My 2 yr.old isn't speaking very well?

Question

My 2 yr.old son doesn't seem to want to talk. We read to him daily and he's in a wonderful daycare where he interacts with other kids. He only says "no" and "da da". He knows what objects are when asked, but gets very frustrated very fast. Our doctor has said to check his hearing and we're meeting with a speech therapist soon.
He also seems to be very aggressive and has a very small attention span.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had to deal with this? I know he'll be fine, but it is frustrating. Any advice?

Answer 1

Well, first of all, they dont really give kids ritalin as much anymore. Its way to harsh on them. My son and stepdaughter take concerta and has lil side affects and actually allows them to be themselves cause now they can concentrate, but we didnt have them tested till it was a problem in school when they were 9 years of age. Right now....no doctor will give him meds for this.....they dont test till they are in school. Second, your child is probably agresive cause he cant talk. Boys actually can mature slower then girls. My friends pediatrician said not too worry too much. Usually wait until they have been 2 for a few months. They will start talking more. You already have him in speach, that is the best thing for him. Now, I promise you if you try and teach your son a little bit of sign language it will make a difference with his anger. Toddlers cant always say what is wrong, or what they want, but they can sign what they want. Like eat, more, drink, please, thank you, stop, cookie, cracker...and so forth. Please try learning if just a few signs and try and teach him. Every time show him and try to get him to do it to. It wont happen over night just be patient. A friend of mines son is going to be 2 in September, he tries to talk, but comes out mumbled. He was stubborn at first and wouldnt do the sign for please or more, but now she told me is is using them and its starting to make a difference. Email me if you have any questions ill be glad to try and help. Try this web site I found for you, it looks awesome, Im going to look into it even more, my daughter is 2 right now and I used sign language on her when she was one years old and even though now she is talking a lot, she still uses it from time to time. Great learning tool!!

Answer 2

You are right to know that he is fine, and you are doing all of the proper screenings. Your son is two..this is a frustrating age no matter what and agression is normal too. Make sure the daycare and you are giving him choices routinely through out the day. At the age of 2, two choices at one time is best. For example, ask him if he wants juice or water to drink. Or ask him if he wants a regular cracker or an animal cracker. Giving him choices will help alieviate the frustration. Making sure that you do not talk to him in baby talk will also help him along..but children do not have the ability to gain all of thier sounds before the age of 8. The experts you will be working with will be able to give you more info.

Answer 3

Check his hearing and meet with the speech therapist but don't worry yet. I have a 28 month old little girl that talks constantly but
my 2 year old niece barely says anything. She says no and mommy
and please. So some kids just do things at their own speed. My niece may not be a talker but she walked way ahead of all the kids
in the extended family so we think that she just concentrates on different things at different times than the other kids did. As far as
attention span and aggressive. Totally normal!

Answer 4

Dont give him Ritalin!! What is wrong with these people?? He is a child. You don't medicate a 2 year old NO MATTER WHAT! That is so cruel. Why are some people so quick to diagnose kids with some kind of disorder cuz they don't develop their speech as quickly as other kids? That aggrivates me like crazy.

Anyways.... He isn't supposed to have any attention span... he is 2. How fast they talk depends on so many things. How much they are talked to all around, if they have older siblings, daycare, childhood trauma, etc... Just work with the pediatrician & speech therapist & see what is said. Give him a chance to develop without meds. He is still a baby.

Best of luck to you all!

Answer 5

My son is 2 1/2 now, and at his 2nd birthday his only words were "hot" and "hi." Just after he turned 2 he started picking up words daily, and now he has all his books and favorite songs memorized. I was starting to worry about him and then he just started learning more and more every day. As long as he can communicate in some way; point to things he wants, follow simple directions, etc just let him take his time.

As far as aggressiveness and attention span, I've referred to my son as "the ADD poster child." he can be soooo crazy. He wont hear what I have to say until I hear him. If i tell him to pick up his toys, and the baby is crying, he'll say "anna crying." and ill say "pick up your toys." and we'll do that back and forth until i respond to what he needs to tell me. Keep in mind that a short attention span is typical in a 2 year old, and just go with it. My son has gotten a little better in the past 6 months. Aggressiveness could come from a problem at daycare... even if the place is wonderful, all kids have their own personalities and issues, something could be creating the problem with your son. My son has a tendency to be a little forward (ie hugging, kissing, talking to strangers.)

If I were you I would hold off on the therapist a few months. 2 or 3 months isn't going to hurt him if there is a problem, and if there isn't at least you wont be pushing him. That could cause more problems if he already has a short attention span and aggressive issues.

Just remind yourself when you're frustrated that "he's only 2, and it'll pass."


I agree.... NO RITALIN! Kids need to be allowed to be themselves, and as long as his behavior isn't causing major problems (hurting himself, other children, etc) just let the boy be himself, at least for now.

Answer 6

Don't try to point to a diagnosis for an answer, You are doing everything right, just keep working with him. He can obviously talk a little, so don't be worried. Most kids start to really get into talking between 2-3 years of age. It's not a big deal. My kid didn't say much more than that until he was about 3. He's very smart and seemed to just pop right out of it. Good Luck hun!

Answer 7

I'm not trying to make you feel bad, but my 2 year old nephew will sit and have conversations on the phone for an hour. He is great at talking and we can understand every word. Your son may just be behind. My brother didn't really want to talk alot until he was about 6. Even then he had speech problems so he went to the speech teacher at his school. He is 11 now, and he is one of the smartest people i know.

Answer 8

I have 2 children with speech delays and it is very frustrating for me and for them. Just hang in there and get him speech as early as possible. The sooner the better. It does make a difference. He will get frustrated because he cannot communicate so be patient with him. Imagine trying to get your point across without using words. Alot of 2 year old boys are naturally aggressive and I notice when my 3 year old son watches power rangers we all run and hide when it is over. Sometimes I just have to sit and bear with his air born attacks from the back of the couch. He is just having fun. People want to tame and medicate boys but boys, and some girls, are meant to show off and have the energy that they were born with. Enjoy his personality because they grow up too fast.

Answer 9

My daughter was the same way.

She had speech therapy through Birth to Three for roughly a year. The therapist came to our house. Shortly before she turned three, they did another evaluation with the school.

At three, she entered the early intervention program through our public school system. Two months before she turned four, she had another IEP (Individual Education Plan) done. Her speech therapist was pleasantly surprised. My girl was completely caught up. When she was 27 months, she was at a 15 month level in comprehension and speech. At not quite 4, she was right with other 4 year olds.

The meetings with the therapists are hard. I ended up feeling like the world's worst parent. (My sister in an occupational therapist and has done lots of those meetings. I talked to her a lot.)

It's a positive thing that you are willing to get him evaluated by a therapist. It'll be a great thing for him to go through therapy. You will get a lot of people saying "oh, boys talk late" or "oh, you just don't give him anything until he asks for it and not point at it" and stuff like that. Ignore it. He's your child. You *know* something is wrong.

Good luck. :o)

Answer 10

At two-years-old, any suggestion of ADHD is ludicrous. All kids have short attention spans. Before the second grade, most children find it difficult to stay focused for more than thirty minutes. Children younger than five do well to stay focused longer ten minutes. Each child is an individual, so comparing one to another is not the way to tell if a child is progressing normally. The hearing test suggested by your pediatrician sounds (bad pun) like a good idea. You may try some simple tests around home to check his hearing. Be imaginative and have some fun with it. Keep notes of the at-home style tests and share them with the hearing specialist if you decide to go that route. Sometimes having data from “real life” settings assists them in deciding how to proceed with your child’s care.

Your child sounds like a normal 2-year-old. Some kids speak more clearly than other kids do. Environment plays a big part in speech development. When a child is around other kids and adults that speak clearly, their speech development shows it. If your child is around other kids that do not speak clearly, do not expect him to speak as clearly.

As with most things your child learns, consistency is the key. When your child grunts, moans, whines as an indicator of what he wants, get him to say the word for it. Make it fun and light-hearted, and avoid chastising or punishing him when he does not say it perfectly. Close is good enough to get started; but, continue to strive for proper pronunciation. For instance, if you son wants a cookie and he says, “coookah,” give him the cookie and reinforce the word again when you give it to him. The next time get him to say the “eeeee” part of the word. Let him watch your lips and tongue as you say the words. I shall never forget when my nephew spent two or three months saying the word “chips” in such a way that it sounded like the term used to describe a female dog. It sure made for some “interesting” moments while pushing the shopping cart down the chip aisle in Wal-Mart.

From the first day a child is born, avoid baby talk around or to the child. Pronounce the words correctly, but use voice inflection and pitch to make your voice more child-friendly. We also played a game with the names of items around the house by having him follow us and say the name after we said it. If he got it right, he got an M&M. The fun part was when he got it wrong: then we ate the M&M. We made sure that he got more easy ones. Remember to keep these learning games fun, light-hearted, and short. Incorporate these learning experiences into his everyday tasks such as putting away his toys and/or helping you put away his clean clothes. Learning the words necessary for good manners helps with most of the basic sounds, so use those a lot and require him to do the same.


Good luck!

Will D
Enterprise AL
http://www.notagz.com