my daughter is 2 and a half years old and she is not speaking in sentences what do i do?

Answer 1

Give her a few more weeks. It's amazing how overnight my daughter went from saying one or two words to now saying "I need a band-aid, I got boo-boo on my foot." It's not all clear, but the whole family can understand her. She'll be 3 in January. As long as she's communicating well, give her a little more time. I was thinking about getting my daughter tested about a year ago, and now I know I didn't need to.

Answer 2

I would not panic she is still only young, however, would like to share my experience,
my daughter did not speak very well at all and no sentences when she was three and a half, and I was told I was a paranoid mother and that it takes time for speech to develop by the GP and Health Visitor, however, as a mother of two other older children, my instincts were that something may not be quite right, so I went to see a private ENT surgeon (as our GP would not refer her)
and on first sight he immediately diagnosed that she had some deafness, after tests she was 80% deafness in one ear.... The ENT consultant told me that obviously she (my daughter) was obviously having difficulty learning to speak because she could not hear the sounds properly only parts of words and only the hard sounds and no soft sounds.
She had a minor examination operation on her ear to check her ear canals, an in-ear digital hearing aid to enhance the hearing she did have and referred for intensive private speech therapy from the age of three and half to the age of 5 (three times a week) and now is perfectly normal happy intelligent normal perfect speaking 8 year old and in full time normal school.
Strangers do not even realise she is deaf in any way, and speaks perfectly normally, and hears every word you say and answers eliquently.
She appears to be more intelligent than my other 2 older children, as she also along the way enhanced all her other senses are extra acute. She also has acute lip reading skills and BSL and other sign language which is a fantastic skill for any hearing and speaking person to be able to communicate with profoundly deaf.
My GP was ignorant and the Health Visitor could not care less. My GPs comment were "oh well, they would have realised she had some deafness by the time she was 5 in school, and then she could have gone to a special school".

I was just glad I trusted my "mother instincts" and because of that now have the best outcome for my daughter. Mothers are experts in their own children, trust your instincts and dont by undermined by anyone.
Good Luck and I am sure you will do what you feel is best.

Answer 3

Knowing what to do and when can be confusing when it comes to ages and stages! I would discuss it with your doctor, you can even call your doctor and ask them. A nurse or your doctor should get back to you with an answer of if they would like you to come in or not. If your concerned early intervention is key because if there is an issue the earlier it is addressed the better the outcome. And when it comes down to it you want what is best for your daughter.

With that in mind, if you are truly concerned call your local school district and see what kind of testing they have, often these early intervention programs have free screening. Or you can see a developmental pschologist to have her tested that way as well. Then if there is a problem they may refer you to a speech therapist.

If she is putting 2-4 words together I wouldn't be too worried and her vocabulary should be at least 100 words by now. Reading with her, listening to music, speaking to her as you go about your day explaining things to her and talking to her will help as well. Is she in a play group? A Mom's playgroup type playdate's can help as well so she get's interaction with other children as well.

Being a Mom can be a constant worry can't it? Our oldest is a Senior in high school, going off to college next year. Believe me the worry and concern never ends, but I wouldn't trade them for the world :)

Answer 4

That's totally normal. She should be able to communicate her needs and wants but many kids don't put more than 2 words together until almost 3. My daughter was speaking in sentences at 2 but my son has just started putting more than 2 or 3 words together and he's over 3.

Answer 5

Mine is 2 and a half and not speaking in sentences and I am not a bit worried because he can count to 20, knows his ABC's and all his shapes and colors. It just takes some children longer to put language together than others and it does NOT mean they are slow. Mine is very very bright and is only putting 2 words together. I expect that to evolve very soon, as I expect your daughter will start using little sentences soon. The more you worry, the more she will pick up on your stress and wonder what she is doing wrong.

Answer 6

You do nothing, there is nothing wrong with your daughter.Most 2 year olds don't speak in complete sentences. I know my 2 and half year old daughter doesn't.

Answer 7

She is probably learning slower,and that's ok.My youngest brother 4,but he was speaking in full sentences at about 1 and half years old.He learned quick(reasearch has shown that reading to your baby when it's inside the womb increases his/her intelligence and they'll learn faster.) My mom read to all of us(she has 5 kids including me),and play games like peek-a-boo with your daughter,they're also proven to do the same.Don't worry though,she'll learn from being around adults,especially mommy and daddy! My cousin was 3 before he started making full sentences.

Answer 8

this is what i do when babysitting and the parents say it helps
read a preschool book to her say the sentences like "the cat meowed" and then say "say it with mom and repeat it over with her
make it a game ask her if she can say it all buy herself, but only after saying it with her 5 or more times this will help her hear and speak in sentences
stick with small ones thoughno more than 4 words

Answer 9

Check out Dr. Thomas Sowell's book: The "Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late" (2001)

Answer 10

Every child is different at this age though she should be making small sentences, 3-4 words at a time.

Reading helps a million