Hi
Just wanting some feedback of other mums of 2yr old boys.

My son is not talking yet. He has a few words thats it. He does a alot of babbling, babbles to himself, talks to his toys although do not know what he is saying, he'll come up to me and tries to explain what he is doing but dont understand him, you ask him to do something he will go and do it for you.

His hearing has been checked and thats fine and the health nurse didnt seem to worry that much about it as he is in the development range with everything else. I have him on a waiting list to see a speech therapist or am i just being overly concerned or will he speak in his own time.

Kylie

i think my son at 18months knew around 10 words. everyone said, "does he spend time with other kids"

at 22m, we went to stay with my aunty and uncle for 5 weeks, and they had 5? older kids living at the house. then my son started to try and copy everything, after that he just picked up his words.

He sounds very similar to my DS who turned 2 in Feb 2010. In saying that he has suddenly started to say alot more works and putting 2 or 3 words together, which I think are still a bit like babble but I know what he is saying and alot of other people do too. This improvement has just started in the last month. I was also about to think of speech therapy but with the improvement he has made in the last month I'm not going to, I'll just see how he goes over the next few months, plus he is at daycare now with 2-3 year olds so I expect that to really help him along too.
I think you've got nothing to worry about, but also stay on the waiting list, you can always cancel closer to the time if you think he has improved and no longer needs the extra help smile

Just a suggestion. Write down every word that your son can say. I think you may be pleasantly surprised. I know I was.

Try not to worry. So many kids don't say much 1 week, then all of a sudden have a word explosion. Keep the appointment, as a pp said, you can always cancel it closer to that date.

i would keep the appointment, as there is no harm in going.

i would also write down how many words he can say for point of reference.

the fact that he understands you is very reassuring as he does know the words and the meanings but he is just not saying them yet.

my ds was probably average when it came to speaking i guess. not early that we thought he was a genius and not so late that we became concerned, but all the 2 year olds arounds us started at completely different times and it was usually in a matter of days that they changed. we will see one boy who was barely saying anything one day and then the next day he cant be shut up smile

so no i wouldnt be concerned but that is easier said than done which is why i would keep the appointment. probably by the time it comes around you will no longer need it.

good luck

Ok I'm going to subscribe to this thread (a friend told me it was here!!) because I'm going through the exact same stresser right now. DS turned 2 in January and while he is a non-stop chatterbox, he just babbles and has conversations with me where I just nod and smile. He doesn't say a lot. EVERYTHING is somehow associated with 'car' and words like 'gone' 'cold' and 'cool' all sound like car. Same with juice, shoot and shoes (all sound the same). I have to take everything he says and put it in context of where he is pointing etc to understand him! I'm dead-set positive he is behind, this isn't a pride or comparison thing...my creche worker has mentioned it.

It's gotten to the point where DH and I are stressed. I know DS is developmentally good in every other area - even communication (letting us know what he wants/needs/feels), but his speech is a real drag. I've actually cancelled my gym membership for the next month so that I can spend time with him and have a structured play-time every morning where we can have some fun, educational play time. He does need grommits so I know this plays a part in it all, but I'm really concerned that he should be conversing more with me by this age. He is around other kids all the time and goes to daycare once a week (while I'm at uni) so I'm hoping that this extra 'schooling' we do together will make a difference.

Please let me know how you go with the appointment.

Renee

ETA: We've had DS on the waiting list for a speech therapist since he was 18 months old - at the CHN's recommendation. Now we're strongly considering going private...

My son is 19 months old and not saying much either, I made a list and he can say about 8 words and one of them is 'car' too. Must be a boy thing...

my 21 month old boy is the same. i have heard him say mum, dad and car all once but never again. and he attempts hello but only i know what he's saying when he says it. the child health nurse said the same to me, not to worry untill 2 and a half. but i worry, cos he has a 3 1/2 yr old brther and i thought he would takdue to that, but no. i guess kids just develop differnetly to other kids hey, and we just have to give them time i think!

Sounds to me if he's babbling in his own language, it won't be far until he starts talking in sentences, whilst my toddler started speaking from 10 months - he used one word at a time, eventually using sentences. But my cousins toddler babbled hilariously until he was 2 and a half, then if felt like over night, started using complex sentences! I think he wanted to just jump straight into the complex stuff but his mouth couldn't catch up!
I guess, what I'm trying to say is there's many different levels of speech development. If he's not talking by 3 - then you might want to get it checked out. Otherwise, enjoy the ramblings laugh

Hi
Thankyou to everyone you have reassured me that other mothers are in the same situation. I can stop stressing so much and enjoy his babbling and know that he will talk when he is ready and just keep reading and singing to him.

Kylie

I just wanted to let you know that DS1 was very similar; still is, I suppose.

He's 2.5 and he has been such a babbler! But, just in the last month or so, his babbles are becoming so much clearer and I am suddenly realising that a lot of his "babble" was actually full sentences - they were just so unclear that I didn't understand what they were! It is amazing what a slight change in their pronunciation can do.

He still babbles a lot but, he also speaks very clearly a lot of the time too. Every day, sounds that meant nothing to me the day before become cleaer and I suddenly realise that he's been saying the right words all along; they just weren't clear.

onesenough - I'm not sure if this will mean anything to you at all but, when I read your comments about your DS using a lot of words like "cool" I couldn't help but think "Yes! That's exactly what DS1 was like". Iremember that we always thought DS1 was saying "cool" and he was actually saying "thank you". We also had a lot of words that sounded like "ball" but they were actually "water bottle" and "apple". Those words have all become a lot clearer in the space of about a month and easier for us to discern smile

I also wanted to say that speech isn't a sign of intelligence or how much knowledge they have. For example: one of DS1's buddies can count to 100 and DS1 can only count to 10. But, DS1 actually counts out 10 objects and knows exactly what numbers mean whereas his friend has simply learned 100 words in a sequence. He obviously has great recall but, his understanding of what the words mean isn't there. The same friend can recount the alphabet perfectly and very clearly but, he doesn't know what letters are. DS1 won't even attempt to say the alphabet but, he can point out about 10-12 letters by sight and make their sounds.

Children pick up different skills at varying rates. I bet there are loads of amazing things that your DS is doing smile

Hey just wanted to let u know that my son is the same we're seeing a speechie for it and its been a huge help so definetly keep your appointment as they give you lots of ideas and games you can play to encourage them. These were a couple we were given..

+1
make a list of what your child can already say... eg. up so with this one when you child says "up" you would add one word to what was said (+1) so with the lil man it would be "Darcy up" so your always adding 1 word to what they already say... its actually harder then what you think lol

the other one was to have toys or an activity that requires a word for something to happen so things like a marble run, you hold the marble at the top but dont let it go until they say "go" or if they arn't saying that word until they make a sound, and then repeat the propper word so if its a grunt u get tell them "GO" and let the marble go.. so its a cause and effect type of game, we do the same with the lil man in the bath, we dont make big splashes in the bath until he says go..

HTH