervention. That way, if everything is looking good, they will put your worries to rest and give you some good strategies, but if there are concerns, you will have access to in-home visits with an SLP for a full year. Depending in your income, it could be free or just a copay. Typically, the SLP will come to your house for an hour or so per week and work directly with you and your daughter to facilitate language and communication.
Without actually evaluating your child, its impossible to say "dont worry about it" OR "zomg panic", but regardless its good/important that you're attentive to this before age 3 when you can tap in to EI services, and before school starts, when it is less likely that language delays can be fully caught up.
Every child has their own pace. I wouldnt be to worried!! I agree with everyone else just talk to them about EVERYTHING. It cant hurt right!! Also set up playdates, or drop them off at a sitter for an hour or so while you grocery shop. Sometimes children learn well from other children. Not to mention that everyone has their own learning and teaching style. The more people they are in contact with the better it could be potentially!! But dont worry about it to much.
I think your child is ok she will catch up and never be quiet, lol. The only advice I can give (I don't know if you do this or not) is too really monitor yourself and make sure you speak to her like a big girl and not use any baby talk. I had to remember this myself.
@mandypop: we are in CA so i will look into it if the doctor recommends this route thanx!
@missbluesshoes: our household is not bilingual but everytime i take her to my moms its only spanish being spoken so maybe this confuses her? im not too sure on this because we see each other maybe 3 to 5 times a month so she isn't really exposed to it enough
@eeniebeans: its a good idea to evaluate her comprehension im going to give her a few tasks today and see if she she can understand me, although i think she mimics more than understands the words that come out of my mouth im going to give this another try and watch her closely thanx
CA has Early Intervention until 3 years. Go with your gut/maternal instinct though - you do not need a Dr. referral for an EI assessment, so if your Dr says "wait and see" but you are still feeling worried or uncertain, you can still pursue EI.
Has she had a hearing screening since the newborn one? And is there any history of late talking, language delays, or learning disabilities in your family? Also, would you say that her motor skills are developing at the same rate, or faster than her language? There have been several studies recently that show infants/toddlers tend to focus on one major area of development at a time - so that kids who develop their fine motor skills first put so much of their energy in to that, that speaking gets "set aside" for a while - whereas other kids the same age may be talking up a storm, but still stumbling and falling all the time. PM me if you'd prefer - so the info isn't public if you don't want it to be.
my son was a late everything lol and he is now in first grade and is doing perfectly well in school and is right wher ehe should be. he was a late walker, talker, pottier lol. He took his sweet time and did things on his own schedule. at two my son was not much of a talker either. just another suggestion...I stopped responding so easily to any motions my son would make when he wanted something and would make him try and ask me instead. of course sometimes i gave in but i would try and much as possible to stop responding so much to his visual clues and make him use his words more. So like when he would want something instead of responding to him pointing and going "ah ah ah" as he pointed I would say No, I need you to ask me and tell me what it is you want.then i would hold up different things utnil i figured out what he wanted and then i would explain "this is your sippy cup, can you say sippy cup?" and then i would take the chance to work with him and wouldnt give him the sippy cup until he at least tried a bit to say it. He would get frustrated at times but it forced him to try and use his words more often which eventually led to him speaking more.
I'm also a Speech-Language Pathologist and although I agree with the previous SLP that it is common for children with other health problems as an infant to have some language delays, it worries me that she only has an expressive vocabulary of 5 words. And from what was written, not entirely intelligible words. I am including a link that you can download a "Guide to Communication Milestones" for your reference. Please keep in mind that this guide is NOT the Bible on communication milestones and where your child should be, there is always a range in development. But, it may answer some questions for you about what to be looking for at her age. I also agree with modeling language and speech as much as you can with her. Talk about everything you are doing around her. When she says one word, add to it to make a 2-word utterance, ie "bye Daddy", "ball down" etc. Definitely bring up your concerns with her doctor.
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My toddler is 23 months and isn't talking, well she talks in gibberish and im concerned that she is behind, her vocabulary consists of 5 words right now "bah" ball, "nana" banana, Hi, bye, and "dah" daddy. She doesnt know how to follow simple instructions. When i try to read a book to her she just keeps wanting to flip the pages. i do this everyday and cannot get through a book.Has anyone dealt with this? is it normal?
She has no other medical problems, she was born at 37 weeks and had to stay 5 days in the NICU due to sepsis. I have made an appointment with her doctor but i wanted to see if anyone had any input
thanx