https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:30:46 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1826133 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 16:28:31 +0000 shellio 1826133@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Dagny: My older DS only said a handful of words until he was 20 mos and then he suddenly took off, I literally remember the weekend he started repeating what we were saying. Now at 2.5 he is so articulate and says full sentences and seems to express very complex concepts! I hate to tell you not to worry about it - a friend of mine had a similar experience but her aunt is a speech therapist and pushed her to get therapy early so her son was enrolled in therapy by 18 mos. However, based on similar threads here, and the small collective experience of my friends/family with young kids, I would say your LO is definitely within the normal range. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1826130 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 16:21:07 +0000 Dagny 1826130@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MRSRCCAR @BLACKBIRD @NINJA - thank you all! It's so nice to hear that I'm not alone. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1826089 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 15:42:07 +0000 ninja 1826089@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsRcCar: My son is the same age as yours, and I could have written exactly what you did.<br /> His understanding and direction following is extremely high...but I think he's just stubborn! Walking was kinda the same. He waited until about 16 months, but it was pretty much perfect when he did it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1826070 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 15:21:06 +0000 blackbird 1826070@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 16 month old doesn't talk, either. Doesn't say mama, doesn't say dada.....doesn't say anything besides "uh oh" regularly. I definitely think she understands, though....i ask her to say mama and she laughs mischeviously at me. I ask her for a kiss, though, and I usually get one. </p> <p>Our ped says she's still on the normal spectrum and gave us a checklist to go through--does she understand but not say the word? does she say the word? etc before her 18 month appointment. I'm trying to be patient! i'm waiting for this explosion everyone speaks of :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1826060 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 15:11:37 +0000 MrsRcCar 1826060@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>N will be 2 in October, he has just a few words (Momma, Dadda, Grammma, hot, hi, hello, bye, cera (his lovey)) but he understands full well everything I ask him. I am trying not to stress too much about his speech, my DH's family and my family both have a history of late talking boys. I just tell myself that he is just too busy working on other things right now. However by his 2 year check up if we don't have a lot more words the doctor will be referring him to speech therapy as we have ruled out a hearing issue. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1825963 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 14:23:40 +0000 Dagny 1825963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks all! I feel like I need to give him more time. It seems like there are so many posts like this, I sometimes wonder if the 'normal range' of verbal communication is a lot later/longer than is usual stated. I'm going to try my best to relax until 18 months and revisit it then! Thanks again, bees! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1825651 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:35:09 +0000 Adira 1825651@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>At 15 months, Xander really only said 4-5 things I feel like. But now at almost 18 months, he's up to 13 words he says regularly and another handful he's said at least once, and most of those have only been in the last month!</p> <p>Fingers crossed your LO is going to have a language explosion soon! &lt;3 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1825643 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:32:25 +0000 Jess1483 1825643@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a late talker. At his 18 month, he only had 2/3 words. We got a referral to a speech therapist, although my ped wasn't too concerned. He too had amazing receptive skills, and he also had well over 30 signs. In the past few months (he's almost 21 months now), he's added about 7-8 solid words and will also make an effort to repeat (he never used to try). I'm no longer worried, although I'm always working on it.</p> <p>I've noticed he will talk more/try more words when he's just around his "people" (me, DH, my parents, etc.) I asked him to say a word (one he says all the time) in front of our neighbors the other day (I think I asked him to say "help"), and he refused. I asked later if it was scary to talk in front of people and he said (in SL) yes. Does he seem embarrassed to talk?</p> <p>As for encouraging, our speech therapist said to get him really riled up (which is when he's most willing to make sounds), and also to "play dumb" to a certain extent. For us, we were supposed to wait for a verbalization for something (even just a whine) instead of responding to a sign. Try not to anticipate needs quite as much. Don't let him get frustrated, but it's ok to wait a few seconds to see if he will verbalize a bit. One other thing that helped was that when he was willing to try repeating some sounds, I started with his most familiar/most comfortable words, then would throw in a new one, then back to comfortable, then throw in a new one.</p> <p>I would say most of DS's words have come in the last month or so. I would let it be until 18 months and then maybe talk to a speech therapist or early intervention. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1825640 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:30:16 +0000 Espion 1825640@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Dagny: My son is 2 weeks from 15 months and doesn't have any words, although he babbles like crazy, and his receptive language is great. My niece was the same way, and it turned out that my sister was so in tune with what my niece wanted, that she never had to express herself to get anything! And now she's singing "Let It Go" in the car. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1825625 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:22:56 +0000 rattles 1825625@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd look into early intervention if you're worried. My DD is 20 months, and while she's improved by leaps and bounds since 16 months (when she had no words other than barking for puppies), she's still behind her peers with expressive communication. Her receptive skills are awesome though. Maybe he's just a late talker, but it can't hurt to look into services if it's worrying you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1825603 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:14:32 +0000 mrsjyw 1825603@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had a late talker as well! I felt the same things as you! Don't worry, I think he's still very young for verbal development and will likely be talking before you know it! DS is 21 months and is a chatter box (even though we can't understand all of the words) he tries so hard to talk now and we've lost count of how many words he knows/says.</p> <p>HUGS!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1825596 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:13:37 +0000 Jenn23 1825596@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son is almost 23 months old and still only has 5 words and only uses them sometimes. Call Early Intervention. They will come out and do an assessment to see if he qualifies for services. Oh and my son's receptive skills are great. He understands so many words, just doesn't care to try to talk. Babbles constantly, though. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/slow-to-talk#post-1825594 Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:11:55 +0000 Dagny 1825594@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is 16 months and still doesn't talk much at all. He has 5-6 words maybe, but he doesn't really say them regularly. His receptive communication is great - he understands and follows commands all the time. Ped wasn't worried at the 15 month check up and said we'll check in at 18 months. I'm starting to stress about it a little bit and I want to encourage him to talk, but I don't want to be pushy about it. Does anyone have experience on ways they tried to work with their child to encourage them to talk? Should I not be worrying about this yet? </p>