Speech delay 20 month old boy

[Buxterboo]

Ive posted this on another forum that I am part of, but I figure more input couldnt hurt! Any/all comments please.

My sons doc thinks he is probably speech delayed. I went ahead and called our Early Childhood Intervention program here and set up a meeting for next Friday. After talking to the lady and answering her million and a half questions (and also tons of research on Dr. Google) I really thinbk he DOES have a problem.

He is 20 months old and only has 10 words, of these he only uses 3 correctly (but not consistantly). He does not follow simple directions with out someone physically pointing/showing/leading him. He gets VERY upset when he needs/wants something but we have no idea what it is. I used to think he was just being a pain when he doesnt listen to "no" half the time, but now that I am thinking about it, he ONLY responds when we use the firm tone. So he is responding to our tone, not the actual word. For example: He runs into to road EVERY TIME we go outside. Ive tried everything I can think of to keep him out of the road. saying no/stop/dont and showing him (leading him away) is not working. If i ask him "sit down" he just looks at me. I have to show him/help him to sit down, EVERY TIME.

I just feel like I missed something SOOO big until it was pointed out to me. I like to think I am a pretty observant mom, but now I just feel so guilty.

Anyways, the whole point of this is to see if anyone here has any insight/advice/similar experiences. How can I help him?! I know the ECIP will give me things to do and advice, but I'd like to have some real world "mommy/daddy" input also, you know?

[aries416]

Well, fwiw, my 21 month old son has about 10 words and does not use them regularly. He understands us, but doesn't follow directions very well. He is just starting to respond to "no" and "no mouth".

Both of my kids have been runners. My son thinks its hilarious to run away from me every chance he gets. My daughter was the same. I could say no until I was blue in the face, but it didn't matter.

My daughter was a late talker and now at 4 she's fine. I will call early childhood for my son if he's not talking more by his 2nd birthday. I talk to him constantly and point out objects/places/whatever.

[mel j]

It could be, but it might not be. I will say my oldest only had a few words at 20 months (probably about the same as your son actually!), but I didn't consider him speech delayed. He just talked later than a lot of children. He started talking a lot a few months later and shortly thereafter he talked non-stop and had great grammar. His speaking was also quite clear when he finally talked. My daughter had a lot of words much earlier than he did, but she didn't talk very clearly for awhile.

There is nothing to feel guilty about

[Nerissa]

Nothing to feel guilty about.

My DS1 was a late talker and sounds just like yours at that age. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about it. Have him evaluted but don't stress about it. Some kids are just later talkers. I wouldn't expect a 20 month old to follow directions all the time.

[newmommy13]

I agree with pps it could be a problem or it could not be. There is nothing to feel guilty for! So many parents do not listen to advice and get their kiddos help just because they are in denial there is aproblem. Kudos for getting him checked out!

[Buxterboo]

Thanks guys. I just want to hear what they say after the evaluation. I know they will teach us ways to help him. Hopefully he will either be just fine, or something we can just work on and he will catch up.

[Bentley'sMomma]

My ds is almost 21 months now and can say about 10 words with prompting and 3 words correctly without prompting. At 20 months though, he only said 1 word. It is obvious that he understands a lot but doesn't always listen. I wasn't worried about his speech at all until his doctor brought it up but my mommy instinct told me there was nothing to worry about. I'm glad you are having him tested though so you can feel better about it.

[happysmileylady]

My 22 month old has zero words still. Though I have to say that I am starting to suspect that she HAS some of the words and is either choosing not to use them or is using them and we aren't realizing it. But for us, I can tell she really does understand me a lot of the time, and does a lot of deliberate ignoring. And, my other kids are late talkers, as were my brother's kids.

You said that it seems that he's responding to tone, not necessarily the words...have you had his hearing checked? Is it possible that he's hearing, but not clearly?

[Housefullofgirls]

I think the deal is this either parents wait it out hoping that was the right choice & not making there kid further behind or being proactive about it. If it's your first child I think it's easier just not to really know. o don't be hard on yourself. If it's not hey it's easier to say they are a late talker. Also boys do talk later than girls.

I just took my 15 month old to be evaluated last Wed. She's my 4th child and only says mom on a regular basis that's it. She ha said dada in the past but not for 2 months and she ha said no-no once a month ago. But, I know my other girls said way more by now and I'm just not willing to "hope" she's a late talker. I'd rather be pro-active and get her in the right direction with professionals and get her where she needs to be I posted in special needs if you want to see her scores. But she did qualify in 2 areas and tested higher than her age in other areas. It was really fun for her & it was very neat to watch. It's all done thru play and we were there for 2 hours and I'm so glad I did it! The ladies were absolutely wonderful. I know this was a right choice for us

But what you are describing behavior wise like the running to the street every time is very normal 20 month especially boy behavior. He's not even 2 yet. If he was nearing 3 I would be concerned about that. But so far what your describing is within normal limits. GL on friday.

[nicolemariep]

It sounds like he might have a minor hearing problem. I would get a referral to an audiologist. My son is about the same age and has a speech delay (that he goes to speech therapy for), but he follows directions really well. My son understands, but doesn't express. It sounds like maybe your little guy is having a hard time hearing?