Hi,

I'm new here. I have a son that's 2 1/2 and he still doesn't speak. He's very sociable and can do anything that other two year olds can do except speak. Well I found and organization that helps children at this age through my state. He has to get his hearing tested as a precaution. I took him last week, but he wouldn't sit still through the test so I have to take him again this week. If they find out that his hearing isn't a problem then we can proceed with having a speech therapist come once a week to work with him. I wasn't stressed at all until my family started interjecting their opinions in everything. I was just looking forward to getting started so that we can fix my son's speech problem. I have been told that I should have done this and that when he was a baby and told what I didn't do. I don't need to hear that right now. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing. (not nosy family)

Hi! Welcome to the boards! Is your son an only child or does he have siblings? I had a friend whose son didn't talk until way later than her other kids, but they found out it was because he could just point to things or gesture and the other kids were talking for him, so he didn't have to. They stopped doing that and he started talking within a month.

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He can't speak, or he won't speak? Does he talk at all? I am just wondering, because I had a nephew who hardly talked until he was about 20 months and then just talked and talked like he had been for months...

He's an only child. He does go to preschool three half days a week. He does communicate by pointing, but we always try to get him to tell us what he wants. When he points to something I say what he's pointing at and so on. I'm hoping that the speech therapist will give us some suggestions.

He makes a lot of sounds. He'll say mama over and over. He also says baba over and over. I have heard of children not speaking at all until age 3 and when they did that it was like they were talking all along. Because he's not really saying anything at all I felt like it was time to get some professional help.

If they don't have anything nice to say, then don't listen!! That's my first advice. You're already concerned enough about your ds not talking, you sure don't need someone telling what you did wrong or didn't do right. I would definitely go through with the hearing test and then speech therapy if it shows he needs it. I had a little boy in foster care that was two and not speaking much and he received speech therapy in my home and it was wonderful. He learned so much more than just how to speak. Good luck to you and keep your chin up!!

I am going thru this right now with my youngest who is a boy. First its very common for boys to have a speech delay so rest assure in that dept. My son at 2 years old really couldnt say anything other than some sounds I had him evaled and he had a 25% speech delay and behavior issues steming from not being able to communicate, this was back in oct by the beggging of Dec we had our first speech session and fast forward to now so basically 2 full months of sessions once a week and he now has a vocabulary of about 20-30 words now mind you he doesnt say them properly he leaves off sounds in them but you can now start to understand what he wants. I am a firm believer in going with your gut instinct and doing what you feel is best. My hubby was very upset that I had done this and thought man people are going to think he has disabilities and I was like no he cant talk we need to work on that. The one funny thing I have noticed is he used to say Daddy well since we have been doing his sessions he now can not say Daddy at all he says BABBY but he can says my girls names which one is Gabby and the other her name is Savannah but we call her COCO and boy can he say that one lol all I hear is mommy coco mean lol so go ahead and do it you will not regret it

UGH! Families! What does it matter what you did or didn't do? That time is over. (I haven't read the other posts yet, so I apologize if I'm being redundant. You can't change the past, and especially if you're a first time parent, what do you have to compare with? The other thing that happens is that, if you express fears (why isn't my child talking, at 18 months, say) people will rally around and discount your fears, just trying to make you feel good (Oh, don't worry, he'll be fine...everyone develops at their own rate). Everyone means well, but...My question is why the pediatrician didn't ask the leading questions and say something, giving you referrals. That IS their job. Ours actually talks directly to my kids to check their cognizant and speech skills. HOWEVER, he did miss my son's Aspergers, in spite of all that and in spite of my questioning. Yes, earlier is better, but I'm glad you caught it now; believe me, all is not lost. My son didn't get help until 4, and real help only this year! He probably would be doing better if I had known what to do then, yes, but I can't change the past. It sounds like you are on a wonderful path getting help and still early intervention. Listen to your intuition, mommy. You really do know best.

Welcome to Mommysavers, and if you have time, read over our posts in the Special Needs forum. You will also meet some of our wonderful members who do struggle with Special Needs challenges (and dance in the glory of the successes). Of course, many of their challenges will not pertain to you, but I do think you can get some insight and ideas to help you along, too. I have a pushy family, also, and sometimes I ignore them, other times, I actually speak up. If you can ever show me a perfect parent, I will know I'm dead and in heaven. It's funny how those that aren't in the midst of the issue know so much more....It's OK to tell them what you think!

Hug your little one tight. You'll both learn how to cope and take on new skillls. Hang on for the ride!

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Thanks everybody. You have no idea how much better I feel after reading the responses. (and this was my first post My mother in law was the lead person making me feel so bad. My husband was going to say something to her, but I told him not to. I'll just have to put her in her place the next time she opens her mouth about what I should have done with my son. I will look in the other section for special needs as well. Thanks again.

My son was like that and we contacted early intervention (our pediatrician referred us) and he started receiving speech therapy in our home. At three most children transition to an early childhood school through the school district and get speech help there. My son now goes 5 days a week (he turned 3 in December) to the early childhood school and loves it there. His teacher is a special education teacher who is also certified in early childhood development and he is getting great help. We're not sure if he just has a language disorder or possibly PDD-NOS but I know that he is making great progress. Check with your speech therapist because they will probably tell you that you can get a full evaluation done through the school district and the eval and services he needs will be free. If you are still concerned you can see a developmental pediatrician like we did. They are pricey but my thought was I wanted to leave no stone unturned so that regardless of what the cause was I would know in my heart and mind I did indeed do everything in my power to help my son. My son is now in the early childhood school through the district and will continue there with his speech services and other preschool classes until he transitions to kindergarten. You caught whatever is going on with your little one early and that alone will make all the difference. Don't worry about family---mine was the opposite, always telling me to leave my son alone and he'd talk when he wanted to. Family????? Sheeeesh.........