my 19 month old son wont talk. he says the basics mama da da but not too much else. should i be worried????

Question

thank you everyone for your answers!!!!

he can understand anything you say. you can tell him to go get a specific item in a group of 10 and he will bring you the correct item. he just wont tell you what it is.

Answer 1

I asked our family doc the same thing at about 20 months when my son wouldn't talk much. He recommended a hearing test - just to be sure things were ok. He checked out fine, but the audiologist we visited with gave us some great tips for encouraging speech and told us that if he HAD had a hearing loss, the earlier the better to start intervention.

Some of the things recommended were encouraging him to try to talk before giving him things...like giving him a bite of one of his favorite treats and then saying, "Do you want some MORE? Tell mommy MORE. You can tell me you want MORE..." It did work after a couple of tries. We also put pictures of things on the fridge and had him show us what he wanted (encouraging communication...even if not SPEECH so that he would learn that when he communicated with us - he usually got what he wanted/needed.) I'm oversimplifying a little, but after these steps, he was talking up a storm. Good luck!

Answer 2

Your fears are completely understandable. I went through the same thing with my son. All he had at 19m was mama, dada, and gogo (his word for dog. Long story). We had his hearing checked, but everything was fine. So, that is where I would start if I were you. Get his hearing checked.

After that, if there is no problem, decide how much help you think he might need. For us, the solution was to contact our states special education division (First Steps in Missouri, I think they all have different names). The service is for children age 0-3 and has been totally free.

My DS is now speaking in simple 2 word sentences and the occasional 3 word sentence. His vocabulary has taken off and he has an uncountable vocabulary now.

I can not say that First Steps is the reason for this, but I do know that they didn't hurt anything either. :)

Answer 3

my youngest son didn't talk till he was three...I had him checked several times...there was nothing wrong with him....basically ,all the doctors ended up telling me he would talk when he was ready.......they were not joking..when he started there has been no stopping since.... he will be fifteen at the end of the month..and talks non-stop..... : )

Since your son is able to say mama and da da..it does not appear to be a physical problem..he is able to form the words and he is hearing well enough to pick up the sounds...I really wouldn't worry about it...mine son made an "aaa---aaa" sound and point to what he wanted.... but wouldn't say words no matter how hard I tried to make him......than one day for no apparent reason started talking...in sentences.... after he started..I tried to see if he could tell me why he didn't talk before...he didn't know...I still don't know why he didn't talk....he is a perfectly normal teen who talks a lot.....and funny as heck....

Just give your son a little more time....I am sure he will before to long..and when he does..if he is anything like mine..get ready for a chatter box....lots of patience ..lol.. : )

Answer 4

All children develope at different rates. My daughter was started repeating full sentences around 12 months, then quit for 6 months and wouldn't say anything but momma, daddy, and other basic stuff, and now (at 2 and a 1/2) is now talking in sentences (that you really can't understand all that well! lol). If you're too worried talk to your son's doctor about it when you take him next. Also if there are other developemental delays.

It's probably nothing! Us mommy's love to worry, huh? Good Luck!

Answer 5

you probably know him really well and spend alot of time with him and he probably doesn't have to ask for juice or anything cuz you just know if this is the case you should try playing dumb for a while and give him a chance to talk if he has no need for words why bother if you do this and there is no improvement then i would go to the dotor my son is only a month older and can basically say anything he wants but i also had to stop just doing stuff for him when he was smaller

also i wouldn't be so owrried if he understands you does he answer yes and no?

Answer 6

He will talk like crazy when you least expect it. Just make sure you don't baby talk to him and soon enough he will start saying more words and then sentences. My son turned two a couple of months ago and could say a lot of words, but just recently started putting together sentences. All children are different and there is nothing wrong with him. I have 3 sons and they were all different.

Answer 7

Possibly. First of all, are you making him ask for what he wants? I had a friend who had a brother who didn't speak for a long time because he would get whatever he wanted by pointing to it. Eventually they figured this out and made him ask for everything, and did not do his bidding on a point and grunt.
Second, have you had his hearing checked? One must also suspect hearing problems in a deficit such as what you are speaking of. Have his hearing checked.
Also, do not engage him in baby language. It stunts the rate of learning the English language correctly.
Do you read to him? If you do, ask him questions about the characters/animals on the page. Do not progress until he tries to say the name you want him to say. Be patient.

Good luck

Answer 8

I would not be TOO worried. If he said nothing at all I would be worried. At 2yro my youngest child said no more than 10 words- at almost 3 she now says unimaginable things!!!! Does he follow simple directions such as "lets go" and go to the door? or "time to eat" and come to the kitchen/highchair?

They usually won't do any speech/language or hearing tests until after 2 1/2 if he appears to be hearing, allowing time for language to explode just after 2 years old.

Answer 9

Our neighbor boy was that way until about age two. Now, six months later he's talking up a storm. I think each child goes at their own pace. Our son is two and is very verbal, though most of it is un-understandable.

You probably already do this, but sit down with him with picture books...animals and the like. Something with simple words like "cow". Start there. Good luck.

Answer 10

My son turned 2 in November 2006. He was the same way. Just be patient and try not to worry. You will begin to understand that your child has a certain way of communicating with you. Try not to get frustrated, this will only make things worse.