worried mum here. my 2 year old boy can only say Duck. he doesn't even say papa or mama. should i be concerned? i m in fact very concern already..and thinking to go to speech therapist. any parents out there same shoe as I? he can made two other noises consistently - 'vooah' for he sees car, and 'neah' when he read this particular train book. other than that, no other consistent words.
i dont think he has hearing problem cos whenever we switch on tv, he will turn his head. and when i read the books, he will take the correct particular book that i m reading.
Please help and advice!!!
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4G
17 yrs ago
I think pls dont worry ,my son spoke his words when he was just turning 4 ,I had read that some kids do not speak till 5 yrs of age so I was prepared to wait till he turned 5 .I never got worried even though all around me were very very anxious ,but I stayed Cooool!!!
Hope this helps
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Just in case, I would take him to see speech therapist. Private must be the fastest route, or you can ask a referral for Child Assessment Centre from a GP, but be prepared for long queue.
How social is he? Does he take eye contact, does he try to express himself with sounds? In many countries the use of supportive sign language while speaking (signing just the main words of the sentence, while speaking, and helping the child to sign, even by first guiding the hand movement by your hands) is a recommendation in case of speech delay and is said to encourage speech and communication, but to my surprise HK speech therapists seem to be unfamiliar with the method. There are some websites on the method that include video-dictionary too. Use of picture cards may also be helpful. Be posistive and encourage communication by any means that help the child.
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Z
17 yrs ago
Also, lots of multilingual kids are late to talk. My husband grew up bilingual and was almost 3 before he spoke much, but when he did, it was in complete sentences in both languages. Has something to do with how the brain is getting wired for language.
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cd
17 yrs ago
I would definitely think about getting a referral to a speech therapist if he doesn't start talking in the next few months. In the meantime just talk to him as much as you can, speak slowly and clearly, name things as you pick them up, point pictures out in books, sing songs. If he points to something he wants, use words back to him, i.e if he points to the biscuits, say 'would you like a biscuit' etc.
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RA
17 yrs ago
Hi! please give your child a break. Did you check with your parents and your spouse's parent at what age did you and he start speaking? Sometimes these things are hereditary. I have a friend whose son is 3.5 and still cannot speak. What does your paed say? If everything is fine, then just wait and do not put pressure on your son. He has learnt a lot of things in his 2 year old life so far.
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Delayed speech can be an indication of other problems.
You must get him checked out.
Good luck!
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Don't worry. You didn't mention how many months, because at that age, even one month can make a difference. My son did not speak when he turned 2, and suddenly at 2 1/2, he started copying/repeating words. At 2 and 8 months, he suddenly started saying words like, "I want apples," but no more than three words maximum. And that is rare. He still does not really talk. On the other hand, he can count 1 to 100 and do puzzles by looking at the original pictures. The point is that a delay in one skill is often heightened by an advance skill in another. That is normal. As you know, not all kids advance at a same rate and there are many moving parts to a child's development. Also, with kids, things happen suddenly.
I've been told that age 3 is really a guideline for a boy. Depending on how old your son is, closer to 24 months or 32 months, the speech therapist is likely to say that it is too early to tell. But s/he may be able to tell you if there is a physical problem with the shape of his tongue. As long as it is not a physical problem, I would not worry.
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MARB
17 yrs ago
Dear wounwounbee,
I was in the same position as you last year. Not knowing if I should seek a professional opinion for my then almost 2 year old son. Friends with kids said he would talk when he was ready and that I had nothing to worry about. But of course I did worry.
When he turned 2 I decided it was time to take action for my own peace of mind.
I had him assesed by a psychomotor therapist and a speech therapist. It turns out he has delayed speech. And both therapists said he is in fact a year behind kids his own age (speech wise).
I also had some tests done on his ears, the results came back and there are no problems with his hearing.
For the past ten months he has been seeing a psychomotor therapist twice a week and a speech therapist once a month. I feel my son has made great progress. When he called me mummy about six months ago for the first time I cried.
I am so happy that I had him assessed when I did. Many parents apparently leave it too long to have their children checked. The earlier a problem is detected the earlier the child can be helped. (if there is a problem of course maybe some kids do just talk late).
I hope this helps and my advice to you is to have your son assessed sooner rather than later. Even just to give yourself peace of mind.
I would be intrested to hear how it all works out for you both.
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Sorry everybody for late reply. I've just delivered our 2nd son 8 days back. so have been very busy.
Thanks for all of your advice. My son is exactly 2 tomorrow. He has made more 'noise' recently, but still no words. as what MARB suggested, we've decided to bring him to speech therapist to have a peace of mind. to have some professional advice as to how to 'encounrage' him to talk, etc etc. but with newborn here now..we will have to delay that slightly! MARB, i can totally understand that you cried when he called you 'mummy'. both his daddy and i are looking forward to hear 'mummy' and 'daddy'!
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MARB
17 yrs ago
Congratulations to you and your husband wounwounbee on the birth of your second son.
And happy 2nd birthday to your other son for tomorrow.
You sure are a busy little bee.....
Take care of yourself, I'll be thinking of you and look forward to hearing your news once you've had a chance to see the therapist.
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i agree with sandyshores. we have the same problem with my nephew and he turned out having AUTISM. better have your kid checked..
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