Experienced mums, please help Should I be worried, a few months ago DS said Mum Mum and Dadda but nothing since and come to think of it hasn't even said Mummum or Dadda for ages. I asked one of the girls at coffee group if her DS was saying many words and was shocked when she said he could say about 20 words and he tries all the time when he wants something. This has now got me a little worried about my DS's lack of words. He points to everything and gets frustrated when we get it wrong, we keep telling me what we're giving him in the hope he might repeat us. Should I be concerned or just keep encouraging and one day he will surprise me and say a word lol.

I wouldn't be concerned - they all develop at different rates. At 1 my DS1 was talking NON stop. At the same age DS2 was not saying a single word. Just keep encouraging - using names / sounds for things. Reading books to him at night. One day he will just start and then you won't be able to stop him

Nah, don't worry at all , it's really hard not to 'compare' but honestly don't And thats from a mum of a 3rd who has only a handful of words (mummy, daddy, ta, up, moo, la-la (Lola), puss puss) but usually just gives you a cheeky grin when you try to get her to repeat words She understands everything 'get your shoes' 'shall we go in the car' etc etc etc. Oh but she doesn't understand 'NO' After having 2 who were talking in sentences by the same age I'm actually enjoying the lack of chatter as the other two NEVER.SHUT.UP I have learnt that they were freaks and DD3 is a bit more normal

Ali is no better at 21 months, mumma Dadda, eese for cheese, hello(ish), esss for Yes and NO. and nor was K so I wouldn't worry they will get it eventuially. As long as he seems to hear you i.e can respond to your commands might not be a problem.

Haha Poppitt your DD's were slightly advanced LOL but gorgeous and not freaks!

I would be concerned more that hes lost words, rather than the lack of words, I would definitely get him to the GP and have an ear check.

Thanks ladies, DS can here me no problem. He loves reading so we read heaps of books, helps that we have our own bookshop at home so plenty to choose from. He certainly knows what you're saying and will point at different things in the pictures and tries to say things. Maybe I could trying asking him who is coming through the door rather than saying where's Daddy? I'm probably just a paranoid mum since my own mother questions my parenting and has commented that my nieces were saying words at 1 and B is now 18 months

Lockie only says mum and bubba and the rest of the time just grunts, i've been talking to Hi.D as her DD had grommets (i had them when i was little so was concerned Lockie may need them) she said her DD lost words too.

I agree with Shipmate, take him to the GP for peace of mind and then at least you'll know.

A baby in our antenatal group says over 50 words and has learnt all the other babies names and points to the correct baby when saying them! Her mum is a chatterbox though so its not surprising! LOL.

At 18 months I wouldn't be worried. It's also very normal for them to 'forget' words and then reuse them later. DD did that - couldn't believe how much she knew and then all of a sudden forgot. OMG - she DOES NOT STOP talking now lol.

DS is 2 and I took him to a speech therapist a month ago because he doesn't say anything and gets SO frustrated. She agreed that he could do with further assessment so is booked for hearing tests etc. He understands if I say 'put your shoes on' or 'time for bed' etc but hard to know what else he understands.

I wouldn't worry, BUT I would take him for a hearing check. The earlier you rule things out - or in - the better it is for support, should you need it.

Has he had/does he suffer from ear infections at all?

I agree with Shipmate and RD. My sisters wee girl is 19 months knows what everything is and understands everything but just wont talk. GP thinks she may have grommets too, so i would definately take him to GP just for peace of mind

Just to reference this - hearing loss at a level that affects speech does not ahve to stop the speech they are hearing from being unintelligable. Some kids can hear and understand what is being said, but the hearing loss is enough to blur the sounds to make the child unable to form the sounds properly.

This is why my standard line is - don't be worried, but do get hearing checked. If there is a history of infections (where fluid can remain affter the infection goes for months, muffling sounds but not preventing understanding) this is even more important.

Lildudez, if the girl is at grommet level, then her hairing will be affecting the speech, but being so young, it should sort out quickly compared to an older child who might have a much longer journey.

And of course everything is more than likely fine, but better safe than sorry.

i have two older kids who spoke early, spoke clearly, and haven't stopped talking since. and then i have T, who was 2 in oct, who has only just started talking in the last few weeks, really. and even then i don't know if i would call it talking, most of it is unintelligible. but he is giving it a go finally and i am SO chuffed (the other day he said 'look, a spade (or, ook, a pade! but YKWIM) and today he said of the bucket in the car, 'it's broken', which it is). BUT he had a bunch of ear infections last year, he did have fluid in his ears at one point (the gp who saw him at that stage said he probably couldn't hear anything) (i am the WORST at picking up ear infections as well, i just assume they are generally sick so who knows how many he has had?) but the fluid has drained away considerably or something. they still referred him to the hosp audiology dept and we just got a card for him today saying they will see him at the end of the month, i reckon his hearing will be fine but maybe he might need to see a SLT? looking at him, his problem doesn't seem to be so much that he's not hearing, but that he's not moving his mouth properly when he talks.

he also said mumum and dadadad when he was younger and then seemed to 'lose' the words.. i don't know why that happened. maybe because he would point and nod/shake and go 'oooh?' at different pitches to get his point across and everyone just seemed to know what he wanted?

Thanks again ladies. I might take him to the GP next week as our GP doesn't work Fridays/Mondays to rule anything medical out/piece of mind. My niece had grommets as a preschooler but she never spoke, only made muffled sounds which makes me think this isn't the issue, but then I'm no medical professional. DS hasn't been to the Drs for yonks so it wouldn't do any harm getting the once over.

Felicis - DS has never had any ear infections and when he had the hearing test as a newborn he passed with flying colours.

Teacup - DS does the same, points and then when we try and figure out what he wants he shakes/nods his head and then gets excited when he gets through to us what he wants.

Very interesting about the sounds/grommets. Sounds to me like my DS could have this problem. IF that's the case - is it easily fixed? I remember my sister having grommets and she was a bit older - 4 years old I think.

Oh it would be so nice if DS could communicate - both of us end up very frustrated and it must be hard on him if it's a hearing thing.

Let us know how you get on Mumma2RnB

Reading all these replies now I am thinking maybe I should get my DDs ears checked again. She had about 8 ear infections in her first year (1st one at only 6weeks) .....she 'passed' her last tympanogram in Oct but now I am thinking about it a lot. She was going to be referred for grommets had she not 'passed' that last test. Given how early/much the other too spoke hmmm

Get her checked Poppit, it can't hurt.

What is a tympanogram?? Lockie hasn't had any tests apart from the one in the birthing unit when he was 1 day old.

Tympanogram is a machine that checks for fluid behind the eardrum. When there is fluid present it stops the eardrum from vibrating properly ie the child hears limited or no sound.

My DS2 had extensive ear infections (and I was pretty crap at picking them up too). By the age of two he spoke in grunts and screams and screeches but he had some intelligible words as well. He didn't have any sentences. By the time he was two and a half he hadn't progressed much further and was suffering extended infections so I insisted on a referral to the ENT. Everyone kept saying it was normal for boys to be slower (which it is), he'll talk in sentences when he does start, he's more physical so he isn't developing his language (which does happen) but I knew it was more than that.

Interestingly he was hearing enough on and off to have a reasonable level of vocab but it wasn't clear language and there were periods where he clearly couldn't hear me at all. One day we'd had a really bad day of tantrums and me shouting all the time and I was so cross at him. He wanted to pour his own juice from a two litre juice bottle into a small glass and I decided I'd let him so I said "put your glass on your little chair" and I patted the chair and he SAT on the chair... He was deaf that day but not everyday.

So I agree with F. that glue ear is one of those tricky to detect and diagnose problems which tends to come and go but when it occurs over the time of language development it can cause all sorts of issues. So I too urge you to get him checked if only for peace of mind.

Get their ears checked - earlier rather than later. Its a long hard road if these things are not picked up early. Hayds has just had his 5th lot of grommets - and still has some hearing loss and will most probably need hearing aides.

He had no ear infections, he could follow instructions and could 'hear' me from other rooms - toilet trained day and night at 2 and had no other behavoiural or developmental issues. However he couldnt hear clearly - like his head was under water - everyone told me not to worry and they all delelop at diff rates - this was not true in our case and I wish I had not listened to them.

If they do have a hearing loss - often the other senses take over so its hard to tell. Hayden learnt to lip read at an early age and still does so, he also visualises his learning (ie spelling words) - and is well ahead academically. But he has hearing loss - mild to moderate and at some stages he has no hearing in his left ear.

So would I book my DD in for a further tympanogram? Does that sufficiently 'test' their ears? Thanks

I just requested it when we went to the GP - her's is a little portable - is that what you had. They can be show not working ears incorrectly but if it says the ears are working properly then that's fine. If she was to have another ear infection you should ask for a test after the ear infection and then another one in six weeks time to establish exactly what is happening. It only tests for glue ear which is only one type of hearing loss so there could still be issues. Our ENT referred us to the hearing clinic next door just to be thorough.