My grandson is nearly two and will not talk; not even simple words like Mommy and Daddy. The pediatrician say

Question

s he is fine and will talk when he is ready. He is a second child; older child is 6. He understands what is said to him and follows instruction; laughs and throws fits like most 2 year olds. Just won't talk. Are there others out there who have gone through this. What did you do to get them to talk.

Answer 1

I would see another doctor. It sounds like he is retarded.

Coach

Answer 2

You know my older son had the same issue... I think my second son (only a year apart) spoke more and a lot sooner than his older brother. I didn't worry too much about it, my family would get on me about making him ask for things. So he learned to say drink or snack. His first words were mama and dada at around 2yrs but still talking was very minimal. His Nanny said to me (now this is a lady who has taken care of so many children and she's like a second mom to me) Diego is different. Your little one (at that time 3yrs) talks for the older one. Well it alarmed me alitte bit and then I forgot about it, putting it off until he was put in PreK. I just thought he was an introverted normal kid. He is a loner when other kids are around. At this point he spoke but it was like 4 or 5 word sentences and most of them were reheresed from commercials or movies. Next thing I know I get a call from the school speech pathologist wanting a parent/teacher conference. They want to do more tests... turns out his IQ is above normal (this is PreK similar shapes and order, what comes next sort of thing) but social awareness he's not there, eye contact not there, and he has repetative behaviour, understands what your saying but struggles with the task (especially if he doesn't know you). They believe he has a High Functioning form of Autism. My son is generally loving at home with family and I saw the repetetive behaviour but I thought that was 'just him' playing out by himself. Now we are in the process of getting him evaluated.
I switched pediatricians because the pediatricians who had seen my son since birth said "he just a boy - every kid is different" he said that even the day I explained the following to him. I even told him I don't want to pump my son with pills but I would like to get early intervention if possible, thats all. He dismissed me & everyones elses concern for my child and now the new pediatrician believes he may have Aspergers.
Don't wait seek a second opinion, get your child all the help ASAP the earlier you learn about it the easier it will to teach your grandchild.

Sorry about being so long winded but your question hit so close to home.

Answer 3

I am going through the same thing with my daughter right now, she is two years old and does not say anything either. I have an appointment with a speech pathologist this week, and will let you know what they say if you like. I have taught my daughter some sign language for now and she has picked up on it really quickly. She signs for things like juice, snack, help, more, movie, computer, dance those are just a few. I have found that signing has helped with her frustration of not being able to talk but my comcern is that I do not want her to sign I want her to talk. IT is very frustrating as a parent because like your grandson my daughter is very smart and seems to understand everything that we tell her.

I am hoping that these youngsters will eventually start being little chatter boxes but the wait is agonizing on me too.

Hang in there!

Answer 4

Look into something called SLI or Specific Language Impairment. My son also didn't speak at that age (but was ahead in everything else ABC's, #'s etc.), he's now 5 and speaks at approx 4 year old level. He's been in speech therapy since he was three (he spoke at an 18 mo level at 3). It may or may not be the same thing but I got the ball rolling (going to specialist after specialist) when he was 2 because I had a gut feeling that he wasn't going to "grow out of it" like everyone kept telling me. I was right. Best of luck.

http://www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/archives/2001/sli.htm

Answer 5

I don't have any serious advice for you. I just wanted to mention that I am 3 years older than my little sister. I talked early and she talked very late...because she didn't need to talk. I talked for her. Sometimes that just happens apparently among siblings where one can talk and the other doesn't. They get into a groove of one talking for the other and they just stay with it until past when it's generally thought they should start talking on their own. We both turned out fine so unless there's concern on your ped. part then it's probably fine.

Answer 6

Are there any other things that he does that do not seem in the normal behavior for a 2 year old. If so, you should look into a second opinion, primarily from a child psychologist.

Answer 7

I didn't speak a word around adults until I was 5 years old! But I would talk to my big brother when nobody else was around to hear me. I remember knowing what to say when an adult asked me a question but I just chose not to answer. Maybe it was because I got so much attention for being the quiet one. One day my mom told me that I had to go to the doctor and get big shots in my ears because they thought I was deaf. After hearing that, I started talking and haven't stopped yet! She was just pulling my leg obviously but it scared me enough to drop my silent act.

Answer 8

This is soooo common for younger sibs...the whole family does the talking for them! What really needs to happen is the rest of the family has to recondition themselves not to do the talking for the baby. Especially the older sib...they usually are the ones to say "Mommy, Billy wants some milk." It leaves the younger sib responsible for his own communicating.

Answer 9

just as soon as you gt used to the silence then he will not shut up. He will start when he is ready, he might be shy. I would trust your doctor, but if you want a second opinion get it from a doctor. Or maybe ask your doctor for a referal. Get what you want, you pay your ped.

Answer 10

My nephew didn't start talking until he was four and my father was the same way. Development differs from child to child. If your child doesn't have a hearing disorder then he will talk eventually. When he does start talking you'll be sorry.

Answer 11

my daughter was the same. she understood what was being said to her, and she would just point at things she wanted , like a drink, or grab my hand and take me somewhere like the kitchen, if she wanted somthink. in the end i bought picture cards and would play word games, give rewards, and if she pointed i would pretend i didnt know what she meant so she would have to speak. but taking her to daycare really improved her speech. just be patient, maybe hes just a little shy.