I am concerned that my nephew who is...?

Question

two and a half is not talking yet. I have never heard him say mummy/daddy or anything audible other than dvd! My niece (his mum) was told at his last check up that they would investigate it when he was this age. Why has it been left this long?

h2clark-I think you may have the wrong end of the stick. I have never said anything to my niece or interferred in any way, shape or form. I am just airing my concern on here and asking for help should it be needed in the future.

Answer 1

please encourage his mother to check into this. Some kids may be fine and start talking like crazy by the time they are 3 and others may not. He may need speech and the sooner they find out and start the better.

Answer 2

hi. i have one special need son 6 years and a 2 1/2 year old son. I've been through the whole assessment process with both of them. as our first born has autism (he is high on the spectrum) our second son was referred for an assessment with the local nhs. our 2 1/2 year old also has poor speech but is quite able in most other areas. the nhs have said that he too young, to be given a full diagnosis. I'm a nursery nurse and i agree fully in their advice. when our son starts nursery and is in an environment with children his own age then there is all hope that he will start to catch up with his speech. if your nephew is developing normally in other areas, then a full assessment will be best when he is at nursery and around other children. our autistic son was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 1/2. he is now at a special need school. when he was diagnosed we went through hell. the progress he has made in the last years is amazing and he is now almost communicating fully. i know how hard it is when you feel there is something wrong with a child but try to be patient. if he needs help then it will be given but he is still very young and a hell of a lot can change in a year. i think it's great that you show concern because no one will be a bigger advocate for your nephew then his parents and family. be as supportive as you can.

Answer 3

I don't know if this will help you any but I had a daughter first ..by the time she was a little over a year old you could hold a conversation with her, she knew all her nursery rhymes, ABC's etc. Then 2 years later comes my son, nothing was done any different with him as far as reading, playing games, working with him, etc. but he was 2 years old and didn't talk (said maybe 3 or 4 words) then one day he just started talking, and hasn't stopped since (he's now 12) and doing great in school.

Answer 4

Firstly don't worry. They (they being health and education professionals) don't tend to diagnose anything to do with mental health, learning difficulties etc until the child is 3 this is generally the age where children are talking in short sentences and they have less chance of mis-diagnosis and so being sued. Even if his parents pushed they'd still hold back. There are things you can do to help his language along, email me and I'll give you some techniques from my field.

Answer 5

She might want to have his hearing checked. If he isn't hearing the words clearly, he won't know how to say them. He could have fluid built up behind the ear drum. My son was 18 months old, suffering from recurrent ear infections, and wasn't saying but 1-2 words and not that often. I took him to a ENT who found that he had a terrible amount of fluid behind his ear drums. They placed tubes in both of his ears and he's not had anymore ear infections and started talking in a couple of months. He has to have speech therapy now because of his articulation. She should really have his ears & hearing checked. I couldn't understand why a Dr would let it go this long. It only henders the child and will make therapy have to go on longer. I wish her the best!

Answer 6

OK, calm down. He may just have speech delays. But if he's also not giving eye contact and does not like to be hugged. Or if he would rather be alone and rocks/flaps hands/spins to soothe himself, perhaps he has autism. The earlier he is assesed and diagnosed (even if he dosen't have autsim) the greater the help he can get.

Answer 7

sounds like he may need a hearing test , if he isn`t an only child then he may never need to talk and ask for things as his elder sibling does all the communicating . My first child was a real chatterbox but my 2nd was soo quiet as her big sister did the talking for her ..

Good Luck x

Answer 8

Oh, I lived through this with relatives like you! Don't bother the mother she is concerned as much as you are, but let her listen to her Dr. My eldest son, was not talking at 2 and half either and because of family, I dragged him to two speech therapists. As long has he is comprehending he is fine! Fine!
Boys do not develop speech and language skills as fast as girls. Now, that his 4, he doesn't stop talking.

Answer 9

My cousin didn't start talking until he was 4, but when he did, he spoke in complete sentences in English and German (mom is American, dad is German). My advice, as long as he appears to be able to hear and understand you (ruling out hearing problems), is to speak to him in clear, complete sentences (rather than any baby talk/slang), and when he's ready to talk, he will. If he doesn't say anything by his next checkup, make sure to ask them to investigate. Good luck!

Answer 10

Hi

He needs someone new to talk to, my cousin had the same problem, someone new move dinto the family, a female, and she was with them for 2-3 years sharing the house, and she managed to get him to talk.

Its his parents, his mother need sto talk to him more.

Regars

Jam