DCB 23 Mos And Still Not Talking? Any Ideas?

[2grls4us]

I have a DCB who turns 23 months this week. He's been with me since he was 6 wks. He has had ear tubes and tounge clipped surgery some time ago.

He understands commands and follows directions rather well. He jabbers and makes sounds but nothing you can make out as actual words. There is not even a mama dada.

Just wondering if we should be worried or not? Any ideas?

[e.j.]

I'd probably suggest that parents talk to their pediatrician about a speech evaluation but I wouldn't worry too much. I have a little guy who wasn't talking at that age, too. He went for a speech eval and parents were told he didn't need therapy - which surprised us all given his lack of speech.

Within about a month or so of turning two, it was like a switch turned on in his brain. All of a sudden, he was stringing several words and then sentences together. He's still a little difficult to understand at times but he's doing very well and his speech is getting better and better as time goes on.

[daycare]

my son did not talk until about age 2.3. He would make noises and jibber jabber, but that was about it.

then one day just like PP said, bam. he would not stop talking.....

I would wait it out, especially with a boy.

[DaycareMom]

I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. Maybe in 6 months or so...
My son was also almost 2 1/2 by the time he started talking and now he never stops!

[mama0609]

I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. My nephew didn't talk really at all until after he turned 2. I was really worried but now he's talking all the time and speaks in sentences. Maybe he's just a late talker as well.

[Cradle2crayons]

I second and third what everyone is saying. I wouldn't be alarmed at all

[sally]

My dcb is 3 and he didn't talk at all until he turned 3. Now hes at the same level of speech as my almost 2 year olds. His parents don't seem too upset but were caught off guard when children younger than dcb were talking more and more clearly than him.

[Childminder]

My DD spoke another language till 2.5, we called it Artesian, others thought it was babble. Turned out to be very narrow ear canals and wax build up in there so she was talking it was just distorted. Ear drops a couple of times and she hasn't shut up since, she's 33.

I have had children over the years that are late talkers and at 23 months I would not be worried.

[sahm1225]

My youngest has been in speech therapy since about 1 year old. She rarely babbled and was super quiet. Turns out she needed ear tubes and because of other medical reasons has a speech delay. We were told by our pediatrician that if a child doesn't say at least two words or sounds (ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba, etc) by around 15 months that you need to request am evaluation...

That being said- I have three 2 year olds in my group (all girls) and their speech is pretty limited. They do try and talk, but not all of it is recognizable. One of our daycare moms is a speech therapist and she said that parents should be concerned more if they are not attempting to communicate.

So because your dcb is trying to communicate, I wouldn't worry too much BUT I would recommend that they mention it at their two year check up. They can get am evaluation and if speech therapy is necessary, they might qualify for early intervention.

[Brooksie]

Does he use a binky? My best girlfriends son was the same way. just jibber jabbered. When I did his ASQ for her he was so low on the communication for his age. I suggested only using the binky for naps and night time. She took it away during the day and no lie, his vocabulary improved 10fold over the next month.

[GKJNIGMN]

Are there any other delays or unusual behavior?

I wouldn't worry a ton but I would suggest an evaluation to the parents. Our oldest ds had his first evaluation at 2 and they waited 6 months beyond that to reevaluate before he finally started speech therapy.

I referred a DCB who will be 3 this month maybe 4 months ago and he was evaluated and has already started therapy. He knows some phrases but more repeats things I say to him but has trouble speaking spontaneously.

My own DS is 9 now and he has an auditory processing disorder. After starting therapy he was able to get into a special needs preschool for 2 years before starting school. Getting started early can make the difference. He still struggles a bit but we would have had no idea if it wasn't for being persistent with speech evaluations because the older he gets the quicker he learns behaviors to cover up problems.

[2grls4us]

Thanks for the comments. I feel better with you saying not to worry and have had others like this. He'll be going to his 2 yr check up soon I asked her last week if she's mentioned it before and she said no. But I'm sure she will now that I asked her about it.

[melilley]

I have a 26, almost 27 mo. old who doesn't talk either. Well, he can say a few simple words like ball and tries to say others, but that's about it. Mom took him to the doc. and they said to give it 6 months and if he's not talking by then, then they will look into speech therapy.

I get two different opinions on this. One dcm took her son to speech therapy before he was two and then this other dcm said the doc said to wait the 6 months. It wouldn't hurt to at least get evaluated.

[sharlan]

My 26 mo has very limited speech. She also understands all that is said to her. She can tattle with the best of them. Of course, I have no idea what she's telling me.

I wouldn't worry too much. I would suggest that Mom talk to the ped, though.

[melilley]

My 26 mo has very limited speech. She also understands all that is said to her. She can tattle with the best of them. Of course, I have no idea what she's telling me.

I wouldn't worry too much. I would suggest that Mom talk to the ped, though.

My 26 mo. dcb does the same thing! He understands what I say and listens for the most part, but he's always coming up to me or talking to the other kids and I have no idea what he is saying! I wonder...