Two and not talking?

Question

My son and niece both just turned two. My son talks non-stop all day. He is counting to five, names everything he sees and talks in short sentences. My niece however only says mama and dada. Because she is not talking we do not know if she understands the concepts my son and other two year olds are learning. She was working with a speech therapist but all they did was try and teach her sign language. She ignored the therapist for the most part. All she learned was to say "more" by signing where as before she just grunted for it. Any ideas on not only getting her to talk but also getting her to understand naming, numbers and such without being able to talk? She also likes to play alone rather than with other kids.

The speech therapist did a hearing test in their home but I don't know how accurate that is. She was born without a soft spot and has caused her head to be small. The doctors say all the scans for that came back normal. The doctors have been little help but are finally going to test her for a few things. She doesn't act different or anything besides playing alone.

We realize that we should'nt compare the two but it's hard when we are contantly monitoring her to make sure she is learning due to her other issue.

I think I need to clarify that the Dr's are getting concerned and seem to not be offering any answers.

Answer 1

You might consider a specialist to see if anything else is going on with her, being secluded to herself may be something different. I am sure there is no family problems at home but I would consider a specialist. I am sorry for saying this but I watch House last night and the had an Autistic child on their and gave some of the symptoms and not talking ans social behavior play a big role in autism. Look it up and find out some of the warning signs. Only a suggestion, I watch these types of show way to much and it make me go on a look out. LOL. I am not implying that she is only a suggestion.

Answer 2

if she isnt saying any more than 2 words by 2, then yes, it is cause for concern. certainly seeing a speech therapist is essential. the reason that she would be teaching her sign language (which is a different version of sign that hearing impared people use by the way), is to help her communicate, so that while she is not verbal, her needs can still be expressed. it helps to stop the frustration that kids with language delay can feel when they cant communicate. the speechie would also have been looking for signs of autism or other delays in her development. im sure she would have told the mother about any concerns. her having a small head size is a concern - her mum really needs to take her to a developmental pediatrican for a full check to see where she is developmentally. its sometimes hard to hear as a parent that they r delayed, but starting to sort problems out at 2, is far easier than when the child is 5. there is a speech course called "the hanen program". its brilliant and i highly recommend it. picture cards r also a good way of communicating with non-verbal children. i have a disabled child, and another with a language delay, and have been thro alot of speech therapy with my kids, so im familiar with this.
good luck, it will take time (alot of it probably), but she'll be right!

Answer 3

If she's under a Dr's care and being evaluated with no concern from the Dr then just go with the flow. Every child develops at different rates. I have a full house consisting of 3 boys and 1 girl. I classify them as my oldest set aged 11 and 8 years and my youngest set at 3 and 2 yrs. Ages so close is a long story that i'll skip over. Anyways i took the youngest set into the Dr's for a check up and pointed out my 2 year old (being the girl) is not talking. We came to two conclusions... #1 apparently it takes girls longer to start but once they do, they don't stop. and #2 As long as they don't "have" to talk - they won't. In my house, having the older siblings, all she has to do is whine, point, pull tantrum, grunt, etc., and the boys will give her what they think she wants.
So once we got a handle on that - which has been in the past month - the boys talking to her instead of handing it to her - she has come along way. She's still only "one wording" it but it goes over a lot better then the grunts and whines! Also when she comes to me wanting - for example, Juice. - She will bring me her cup and say something - juice is not what comes out - but i know that's what she wants - so i repeat "juice", "Bailey wants more juice." "Mmm that's good grape juice." and emphasizing the word "juice", as i fill her cup. Being as it is a house of four children, she has no choice but to interact with the other children, but even at that she tries to find a quiet corner to play in. Generally speaking, boys are more aggressive then girls. Even in this household, predominantly boys - she is a tom boy - but she likes to sit quietly and line up the cars/trucks - rather then crashing and racing them all the time. So alone time is also quite normal - even as adults we need our space and some more then others. As for colours, numbers, patterning, etc. that all comes in time aswell irregardless of age group. When they're ready, they're ready. What we have always done is pointed out colours and shapes and so on. They need an object in front of them to associate with the word. Such as a yellow block and someone telling them, "look here's a yellow block we can build with". Colours, numbers, shapes, etc., come with repetitiveness. It must be repeated over and over again till it's engraved in their memory. As long as she's under Dr's care and the parents/guardians are voicing concerns - The Dr will listen to all concerns and evaluate as needed. I don't think there's anything to be overly concerned about - my own personal opinion based on my own experiences.

Answer 4

All kids are different.
My Son didn't really talk until he was a little over two, but he was an only child until he was three, and his little Sister was gabbing away before she was a year old. In fact, she had better language skills before he did, and it seemed to help him with his speech.
Unless she is showing strong signs of Autism,--I would let her develop at her own speed, and not compare her to any other child, as each has their own time line of growth.

Answer 5

my nephew was the same way at 3. two year olds don't always talk well. it's also hard to expect a kid that young to pay attention or sit still for a hearing test. unless you are really concerned, i would let her get a little older before trying all this stuff. my nephew is now 5 and can speak very well and there is nothing wrong with his hearing or anything else.

Answer 6

every parent has to remember this...all kids are different from each other...even if they are twins. i have 2 daughters & i could say that they are twins in year, meaning they were born in the same year. Although my eldest shows signs of early developments, my youngest doesn't. as of now, all she can say is mama, papa, dede, & she's turning 2 in dec. however my eldest, who was in the same age as my youngest b4, could speak & utter different words, & has a sharp memory...but the youngest doesn't. all kids have their own time of developing, if a kid is not interested in it, as much as we want to make them understand, both parent & kid will have a difficult time in making it wokr out. you can't force a child into doing want he/she doesn't want to do. and though the child of another parent is much more developed than the the child of the other parent, this doesn't have to be a major concern. even if both parents are siblings...you can't expect them to have the same attitudes in their offsprings! since you've already consulted a specialist...& found out that there is nothing wrong with her...maybe there's none. i know how you feel coz i'm a mother as well. but give her some time. try to consult different doctors for different opinions as to what is really wrong with her.

Answer 7

Does she tap things on her head? Tap her head against the wall? Its only from personal experience, but it reminds me a neighbors little boy.......the military drs tried saying he was fine,then he said he was autistic......my observed him and told his mom to get a hearing test....it took two or three years after that to finally get him all the resources he needed, but he was just practically deaf....not all the way.......there were a few tones, therefore a few words he would learn.....with special hearing aids....he blossomed. His mom could talk to him while he was at school, they were such amazing hearing aids.

Try to see if what she does would make noise inside her head, then help her parents get her to a good audiologist.

Answer 8

my three sons have all had slow speech ,so I know about this ,first talk to her and teach her the same as your son , she is taking it all in .she must have her hearing checked .if that's OK then she needs the taken pressure off the more you haslle her to talk the slower it will be ,she needs to feel safe to talk and if you are all pushing then she will feel its not safe .dont compare her to your child ,as all kids are differant ,not better or worse ,my boys are 18 and 14 and 6 the big ones have caught up and you wouldnt know they had a slow start ,my 6 yold is still not talking much but is improving .two is still really young ,she may be chatting away by three.

Answer 9

Sign language use indicates that she can understand, this is a good sign. Kids develop language at different speeds. Her parents and caregivers should work extra hard to help her catch up. Reading baby books with her will help her learn more words. She may understand them, and not speak them.

Answer 10

She could be autistic. If not, then start talking to her like she is a big kid. She will soon learn. When she wants a drink, get her to say drink, or dink. Some children don't start learning to talk until they are 2 and a half. Take her to a nursery, look through books with her and name the pictures and ask her to repeat you or her mother. Praise her when she learns a new word and encourage it.