May 2008 Spring Sprouts

My 17 month old doesn't say any words aside from the occasional mama and dada, which is more babbling (mamamamama or dadadadada) than actual words. At the same age my 3 1/2 year old was talking up a storm.

I wasn't concerned because he understands so much, but because he is considered delayed we were referred to Early intervention by our pediatrician. So he was evaluated by a speech therapist and he'll receive weekly sessions.

The woman who evaluated him said that it's likely that even without services he'd probably start talking on his own. But because he's not talking, she was going to recommend him anyway. I'd rather have him catch up now then wait 6 months and find he's still not talking.

If your gut says she's fine, she probably is. But if you're eligible to receive services, the worst that can happen is that she'll get some one on one speech therapy. Ask your pediatrician.

My DS was exactly like this--he understood a lot and could do signs, but really didn't speak until he was 2 1/2.  He was involved with EI from an early age, b/c he was born premature and low birthweight, so he started getting Speech Therapy at about 12 mos.  I'm not sure what made the difference to get him finally talking, but at 2 1/2, he went from a handful of words to a word explosion.  And he started talking in sentences soon after.

We had a great experience with EI and I highly recommend getting involved with the program, if you can get your child qualified.  I also highly recommend doing sign language!  It allowed my DS to "speak," when he otherwise wouldn't have been able to.  The "Signing Time" DVDs are awesome.  My SS watches them now and loves them.  She's been signing since about 10 mos and her speech is really taking off.

Your 16 mo old may just be letting her big sister talk for her!

I'm in the same boat, tho. But because A understands so much, I'm not worried. She follows directions, points to pictures in books when asked, and jibbers all the time! I compare her to my nephew, who didn't start talking until he was 3, so I think she's fine.

Our ped offered speech therapy at 15 mos. We didn't take it. We'll see what she says at 18 mo visit next month. If she still suggests therapy, I guess I'll do it, but I think it might be over-treating the natural development of language.

I agree with the post -- go with your gut. I know A will catch up. We talk normally to her (no baby talk) and she's imitating us more and more every day. Being around other kids her age and older will help.