My daughter started taking at 5.5 months she's now 20 months old and can say 16 words with up too 3 in a sentence although the things is she barely ever speaks, most of the time she still point or make the sound for something she wants which are words I know she can say, when this happens I tell her the word and encourage her to say it back to me but it's been going on for a while with no improvement. Her daycare teacher recently told me she had done a development assessment on the kids and she was well ahead with all other development and things they look at for her age so no problems there although did mention her concern with the lack of talking aswell but said nobody would start looking into any underlying issues until at least 2.5 years. Has anybody experience this and have any advice?
11 Replies
Relax. Kids do thing in their own time. Don't start to worry until school aged.
I wouldn't worry at only 20 months old.
My 18 month old says mum, dad, nan, yay, hey, duggee, and recently started saying what I am assuming is a variation of one of his siblings names lol. He babbles alot so I'm not worried as yet.
Around 3 if she's not talking a whole lot then definitely mention it to your gp, it is better to get these things dealt with before school age BUT I wouldn't be too worried just yet :)
Haha. Duggee - you can tell what this kid likes... Hey duggee! 😂
My son had no where near that amount of words at that age and started really talking 2 years 2 months (babbled from 6 months). He is very bright (9) now, the pead told me they like them to have 5 words at 18 months, so she is well ahead. I would relax if I was you. Having said that, if childcare is concerned, book in to see a private speech therapist and go from there.
Sounds totally normal to me. I wouldnt pay much attention to when she started, at that age it could have been babble or luck but I wouldn't expect anything to stick at that young age. So looking at her now, shes completely fine, she has words and understanding. definitely wouldnt start worrying until after 2, as they said closer to 2.5.
I have three. They all talked at different times and rates. Shes fine. :)
I find this a little hard to beleive. A daycare must see heaps of kids who aren't talking at 20 months. Its totally normal.
My boys had speech delays and ended up with autism diagnosed. Obviously there was more going on for us.
If you have any concerns, see a paediatrician, they may refer you to a speech therapist, or ask about community health services (free but longer waiting periods). The paed we saw years ago shared his clinic with a speechy and a psychologist. It was a kid one stop shop. Kid friendly waiting room which makes a nice change (especially when your spirited child runs amok 😊)
My daughter was only capable of saying a few words till she was almost 3. She is now a very loving, social, capable, intelligent human who aced high school & is now studying a double degree at university.
I panicked but my doctor calmed me down & advised me to give her time with no pressure. It worked.
Good luck xx
Our daughter was very much like this. She spoke her first words at 6mths, was talking in 2-3 word sentences by 10mths. She too was a pointer and not overly chatty. Was pretty selective about when and to whom she would speak. She taught herself to read somewhere around 2 or 3 (we're not too sure). Today she is a very chatty 11 year old.
We decided to homeschool her for various reasons. She told me the other day she felt different to the other kids, that she always felt different to the kids at school. She asked if there was a test for Asperger's (her dad is on the spectrum and it's something she has heard us talking about it). We have suspected for some time she may be a little Aspie.
My advice would be allowed her the freedom to be fully who she is. Help her to embrace what she can do, remind her as she grows that everyone is good at something, that everyone has gifts. We tell our daughter that she might be good at reading, and learning new things. Others are great at sport, drawing, or singing. We chose not to pursue a "diagnosis" when she was younger as she was functioning ok. We decided to let her be who she was without risking her thinking there was something wrong with her. I don't know if that was the right choice, but it was what we thought was best at the time.
Given what she tearfully told me last week, maybe it wasn't. We'll never know. We are going to take her to a psychologist in Noosa who specialises in women and girls with Asperger's.
I wish you all the best and enjoy that special little girl you have.