[VinniesMommy]

Vinnie is just about 2... he barely talks. He has some words that he says, but he babbles and grunts a lot more than talks. I was told when he was born he might be a little slower, he was born 5 weeks early. He has been perfectly on time with everything else, crawling, walking, etc... We read to him and work with him, but he's just not advancing a lot. The doc said they didn't want to go into anything until his 2 year check up which is at the end of September and any advancement is better than none, and he is talking, but only like 20 words... and he can't put two words together, or a lot of 2 syllable words. I wasn't really worried about it until tonight. Apparently my dad went and saw someone about it ((which ticked me off at first because he is MY kid and I know what I'm doing, I don't need him going behind my back with things like that)) and he handed me a card and told me I should call them. Now I'm worried. Is he behind because he was born early, or is he really having trouble learning and I didn't see it?? I am so confused... I am doubting myself... Could I not believe that he might be having trouble? Is it bad that he isn't talking at this age?? Is it because he was a preemie?

[twinzplus3]

Yes it could be because he was a preemie, and it could be because he's a boy as boys tend to develop more slowly in this area than girls do. And it could be because he is totally normal and just doesn't feel like talking yet.

When you go to see your pedi, they will likely make a determination about whether or not to see early intervention. EI will evaluate him and then decide whether or not he needs services. EI can be a mixed bag, our experience wasn't positive (more below) but for people whose kids need it--it's a life saver.

Our son wasn't talking at all at age 2. By age 3 he wasn't really talking and couldn't put sentences together. At his evaluation they suggested that perhaps he had ADHD and wanted to medicate him. . .but it was also our first indication that he was in fact gifted. A long story short we didn't buy the ADHD thing, we didn't medicate him and he is totally normal now.

So should you get it checked out? Yeah but I wouldn't put too much into worrying about it.

[pattiewrites]

Diagnosing ADHD in a two year old is insane! Completely and totally insane. I'm at a loss for words, it's so nuts! As a former early childhood educator, I can safetly say that ALL two year olds act like they have ADHD, it's called being TWO!!!

If mine wasn't talking at 2, I'd have an evaluation done. It may be nothing, but you'll have peace of mind. Your doctor can give you a referral.

[VinniesMommy]

Thank you so much... It makes me feel way more comfortable. I was planning on talking to the ped. when we went back for his 2 year check up, and they are aware that he isn't talking much... but they didn't seem that worried at his 18 month check up, so I didn't worry. But when my dad said he talked to the EI people, then I worried. My dad was a slower learner... he in fact still has problems with spelling and comprehension and things along those lines, and I know that he is super protective of his grandbaby... I just didn't know if I was not making something out of something, you know? How did you find out your son was gifted?

[twinzplus3]

! Pattie--that's exactly how we felt. My dh does early childhood (as for me, give me middle school any day!) but we just kind of stared and went huh? This is where doing your homework as a parent pays off. I don't want to discredit EI--like I said, for those who need it it's a life saver. But anyone that would say a 2yo has ADHD is a little suspect. OTOH, that is what they do. Try to identify red flags before they become serious problems. In fairness, he was evaluated by a group of doctors and that was the opinion of two doctors--he wasn't talking yet bc he couldn't concentrate. The cognitive psychologist though said that he wasn't talking bc he just didn't plain feel like it yet! She was also the one that suggested he might be gifted so to answer your question Vinnie's mom. . .

They are basically looking for cognitive delays (among other things) when they evaluate that might also cause a speech delay. So she had a basic puzzle with 3 shapes and put it on the table with some other toys just to watch him. So he took the puzzle, and he stared at the holes. Then he stared at the pieces. Then he took each piece and just plopped it in the puzzle. I was not impressed, but she was bc he already had them oriented correctly. To make a long story short he continued to do this with every puzzle she gave him. He also put together a more complicated 'regular' puzzle with about 30 pieces. So to say he has strong visual spatial skills is an understatement.

We homeschool and have chosen not to have further testing done or to skip him ahead more than one year in math. So he does 2nd grade math (he's in 1st grade now), any grade in science and 1st grade everything else. To help him develop, we have done 3-D engineering projects (like building stuff with a specific objective in mind), we taught him how to play chess (can almost beat daddy), and we supplement his math with word problems from a 4th/5th grade textbook. In any case, that's the abridged version of our story. There were signs from the beginning that he was pretty strong in this area though.

[mollymae]

Josh wasn't talking at 2 and his pedi told he had an expressive language delay. We saw a speech therapist who wasn't worried and since then he has improved (nearly 3)he's still not really talking in sentences but what does come is clear and he can recognise and name all the letters of the alphabet upper and lower case and recognise a few words. He can also recognise numbers to 10 and count a set of objects reliably up to 15.

My third son talked completely and totally at 18 months but couldn't do any of that till he went to school at nearly 5. They all do it in their own time. Try not to worry.

They may want to test your sons hearing at this age just to check that, that isn't a contributing factor.

[VinniesMommy]

Thank you!! I got worried... I know that he is smart, he has VERY good hand eye coordination, he has this thing where he strings small wooden beads on strings and he is very good at it, and he puts his puzzles together great. I was shocked because the first puzzle we got him at 18 months had 10 shapes and he put it together without missing one, in like 2 minutes and we have a picture book with 100 or so pictures and he knows about 90% of it... so I am not worried about that, but I think I will suggest a hearing test to the ped. if she doesn't. I just want to make sure. Thank you all so much for your wonderful advice!

[tymee]

When I first met my stepsons (twins) they were just 2 and they did not say much at all, except dad, mom, hi, and they grunted...I thought it was strange as my nephews I swear were talking when they were born...However, I just worked with them and about 6months later they started saying more words, and now 2 years later they never stop talking. They were premature as well, and DH said their pediatrician said it might take a little extra time for them to develop their speech, but they are doing great now!
Your son will get the hang of things, I think the evaluation is good, but I think giving it some time and he will come around, and before you know it...he will talking up a storm...and asking all sorts of questions!!

[slygirrl]

I just had my son tested with a speech pathologist yesterday. He'll be 3 in October and does not speak more than 3 words. Based on his scores he has the language skills of an 18 months old. I was told to contact EI and I have but I'm also going to get him tested for autism because I have read a lot about the autism spectrum disorders and his problem is not just his language skills but he also has behavioral things that make me wonder so I'm looking into getting him tested specifically for that. I also had the concern about apraxia but the speech pathologist didn't really know if she thought that, she did say that one of the autism spectrum disroders was a possibiilty. My oldest son is smart as a whip and was talking very eloquently when he was 18 months old so I've seen both sides of this because my 6 year old is a very intelligent child. Good luck with yours people have stories about how their child was behind and kind of just pulled out of it, but it's your choice whether to act on it or wait it out. I have done both and I wish I would have acted on it sooner.

[VinniesMommy]

Slygirrl, what makes you think Autism? You mentioned behavior things as well?