Late talkers...kids

Hiya dragonfly, My youngest son, he's nine now but I could never understand a word of what he said until he was 5, it was a real worry for me at the time, I took him to speech therapy when he was very young, where she told me it was because he had a dummie, so that went once I knew, I couldn't give it him anymore but his speech still didn't improve for another couple of years, which at this time I was at my wits end with worry so took him to the doctors and really impressed on the doc how concerned I was, this is what he told me, sometimes in children something in their brain that controls speech as developed late and not quite connected up but it will and it did, if it was that because shortly afterwards my son just started making sense, I really don't know what caused it but that's what happened with my son and I hope by telling you it reassures you, not all kids develop at the same rate, all the best.

What beautiful boys! I know how you feel. My daughter was the same way, only she was 3 1/2 and only spoke a couple of words. I began the testing process and they couldn't find anything wrong. She was put into a special education pre-k class at age 4 under the label of "speech delay". It was a rough year, as she has refused to potty train as well. By the time that year was over, she had improved somewhat, but was still not up to par with others her age. When she turned 5 and began regular kindergarten, she started to catch up and pass everyone else. Now she is 13 and under the label of "gifted". When I tell her stories about it, she snaps at me and says "I didn't speak because I had nothing to say". Now as a pre-teen the problem is getting her to shut up. Start the test process to make sure there is nothing wrong, and then if everything is ok, just try to work with them a bit everyday and they will open up. I agree with you in that they need to have more social contact with others their age. I think they will be fine once they get going!

My son was a late talker. He did not say much that you could understand till he was about 3 years old. He still has trouble saying some words and he is almost 9. My daughter on the other hand is the complete opposite of him. She talked early. She is not quite 2 and talks better than he did at 3. I have always talked to my kids all the time like they understood everything I was saying even as babies and they both turned out completely different.

Are there people around your children alot talking and interacting with them? The more of this that goes on the more opportunity there is for them to mimick and copy. Work with them. There is counseling and you could check with their doctor to see what is appropriate for their age group. There is nothing better than mimicking what they hear. Read to them, talk to them, and let them explore words and picture stories. Their doctor may tell you they just arent ready yet or that they need some speech therapy. You just never know till to check it out. My kids all talked fine and this was because we interacted with them alot and read to them and talked to them.

Children talk when they are ready. There really is no easier way to put this. But don't blame yourself for keeping them home with you. My children (ages 9,4, and3)( are all talkers and they have always been home with me. In fact they talk more than anyone I know. The only thing (medical) that could be the reason (that I can think of) that they are not talking could be autism. Autism hinders childrens ability to get words out. Have their pediatrician look them over and rule this out and when everything comes back fine then don't let it get to you. They will talk when they are ready. You are doing a great job!

Well, there are really those who can't talk early as usual. But I guess you should only be worried when your kid isn't talking not even syllables and he's already 4 or 5.

My son was a slow talker and when he did talk barely anyone could understand him. He was really shy so that didn't help either. When he was 3 he used to have a little friend that he played with, she also had speech problems and they could understand each other quite well. They both had speech problems before they met, so they didn't pick it up from each other. Anyway the little girls mom had her in speech therapy and told me about their therapist. My son went there and almost right away he improved. Now he is 7 and at times he can be abit hard to understand, especially if he talks fast, but the therapy really helped. My daughter also had a little trouble pronouncing some words so they popped her into speech therapy for a few months in kindergarten and now she speaks really well.

I have 3 that do not talk well. My 10 year old has grown out of it mostly, but my 7 year old, you can't understand him. And my 3 year old sounds just like my 7 year old. All kids are different. My 10 year old just pretty much refused to talk until he was about 7-8. In Kindergarten, the teacher said that the only thing he said ALL YEAR to any of the other students, was when he told some girl to pull her britches up cuz he could see her underwear. lol They communicate with each other somehow. Watch them to see how they "talk". Then ask the speech therapists how you can help at home. Trust me, once they start talking....they NEVER shut up! ha

it can be any genetic case. I have seen in many families children speak late. it is not to worry. better consult pediatrician. They can assess it well.

I think kids have different way of development. So I think we parents should not be that worried if our children is a late talker. But for example our child is more than 5 years old and he is still incapable of producing words then I think it's time to seek for advice from the experts.

My daughter is going to be 2 next month and she has not talked much either. My mum compared me with my daughter and said that I spoke a lot of words when I was 1 year 4 months. She has been telling to give a certain kind of food (some part of the chicken,if you have to know) to help her to speak up. That's just old wives' tales, I told her. But I worry that she's not talking a lot. Having similar aged kids around your kids will help. I find that my daughter attempts to talk more when she is with my cousin aged 6 years old. But they don't meet up so often. But now I try to repeat words to her as often as possible and she is picking them up slowly. Even then, the words were not clear. I would like to give her some time, before considering speech therapy. My husband worries too. We were both early talkers when we were kids. I told him that he must speak more to her. They said girls talk earlier than boys, but it's not the case for my daughter. She is also with me most of the time and has little interaction with other kids outside the home. Do your kids repeat what you say? Initially my daughter wasn't doing that, but now she is repeating some words she hears often. But she still babbles incoherently every day.

My mom had the same problem with my brother. He was already 2 years old, and he hasn't learned how to speak yet. He can only say a very few words and my mo was really concerned because he was around a lot of people at home, and my mom frequently read to him. My mom was actually afraid that he has autism and a good friend recommended a playschool to enroll him to. My mom did just that and pretty soon he was speaking and his progression was actually quite remarkable. My mom also had him checked for autism, and he wasn't (he actually turned out to be very smart). I really hope this is also the case for your kids and I hope the tests go well. I agree that sometimes kids just need to have a chance to interact with other kids in order to develop their language skills. One of my brother's teachers actually said that he might have been confused since he was always around adults at home, and it also didn't help that we were multilingual.

My son wasn't talking very much either so I had him tested at 2years/4months... I ended up putting him in speech therapy... He blossomed! It really was great... I put him in private sessions, once a week individual and once a week group. Then I had EI come to the house once a week. So until he was three, he had speech three times a week. Then because he was still a little bit behind, EI got him into preschool a year early where he continues with speech once a week. Now this all happened right around the time 'they' say kids natuarlly start to blossom in language, so we'll never really know what did it. Regardless of whether he would have done it on his own, I know I did the right thing. I can't say enough good things about the services I got. When he was evaluated, they estimated he was behind almost 12 months! When they re-evaluated him before he turned 3, he had inproved 10 months. So in 6/7 months, he gained all the months he was behind and kept pace with the natural order of advancement. I'm so glad I did it, he's so friendly and outgoing now and I can't tell you how much your relationship will change between you and your child. No more frustration from not knowing what they want, no more tantrums cuz mommy doesn't get what is being said... If there's any doubt, even just a little bit, check local resourses and get into speech therapy. The benefits far outweight the hassle! Good Luck!

i have two nephews who arents talking much.the elder one has started to go in play group.he is 3 years old .but after going to school i can see much improvement.now he saying different poems n talking better although not perfect but he has learned a lot of words.the other one which is younger 2 years old is not even saying anything else except ama and aba.he never responds even by saying hmm when someone calls him.so i think that he will also get better after going to school and communicating with lots of children after seeing the recovery of elder one.

I have a five year old who talks pretty coherently now for his age but it didn't really start until he was over three years old. I think you are right to let them get around more children and at some point he will pick up on the words. I wouldn't sound the alarm just yet. They are still little and will grow at their own pace when it comes to speech. My son still has a little lisp that could work itself out in time. You will know in a couple of years maybe if your children need speech therapy. They'll be fine and try not to worry so much.

Are there two languages being spoken in the home? It is common for boys to talk later than girls. Have you told their doctor? If they are not socialized much then how are they supposed to learn to talk when they don't really hear anyone talk much? Talk like crazy. Talk about how you are walking into the kitchen, getting some water, putting it in a cup, etc. Go outside and find other kids. They don't have to become best friends with the kids but they will start copying whatever those kids do.

Don't worry too much. They need to be expose more. Talk with always... They need to be encouraged to talk. Play with them. Let them meet other kids... One day, you'll be surprised... They are already talkative and can interact well with others already.