Parents I need your advice on language skills

So it soudls like you have had his hearing checked, mentaly he is fine, and you konw his vocal cords work, so all the pieces are there and I would bet he just starts talking when he is ready. I too went down this road, and we ended up doing speach therapy, and sign language, and then all of a sudden he just decided he was ready and it was like a floodgate opened. The speach terapist we used was really good, and you can see her website at www.teachmetotalk.com (Teach me to talk . com), But again, kids just have to decide they want to talk, I think my sons trigger was spending a week with his cousin (four months youger) for christmas. She was talking like a champ and he decided it looked fun. Over the next week he just opened up. These will be exciting times. I know it is hard, but your best bet is just to stop worrying as much and enjoy it.

i have a 16 month old baby girl myself and there are times too that i worry about her speaking skills...she does babble a lot and she can say some words too but when you ask her to say something, like we go.."geli, say carlitos.." she goes..."nanana" it's like she gets the syllable count but cant say the actual word...it's funny but i get concerned sometimes...but according to my mom, this is quite normal...i guess in your case, you dont need to worry as well, he's probably just shy....it's good that you can hear him babbling even to himself...but i guess if you really want a solid advice, you can discuss this with his pedia...just so you have some peace of mind...goodluck and happy holidays!

I don't think anything is wrong with him. Some kids just don't interact verbally. I know a little boy that didn't speak at all until he was almost two years old and he's perfectly normal and healthy. He's developing on time with everything else also. I think you just need to be patient. He'll develop when he's ready. Just keep up the good work that you are doing. Good luck.

It sounds like he is a little shy and don't worry my son was still babbling when he was two a bit of speech therapy from yours truley as they did not have a therapist for a year , I decided to do it my self with the Mr Tonge book my health visitor gave me, he is know taking sixteen GCSE's and next september he is starting a four A-levels and he is still fifteen .Stimulate him with different experiences and get him out and about,and it will come to him ,they said he was bright but could not express himself,so expect a few tantrums or frustration tantrums they know call them and good luck you have got a bright one there.

I had some of the same problems with my son when he was that age. I called an early intervention center here in my state it's call First steps. They came and evaluted him and started therapies.(speech,occupational). Recently they diagnosed him with autism. He is not your stereo type at all he's very friendly, very smart but he's got sensory and communication skills. They said i did the right thing by calling them so early because very mild cases like my sons are reversable when caught at a young age. It may be a good ideal for you to contact the early childhood intervention center in your community. They usually don't charge you for the evaluation and it couldn't hurt anything. I hope this helps good luck.

i am a Montessori teacher in Indonesia. i ever had the children like that. the thing that i suggest to you are observe first for two weeks until one month.find his favourite things (song, button, book or whatever),find his hobby (singing, what kind of playing etc), and then start from it. tries to make intonation sound that can attract him to hear you and repeat again. even though it will be like a wind, it's okey. dont give up. you will find a way and an idea to go inside his world. you can buy the song that has a contrast intonation and attract him to watch it every day.

Give it time before you start to worry.... some kids are late talkers. I think it's good that he uses sign language... at least he as some kind of communication skill. Is there anything else your worried about? If it's just speech you see a problem with, I would gie it some more time... talk with the doctor as well... plus watch for other signs other then just speech.

There is such a wide range of skills at this age that it is hard to say what is 'normal.' My big concern would be if he is able to communicate his needs to you and others. If he can, that's a good sign. Another thing to look for is if he shows any signs of progress, even small amounts. If he is communicating with sign language, try repeating the words out loud to him and let him see your face while you are speaking, so he can try to mimic you. Other than that, continue to talk to him and read, and give him lots of opportunities to hear language and to see how useful it can be. If you are still concerned, mention it to his doctor. He should have a well visit at 18 months, so be sure to bring it up. Your doctor can recommend other things to try or ways to find out if there is a physical problem, such as difficulty hearing.

I wouldn't worry about it. Your baby is still very young. As long as you are getting some kind of communication from him (does he look at you when you call his name?) then it will happen when he's ready.

i see this has been a while back. hope your worries have stopped by now. i had 2 like that and they are grown and fine now. i even had one that would not go to anyone and hid behind me until he was 3yrs. now hes 40yrs and he never meets a stranger.

My daughter is almost 3 years old and also learned sign language when she was young. She is shy and did not babble to others either. Then, one day, she just started speaking while signing. Sometimes I also babysit a girl who just turned 2 and while she is very vocal and "talks" a lot, she doesn't know the meaning of what she's saying, that is, when you can figure out what word it is she's trying to say. She throws terrible tantrums too. People used to warn me that if my daughter knew sign language she wouldn't want to start talking, but since she does know sign language, she knows words and their meanings long before she can say them. She may start saying words later than other children, but she knows what the words mean and can use them to get her point accross. Keep up the signing, please! Happy MyLotting!

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Some children just take longer then others. Talking is just the same as walking, some kids do it before other and then some of them take a longe time. Just keep and eye on him mom and everything will be fine in time. I do agree with the other post that I read that stated checking his hearing. If there is an issue with his ears it may affect his talking. But I would think that the words would not be clear and be garbled. You said that he babbles just not a lot. I think everything will be just fine.

I have heard that babies who learn sign language may have a harder time communicating verbally. I'm not sure about the truths of this, but I know that a 1 1/2 year old at the day care I used to work at was having the same problem. I would do some research on the links between sign language and verbal development, I would think that it would be hard to go from using your hands to talk from using your voice.