Two and half years old kid not talking?

Question

I have a two and half years old kid, who is not talking as he should be. He started babbling since his 9 months but no senceful sound. Only since last week, he started saying words like papa, mama, dada, nana, gogo etc... if we ask him to say these words. He is spending five hours a day for all weekdays with therapists, that is provided by the Early intervenation program of regional centre. He is making sound and I know eventually he will talk after sometime, but we are having hard time to attract him towards us. Can anyone tell me some ways, to attract him, or to make him to look at our face, so that he will learn language faster.

He does not have any other symptom of autisim, except language delay. We have evaluated his vision and hearing and all are fine. He is very affectionate and loves to be hugged and curdled with us. We have evaluated for autisim and its not the case.

Any suggesion will be appreciated from the bottom of my heart.

Answer 1

I'm not saying your son has autism, but have you considered getting a second opinion? the speech delay, and that he is not looking at your face and making eye contact, are huge red flags for autism. Put it this way... my son has PDD NOS, which is a mild form of autism. His main issue is a speech delay. he's very affectionate, gives tons of hugs and kisses, if you saw him you would not know there was a thing wrong with him. I mean, it is what it is no matter what they call it, but if you get a diagnosis you may get more services, which can help with eye contact.

I know with my son, to work on his eye contact and speech, when he wanted something and tried to communicate with him, we would not respond until he looked at our face. Once his speech was better, we are constantly saying to him, "look at mommy!" and when he would we would respond and then reward him. When we played with him, we'd hold toys or objects he wanted up next to our faces so he'd look up there when askign for it. ABA therapy is great for eye contact issues. I'm not sure what therapies your son is receiving (thats amazing how much you are getting!), but I'd talk to them as well and see what their suggestiosn are.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

My daughter was the same way. She started talking full sentences when she was over 3 years old and then it wasnt clear. She went through speech therapy for headstart and during the summer months and is now able to speak just like us, 98% of it is clear words. Occassionally a word that is unclear will slip out. She has come a long way. She is now 6 years old. She was also evaluated and was found not to have a hearing impairment, autism or any form of ADD. They said she would talk when she was ready, just a late talker. Remember Einstein was almost 5 before he started talking. This does not mean there is anything wrong with your child. Give him time. Other kids are the key to getting him to talk. I wish you all the best!

Answer 3

My son is 21 months and still isn't talking, I took him to a speech therapist and have had all sorts of hearing test, I'm signed up for Early on and other programs, and they all say the same thing that he is on track in every other way, but his language is just delayed for some reason. He is a very happy child and he tries to repeat some words, he says "da-da" but still doesn't say "ma-ma"

A friend of mine told me once to put my mouth on his face or somewhere near his ear sometimes while speaking to him so that he will feel the vibrations from my lips as they formed words. I tried it, it really didn't work, but I hear it does work for some.

I don't really have answers for you, I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. Best wishes!!

Answer 4

Try putting things on your face to see if he notices. New and outrageous sun glasses, fake mustaches, maybe a clown nose or something. Look in mirrors together and mime different emotions. Wear masks together and try on hats. Let him explore your face with his hands (even putting his fingers in your mouth and up your nose). Use face paint. Draw faces on paper and look at them. Look at pictures in magazines. Get dolls and discuss their faces. Get puppets and have them 'talk'. Show him how the puppets move their mouths when they talk.

Use lots of sign language! He may have a speech delay without having a language delay (I'm sure you already know whether he does or not), but sign language is great. If he isn't comfortable looking at your faces, or if for some reason doesn't understand faces, you can use your hands to communicate with him. And he can use his hands to express anything from basic needs to abstract thought, depending on how much you all learn together.

I hope the best for you and your son. Good for you getting him into Early Intervention!

Answer 5

I am a an Infant Development Specialist and am a vendor of Valley Mountain Regional Center and work in Early Intervention. I am wondering how you managed to get 5 hours a day of therapy. Usually that much therapy is only for children with autism. What Regional Center are you with? Your therapists should be answering these question for you. It's hard for me to give you advice without meeting your son and knowing his specific needs.

Answer 6

I've got 3 kids of my own
And I've learned through out the years that if you brib them they'll do what you want them to.My daughter couldn't write her name and she was 4 and in head start.So every time I wanted her do something she wouldn't do I would brib her with candy or something else that she may have wanted.If that doesn't work then all I've got to say is good luck because that is the only thing I could think of when it came to my own.But it really did work for me.

Answer 7

He sounds like a very intelligent child who is absorbing language and ideas. When he start to talk you may find that he talks in sentences and uses words in a more adult way. Do you read to him? This will extend his vocabulary as well.

Answer 8

Has anyone brought up speech apraxia? I certainly can't diagnose anything, but I learned a lot about it when one of my kids had speech delays.

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/

this site has a lot of good information about it. Just go into the area marked family place. Good luck- I know how frustrating it can be.