17 month old not talking (breastfeeding, support, children, 3 years old)

[Shorty458]

Originally Posted by Sunflowerclover

I and my husband are 26 year old, and we have a wonderful son who is almost a year and a half old. He's spirited, loving, funny and playful. He's extremely expressive and very social, especially when it comes to women. However, he is stuck in 'baby babble'. The only thing he says is "Gah", and recently has acquired the words "Du" "Wah" and "Yah". Now none of those mean anything really, he will use them interchangably, as if he is telling you something, and he uses hand motions a lot while talking to us also. We've talked to the Pediatrician about this, and she says not to worry, that boys are slow talkers and he is such a social baby that she says no to autism.

I've really been trying to get him to talk. We think we've heard him say "Mama" and "Dada", but he doesn't do it when referring to either my husband or I. We have books with lots of pictures, and he will open them up, point to the picture and we will tell him what it is. We will also ask "Where is the car" or "Where is uncle's truck" and he points right to them. We will ask him to pick something up or get something from the other side of the house, and he comes right back with it, so we know it's not an association problem.

How can we get him to talk?

Have you checked his hearing? I know he can associate stuff, however I remember my mom telling me that I was speaking later due to a hearing loss. I think she said I started speaking at about 18 months to 2 years. I was born w/ a hearing loss.

Maybe he has a slight hearing loss? Not only did i speak later, I saw a speech pathologist as a kid since I couldn't pronounce certain sounds (ie: sh, g and J... for example my cousin JILL, I called her HILL, if I was to say SHOOT, it would come off as HOOT) and up to I believe 12? (Once I started speaking correctly I was very soft spoken)

Good luck!!

[germaine2626]

Originally Posted by ipaper

Yes they used to cater to his every need and I recognized what it was doing from early on. I always mention to my son how he was not teaching him anything by just giving him things without any dialogue. My grandson would point at what he wants or stand by the refrigerator and his dad just go give him things to get him out of his hair. I have had many arguments with my son about this but to no avail. He does have an older sister at home but I cant say what is going on there. My son is not married to his mother and she have a daughter from a previous relationship. My heart really breaks for my grandson because I know its not his fault. my oldest son who is 26 is probably the last person on this earth who should have a child or anything to do with one. He got frustrated with my grandson and started yelling at him talk talk talk and they kid was just screaming and crying. I walked in the kitchen and asked what in the world is going on here. My son said he wants something to drink and I'm not giving it to him until he say what he wants. I made my son leave the kitchen so I could calm the child down then started to talk with him as I gave him some water.

ipaper, having raised children yourself, you know that can be very hard on a child who is used to just pointing to get things to now being yelled at and demanded to "talk, talk, talk".

Are there programs such as Head Start where your grandson could start school right now? In my area they have a number of free school programs for children starting at age three and many include summer programs and free transportation.

Since your grandson is four will he be starting in a public school Four Year Old Kindergarten or Junior Kindergarten class in the fall? Many/most school districts have them. Please call a school in your grandson's neighborhood to see what might be available for him and let your son and his GF know their options.

Good luck to you and your family.

[Raena77]

Ipaper what about nursery school?

[Howard Roark]

I am not a parent, but an uncle. I remember the youngest boy would hardly say a word until maybe 4 or 5. Turned out he was very bright. Guess he had nothing to say, so why say it?

[ipaper]

Originally Posted by Raena77

Ipaper what about nursery school?

He goes to school in the morning and gets out at 11:00. I know he used to have ear infections often and not sure if this have anything to do with it, plus he seem to hear pretty good to me. Yes there are programs out there because I did a lot of asking around to family members with kids, coworkers, and friends. Everything they told me, I passed that information on to my son and his mother. However, these things are not going to come and sit in your lap, if you are not going to do anything with the information then its on them. For all i know, he could have some sort of developmental delays. I have question his mother and my son and asked them what are they telling yall at his school. I never get any clear answers from them and the lack of urgency on their part is beyond me. My grandson appear normal but he cant stay focus enough to me, I'm sure that don't help the situation either. My son have zero patience and that's what the child need most, someone to take the time . I told my son if you have to go over something a hundred times with him then do it and just don't give up after a few times. I look forward to the day I could have a little chat with my grandson and for him to say something back, anything will do. It would be nice to hear granddaddy but I guess I also have to patience with that one. Thanks everybody for your inputs and to the original poster (sunflowerclover) I apologize for taking away from your thread. I been wanting to post a thread on this topic but just never got around to doing it.

[gentlearts]

Just keep talking to him and try not to worry.

We have friends whose granddaughter was not speaking at 3, although she is of normal intelligence. At that point, she was referred to a speech therapist who "unlocked" her speech within a month or so. I don't think they know why this happened.

Kids do things at their own pace, and if your son does not speak on schedule, there are methods of fixing it later. Also, I noticed that all my kid's personalities showed almost at birth. Your son may just turn out to be a quiet person.

[cindersslipper]

Stop treating his wah's and grunts like language.

If he wants something, make him ask for it.

He's not really behind, just a bit lazy and doesn't NEED to speak because you give him what he wants.

Personally my kids were like little Royals, they had to sit at a dinner table and eat civilly, ask for things with a please or thank you, and generally behave like little people in public.

I always found it easy to do, we'd take them out to eat and all it took when they acted up was mummy whispering "all these people can sit nicely and eat, why can't you?" Kids are such natural mimics, they will behave (generally) the way people around them behave.

My children were and are a total joy to take out even to fancy places, because they knew their manners.

NOT SAYING your baby doesn't have manners, but I am saying, the more you expect of him, the more he will accomplish.

[Anony-Momma]

Originally Posted by Sunflowerclover

I and my husband are 26 year old, and we have a wonderful son who is almost a year and a half old. He's spirited, loving, funny and playful. He's extremely expressive and very social, especially when it comes to women. However, he is stuck in 'baby babble'. The only thing he says is "Gah", and recently has acquired the words "Du" "Wah" and "Yah". Now none of those mean anything really, he will use them interchangably, as if he is telling you something, and he uses hand motions a lot while talking to us also. We've talked to the Pediatrician about this, and she says not to worry, that boys are slow talkers and he is such a social baby that she says no to autism.

I've really been trying to get him to talk. We think we've heard him say "Mama" and "Dada", but he doesn't do it when referring to either my husband or I. We have books with lots of pictures, and he will open them up, point to the picture and we will tell him what it is. We will also ask "Where is the car" or "Where is uncle's truck" and he points right to them. We will ask him to pick something up or get something from the other side of the house, and he comes right back with it, so we know it's not an association problem.

How can we get him to talk?

Non-verbal communication comes first in development. If he's interacting non-verbally, the words and talk will come. Enjoy him. Practice the non-verbal stuff with him now and the next developmental pieces will fall into place on their own.

If you have questions or concerns in six months or a year, your school system or your state's birth to three program will screen him for delays for free.

[longhornspeakeasy]

Originally Posted by Sunflowerclover

I and my husband are 26 year old, and we have a wonderful son who is almost a year and a half old. He's spirited, loving, funny and playful. He's extremely expressive and very social, especially when it comes to women. However, he is stuck in 'baby babble'. The only thing he says is "Gah", and recently has acquired the words "Du" "Wah" and "Yah". Now none of those mean anything really, he will use them interchangably, as if he is telling you something, and he uses hand motions a lot while talking to us also. We've talked to the Pediatrician about this, and she says not to worry, that boys are slow talkers and he is such a social baby that she says no to autism.

I've really been trying to get him to talk. We think we've heard him say "Mama" and "Dada", but he doesn't do it when referring to either my husband or I. We have books with lots of pictures, and he will open them up, point to the picture and we will tell him what it is. We will also ask "Where is the car" or "Where is uncle's truck" and he points right to them. We will ask him to pick something up or get something from the other side of the house, and he comes right back with it, so we know it's not an association problem.

How can we get him to talk?

As a speech-language pathologist, I had to sit on my hands to make sure I read through all of the posts before responding. Yes, it’s true that there are “late-talkers.” Unfortunately, we have no way of telling which child is a “late-talker” and which child has a language delay. OP, I would follow my instincts and ask your pediatrician for a referral to a private speech-language pathologist for an evaluation if you have medical insurance that will cover it or if you can afford it. It is true that you can get a free evaluation through your local Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program but it has been my experience that the program is overloaded and you may have to wait a very long time to be evaluated. He is too young for the public school district which would begin serving children at age 3 (of course, this may vary by location).

The fact that your son is communicating using gestures rather than words is a “red flag” to me that he is trying to communicate but is having difficulty producing the words for some reason. It may be the ankyloglossia or it could be he simply doesn’t have the word in a verbal format. If the evaluation shows that he is behind in development, I am sure the therapy would focus on modeling techniques for you to use with him at home to facilitate language skills. For example, forcing him to say a word before giving him an object he desires typically leads to frustration, not language expansion. An SLP can teach you the appropriate way to model requesting using recasting and scaffolding at an appropriate level.

Even if the evaluation reveals that your child is where he should be in terms of development, you will have “peace of mind.” Additionally,in my “within normal limits” evaluation, I would also provide suggestions for speech and language facilitation techniques.

Finally, ankyloglossia may or may not cause speech problems as you know from your experience with your husband. Don’t feel bad about waiting…I don’t see any problem with it as the issue IS controversial. You may wish to wait until after your son’s procedure to decide whether or not to seek an evaluation. On the other hand, an SLP should be able to tell you if it’s affecting speech (if your son cooperates ).

I hope this information helps!

[brokencrayola]

I wouldn't be too worried that he isn't talking yet. One day you'll wish he never learned, ha. Don't talk to him with baby talk since he is learning from you. They also have sign language baby books to teach children sign language to express themselves until they can talk. It is specifically meant for people like you, not children that are deaf. Reading books like you do is very good. Is he around other children much? He can learn a lot from other children. Maybe have a regular playdate with a child that does talk.