20 month old not talking, second child. Cause for concern?

Question

My young son is 20 months (second child) and does not talk very much at all. I'm not concern about his hearing as he can sing in tune but he's not bothered about talking but then he's only got to grunt at stuff and he gets it. I try and encourage him but he's just not bothered. Should I be worried?

Answer 1

For most children, language explodes around the time they reach their second birthday or a few months before. Patricia McAleer Hamaguchi, author of Childhood Speech, Language and Listening Problems: What Every Parent Should Know, explains that children spend the first two years of their life absorbing information from the world around them. At 2, they're ready to participate in a more active way. "Their brains and muscles have matured to the point where they can start expressing desires and opinions by talking," she says.
Without help, a late talker is likely to show his frustration through more-frequent-than-usual tantrums or other unproductive behavior, such as grunting and grumbling. It's crucial to get these kids communicating in some way. Although allowing a child to use hand gestures (baby ASL) as a form of communication was once frowned upon, many experts now feel that it can bridge the gap between baby babble and big-kid sentences. If your child can imitate drinking from a cup to tell you he wants juice, he'll begin to understand that he can ask for things and get them. In general, if your 2-year-old can say fewer than 20 words and has not started to combine them yet, you should talk to your pediatrician. The first thing she'll do is make a thorough evaluation of your child's hearing. The problem could be as simple as residual middle-ear fluid that lingers after a cold or ear infection has cleared up. With fluid-filled ears, your child can't hear speech clearly, even though he can hear relatively soft sounds. Your doctor may suggest antibiotics or ear tubes if the condition is chronic. If she diagnoses a more serious hearing or speech problem, she'll send you to an audiologist; ask about speech therapy if your pediatrician doesn't bring it up herself.
But your doctor may suspect that your child is simply a bit slower to develop than other 2-year-olds. In this case, she'll probably want to wait six months to a year to see if further intervention is necessary. In the meantime, there are things you can do at home to help nudge along language development, says Shelley Velleman, Ph.D., an assistant professor of communications disorders at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Even if your child is seeing a speech therapist, exercises at home can work wonders. Here are some common causes of minor speech delays and what you can do about them.
Underdeveloped Mouth Muscles
If your child prefers very soft food, drops food out of his mouth when he eats, drools, breathes through his mouth, or is difficult to understand, he may need exercises to help strengthen his lip and mouth muscles.
Blowing: Bubbles are great, but you can also try blowing feathers across the floor or colored water across white paper. Noisemakers, such as whistles, kazoos, and harmonicas, are a lot of fun too.
Sucking Straws: Keep your child's lips around the last half inch of the straw and encourage him to purse his lips as much as possible. Let him try to suck spaghetti or Jell-O cubes.
Humming: Any exercise that brings the lips together develops muscle strength. As an alternative, have your child hold a potato chip between her lips and count before taking a bite. Work up to heavier foods, like a saltine or a graham cracker.
Sometimes the mouth muscles themselves are fine, but the child has trouble figuring out how to get them to work together. "It's similar to a clumsy person who trips a lot," says Dr. Velleman. "The child's lips, tongue, and jaw need to learn how to operate in conjunction with one another."
Verbal Routines: Sing favorite songs and recite poems. This lets your child practice saying words that she doesn't have to think of first.
Sound Games: Imitating animals is one fun way to help your child with troublesome sounds. You can hiss like a snake if he has trouble with s's. If your child stumbles over p and g sounds, blow bubbles and say "Pop!" each time a bubble disappears, or push cars and shout, "Go! Go! Go!" Remember to play at his eye level so he can see your lips and mouth. And avoid overcorrecting. "We're less concerned about perfect articulation at this age," says Hamaguchi. The most important thing is for your child to try to communicate with you.
Does your child seem not to understand complex requests, or not hear at all if there's noise in the background? "The trick is to help kids pay attention to sounds and words," says Dr. Velleman. Read to your child often; choose books that she knows well. As you read, leave off a word for her to fill in. Try changing words to something silly so that your child starts listening carefully for unexpected sounds, like a pig saying, "Boink, boink."
No matter what the cause of your child's speech delay, encourage him to expand simple sentences by a word or two as he learns new words. If he says, "Mmm, good" when he eats, you might say to him, "This tastes good" and then, "This tastes good; I like it."
The speech therapist will play lots of interactive games with him during their weekly sessions and will encourage you to do similar exercises at home.
What are the typical warning signs of a speech, hearing, or other developmental delay in a 24- to 36-month-old? William Coleman, M.D., of the Center for Development and Learning at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill, suggests that you see your pediatrician if your child:
-isn't combining words into short phrases
-articulates so poorly that you can't understand him more than half the time
-does not interact or play with other children
-is unable to understand or answer simple questions
-doesn't recognize or label common objects
Some parents are afraid they'll stigmatize their child by seeking help too soon, but they don't realize that the earlier they do it, the better.

Answer 2

It could be that there are problems with his hearing. My nephew went through this and for the longest time he only grunted. After surgery he is screaming just like any 4 year old hard to believe that everything that he heard was only a mumble. Even though hes singing in tune doesn't really mean anything. My nephew was the same way.
Does the little one have a pacifier? If so, that's going to be part of your problem too. When hes grunting don't give in he knows words make him use them.
All else fails take him to a speech therapist to see for sure whats going on if you are worried. If he isn't talking by the time he hits 2 get him in somewhere because something could be wrong. Don't take the chance.

Answer 3

Hi, my son is also a 2nd child (he's 18months) and he's exactly as you describe your son! My daughter (who's now 4) was always an early bloomer so we've been a bit concerned. Everyone I've spoken to has told me that there's no need to worry. As long as he's communicating (pointing and grunting) which are all signs of language development (he needs to understand language before speaking it) then don't panic. If he gets to 2yrs and still doesn't say any words then I would deffinately get him checked out. For now, you know he's progressing by the fact that he is able to let you know what he wants!

Answer 4

it depends. Does he understand what you are saying to him? Does he follow directions? If not, then that is definitely cause for concern. But either way, it doesn't hurt to have his speech evaluated through early intervention. Talk to your pediatrician and see if you can get a referral.

I think too many people are blase about boys speech. I know with my second son, now 4 - he wasn't talking by age 2. I was very concerned, but everyone and my pediatrican kept saying "oh, he's a boy, boys talk later, blah blah blah". Finally at 2 1/2 I had him evaluated and guess what, he's on the spectrum for autism. So I tell everyone if as a mother you are concerned, you have the best instincts and it should be checked out. Hope this helps!!

Answer 5

IF he is grunting and getting the stuff why bother with the talking??? IF he is grunting for something, let's say a teddy bear. Then before giving it to him ask him, " Do you want the teddy Bear." Then Repeat Teddy Bear. Then tell him will if you want it you need to say bear. Don't give him the bear unless he says the word bear.
Had the same problem with my daughter when she was that age. So I started to make her say things instead of just getting it. Or her brother interpeting for her. She quickly picked up her vocabulary.
Don't worry. It's so common for the second child.

Answer 6

I say go with your gut instinct. I would highly recommend going to your pediatrician with your concern. From there they should be able to give you a refferal to the local early intervention program in your area. They can do a simple assesment of your child and to determine if there is an issue and whether or not services will be needed at that point and time. They may even be able to do it for free or reduced cost. They would also be able to set up an appointment with an audiologist for you if hearing is a concern.
My instinct was screaming at me to get my daughter checked when she was one and not making any sounds. However her dad insisted i was overreacting and wouldnt consent to treatment. It wasnt until after our separation 9 mos later that i was able to get her evaluated. Turns out she has autism. Fortunately she was still young enough that she still has an excellent chance at a bright future.
So if u do decide to go to the pediatrician and everything is ok you will be able to ease your mind. On the flip side if there are any underlying issues you will be very glad that you went and caught it as early as you did.
Please go ....i would hate for you to look back and have any regrets.I hope it all works out for you.:)

Answer 7

My only son is 20 months old and still isn't talking. He has his own select few words, but isn't much on the communicating yet. He understands a lot though, so I figured when he's ready to start talking to us, he'll start. But for now, his communicating skills are getting him where he needs to go. My neice was 26 months before she started talking. She had an older sister around that always spoke up for her or aided her when she needed something, so she had no reason to talk. Then she went to visit her aunt for a month without her sister and came back saying all kinds of things! It was amazing! He'll start speaking when he's ready. Give it time.

Answer 8

It's important to say that tinnitus is a symptom and not a disease. Some people will have tinnitus because their Cochlea is damaged. And in a few, it could be caused due to hearing loss. But of course, the most common cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud noises. The noise can be a sudden burst, or it could be a constant banging that hits the ear drum and travels inside.

A good guide you can read about tinnitus and some good natural remedies can be found here: http://tinnitus.toptips.org

Answer 9

I had the same problem with my youngest child, what i found was my other two children were talking for him, so i think he just got lazy and thought i dont have to talk, someone else will do it for me,dont worry to much, trust me when he wants something and no-one will talk for him, he will start trying, my son is now doing really well,but it did take a while and my son is 3 years old now. good luck and i know its hard but it will happen when HE is ready

Answer 10

this is the old Polish hearing test. Get a candy bar. Wait until the child is not paying attention in another room. Begin to unwrap the candy. If child comes, hearing is fine. Don't worry, your child will be talking by the time they get to high school and asking you for a cell phone for their talking needs. The best you can do is read aloud to your child, and talk to them. No need for alarm...relax! You're a fine mom.

Answer 11

I wouldn't be concerned. Mention it at his 2 year checkup if he's still not talking. If he gets what he wants with pointing and grunting, he has no need to communicate otherwise.
Your son will be fine. He's just taking it all in and eventually will speak in sentences when he finally does start talking.