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Mine is the same age and doesn't have colors or many 3-word associations yet. I see progress in other areas, so I don't really worry about it right now.

There's some great Melissa & Doug color puzzles we just got, he says color names in mimicry, but doesn't really understand yet.

I don't know anything about the first, but on the second I feel like he's a little young to be worried about that. Particularly because color blindness doesn't generally mean a person sees the world in monochrome, but rather that they have difficulty with a certain subset of colors. Most commonly, they have trouble distinguishing red from green, but they would have no trouble distinguishing red from blue or yellow, for example. If you're really worried about it though, a better test would be to show him one of those color tests… although if he doesn't know his numbers yet (I'd assume!) that could be a problem.. maybe you could find a kid version? But regardless he seems really young to worry about this.
(this is the type of test i'm talking about)

I think there are a lot of 2 year olds who don't know colors yet! I used to teach a 2-3 year old preschool class and the majority of children didn't know their colors.

I don't know enough about dyslexia to comment on that. Early intervention for speech can't hurt though! My nephew started with early intervention at 2 1/2 because no one could understand him and a year later his speech has greatly improved! He's still behind, but the gap seems to be less noticeable.

Mine is turning two in a couple weeks. She has around 100+ words in two languages and makes some 2-3 word sentences. I have absolutely no worries - there are some 2yos who are chattering and talking up a storm, but can't jump or climb very well. Or they know their colors, but not the ABCs. My friend's 2yo knows her numbers but not her ABCs - my daughter knows her ABCs but not many numbers. I guess what I'm trying to say is- every kid is just so different. I think it really depends on what you focus on. My LO was really into letters so we were always going over them, and now she's a pro, but she hasn't shown the same interest in numbers so we haven't gotten there yet. She's really into colors now so we are learning them everyday, but it's def not something I'm expecting her to get in a day. How long have you been working on colors with your son? I've noticed it can take at least a couple days of repetition to learn things like shapes, colors, etc.

@irene: I wonder if it would help to test him in a way that doesn't involve him naming things? Like if he understands the concept of same and different, you can show him cards with the same/different color (don't even bother with objects because that can throw things off too) and ask if they look the same or different.

Yeah, my husband has big problems when the lights are horizontal, like in some parts of Colorado. It's dangerous, actually—they should make all stop lights vertical, for the color-blind drivers.

My niece said almost nothing until she was well after 2 years old. She was so adept at communicating what she wanted through body language that she never needed to say anything! Do you find that you are responding to him before he can use his words?

Also, the only two people I know with color blindness and dyslexia are both doctors.

Do you speak 2 languages at home?

My brother's niece grew up in a home where they spoke English and French interchangably all the time, and she hardly spoke at all until almost three. Then she spoke well in both languages. I hear it is quite common for children in bilingual homes to speak late.

As for colours, my daughter is two and does not get colours at all. Nor do her little buddies that are her age.

Go see the specialist if you are worried, but it don't think he sounds too far behind, if at all.

@irene: Hmmm, okay. And his hearing has been tested recently? I go to a pediatrics lecture series weekly (although I am not a pediatrician) and last week a speech pathologist came. It doesn't sound like it is unusual to not understand a lot of what he is saying. Multi-lingual households also might experience some delay in achieving particular "milestones".

First, check out this link: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm

And these are the notes from the lecture (just copy/pasted, not my notes, but "minutes" from the meeting):

Esteemed speech therapist XXX discussed development of speech – how we make the sounds to communicate--and language – how we express thoughts and feelings to others. Chronic ear infections in the 1st year, failed newborn hearing screens, prematurity, prenatal drug exposure, brain injuries, seizure disorders, galactosemia are some of the conditions associated with increased likelihood of speech and language problems. Unilateral hearing loss can be a factor—one ear may not be enough, especially in a noisy environment.

The American Speech Language/Hearing Association’s How Does Your Child Hear and Talk? Provides good information on normal child speech and language development. At 1 year a child can say 1-2 words; only 25% of their speech in understandable. Over the next year, children learn to listen, to point to named pictures, answer short questions. At 2-3 years, they use 2-3 words to talk about everything. By 3 years, 75% of speech is understandable. By 4 years speech is 100% understandable and they answer questions and talk about everything.

When should a child be referred for speech language therapy? Unless they have underlying risk factors and recognizing the variability in speech initiation, Ms. XXX recommends at 18 months, and also for kids 2 years and old who do not have at least a 50 word vocabulary. Early intervention has been shown to be cost saving and more efficient—there is a lot less un-learning.

One thing that might help is reading this- http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-johnny-name-colors/ It goes into an explanation of a better way to teach colors. You might be able to see if approaching it differently helps him pick it up better.

I have no advice, but I just wanted to throw out there that my husband is dyslexic and color blind and while he had to work harder than some in school it hasn't hindered him in anyway. He went to college, got a degree, has a good job and has many professional certifications. He works in a hands in a labor type position because that is what he loves. He's also very skilled in electrical and other detailed focused jobs. He looks at things a different way but still has a great understanding. He just doesn't try to explain them to others any more lol. He sees things one way and I may see them completely differently but we still come out to the same answer! If your child is dyslexic don't worry too much, it may be a bit more challenging but they can still be destined for great success!

Hey, how have you been? I was wondering where you disappeared to!!! You know my feelings about speech, I would go forward with the EI, but I'd also look privately.

Another thing you can do to "test" colors is sorting. Get a bunch of objects in the colors and have him put them into groups.

If you have a red/green color blindness, it usually means those two colors are interpreted as brown. I had a boss with this issue and he found it difficult when things relied on color to differentiate, such as presentations. Otherwise, you'd never know.

I can't speak to the language delays, but my DS is almost 2.5 yr, and he doesn't have his colors straight yet! So I'm not sure that is cause for concern quite yet.

My father is severely dyslexic and was a very early talker so I wouldn't think they would be related but a quick google search brought up this website about early warning signs for dyslexia and language development is related. That being said, just because your son is slightly delayed doesn't mean he is dyslexic. There are many other reasons, one of which is just that he is developing at his own "normal" pace. https://www.learningally.org/dyslexia-awareness-month-do-you-know-the-early-warning-signs-of-this-learning-difference/
Interestingly, my dad is also color blind Here is a test for younger kids http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hellmers/test/

@irene: Just also wanted to add that my DS has his own language too.. usually I can figure out, but sometimes it's just jibberish sounding, and my DD is the one who can figure out what he is saying the best! Actually, his prounuciation is getting worse because the number of words and speed at which he talks is increasing. It used to be a lot easier to understand what we was saying when he had less words.

@irene: Yeah, it sounds very similar to my little dude and at this point I am 100% convinced that it is hearing. He is fronting which means that G and K sounds he says with T and D sounds. Of course he mixes up other sounds. But really they aren't supposed to have all of the sounds yet. Last night he said "Doot Dun" which we think is "shoot gun" but he was talking about a bouncy ball so we have no idea.

We are going to private route and have a speech therapist and our major breakthrough was when he was on antibiotics for two weeks. He went from 2 word sentences to 4 and 5 word sentences and putting two sentences together.

I was reading something about how eating problems can sometimes be related to speech problems.