Just turned 2 year old still not talking

[Huggles]

My son just turned 2 a few days ago and still isn't talking.
He says mamma, and up (actually just u, but meaning up), but those are basically the only words he uses regularly and in context, and has been that way for a few months.

He can say dadda and babba, but doesn't use them in context.
Every now again I swear he says a word clear as day, but then he never says it again.
He "talks" a lot using intonation of the voice, but doesn't really even try say words. He communicates extremely well though, despite the lack of words, and understands what we say to him very well. I'm very doubtful there's an autism problem as he is extremely sociable, has good eye contact and communicates well, just doesn't actually use words.

I also don't think there's a hearing problem as he reacts to practically every sound there is.

I had hoped he was just a slow talker, so waited patiently, but am starting to worry it might be something more as he should definitely be saying more than just mamma and up at 2 years old.

He is a second child (7 year age difference) and his older brother was a very early talker and quite advanced with his speech, so it's even more noticeable to me as a result that Dylan doesn't talk at all.

Hoping to take him to the paed this week sometime just for a full check over and some advice.
Any thoughts from you lovely ladies is welcome though.

 

[Huggles]

Video clip of the way he "talks"
(start at 1 min in)

 

[DobbyForever]

Delayed speech is tough because there are so many kids who do work through it late. However, if by 2 he has less than a handful of words it’s definitely something to bring to his doctor’s attention. I’m not a SLP (speech language pathologist), but my son also has an expressive speech delay. His receptive is delayed but very minorly, whereas his speech is much closer to 2 yo milestones (he’s 3y4m). When he was about 2.5, they finally evaluated him at about 18m. I also work in elementary school.

There are plenty of questionnaires available that your doctor can give you without necessarily needed to come in. But a true speech eval is usually done in person and by a developmental pediatrician versus your usual ped

You also have to decide what you want to do with that information. Do you want speech therapy? Are you just looking for resources to watch/read to promote language at home? Do you just want a way to measure where he is so you can measure growth year to year?

im biased. So please take this next statement as just my very biased perspective. Working with kids ages 5-11, it is clear when kids have had early intervention. It is a huge difference by the time they get to me. Insurance should cover it and (idk about other places) but most governments have some sort of funded early start program. You can always have him qualified but never use those resources, but it gets harder to qualify them as they get older. You also don’t technically have to disclose any diagnosis if you don’t want the stigma.

So long post short lol be firm about wanting a speech assessment done.

 

[Huggles]

Thanks for your response. I'm partly in denial because I don't want there to be anything wrong which is why I've put off having it checked by anyone for so long. But I also do know and agree with you that the earlier he gets help the better the outcome, so I'm now at the point where I have to face the fact that it hasn't magically sorted itself out and so I want a medical opinion and advice.
Unfortunately in South Africa there's rarely financial aid for such things, but I do want him to have the best possible start so will do whatever is recommended and needed.
It's just so frustrating as I can't see anything that could be causing it. He seems absolutely fine in every way except that he doesn't say words.

 

[Huggles]

Working with kids ages 5-11, it is clear when kids have had early intervention. It is a huge difference by the time they get to me.

This is very interesting and good to know. Confirms for me that I definitely do need to have it checked.

 

[DobbyForever]

:Hugs: I so feel that. It does not feel good to have your child diagnosed with anything or feel like they aren't developing like they should be.

BUT if it helps, try not to see it as something is wrong. Your son has a sense of humor. Your son loves you. Your son is developing in so many other areas. It's not necessarily that something is wrong medically when it comes to his language, it could just be that he learns a different way. You mentioned your eldest son being really fluid with language, so that's a tough not to compare. You may not have had to explicitly teach language to him. I cannot emphasize enough that needing to explicitly teach it doesn't mean anything is wrong. It's may mean more work. It may bring tears. But it doesn't take away from how amazing your son is or how wonderful you are as a mom. We all learn and take the world in differently, so it's just a matter of helping him find his way in language.

A big motivator for me, research about/firsthand experience with early intervention aside, my son goes to daycare. Before covid, he was having problems with his peers in his class (aged 2-3). They were all talking in sentences and carrying on conversations, and here was my sweet little boy with 5-10 labeling words that he rarely used. He would push kids because they didn't understand his babbling. Parents would tell their kid to say hi to him because they're in class together, and they'd respond, "Why? He doesn't talk anyway." And even though his speech therapy is once a week for an hour, it made a difference. Then, I did an intensive 2 month parenting class (More Than Words) and his word bank tripled. He's back in daycare with 2.5-3.5 kids, and even though he still doesn't socially communicate he actually has friends. Can I say without any doubt that he would be in this place without therapy? No. Because I'm not Dr. Strange. But I really think the speech therapy and that parent program really made a huge difference.

I so, so feel you. Now is a great time though. You have 2-3 years before he has to go to school to get him intervention discretely. You can wait it out and see or wait until he's in school and do it then, but like I said. I'm biased from my experience that my students who received services from 2-5 ended up being very successful in school and not needing intervention services.

If you ever need to vent, we are all here for you.

 

[Huggles]

Just an update:
Finally got in to see the paed today (he was off the past 2 weeks). Dylan was on fine form being his usual animated and busy self which was great as it meant he got to see him how he normally is rather than shy and reserved like kids sometimes go in unfamiliar settings.
After thoroughly checking him over and watching him and listening to what I said he has confirmed that he appears to be in good health and growing and developing well, but also agrees that at this point an assessment with a speech and language therapist would be advisable.
So he called someone and gave them all the necessary info and now I must just wait for them to contact me to set up an appointment (should happen within the next 2 weeks).

I'm glad I went. I really like this paed and his whole manner and it has just basically reassured me that all my thoughts/feelings around this lack of speech were correct, whilst also confirming that there's nothing "wrong" with my child in any other way which is always good to hear.

 

[DobbyForever]

So glad you liked the paed! Hopefully the slp reaches out soon and you can get the assessment and next steps. Keeping you all in my thoughts

 

[Huggles]

Thanks. They've managed to fit us in for an assessment next Wed. So will see how that goes and what they say after that.

 

[Bevziibubble]

Good luck for the assessment

 

[DobbyForever]

That’s awesome! Sending all the good vibes

 

[Huggles]

Copied from my journal:

Took Dylan for his speech assessment today. Still waiting for the full report but basically she confirmed everything I've thought - he is perfectly on track for his age with everything except the formation of words.
So his receptive language is great and where it should be - he understands well and follows instruction appropriately for his age.
His responsive language is also as it should be - He is social and interactive and responds well. If he's asked a question he will answer (in his own way). If he's given an instruction he will do it. If he says something he then waits for a response.
She also noted that he does seem to be trying to say the words, but only makes the vowel sounds, doesn't really use consonants.
So that is basically what we need to work on - getting him to vocalise consonant sounds. He is definitely able to, because he can say mamma and dadda and babba, so physically there isn't any reason he can't, he just hasn't realised he can and hasn't made the association that they're needed for words. So we need to practice that with him and almost over emphasise consonant sounds like "boom!" when something falls over, or "pop!" when blowing balloons. And "bbbrrrrr" when cars go past etc.

He's having his first therapy session on Tues and then they close for the Xmas holidays. We'll then make more regular ones starting mid-January. I wanted one before the holidays though just to give me an idea of what to work on over the break.

So all in all I'm glad I went and I feel better having gotten that confirmation from a completely unconnected source and also a professional that he is where he should be developmentally and that it's literally only the forming of words that he had an issue with.

 

[Bevziibubble]

I am glad everything went well. It's great they are going to help

 

[DobbyForever]

That’s such great news! So thrilled that you got that reassurance and the interventions are already set up! Woot!

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

I just want to say autism is not always about being social or not, eye contact or not, verbal or not. Autism has a wide range. It is commonly seen as the child who isn't social, non verbal and no eye contact but that is not every asd child.
-----
I think its great you took him and he just needs a small boost to really get him going. You listened to your mom voice!

 

[Huggles]

I got dylan's speech assessment report today. It's very detailed!
He meets age appropriate levels for everything except language expression which is showing in the 12-15 months Age group.

His interaction attachment reached the ceiling of the assessment level; his
Pragmatic skills reached the Ceiling of the assessment; Gestures are 24-27 months Age level; Play skills were 24-27 months Age level; Language Comprehension Emerging was 24-27 months Age level; Language Expression Emerging was 12 – 15 months Age level.
[he was 1 day short of 25 months at date of assessment]

The report mentioned that diagnostic therapy will be required to determine if he has speech motor planning difficulties.

This was basically the final recommendation / finding:
Dylan currently presents with age-appropriate development of his interaction-attachment, gesture,
pragmatics, play and language comprehension skills. He however presents with a significant delay in the
development of his speech production and expressive language skills. Based on the aforementioned
assessment results, intensive speech and language therapy is recommended to support the development
of Dylan’s expressive language skills to ensure that he is able to functionally communicate his needs, wants
and desires with his family and peers. Diagnostic therapy is recommended to make a differential diagnosis
of whether Dylan has speech motor planning difficulties, which is negatively influencing the development of
his expressive language skills.


So ya, never nice to be told your child has a significant delay, but basically it says everything I already suspected and confirms for me I was right to take him now and not wait any longer.
If he does happen to be one of those kids that just randomly starts talking, great! Starting speech therapy won't change that. And all I will have lost is money. But if he isn't, at least I won't have lost valuable time waiting for something that doesn't happen.
So hopefully starting therapy early will help him catch up quickly.

She also mentioned that given that he communicates well with Gestures and can point to pictures and stuff, he might benefit from baby sign language and/or picture boards in the interim as a method of communication.
So we'll see what happens in January when he starts therapy. For now I must just make sure to read to him every day and emphasise b, p and m sounds to encourage him to make closed lip sounds.

 

[DobbyForever]

That's so awesome! I'm so glad that the report confirmed all your mom instincts. And so great that the delay is just limited to expressive. The fact that he makes requests using gestures and/or sounds is so lovely! In our program, (More Than Words) that would be considered the second stage of language communication. It's intentional, which is great!

I agree. No need to invest in a fancy board unless you want to. My son would bring me objects (ie bring the jar of peanut butter if he wants pbj), so I literally just started peeling labels off of jars and cans and foods. Got little dot magnet from Amazon and stuck them on the fridge. Printed printed work great, but I don't have one at home haha. Baby sign is great. I gave up because I'm too tired to learn more than a handful of signs haha. If you lived closer, I'd give you all my BSL stuff.

Hang in there! I know it's not easy but it sounds like everything is falling into place.

 

[Bevziibubble]

I'm glad you got a report and your instincts were confirmed. Hoping that the speech therapy helps

 

[Huggles]

Just wanted to give a quick update on this.
We started speech therapy in January.
Since then his speech has come on by leaps and bounds. He has so many words now and is even using short phrases.
His biggest challenge is getting him to use B and P sounds consistently, specifically at the beginning of words.
The speech therapist keeps mentioning motor planning, so I believe that's what his issue is. It seems to only affect his speech thankfully, and only parts of it (the production of certain sounds).

Words that repeat the b and p sounds he manages fine, e.g. Bubble, purple, pop, baba etc, but words where the b/p sound is only at the start and then not repeated he opts for a different sound, so bin becomes nin, and bye becomes Kai. Black is kack, but weirdly with blue he uses the B and says boo.

I'm super excited though because as of today (sort of started yesterday evening but definitely consistent today) he is now calling me mamma instead of Amma (which he's used until now).
It seems a silly thing to be excited about, but when you've been plugging away at a specific words for months on end it feels like a huge win and is just super exciting.

 

[Bevziibubble]

That's great news!