talking

[gina32]

my grandson is 17 months old and my daughter has just been to the health visitor with him because she thinks he should be talking and saying several words by now th4 health visitor has said she is concerned because he should be by now, adn is sending him to a speeach therapist,i look after him all week while she goes to work and ive heard him say several things, he is advanced on everything else, should she be concerned? i asked here before about age and got several different answers

[lozza_83]

hiya, i'm not trying to worry u but if u ask him where something or someone is does he point or reply? its just sometimes the reason for not talking could be something to do with hearing so it might be worth askin the health visitor to get him refered for a hearing test just for piece of mind hope this helps a little x

[gina32]

hi nothing wrong with his hearing, thanks anyway x

[lozza_83]

hi, i hope u weren't offended by me asking about his hearing. if u've heard him talk then its probably nothing to worry about he'll do it when he's ready :-)

[gina32]

no of course i wasnt offened, i have heard him say several words but i think my daughter thinks cos hes not having a full blown conversation with her.... she said everyone says he is behind but i dont think so, and you know what its like if a health visitor syas something is wrong then it must be!!!! no ofence to any health visitors out there

[lou 26]

hmm to be honest as long as he understands im not sure that theres much to worry about. My daughter was talking really well by the age of 2 but at 17 months she was only mumbling, yet my friends son was 2 a few months ago and hes not talking yet but he does understand what we're talking about. its the same as walking/potty training, they will do it when theyre ready. I dont think it will hurt to go to a speech therapist a couple of times if only to see what he/she says but if it were me i certainly wouldnt be worried

[MaryDou]

I agree with all the other ABers - anxiety over such things doesn't help you or the child - they are always the smart ?@+* s whose children can talk before they are born (slight exaggeration) but if the child understands then he/she will probably talk properly as soon as he/she is ready - and you will soon wonder why you worried!

[mimififi]

health visitors and new parents sometimes fret when all they really need to do is wait. However, certainly where I live, the waiting list for a speech therapist assessment is about 11 months! They also routinely check hearing again if referred to a speech therapist, so dont' be alarmed if they send her an appointment for a hearing test anyway. My HV referred me to a speech therapist for my daughter as she said because the waiting list was so long, it would be sensible to refer now so that by the time the appointment comes along, if there is still a problem then it probably is a probably and I will have the appointment when I need it.

As it was, my daughter didn't really say any word until she was about 2 and half. SHe said a few half hearted words, but didn't gabble or baby chat or try to mimic words, she just sat and listened. Then when she did start to say a few words at 2 and 1/2, she progressed to full sentences within a few weeks and then was streets ahead with NO pronounciation issues and didn't even sound like a young child talking by a few month later. Now at age nearly 5 she is streets ahead in not only her diction but her vocabularly too than her peer group. My nephew who did lots of mimicing and spoke very early is a few month younger than her, but started speaking at about 18 months and still speaks like a baby and has a limited vocab.

At the end of the day, by the time children go to school, barring serious developmental problems, all children speak, are toilet trained and capable of most things by the time they go to school. Children do not develop to satisfy a chart of graph, they do things in their own time. Tell your daughter to try not to worry.

[gina32]

thanks, the waitng list here is about 12 weeks so really not long, my grandson does speak a few words but for some reason my daughter never hears him, she says im the only one who says nothing is wrong all her "friends" say he should be talking by now, so of course mum doesnt count but friends do ha ha

[CeceW]

My son is two in a couple of weeks and still is not talking
I think parents tend to worry too much if their child is not developing as fast as other children.
My son goes to nursery and you cant help but compare your child to all the others who can do all the things your child cant.
I have taken my son to a speech therapist, who basically
said bring him back in six months and he has also had a hearing test (nothing wrong with his hearing just has 'selective hearing')
In my opinion I think your daughter should really listen to you and not her friends as it sounds like they are making her feel worse.
It seems like if your child isnt jumping through hoops by the time they reach a certain age then they must be something wrong with them when we should just chill out and just enjoy the time being with them.

[gina32]

thanks, thats what i tell her, he was walking at 10 months had his first 2 teeth at 4 months to name but a few things but "friends" dont seem to praise the those things just mock the other ones if you follow me, we all compare our children but i think he is doing well, he does say the odd words when he is with me and is always palying with his toys and knows what he wants, he knows how his pick up truck lorries work and how to ride his bike among other things but these things dont matter in your "friends" eyes do they! ive said enjoy him because the time goes so quick.