Update:18 months old and not talking at all.

amother

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 2:01 am

I want to add that this baby is constantly grabbing my face and putting his face very close to me while making urging noises. He always wants to be held, and he grabs onto my legs so that I cannot walk. I often cannot figure out what he wants. He is in general a very high maintenance child. He rarely plays alone, and wants to be held all the time except when the other little ones come home from school. Then he is happy to play with them.

Maybe it's connected to his lack of speech.

amother

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 2:03 am

amother [ Firethorn ] wrote:

OP I'm logging off now so Ill address the other post tomorrow iyh but please dont be scared.
You are doing the correct thing getting him evaluated. Please call first thing tomorrow and get the ball rolling. Better to address it now than later down the line.

Go to sleep knowing you are doing the right thing, as a caring and loving mother.

Thank you! I will call her back tomorrow and get him evaluated bezH.

amother

Ghostwhite

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 2:32 am

My 20 month old now started repeating words after me & has like a 25- 30 word vocabulary but by 18 months she had maybe 5-10 words. No therapy. She was premie. She is tongue tied. No snipping.
My boys were faster with talking my girls took it slower. My dgtr who didn't talk properly till 2 is now a blabbermouth by 5.

amother

Moonstone

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 2:51 am

I definitely think you should get evaluated but just to point out that my very smart three year old didn't talk at all until he was two. He's speach now is great, full sentences, unbelievable vocabulary. His father was the same, apparently. So it's not always a problem.

amother

Amaranthus

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 8:27 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Ok. So the kid with pragmatic social issues is 18 and is not even home. He dorms at yeshiva. So I don't see him much, and I find every conversation with him to be rather difficult. He is a nice kid but his way of communicating is just strange and his sense of reality is off.

Next. The 14 year old has never been to that specialist. Never even heard of it. He has issues with the S, the R and with an unstable jaw. He made great strides with the S, and the R is taking longer. (He also needs help with pragmatics but is not receptive to it.)

The 7 year old cant say L properly. He says it like the guttural "ch" . Otherwise he speaks very clearly. He had a few sessions before the end of school and we will resume when school begins again.

OP, I specialize in tongue ties. If possible, have your older children evaluated for tongue ties (anterior and posterior). Those errors are consistent with the presence of tongue ties. Its not always, but highly correlated IME. Hatzlacha!

gootlfriends

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 8:52 am

At 18 months that shouldn't scare you. Just get the evaluation and get him the help and keep doing what have been doing. If you start it now, he will likely start getting services in 3 months (yes it can take that long to do the process). I had my son evaluated in august, we started in November. He was 3. It could be EI is faster but not by much. There is a chance he will start to improve while waiting. Also, the evaluating therapist might give you some tips such as tongue exercises. Services does so much at this age. They will likely do an overall evaluation, not just speech.

mom!

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:12 am

amother [ Firethorn ] wrote:

At 18 months we expect 50 words+. Of course language is a range and there are averages (at least 10 words by 18 months is the bare minimum).

If a child is not meeting developmental norms then I suggest an eval.

The process can take months. Best to start now and not wait for "him to grow into it"
You can contact your state's local EI program directly to ask for a screening and eval. Do not wait for your pediatrician's referral

My pediatrician says at 18 months they need to be saying 1-4 words. Not 50.
Im not going to give advice on something I don’t know but some of things here sound extreme to me.

SYA

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:25 am

Babbling and not saying words clearly can be a sign of tongue tie and/or hearing loss.

Has your child had several ear infections or fluid in the ear?

Get your child checked by an ENT who specializes in tongue tie. Many pediatricians do not know how to diagnose it and will miss it saying all is ok.

In addition, get him evaluated for speech therapy. Start the process now as it can take a few months to actually get started with the therapy.

amother

Amaranthus

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:38 am

mom! wrote:

My pediatrician says at 18 months they need to be saying 1-4 words. Not 50.
Im not going to give advice on something I don’t know but some of things here sound extreme to me.

1-4 is extremely low. This has been studied with norms. That is not the normal range.

bsy

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:41 am

mom! wrote:

My pediatrician says at 18 months they need to be saying 1-4 words. Not 50.
Im not going to give advice on something I don’t know but some of things here sound extreme to me.

so does mine. I'm an slp. The average is 50 words. The barest minimum is a few words.

amother

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:42 am

amother [ Amaranthus ] wrote:

I dont know anything about tongue ties but wouldn't it have affected his nursing? I had no problems nursing him or any of my other kids.

amother

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:50 am

SYA wrote:

I'm not aware of many ear infections.

I will look into these suggestions. Thank you.

amother

Amaranthus

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:54 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I dont know anything about tongue ties but wouldn't it have affected his nursing? I had no problems nursing him or any of my other kids.

It may or may not affect nursing depending on the nature of the tie. Did you have any pain lasting past the first day or 2?

amother

Eggplant

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:56 am

amother [ Firethorn ] wrote:

I didn’t read all the responses but 50 words at 18 months???? I’ve never heard of that!

All my kids understood what I was saying at 18 months and would babble. They would only say mama or abba and nothing else. I took my oldest one to a top speech therapist at that age and she said if he understands what I’m saying and follows instructions then I should not worry. If he isn’t speaking by 2 years then I need to get him evaluated.
When my children reached age 2, they were talking tons. They are just late talkers.

amother

Firethorn

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 10:35 am

mom! wrote:

My pediatrician says at 18 months they need to be saying 1-4 words. Not 50.
Im not going to give advice on something I don’t know but some of things here sound extreme to me.

Sorry, as I have said numerous times on this website, pediatricians are not trained in speech and language milestones like we are. We have 7+ years of intensive training to know all about child language development.
It really bothers me when pediatricians give parents false data that is is detrimental to getting EI services.

bsy

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 10:35 am

amother [ Eggplant ] wrote:

Late talkers are a real thing. But so is delayed speech and language skills. At 18-24 months, we expect kids to have about 50 words and start putting them together, like "me go" or "my cup." Does every child do this? No. Does that mean we should not evaluate a child who, at that age, isnt saying anything? Also no.
Yes, a child who understands everything but isnt talking is less likely to have a language issue. But an evaluation would be a pragmatic thing to do. The early years are a critical period for developing speech and language skills, and you dont want to miss that window.

Chayalle

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 10:37 am

I raised a foster son, and I remember that he didn't talk at 18 months. I was worried, so I checked him out with Dr Shanik in Lakewood, and he advised me to read to him at least 20 minutes a day. I did that, and within a short time, he was talking. Interestingly, he jumped ahead - like he skipped the one or two words stage, and went straight to almost sentences. Like he never said "cookie" but went straight to "I wanna cookie" and "I'm hungwy" and things like that. Oh, and once he started talking, he never stopped Smile

!

I do think evaluating is a good idea, to make sure there are no big issues. But some kids learn to talk differently than others.

keym

Wed, Jul 14 2021, 11:09 am

Im a big proponent of Early Intervention.
At least in NJ, EI is free or very cheap for high earners, the therapist comes to the house, there's a strong parental involvement, and the evaluations are free. You call up, say you're concerned, they send someone down. You don't need pediatrician authorization or insurance approval.
Once a child turns 3, it's more complicated for services. You need the insurance. Or the DOE approval, or the pediatrician and the Department of Health. And there's so much grey area where your child is eligible, but not eligible enough so you have to pay out of pocket.
I know many drs are very cautious with EI,. Telling you to wait, etc.
But I really don't see a downside and I would love to know a reason why not to call eI.
Signed, a mom who 3 out of 5 got early intervention services and aged out by 3, and we have only fond memories of the therapists and the experience.