I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

DS is 15 months and is not speaking. He says 1 word. He doesn't even call me, no "mama" when he needs something. He can make those sounds, ma ma, pa pa, etc, but doesn't use them as words. I try not to worry since he is making lots of new sounds (i pay close attention) and his babbles have the cadence of language but of course I worry. He's being raised bilingually and i know this can cause slight delays, but, still. I worry

How can I help him? What can I do? I mentioned it to ped who said not to worry now, we'll reassess at 18 months. I pay attention to see how much receptive language he has and he does understand a lot but not everything.

I can't just wait around, I need to DO. How can I help him? I'm trying to stay calm and composed but even as I write this the tears just want to roll.

editted spelling

Message edited 1/28/2011 1:13:44 PM.

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

DS had no words at 15m and ped told us not to worry. By 17m, he had 1 word. I was worried so we had him evaluated and DS did not qualify. By 18m, he had 10-15 words. The ped asked if he had at least 6 words at his 18m appointment. That was the test. By 20m, I lost count of how many words he had. Now at 22m, he is starting to speak in 2 word phrases.

I know it is hard but try not to worry. DS was on the late side of speech and he seems to be fine now.

I would point to lots of objects in books and everywhere you go. Then ask where those objects are. The child may not be saying the words but he is learning them. We used to do a lot of repetitive sounds like choo choo and moo moo.

Message edited 1/28/2011 1:25:20 PM.

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

Personally, I would try not to worry... although this is easier said than done. My DS really didn't have words until he had his word explosion at around 18 months.

My ped actually told me that she wasn't even worried about the number of words he was saying at 18 months, just that he was making progress and could understand everything.

If you are concerned, talk to your ped about it, but from what you said, it doesn't seem they are concerned right now either. It will come... and then there will be NO stopping him!

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

Around 15 months he had very few words and never called our for me or DH. He still doesn't call out, but now he does say "mommy" and "daddy" perfectly clear at 20 months and been saying then for a few months. I don't think he'll ever call out for us
He still does babble a lot and everyone says that's good. Better than being quiet. It'll happen. Speak with your Ped if you're still concerned.
DS says a lot more words and knows more than he uses.

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

My older DS had no words at 15 months, and he did end up having a speech delay-- it was caused by oral-motor weakness. I suspected there was a problem because even his babbling was limited in variety and not frequent like most babies'. Therapy did the trick.

My younger DD also had no words at 15 months. However, I could see how she babbled all day, made a variety of sounds, and used language-like cadence. In my heart I felt pretty confident that she didn't have a true problem, and sure enough, by 18-19 months she had many different words.

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

Loey sounds just like your DS! He's also in a bilingual environment.

I'm an SLP and I'm not all that worried. Hang in there! Let me know if you have any questions.

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

I wouldn't worry, he's still young and typically boys progress more slowly with speech then girls. I agree with your ped, if by 18 months he's still not saying much maybe it's time to investigate but you may be surprised..........I remember those 3 months from age 15 months to 18 months, my DD had a CRAZY word explosion and was chatting her head off. So for now, I would'nt sweat it too much.

Message edited 1/28/2011 4:13:04 PM.

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

Been there done that!
Even at 18 she didn't speak alot etc

I was told to just try ONE thing over and over and over again.. She was over 18m and we did shoe.. Shoe this and shoe that and shoe shoe shoe shoe shoe shoe shoe shoe! OMG SHOE!!!

Show her the shoe, talk about the shoe, mommy's shoe, daddy's shoe, where's the shoe, there's the shoe, shoe shoe shoe!

Was told to focus on it ALL week. I mean we had to have said that word about 100 times a DAY ! Totally odd and strange to do it. It was so completely and utterly over the top. But we did it. I can't tell you how crazy it was.

Ya know what. She finally said shoe on like the last day. Just one, random etc. She KNEW what shoe was, but finally to say it! OMG I was thrilled.

Was told to pick a word that was simple that she already understood and just KILL IT!

PS: dropping the paci also helped. AJ was delayed because at 17m she got tubes put in. Before that her hearing was really bad so they say that contributed.


ETA: Wanted to say week 2 was a different word and a failure. But we were told not to try it further than one week to move onto another word, etc.

Oh and then she stopped talking all together and so I stopped.. a few weeks later she started back again. GO FIGURE!

Message edited 1/28/2011 4:33:06 PM.

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

DS (14 months) has been slow to speak. At his one year appt, I told the doctor that all he said was ba. She said he was probably a bit behind, should have also been saying mama and dada, but that it was nothing worth worrying about yet until his 15 month appt. She said try getting him to sign, that it helps language development. She said try getting him to point to things, that's part of him understanding how to communicate. Finally, she said just talk to him.

The next day, he started saying mama out of nowhere, a week later came dada.

He still doesn't clearly say anything else. I think he says "I did it", it's hard to understand but he says it whenever he accomplishes something. He also says bye sometimes, not always.

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

at 15 months DD pretty much said BYE and that was it....mama dada here or there, but not much else. Once she turned 18 months, she EXPLODED!!!! Now at 22 months, she doesn't stop!

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

My DD is 17 months and doesn't say much at all, although I feel like its right around the corner.

We'll get Mama, Dada, and letter sounds. I know she is understanding, and recongnizes a ton things and words, and is just about spelling her name.

I feel that she is communicating well and am not too worried at the moment....

Re: I'm concerned about DS' lack of speech, how can I help him?

Sounds as if he's babbling and jargoning o.k. but if you are worried here are some things I would try:

Baby signs: there's a ton of info out there on this and it doesn't require you to go learn ASL. Using some simple basic signs and/or gestures is proven to promote both comprehension and expression of langauge in babies

Join a baby music class: sometimes the melody of music can get things going for a child whose on the cusp of speaking and promote language.

Feel free to FM for anymore tips, BTW I'm an SLP