RE: 22 Month Old Not Saying Many Words

HEllo. My oldest son is now 4 years old and he was in 1st steps and is now taking speech through the school systems. First Steps is wonderful. My son said his 1st word at 16 months old. At 3 he was talking a little bit and now at 4 he talks and talks and talks. I can have a converstation with him and I love it. Just be patience and the time will come. I don't know why some kids are late talkers but my son def. was. My 2 year old is a big talker and talks as good as my 4 year old. Good luck. A.

First Steps is a great program even though it's no longer free. They've also changed their requirements to make it harder to qualify (you really have to have a big problem). My daughter had an initial evaluation for speech at around 15 months. I'm a little paranoid because my son has been in speech for a couple years and had significant problems that didn't get caught until he was almost 3. My daughter is starting out the exact same way he did.

So anyways... she was evaluated and just barely missed the new cut-offs (she would've qualified under the old guidelines). I was given a list of things to look for and expected speech behavior for 18 months. If she doesn't reach those by 20 months I can get another evaluation. One of those things was 25 words (clearly spoken, strangers could understand) by 18 months. She's nowhere close to that and at 18 months right now. So I have a feeling I'll be calling end of next month to set up another evaluation. Her pronunciation is just like my son's at this point. :(

Oh yeah... First Steps is only good until the 3rd birthday. Then you have to basically start over with the local school... request an evaluation and if she qualifies you'll take her to a local elementary school once or twice a week for speech therapy. That's what my son did last year. This year he qualified for the Early Childhood preschool program so he has speech twice a week while he's at preschool.

Hi D.. First Steps is a wonderful program that will not only work with your child until they are 3, they will also help with the transition into pre-school. My youngest son was in the First Step's program because of his lack of speech too. The therapist was wonderful and not only gave us insight on his problem (apraxia) but made sure that each week when she visited, that HE had fun and learned at the same time. They will have several therapist for you to choose from, which makes it easier to work the therapy into your schedule. (the one that does the evaul may or may not be your "permant" one)

My daughter was not speaking at all at 24 months so I went through first steps and she quilified and I think it is a great program as long as you are willing to work with them and can get through all the paperwork. We had problems getting it started and getting her first seen but she has been seeing a therapist since june and now I can't get her to be quiet...LOL Good luck and email me if you have anymore questions.

Some kids just take a little longer to talk. My 22 month old son still grunts alot for things. Try not to worry yet. :)

D.,
I haven't had this problem but my cousin is having the same problem with his son. The only difference is you child is 22 months. My cousin's son is 5 years old. My cousin is just now getting the help that his son needs. At least you are getting help for your child early and you child says somethings, where my cousin's son says nothing (that you can understand). You are not the only person going through this problem. If you ever need someone to talk to I am here.

S. M

My niece was very similar. She is 3 1/2 now and talks up a storm!! I think that some kids just don't feel the need to talk until they are a bit older. Keep your head up and I am sure she will surprise you!

My son is 30 months old and barely saying anything. He had some build up in both of his ears and we thought that maybe he just couldn't hear us well enough to learn how to repeat our words. His doctor recommended First Steps and having his ears checked. His ears turned out fine and we decided against First Steps because they were coming off as to pushy. He's actually starting to try to talk a little more. I guess my advice is maybe consider having a hearing test done and go from there. In my case I think my son just doesn't want to talk right now and I'm hoping thats the case with your child.

my son is the same age and i didn't think he was saying very many words either (maybe 50). i was also worried b/c he used to say Elmo, Ernie, and diggie (doggie) fine, but then he started calling them Elm, Ern, and daw. i called First Steps too and they came to my house and did an evaluation. the lady said that he wasn't eligible b/c he could understand a lot more than he said and that bumped his score up. a few days later i decided to write down every word that my son said, including names and nicknames, even if he didn't say the words just right. he says almost 150 words and i told the lady only 50! try doing what i did and maybe he says more than you think. make sure you include names and nicknames and any words that he says even if they aren't just quite right.

I wouldn't be all that worried yet. I have 5 kids who have all started talking at different ages. I have a 15 month old now that only says about 10 words, if that. She will just grunt and point. She gets what she wants that way from my older kids, so I guess she figures why say anything else?
As long as you are talking to a ped. or some other specialist and they say it's ok, don't worry too much. At this age you might be supprised at them picking up 20 words in a week.

my nephew barely spoke any words until recently. i am happy to report he is almost four and has a normal vocabulary. this is very common to happen especially if he has older siblings. give him time, some children feel very comforable to communicate other ways than talking as that is how they first learned. he will expand his vocabulary when he is ready. just keep encouraging him the way you have been. and before you know it he will be saying everything he knows. good luck!!!!

I just wanted to say I have a 3 year old that talks better than most, and the way I taught her was to always talk to her just like any other adult. Your child may have some speech problems which is why she is running into that and I wish you all the luck in the world with that!

Have your child's ears checked. My son was older when he was not talking yet. We went in to have his adenoids removed, the ENT decided to put tubes in as well, and in his inner ear - there was so much fluid that he could not hear, that's why he would not speak either... she said that she would not have known because you cannot tell that until you are in the ear canal. Worth a shot! The hearing test he had there showed his hearing was normal proir to this - so they can be misleading. He hears fine and speaks very well now!

I thought 40 words would be good for a 22 month old. All the boys in our family didn't even start really talking until age 2. Maybe we are a little behind. I'm interested to know who told you this is a problem? My son is 16 months old, and he's got the "mama", "daddy", and "uh-oh" in his vocabulary. I don't know if this is a problem I should address with a professional quite yet, though.

--K.

I used to work for First Steps/Step ahead. It is a wonderful program. I think you should take advantage of it. after all it's free. Kid's develop differently and sometimes they just need a little assistance. I've seen kids in the program that said maybe two to three words, and by the end of the program, they were talking in sentences. Hope this helps you.
W.

Hello D., I have a 3yr old who doesn't say many words. In fact she only says momma and shakes her head no. However she has gestures that gets her point across. She is currently taking pediatric therapy for both occupational and speech as well as taking special needs preschool for kids who are delayed in their development. My daughter is a medical baby and has been in the hospital since birth and consistently throughout her 3yrs of life. She'll always have medical issues because she is a 5 organ transplant recipient and will always have to be monitored. So I sympathize with your frustration and confusion. All I suggest is to keep talking to your child, even read to them (my daughter LOVES books although she cannot read them yet) and keep encouraging her to talk. I also have one more problem on top of my daughters speech, it is also eating. Not eating for a year and one-half and only TPN (iv nutritional feed), I'm battling getting my kiddo to eat, so I feel that may have contributed to her not talking, but either way. I just recommend keep working with your child. Eventually your child will open up and start talking so you can shush her.

Hello! I have a little boy that I was really concerned with his speech over also. I had his hearing tested and also had him evaluated for speech therapy. He was turned down though. They're supposed to know 50 words by the time they're two, so your child isn't that far behind. One thing though that may encourage you, is that my son finally just started talking after he turned two, probably closer to 2 1/2. I kinda think that maybe he just plain wasn't interested in talking back then, when he was your child's age. He has an older sister by 15 months, and she did enough talking for both of them really. Anyway, now he is 37 months old and knows how to spell all kinds of words, it's crazy, but they're words like "volcano, umbrella, and xylophone"! So, what I'm saying is that every kid develops at their own speed. My son is turning out to be a spelling genius, after all of the worrying I did about his speech. I mean, what kind of just-turned-three year old can spell over 60 words? So, remember that and keep in mind that your child may know a lot more words than you think. He/she may also just be amused by other areas of his life. My kid LOVES letters, always has, so speaking may not be something of interest to your child at this point. Slow speech development definitely doesn't always mean that there are underlying problems. You're doing everything right, so just go with the flow, watch the therapist so you can learn ways to encourage him to use words, and try not to worry at this point. I think that there's no reason to worry unless you notice that your child still isn't speaking in another year, to year and a half, honestly. He'll only be 3 at that time, so that's still plenty of time to get ready for school.

my older son isnt talking much, either, and he just went for his 2 year checkup. his doctor told me that he is okay, but since he isnt combining words yet, i need to watch him for a month, and if he still isnt, he will need to be looked at by first steps. just encourage her to use her words, and point out things to her, etc. read to her a lot, that's what helped cameron so far. good luck.

I have a 20 month old son who was delayed in speech. I enrolled him in the Birth to Three Program in our area. It has really helped. They taught me things to try and also other kids being around has helped. He tries to immitate everything that they do. I don't know if you have birth to three in your area but if you do I would contact them. Good luck!!

Up until almost the day of my son's 2nd birthday, he said very few words. To be honest I was scared to death that he'd never talk! LOL Now a little over six months after his 2nd birthday, I can't kept him quiet! The kid talks and talks and is easily speaking in small sentences now. Your kiddo may be going at a slower pace with talking, which is fine or at least that is what my pediatrician said when I was constantly worried out of my mind because my son wasn't talking when every one else's at that age was. A friend of mine has been having speech therapy for her son who is a month younger than my son and there is a huge improvement.