https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 23 Apr 2026 04:37:17 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2180963 Sun, 17 May 2015 14:55:11 +0000 iluvboba637 2180963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i think your ds is on track. i was so worried about my son's speech at that age too and so many of the ladies on here assured me that he was just fine. he's 26 months now, and his speech really exploded after he turned 2. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2180857 Sun, 17 May 2015 11:48:55 +0000 NurseDMB 2180857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SproutBee: Thanks for your input, I appreciate it! My pediatrician never recommended that he needed speech therapy (and she tends to be very proactive about these things), but I requested a referral since I tend to (over) worry. But I'm really not worried about his speech anymore since he's progressing and adding to his vocabulary everyday. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2180765 Sun, 17 May 2015 08:18:40 +0000 SproutBee 2180765@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Pediatrician here. Obviously I'm not a speech therapist, but I would never recommend/refer your kid for speech therapy. He sounds on track/ahead of the curve. Personally I think the private speech therapist is looking for ways to just add clients. My LO is 21 months and the same as yours. Lots of individual words, some clear but many not. Many words are much more clear and complete now than they used to be though. 2 word phrases. We consider him advanced and a "good talker." </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2180711 Sun, 17 May 2015 02:59:32 +0000 NurseDMB 2180711@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>**UPDATE**</p> <p>DS is now 21 months -- I ended up getting the eval done about a month or so ago for piece of mind. I went to a private speech place since I knew he wouldn't qualify for EI. Last month he had around 70 words but not really putting 2 words together besides the occasional "buh-bye dad", etc. So she said based on that, he was on the "lower" end of normal since they like to see kids stringing words together at 18 months (which I think is a little crazy, I thought there was a range of this stuff for a reason)</p> <p>She also said it seems like he has trouble with certain sounds involving the tongue and said she suspects maybe tongue tie because even though he can stick out his tongue when you ask, he doesn't extend it very far - she also says he relies a lot on sounds that involve the back of the throat instead of using letters that involve the tongue like T and N.</p> <p>Anyway, so she did recommend speech therapy but said not to worry about if insurance didn't cover it, since it wasn't a big enough delay at this point. </p> <p>Well, I just found out insurance will cover 25 visits up until Oct this year. And now I'm torn because he really has had a complete language explosion lately - copying almost every word we say, stringing together simple phrases on his own like "dad's car" "dog down" "more peas" etc. Also a lot of his words sound more clear to me and he is using more syllables - like he now says purple instead of just saying purp.</p> <p>So I'm torn. I know therapy obviously can't hurt and if he does have any oral motor issues that affect articulation, I want to get him help. But I feel weird bringing him when he's pretty much on track right now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084591 Wed, 25 Feb 2015 10:46:30 +0000 autumnlove 2084591@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO 1 didn't have a lot of words until she was 20 months old. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084586 Wed, 25 Feb 2015 10:44:40 +0000 mrskc 2084586@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think my son only had about 10 words at 18 months. His language really took off between 18-24 months. He has a little friend the same age who was talking way more than him but now I'd say they are equal in their speech. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084531 Wed, 25 Feb 2015 10:25:24 +0000 ShootingStar 2084531@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My DS is 15 months and has about 5-10 words. I will be AMAZED at 18 months if he has 30-40. I'd consider that to be doing awesome. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084455 Wed, 25 Feb 2015 09:52:39 +0000 JennyG 2084455@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>At my son's 18 month well child visit, the pedi said they looked for 50 words by age 2. She clarified that meant 50 words I can understand, but that they still might just be approximations to others. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084423 Wed, 25 Feb 2015 09:38:37 +0000 Alivoo01 2084423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think that's a lot of words for that age! My LO is 19 months and I don't think he knows that many! He definitely understands a lot, but actual speech, not so much. He's in a repeating phase right now. Like when I'm reading, he'll repeat random words of his choosing, but if I ask him to say a particular word - not happening.</p> <p>I'm not too concerned with it because boys are usually slower than girls. Plus, my brother and DH's nephew are prime examples of not speaking much when they're younger, but are just fine now without intervention. They understood everything so eh. We're also a multilingual family so that might affect things also. Who knows. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084204 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:41:03 +0000 daniellemybelle 2084204@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree that sounds like a lot of words for 18 months old! But I know it's easy to stress. I go back &amp; forth between thinking my LO is a genius to worrying that she is behind every day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084196 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:13:23 +0000 fairy 2084196@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My daughter was the same! Now just a bit later at almost 21 months she is picking up and saying new words much more frequently and started short sentences. I would be really surprised if they think he needs speech therapy </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084123 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:40:30 +0000 Grace 2084123@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO is almost 18 months and has around that many words. Same deal, where I'm often the only one that knows what she's saying. I read that they are supposed to have 10-12 words by 18 months, so I think our LOs are ahead of the curve! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084074 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 20:52:21 +0000 wonderstruck 2084074@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would be very surprised if he qualifies for speech therapy. My son (21 months) is in early intervention, partly for speech, and is on the list to have an evaluation to see a speech therapist if his vocabulary doesn't increase by age 2. He says far fewer words than your son - exactly a dozen, and that is only if I count things like animal sounds, otherwise it's only 8. Very few of them are clear, but the EI specialist isn't at all concerned by that at his age. But even though my son is definitely on the very low end for words at this age, they told me that they typically won't consider any child to be delayed before 2.5 at the absolute youngest, unless they're not even babbling or have just no words.</p> <p>Honestly, I'm really surprised they even put your son on the waiting list. It doesn't sound like he is behind at all, you're just comparing him to the kids who are way ahead of the norm. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2084038 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 20:25:20 +0000 sarac 2084038@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah, that many words at 18 months is ahead of the norm. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083577 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 14:07:46 +0000 Cherrybee 2083577@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO is exactly the same age and, from the sounds of it, she's at exactly the same stage as your LO. FWIW, I thought my LO was ahead of the curve! :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083567 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 14:03:02 +0000 Mama Bird 2083567@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah, been there! DS had maybe this many words at 18 months, but he said just 10 or so regularly. Also great receptive language. We waited for him to start talking till he turned two, and then he didn't, so we called Early Intervention. It was another month and a half between his evaluation and getting assigned to a speech therapist... in the meantime, he just went and started talking in little sentences all by himself :happy: So now someone from EI is working with him, but I think he would have been fine in any case! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083510 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:40:46 +0000 NurseDMB 2083510@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks ladies. I think it just made me start to worry when the PT asked about his speech and said if I had any concerns to put him on the wait list. I don't know if she mentioned it because he barely talked at all at the PT appointment besides calling me mom, but he talks so much more at home and is way more quiet if we're in a place he's not comfortable. I will try to not worry anymore for now :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083499 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:28:05 +0000 MommySLP 2083499@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NurseDMB: at 18mo, it's typical for a child to be 25-30% intelligible so it sounds like he's really right on track! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083478 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:13:02 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2083478@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NurseDMB: At 18 months, I feel like I was the one writing your post. LO's receptive language was off the charts...he clearly comprehended everything we were telling him, could point out colors, letters and numbers easily, but just couldn't get some of the sounds out. He had a ton of words at that time, but like your LO, they were either shortened, abbreviated versions of them, or they were completely different words that didn't even really sound like the word.</p> <p>At around 20 months, he had a language explosion where things started becoming clearer, and the second he turned 2, he started to string words together much more often. He's 2.5 now and is speaking in full sentences, and is finally getting the hang of pronouns (saying me or you instead of Mommy or Daddy or speaking in the 3rd person). </p> <p>All of this to say, hang in there...it's coming! Now I have to answer him when he says "mom" or he won't stop saying it until I do! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083473 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:11:07 +0000 Foodnerd81 2083473@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My ped said 20-40 words is normal for this age (c is exactly the same age as your Lo). Based on all our baby friends your Lo sounds a little advanced, if anything. C has lots of words, many of them words only I can understand. I could them since she is communicating. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083468 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:09:36 +0000 Mamasig 2083468@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son probably only had like 5-10 words at that age. Honestly, I don't remember but it was no where near as many as your little one has! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083463 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:08:22 +0000 hilsy85 2083463@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO had an explosion around 19 months, but I will say that before that, many many of his words sounded the same ("ba" for ball, bus, banana, button, etc.--I knew he knew what they were because he would use it appropriately in context), OR they sounded nothing like the word he was trying to say ("thank you" came out like "guh duh" but he said it appropriately. Once his language exploded, he started adding on the ends of words and became much more understandable. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083460 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:07:46 +0000 blackbird 2083460@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sounds like a lot of words for me, honestly. i'm not even sure my almost 2 year old has that many lol! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083458 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:07:00 +0000 edelweiss 2083458@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>my LO was similar. some sounds that i could tell were words, but not a whole lot of talking overall. i was concerned and went back and forth on whether to evaluate him for EI, but part of me just wanted to wait and see because i felt like he was comprehending what we were saying, just not saying a lot of stuff himself yet. well around 2 years his language really took off and in a span of a month or two i no longer have any concerns. no he's not as verbally advanced as some others his age, but i feel comfortable with where he is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083457 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:06:52 +0000 Adira 2083457@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>At 18 months, Xander had about 25 words, and most of them were shortened versions of the real thing, like "crah" for cracker, "doe" for stroller, "see" for ceiling, etc. Around 21 months, he had a language explosion and he has hundreds of words now at age 2 and can do 2-3 word phrases. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083449 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:04:14 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 2083449@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I worried about my lo's talking for ages, but the months between 18 and 25 (where we are now) were just astounding! He's gone from late to mimic, etc. to pretty ahead of the curve saying 5-6 word sentences. I was really worried about his lack of mimicking, but once he started, he didn't stop.</p> <p>I met two 18 month olds this weekend and both talked very little during our time together. I know that doesn't mean they don't ever, but you are probably right on the verge of huge strides forward (and 35-40 words right now is excellent - pronunciation improves over time). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083446 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:03:05 +0000 Jess1483 2083446@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had an eval at 18 months because LO had 2-3 words (mama, dada, ball.) At 27 months, he speaks as clearly and as much as his peers (well, he can, but he's generally still a quieter kid.) I don't think there's anything wrong with getting an eval, but I also think that sounds totally normal.</p> <p>(The outcome of the eval was for us to try a couple things and look for an improvement in 1-2 months. Two months later he had quite a few words, and when we followed up again, she said it was clear he didn't need any therapy). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083430 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 12:56:28 +0000 loveisstrange 2083430@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My daughter was the same. She ended up having her language explosion after she turned 2. By 2.5, it was like night and day. She nearly 3 now and completely on track and maybe even a little advanced. </p> <p>We didn't need any intervention, just lots of encouragement and more time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/18-19-month-old-speech#post-2083423 Tue, 24 Feb 2015 12:51:39 +0000 NurseDMB 2083423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ok, so I know there is a huge variation of normal at this age. But it's hard when you see other toddlers the same age talking in phrases and sentences and saying words clearly.</p> <p>My DS is 18 months (will be 19 months at the end of the month). Including mom and dad, he says around 35-40 words. But a LOT of these are word approximations and aren't that clear to other people. Or he says a completely different word. For example, when he points out the color blue, he says "beep". Or if he says happy or potty, he just says "eee". Out is "ouck", banana is "bababa" etc. </p> <p>Is this still normal for this age? Also, he's only attempted to say "bye bye" maybe a couple times and he still won't say hi - he only waves if he's greeting someone.</p> <p>Some days I feel he's doing fine since he communicates with us all the time in his own way, he points all the time to show us things or what he wants - but sometimes I feel he's a bit behind in expressive language. Receptive language has never been a problem, if not advanced. He started pointing out all his body parts by 11 months and he can already point out all his colors correctly when you ask him.</p> <p>It's just the expressive language that concerns me sometimes. He's on a waiting list to see a speech therapist for an eval - the ped didn't think he needed it, but he sees a PT for mild torticollis and she recommended being put on the list if I was worried, because it can take them a couple months to call you for an eval since there was a wait list.</p> <p>Anyone else have a later talker? Did they end up needing speech therapy or just more time?</p> <p>I don't think he's necessarily delayed in speech since his word count is ok, but I'm worried more about the pronunciation of words and how he understands literally everything we say but still isn't talking a whole lot. </p>