Shouldnt he talk by now?

Question

My son will be 2 in December and he still only says a few words....he mostly grunts and whines his way to getting his point across....I understand what he wants but he doesnt talk...I am really worried! He does other stuff well tho....Just doesnt talk! What could the cause be? Should I wait until his 2 yr check up or call and make an appt for him to see the doctor about this this week?
Thanks!
April

What is the signs of Autism?

Thank you all so much! I will work on his speech with him. This week I will also call his doctor as well...He was born early and also walked a little later than most kids...he also has such a temper! I have never seen a child with such a temper as his!

Answer 1

I would see your pediatrician asap...the sooner the better, the younger the child, the easier to fix the problem (usually).

He could be fine, but there may be something slowing his development. Your pediatrician can give you the proper referal to get him evaluated. Don't wait.

Signs of autism:
1) Does the baby respond to his or her name when called by the caregiver?
2) Does the young child engage in "joint attention"?
3) Does the child imitate others?
4) Does the child respond emotionally to others?
5) Does the baby engage in pretend play?

Among the early signs and symptoms that parents and Pediatricians look for to alert them that a child needs further evaluation for autism include:

* not smiling by six months of age
* not babbling, pointing or using other gestures by 12 months
* not using single words by age 16 months
* not using two word phrases by 24 months
* having a regression in development, with any loss of language or social skills

Infants with autism might also avoid eye contact, and as they get older, act as if they are unaware of when people come and go around them.

Keep in mind that autism usually isn't diagnosed until about age 3, although some experts believe that some children begin to show subtle signs as early as six months of age.


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Answer 2

Some children don't talk until they are 2 or a little older. I taught Sunday School and had children from ages 18 months until 3 years old in my class. I had an average of 14 children. One little boy came to my class at 2 and his parents were very worried because he didn't speak very much and did much the same as your son. Well, let me tell you that by the time he was 2 1/2, he was talking a blue streak and was very well spoken, too. He was the cutest little boy and there was absolutely nothing to worry about. He just had to get to the point where he wanted to say something, I guess. I would ask the doctor at his checkup but I think he will be fine, especially if he is saying some words and is interacting with other children and having eye contact. (You might want to have his hearing checked, as well. This will just reassure you that there is nothing to be concerned about.)

Some of the signs of autism are: no verbal communication, no direct eye contact, no response when you call or talk to him, he wouldn't point or show interest in things or other children, he might throw tantrums and rock back and forth, he might cover his ears when he heard noises. He would not interact or respond to people speaking to him; would just show no interest at all. You would also notice a lack of affection; no hugging or response to hugging, kissing, etc.

Answer 3

If he's not even 2, I wouldn't worry too much. He is making noises and saying some things. It's a great sign that he's trying to communicate. There are a lot of other indicators for autism, like they won't make eye contact and behavior around other children.
I was worried at my son's 2-year appt because his girl friends were speaking in full sentences and he wasn't. I remember my doctor telling me that autistic kids won't try to communicate.
Boys (with the exception of a few) are slower to develop their language skills than girls do, so it looks like their having problems. Talk to your doctor at your son's 2 year check up, it will make you feel better. My son, who is now 3, jabbered a lot, but really didn't say works we could recognize until he was about 2 1/2. They potty train slower than girls do, too.

Answer 4

I won't tell you not to worry because I know that's impossible. You've probably already been scared to death reading all that stuff about the signs of autism and woes of having a child with severly delayed speech. It's not time to freak out yet. There's still hope.

My said 4 words and made a handful of animal noises until he was nearly 22 months old. He did not point (though he had other ways of drawing my attention to things) or even call me "mama." Instead, he would scream or whine until I figured out what he wanted. We took him to 3 different pediatricians, 2 ear nose and throat guys and an audiologist. No one could find anything physically wrong with him, though all 3 peds. mentioned the possibility of a speech delay. So we made appointments to have him evaluated by a speech therapist and with Early Intervention. We were terrified.

Then my son suddenly started talking. Over the course of literally 2 weeks in early September, he went from saying 4 words to saying more words than I could keep track of. He started pointing at stuff and imitating everyone. It was like he was sleeping and suddenly woke up. Now, only 6 weeks later, he's saying 2 and 3 word phrases.

What I'm saying is that some kids don't hit that verbal milestone they promise you at 18 months. It's not to say they won't ever learn to talk, they just do it at their own pace. I've noticed from watching the kids in my son's playgroup that girls seem to talk earlier while boys seem to hit physical milestones sooner. Any doctor would deny that gender makes a difference; I'm just relating what I've seen.

Let your son pick up verbal skills at his own pace. If he's attempting to communicate with you in other ways, then you shouldn't worry too much about a developmental disorder like autism. Share your concerns with the doctor at your son's 24 month checkup. They'll want to rule out any physical cause for the delay and might refer you to a speech therapist or an audiologist for testing. But try not to be too stressed. Your son is probably just doing things his own way.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I would call the doctor this week! I have a cousin that is 3yrs and is in preschool and she only says 6 words wich is a pretty low vocabulary. Do not be worried a doctor will help. While you are at home try and teach him some words. Buy some learning toys. What I would do in your situation is sit down with him for about an hour everyday and teach him a word. So lets say on monday you teach him dog. Tuesday cat. Wednsday Mom. Thursday dad. Friday food. Saturday Drink. Sunday play. Kept doing this till he learns a good vocabulary. But kept making the words harder each week. Good luck! :)

Answer 6

I would contact your pediatrician and ask for a referral to a pediatric Speech Therapist, for a full speech evaluation. ALSO, you need to have his hearing evaluated. Both should be done as soon as possible; when you go in for a speech eval the therapist will likely want to make sure that you have recently had his hearing tested, so you should have that appointment first. It is not uncommon for a child to be slow to develop speech due to an underlying issue with hearing. If your child has had ear infections, you should also note that recurrent or chronic ear infections can lead to delayed speech, because the build up of fluids distorts the child's hearing.

I brought my twins in for an eval when they were not speaking by 19 months. The specialist was not concerned at that time because 1) they had some speech (they had some words, just not a whole lot) so it was not as if they were not speaking at all, and 2) in their case, because of their prematurity, they were less than 18 months (corrected for their prematurity) and no speech therapy was considered to be warranted at that time. Had they been 18 months corrected for their prematurity, and had no words, she would have recommended speech therapy. In any event, 18 months seems to be the age by which they want to see some degree of speech.

I highly recommend getting the eval, and, in the meantime, make a list of your son's words. For these purposes, it does not matter if, for dog, he says "ra-ra", a sound which doesn't even begin to resemble "dog," as long as he is consistent. So if he says "ra-ra" when he sees a dog, and "ra-ra" is his label for dog, then it counts as a word. At a speech eval (and before, ie your pediatrician) you will be asked how many words your son has; in addition, in making a list you may be surprised to find that he actually has more words than you think of him as having.

There are multiple signs that can suggest autism, or a disorder in the autism "spectrum," and none of them should be considered in a vacuum. Can lack of speech be an indicator? Yes. But BY NO MEANS does lack of speech mean your son has autism! Other common indicators would be failure to make and maintain eye contact, a lack of or failure to interact with others, a failure to respond, a tendency to obsess over repetitious movements. Autism is a syndrome, and the presence of one or two "signs" should not set off alarm bells, as there are many many other reasons why a child might not talk, for example, or respond, or why a child might like repetition (the latter being absolutely normal at various developmental stages).

Please call you pediatrician and schedule the evaluations -- get it checked as soon as you can, but please, do not panic.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Call your doctor to tell them about your concern. Most pediatricians speak to parents over the phone & will let you know if there is a real need to bring the child in. I agree with a previous responder....it may be a form of autism, so you should check with your doctor right away instead of putting it off for a month or so.

Answer 8

My daughter didn't say a lot at age 2, but now at 2 years and 9 months she doesn't talks non stop. I was worried about her speech but her doctor asked me if she understood me and she always did everything I told her so he said not to worry. I would say in the next few months is when all the words will start coming in. If it's really troubling you, go ahead and see the doctor now. Good luck!

Answer 9

My nephew was 2 in Sept. and he still isn't talking all that great. We know what he is saying because we are used to it but other people don't know. I would say wait until the check up. Some children just develop slower. One thing we do with him is ask him to show us what he wants then we say it over and over and try to get him to repeat it. That is helping a lot. I teach preschool (2 yr olds) and a couple of them are hard to understand, too. Good luck and I wouldn't worry too much yet!

Answer 10

every child developes at a different age just keep working on simple words with him and he will start to pick them up if you are worried then talk to your doctor they may offer speach therepy or help you make it easier for him to learn from you as for him temper it could just be where he isnt talking very well he cant always get across to people what he wants and so he gets frustrated. imagine u cant talk or write or anything like that and trying to get across what you want to other people you would get frustrated and get in a mood.

good luck