17 month old son.

an9i77

does he use gestures such as waving and pointing? My little one did not speak until around 20 months, but waved from around 12 months - signs he was communicating in his own way. If there is no waving or pointing I'd be concerned but not at lack of speech at this age.

meritaten

my cousin didn't speak until he was about two and half - he didn't need to! his sister and parents anticipated him so well! that was over thirty years ago and he now has a degree and really good job with a local authority. I wouldn't worry at this stage if its just speech you are concerned about. my mum always said that girls were faster to learn language than boys and I think she was right! my own two boys were much slower to start speaking than my daughter was (but then she DID start talking at about 9 months - and hasn't shut up once since then!).

kjmtidea

I would mention it to the health visitor but try not to worry too much.

All of mine were late talkers, my eldest is off to Grammar school in september and my youngest has autism and selective mutism, my middle 2 never shut up, so it can mean nothing or something!

notanewuser

Do you not have an 18 month check with the HV, OP? It usually covers this stuff.

marisco_2

I think it would be worthwhile to approach your health visitor with your concerns. She would be able to carry out a hearing test on your son and establish if there was any problem. Do keep in mind that every child develops at their own pace. Some start forming words and talking in broken sentences quite early on. Others like to sit back, take it all in and only start to talk when they are a bit older and feel really confident, often in much fuller sentences.

My youngest child didn't say a word until he was nearly 2 1/2. A hearing test hadn't shown up any problems. A speech and language therapist suggested to me that I just talk to him the whole time and use visuals to back up what I was saying. So on car journeys I would be pointing out the green trees, the colour of the cars going past, that big red bus. In the park I would be discussing the dogs going for a walk, the ducks having a swim, the children playing on the swings and slides. Going round the supermarket I would show him all the exciting things we were buying and tell him there names etc. I don't mind admitting it was demoralising doing this the whole time and getting no response for months on end. My efforts paid off as it did all go in though.

The turning point for us was when I started teaching him nursery rhymes and doing all the actions to them. He started to hum the tunes and then very gradually added the words in. By the time he started school he was a fluent speaker and had begun to be able to read. He is now nearly 8 and never stops talking, to the degree that I wonder why I ever willed him to start, instead of just enjoying the peace and quiet whilst it lasted. He is bright and inquisitive and into everything. He still only chooses to listen to what suits him and ignores a lot of what I ask him to do though, cheeky boy

pigpen

No, I'd not be concerned in the slightest.

They develop at different rates and boys are notorious for not talking.

If he interacts with people in other ways.. making eye contact, bringing toys to show you, getting you to play with him etc.

My middle son was 4 before he spoke.. he had glue ear and has physical issues which affect his speech even now at 17. My 10 y/o decided one day when she was almost 3 that she could talk and hasn't shut up since.. prior to this she said about 2 words.. cat and mummy.

inkie

He willne having 18mth assessment soon. Discuss it with your HV then.

lilymay1

18 month assessments don't happen in my area so it may be the same for OP. Baby is seen at 1 and not again until they are 3.

A 17 month old not talking doesn't seem particularly unusual to me. My son (20 months) has a very wide vocab and has recently started putting words together, but he isn't a patch on my just-turned-2 God Daughter. She has been speaking the Queens English for a good 12 months!

MadDogWoman_2

Hi,

My DD now 6, had her 2.5 year check they were concerned about her lack of speech, the HV said they'd follow up when she was 3, they never did.

However, the words did eventually come, she now gives Little Miss Chatterbox a run for her money.

We started watching Something Special together and used the signs as a way to minimise the frustration all round, but she had to attempt the word too.

Has he been busy learning other skills?

Make-it-3

I wouldn't be worried about speaking, as language development tends to take off around 18-24 months. Obviously some will be early and others later but SLT services are very stretched and they are unlikely to want to get involved until your child was 2 1/2 at least.

You child should understand simple things you ask and be able to point to things to communicate. As others have said, if he isn't doing that then a hearing test maybe in order. Just because he can hear loud noises does not necessarily mean he isn't struggling hearing every day speech.