Two-year-old niece not talking?

Question

My niece turned two in June and she has maybe a ten word vocabulary. She hears ok and understands two-step commands, such as "throw this away and bring me this." She points and grunts when she wants something, and her mom taught her some sign language in her first year because mom's brother has hearing problems and she wanted her to be bilingual. I keep telling my husband that Einstein didn't talk until he was three. Is she at risk for autism? Is she normal?

She is the oldest child and has a six-month-old sister. Mom reads and sings to her all the time.

Answer 1

This may turn out to be a long answer but I encourage you to keep reading. First of all, It's not Autism because she responds to commands - kids will autism don't respond to you at all. Try this quiz but please don't take the results as set in stone. http://pediatrics.about.com/od/autism/l/bl_autism.htm
We put our son in speech therapy when he was 18mo old because of physical issues (he had a trach) and after only a couple months he had a larger vocabulary than most kids his age. We also taught him baby signs before starting therapy that he took to very well. Our speech therapist would incorporate the signs as well. And to agree with a previous responder: DO NOT give her anything if she does not ask for it correctly, ie words or the proper sign, NOT grunting! My son would do that too but quit very quick when he learned it wasn't going to work anymore. The point about the therapy is working with her and showing her everyday objects and naming them over and over and over and yes over again until one day it clicks that eveything in the world has a name (nouns) is key. Then move on to verbs, adjectives, short simply sentences, and so on. Our son was out of therapy and sans a trach by 2! Now he is 4 and as bright as ever and teaching our younger son (almost 2) to talk. Our youngest caught on much quicker because of his brother which if your niece is an only child could also be factor. A very good friend of mine has a son the same age as my oldest and when he was 2 he was the same way as your niece. I asked our therapist about it and she said that as long as he is responding to commands and can hear just fine, just give him some time and guidance (the tips above) and he'll come around. He was also shy and talked more at home than when he was out anywhere. Bottom line: Work on naming everything and get her to repeat it to you and the rest will fall into place. I sincerely hope this helps!

Answer 2

I think there is too little information to judge one way or another whether she is developmentally delayed or not. Some kids literally are just lazy about talking and will rely on grunting, if grunting works. Sometimes, parents have to stop responding to the grunting to force the children to talk with gentle encouragement....
Example:
Sally points at grunts at her sippy cup that is just out of reach....Mom reacts by folding arms and looking directly at the child and saying..........."What do you want? You have to say the word or I wont get it for you."

This is a tough thing to do and usually leads to parents becoming frustrated and just giving in so the child will stop crying. Consitancy is very important.

However, in this case, because there is a history of hearing deficiency...i would consult a speech therapist. They are sharp cookies that really pick up on if something is wrong. At the age of two, they would probably incorporate speech therapy with play therapy to see just how much the child can or cannot do. http://www.clubztutoring.com/speech.php

This child may just need a bit of encouragement to be put on the right track. I dont know where your from but a good source for finding a speech therapist is to call your local school and ask the school nurse. They are a wealth of information for questions like this. A pediatrician could also recommend someone.

In our area we have an organization called 'Parents As Teachers'. If you have access to this organization in your area, CALL THEM. They are so wonderful. I highly recommend them. http://www.parentsasteachers.org/site/pp.asp?c=ekIRLcMZJxE&b=272091

Good luck!

Answer 3

Yeah, my sister kept saying that about Einstein to herself when her son did the same thing..Only, it's not cute or funny when they are four, and still doing it and need extensive speech therapy to correct it..Not kidding..At age 5, no one could understand what he said, not a word, because she allowed the point and grunting to go on...Make her stop it! Have her tell the baby, when she points at an apple, say.."Apple? You want an apple? Say Apple" and let the baby try it..Now, she should be having a vocabulary explosion soon..My daughter did it right after she turned 2 at the end of May, and now she talks in full sentences that are very easy to understand.So, do not give in to the grunting..It may take a few times of her doing this, and you dont want to be too hard on her at first..But, my nephew was worst case!!

Answer 4

The not talking thing is relative. My 11 year old was a late talker because he had older siblings that could talk for him, so why learn?

Also every kid is different in the way they grow.

btw, you said she knows sign language. How many sign words does she know? Sign words are still words. does she make up the difference in vocabulary in sign?

As for the autism (I treat it as a social worker), how is she with social skills? How about other developemental skills? If everything else is basically on track, I would not worry so much about the vocab.

Even so, if she is behind developmentally, it still may not be autism. She may just need some help catching up.

Consider how she is doing globally, and not just in one area. That will give you a much better assessment of how they are developing.

vic

Answer 5

It's perfectly normal, all kids learn at different rates, and Einstein didn't talk till he was almost 5!!! My son is 4 and he just now started talking.

She doesn't have autism, it's not something kids get, they are born with it. If she had it the doctors would know. Not talking is just one of the criteria for autism diagnoses.

Just be sure she keeps talking, and if she wants something make her say the word for what she wants before she gets it. This method has worked well with getting my son to talk, and it was suggested by a doctor and a speech therapist.

Answer 6

It is probably normal, everyone has had an imaginary friend or two when they are little, it's just imagination more than likely. I'm kinda neutral on the belief of ghosts and angels, but if I were you I would ask more about her "friends". Ask what they look like, or when do they come to visit, or what they like to talk about. Once she starts answering then you should be able to tell if she made up some fictional friend or if it is indeed a visit from a spirit.

Answer 7

She should be seen by her pediatrician. It could be perfectly normal or there could be something wrong. By age 2 my oldest was a chatter box, my second wasn't saying as much because my first did all the talking, and my 3rd was talking some, but by 21/2 would talk non stop! Good luck and try not to worry too much but have her looked at!

Answer 8

My son didnt talk until after he was 2 as well.He had a older brother that got everything he wanted and knew what he wanted without him ever speaking.I had to stop my oldest son from "speaking for him".He is now five and is doing just fine.He started school this year and his speaking great.I would have her evaluated just to see what is going on though.Thats what i did with my son and thats how we determined that he just had no reason to talk because his brother did all the talking for him.

Answer 9

my 18 month old granddaughter speaks entire sentences and can hold a conversation with the average adult. She is an exceptionally bright child. my 28 month old niece speaks in one word only when she wants to but understands and obeys commands quite well. I think the answer is they all grow at their own pace

Answer 10

Sounds like she's not too far off track. When your visiting with her, just read to her a lot, and ask questions as you read the book. This will help. Also sing silly songs as say stuff like "Twinkle Twinkle little Mouse" and try to get her to open up and say Star. Make a game of it.