21 months...saying less words everyday...

I swear he is saying less and less, not even trying anymore.

its still truck, car, plane every 5 minutes...cheese, please, milk...mom, dad, bye.

he gets mad at me when I ask him to say the word...or ask him what something is

today we were reading, he points to a tree and says "ughh"

I said no not "ughh" what is it? (he's said tree before)

"ughhh" "ughh"

I say no, say tttttrrrrreeeee...

gets mad and storms off. this is all the time.
thoughts?

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

Sounds EXACTLY like Megan.

At that age, she was doing the same thing. I think its their personality I swear, nothing else. I was told if she said it once, she knows how to say it. My take, shes just being stubborn.

We are going through the same with sentences now. She will say a 4 word sentence ONE TIME. When asked to say it again, or if I just keep repeating it to her, she gets mad and walks away from me. Its VERY frustrating.

I just think she does what she wants to do when she wants to do it. But of course, it drives me up the wall. Sounds like Josh may have a similar personality.

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

Hmmm...as someone who works with children with language delays, I'm slightly concerned...have you talked to the ped about it?

At around 18 thru 26 months is when Multi-word statements should be made
For example:
This stage is characterized by a gradual shift from single-word statements to two and threeword
statements (multiword statements). The child demonstrates the beginnings of word
order. However, their statements lack grammar.
1. Declarative statements: subject + verb + object appears in this stage, e.g.,
Mommy eat cookie.
2. Noun Phrases. Include a single modifier, e.g., a coat, that dog, my juice.
3. Verb Phrases, e.g., Daddy go, Baby sleep, Mommy play. Verb with ing appears, e.g.,
Baby sleeping.
4. Negatives, e.g., No shoe, Not go. No and not are used interchangeably.
5. Questions, e.g., Mommy eat?, What this?, What do(ing)?
6. Joining words. and appears between two nouns, e.g., Dog and cat.
5. Vocabulary size: 200 – 300 words by two years of age.
The child demonstrates a readiness for the development of early grammars when s/he begins to
display the following:
?? basic sentence patterns = subject + verb + object, e.g., Mommy eat cookie.
?? verb + ing, e.g., Mommy eating.
?? Regular plurals, e.g., Two dogs.
?? Single modifiers, e.g., See big dog. A coat. My juice.
?? Joining words, e.g., Dog and cat.

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

thanks!

yeah, we go to the dr almost 3 times a month with our asthma issues and I always mention it.

Its actually our 2nd practice, and they all say the same. He is just getting by speech milestones and that we have to wait till 2.

They say because he is a boy and he's really ahead physically that speech will come.

I know, like Megan, a lot is his personality.

I never push unless I am heard him say the word before....then I know its just him being Josh.

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

It is true that I find when other developmental milestones are being worked on, previously mastered ones tend to lag a bit.

At this point, approximately how many words does he use (not when repeating you)? It's the loss of words that concerns me. Was he using these words regularly beforehand? Also- how is his ability to follow directions?

But honestly, I'm a therapist who always errs on the side of caution and recommend EI all the time. If you the parent have concerns, you should contact EI services. I've always found that it is the parent who knows best.

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

thanks!

it seems like at 19 months, he had a word explosion and loved surprising me.

now, he is at a stand still. doesn't like surprising me.

I would say, he has 20 words he always says. maybe not everyday, but words that are his "vocabulary"

he relies on ughhhhh so much.

So, one day I wrote down every word he said, it was close to 40. that was two months ago. If I updated list tonight, it would be at 42 words.

I thought I needed dr to refer me to EI?

I looked into it here, maybe I read it wrong.

Drs say he is just getting by with words. They believe it will come when he hits 2. He just seems to have gotten word lazy.

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

ETA: following directions, he's a dream.

listens, executes...

the dr said he has great eye contact and understands everything

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

As far as I know- ANYONE can seek an EI evaluation, that you don't need a doctor's referral.

It makes me crazy when dr's blow off true parental concerns. Just hearing, "loss of words" from a parent should raise a red flag to a doctor and they should immediately recommend EI- *just* to be sure.

This is my opinion.....the *want* to use and create language is inborn. Once that language explosion starts, it should never stop/go backwards. Will it slow down during different points in development? Sure... but it should then pick up again.

Now- on the flip side, 40 words at 24 months is generally the cut-off for speech services. Anything less and you qualify. It's the loss of words that I feel *might* warrant an evaluation.

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

thanks amy!

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

ITA with the OP, do with what you feel is right, not all kids are going to fit into the mold of "at this age they do this..."
but if you feel something is just not right then go ahead with an eval...you can contact local agencies and you can even do it through the school district

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

Just another shot. Is Leo speaking Spanish to him? A ped friend said that when kids are learning two languages, there may be a delay since they are processing two.

Fingers crossed it is just a small step back before a HUGE leap forward.

Re: 21 months...saying less words everyday...

I couldn't say it better than Amy and Nicole.... I don't like to be an alarmist, and I can see he is a happy and engaging little boy, but I would want to rule out any speech issues....