18 month old not talking

amother

Sat, Feb 03 2024, 11:15 pm

My baby isn’t talking yet at 18 months old. Literally doesn’t say anything. Child makes sounds like tata or dada, never mama though. Child is very intelligent and points to things and is super active and clearly understands everything, definitely not hard of hearing. When do I need to worry?

amother

Poinsettia

Sat, Feb 03 2024, 11:17 pm

Doesn’t hurt to have your child evaluated by Early Intervention..

No need to be concerned yet, but no harm giving them the extra push.

amother

Mintgreen

Sat, Feb 03 2024, 11:26 pm

Is this a girl or boy? Boys tend to talk later, though I would have the child evaluated if you’re really concerned.

amother

Steelblue

Sat, Feb 03 2024, 11:29 pm

My daughter was evaluated at 17.5 mo and was approved for ei for not talking. She babbles but has no words or sounds that mean anything.

Eta I'm not worried, but figured some extra help can't hurt.

mushkamothers

Sat, Feb 03 2024, 11:30 pm

Do an evaluation now, do not "wait and see". Also start doing some intervention at home like more reading books and pointing at things, or just Google or follow speech therapist for ideas of what you can do by yourself

amother

Narcissus

Sat, Feb 03 2024, 11:49 pm

Agree, it’s a good idea to do an evaluation. Your child might be missing other skills you’re not noticing and you’d want to catch that as soon as possible. But also don’t worry yet because they might just be a late talker.

My oldest didn’t say a single word by 18 months, not even mama or dada. I was about to start the evaluation process when he suddenly started saying words. Within 3 months, he was caught up for his age and by the time he was 2, his speech was advanced in every way (vocabulary, clarity, using correct pronouns, etc.)

amother

Hosta

Sun, Feb 04 2024, 1:20 am

I thought DC had no hearing issues but when I had her evaluated they said I had to do a hearing test. She failed due to fluid. We put in tubes and maybe 2 or 3 days later she was talking, full sentences.

amother

NeonGreen

Sun, Feb 04 2024, 1:24 am

amother Hosta wrote:

My kid got tubes but needed a lot of speech therapy since she wasn’t hearing properly those twenty months. Don’t expect a kid to talk sentences within three days from what I’ve learned that’s not typical

missmuffetsmum

Sun, Feb 04 2024, 3:09 am

My son was also hardly speaking at 18mo. But he was making progress, understood everything and was able to communicate what he needed very clearly. Once he finally started talking properly - approx 2y3mo, he had great vocab and sentence structure.
Doesn't hurt to get an evaluation, but at may just be a matter of time.

amother

Ginger

Sun, Feb 04 2024, 3:18 am

My child was not talking and even with EI and years of speech therapy she wasn't at age level. Now her speech is at age level but was found to meet the criteria for autism.