Red flags??

[Dia]

I have an 18 month dcg, she started when she was 3m.

She has been slow to reach most of her developmental milestones but not by much.

When she finally started sitting unsupported around 7-8 months, she would constantly "weave" back and forth, she would have her hands up or out and would constantly just look off balance and wobbled around.

At around 9 months she started saying a few words, most noticeably she could say my name, which I thought was great and very intelligent.

After a couple of months she stopped saying my name and seemed to regress in her language skills.

Now yesterday at 18m check up the doctor tells mom that he is concerned that she is not verbal enough. As of now she only says mama, dada, banana, uh oh, and thank you. Although she does babble sometimes also.

Another thing she started walking at 13 months but is still super wobbly and she always try's to walk on her tip toes which makes her that much more wobbly. And if she sits next to me on the couch she seems to be moving constantly and she throws her arms around and hits me (on accident) like she doesn't have good control.

What are your thoughts on this, I thought she would grow out of it but since the doctor noted the verbal issues I have been thinking something might be connected. Maybe hearing issues? Although she seems to hear fine most of the time.....she is superb at ignoring people as well

[Ariana]

The vast majority of children are not very verbal at 18 months. She "should" have more words but most do not in my experience. I currently have a 20 month old that knows 3 words for example. DR's just go off a checklist. My own daughter didn't say a word at 18 months so being an ECE I took her to a Speech Pathologist who basically told me she was fine and not to worry, just keep practicing. By 20 months she had over 100 words and by 2 she was talking in complete sentences!! My daughter also didn't walk until 18 months!! now she is jumping up and down and running all over the place. The pediatrician that we saw said they don't worry about it unless the child is over 2 and still not walking and even then there has to be other signs of issues.

It sounds to me like she is developing normally and even may be a bit advanced that a lot of kids I am seeing nowadays. She may be a bit slower on the physical side but she sounds like she is still developing on track.

[Blackcat31]

Has she had her hearing checked?

The wobbling and unsteadiness has me thinking that there is hearing issues going on.

[littletots]

One of my DCB walked at 17m, tubes at 19m, less words than ped likes at 2yrs. Could have been related to needing tubes? He speech has increased huge since tubes.

[Dia]

Has she had her hearing checked?

The wobbling and unsteadiness has me thinking that there is hearing issues going on.

I'm not sure but I am going to ask mom this afternoon. i have wondered why she was so wobbly every since she started sitting up, not so sure about her doctor though, I sent baby home Monday after she vomited all over her nap mat and doc said that "she was fine, there wasn't anything wrong with her and she could come back to daycare Tuesday morning" thankfully I have parents that know better than that and waited until today to bring her in.

[Dia]

One of my DCB walked at 17m, tubes at 19m, less words than ped likes at 2yrs. Could have been related to needing tubes? He speech has increased huge since tubes.

I'm not sure. She has only had a couple of ear infections in her life but I do notice she seems to have A LOT of ear wax all the time

[kristinhomedaycare]

I don't believe parents when they tell me child is fine and can go back to daycare after just vomiting. Doctors know that they are the most contagious while vomiting, diarrhea, fever etc and only a really bad doctor would say that. I agree with the other posters. May be normal and will jump right on track if given time but good idea to get ears checked just in case.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

Does she make eye contact with you or respond if you say her name from a distance (like look over to you to see what you want)? I wouldn't be so concerned with her not having a large vocab base, but what would concern me is regressing on the words she already knew, like your name. Does she seem like she is in her own world and does not care about or engage with what is going on around her? IME, at 18 months, they may not play with others or engage with others, but they are very aware f what is going on around them and they mimic others quite a bit. Whether in words or actions, they are engaged siply by seeing what those around them are doing/saying and trying to copy. Does mom say she talks a lot at home or have they noticed she is less verbal and in her own world so to speak? If so, I would have her evaluated for autism. Tip toe walking, the issues with regressive speech, spastic movements, ect can be signs of autism. Of course, I am not a doc, so if you or mom are concerned, I would seek medical advice, but it can be a difficult age and you don't want to make it more than it is, but if you see a group of issues and it seems funky, it never hurts to get it checked out.

[spedmommy4]

If you have some developmental concerns, the best thing to do is tell the parents to call early intervention. A screening and evaluation is free and they could tell her for sure that little one is A-okay or if little one could benefit from therapy. (Physical therapy, speech, etc) To find early intervention in your area Google early intervention and the name of your county.

[spud912]

I think both things you listed (unstable walking and limited speech at 18 months) are not very concerning. I've had kids who didn't start walking until 18 months. 13 months for starting to walk followed by a period of unstable or clumsy walking is considered normal. Also, speech doesn't normally really take off until 2 years old or later. While your dck is on the late end of normal, she still fits into normal development.

[daycarediva]

Does she make eye contact with you or respond if you say her name from a distance (like look over to you to see what you want)? I wouldn't be so concerned with her not having a large vocab base, but what would concern me is regressing on the words she already knew, like your name. Does she seem like she is in her own world and does not care about or engage with what is going on around her? IME, at 18 months, they may not play with others or engage with others, but they are very aware f what is going on around them and they mimic others quite a bit. Whether in words or actions, they are engaged siply by seeing what those around them are doing/saying and trying to copy. Does mom say she talks a lot at home or have they noticed she is less verbal and in her own world so to speak? If so, I would have her evaluated for autism. Tip toe walking, the issues with regressive speech, spastic movements, ect can be signs of autism. Of course, I am not a doc, so if you or mom are concerned, I would seek medical advice, but it can be a difficult age and you don't want to make it more than it is, but if you see a group of issues and it seems funky, it never hurts to get it checked out.

The regression and movement stuck out at me as well. While she doesn't seem obviously behind, it is odd she lost words. That isn't typical at all.

What did the pediatrician recommend? Has mom looked into getting an eval from EI?