How much speech should a 17 mth have

[dismom9761]

I am going to talk to my pediatrician about my DDs speech on August 22 but as usual I am worrying and impatient.My DD is 17 mths old and has 4 words that other people can recognize (Ma,Da,baby,and bye) and 7 that the family can understand.The words we know that she is saying sound nothing like the words she means.Two of my others were alot further in their speech at this age and the other had a hearing problem.I know kids with older siblings tend to talk later but I don't know if she is within the normal range.Anyone with any experience with this?

 

[Mishetta]

Good that you're going to bring this to the attention of your child's pediatrician. When my DS was just 12 months old, I told his pediatrician that baby wasn't even saying "Mama" or "No" (usually their first words). He said "well, you probably know exactly what he wants & give it to him before he even asks, & with your older child, the baby doesn't really need to express himself." Okay...he's a Doctor, who am I to argue? So here we are at the 18 month check up & I mentioned it again to the Doc that my DS wasn't saying anything. He'd cry & scream but no actual words. Well, didn't Doc freak me out when he said to me "you mean he's not even saying MAMA?" HELLO!!! What did I tell you at the 12 month check up???

He referred us to take little fella for a hearing test & then several other tests followed. He's 3 y/o now & he does speak some but he's really really delayed. Some of his dx's are: Developmentally delayed, ADHD, suffers from Delayed Auditory Processing Disorder & now Asperger's syndrome. So just keep pushing to get some answers. My DS was immediately put in the special school system Early Childhood Developmental Delays program & he's coming along.

Not saying that your child suffers from any of the same stuff but keep pushing to find some answers. I would never (again) settle for "you know what he wants so he doesn't need to ask for it" argument.

Good luck to you.

 

[justhat]

My daughter is also 17 months and I had/have the same concerns. At her 12 month checkup the form the dr gave me said she should be saying 2-8 words other than mama and dada between 12 and 15 months. Well at 12 months Madison said "hop" and "mama". That was it, and it was a rare day to hear either of them.

At 15 months she said the same words, nothing was added, so I told the dr at her 15 month checkup. Different dr this time and she told me not to worry about it yet, give her at least till 18 months, that she (the dr) didn't speak till she was 3yo. She said if I really, really wanted to she'd give me the # for a speech therapist for an evaluation. I agreed to wait.

Around 16 months she said 'up', then 'dada', then bubbles. Now at 17.5 months she says Mommy (no more mama!), Dada/Daddy (depends on her mood), up, hop, bubbles, Nana, bye bye, uh oh, hi, and pop. I know it's a weird collection of words, but hop and pop come from her favorite books. She just started saying hi 2 weeks ago and pop for the 1st time yesterday. So total she says 10 words. My mom claims she says 'Bailey' (her dog) but I don't really count it cause it sounds nothing like it. I know what she means cause it's the same sound everytime she's referring to the dog, but not a real 'word'.

We'll still be talking to her dr on the 31st though cause 10 words at 18 months sounds pretty low, but I'm happy that she's shown a lot of progress in the past 3 months.

Oh, and Madison is our only child, since you mentioned something about kids with older siblings.

 

[clh2]

Just my experience here - and I've only had 1 child, she is now 11.

It took DD forever to say her first words. I'm thinking it was about 15 months. And, I am still insulted, the first words were puppy and kitty.

She hasn't stopped talking since. As my dad said, when she was about 5 - if she is awake, she is talking.

Setting my experience aside - absolutely mention this to your pediatrician. Does your DD hear and understand you? The pediatrician will most likely have some "screening" types of questions. Ours did, I just can't remember what they were. With the answers - the ped. wasn't concerned at the 15 month check-up, I don't remember exactly when the words started.

Good luck, hope you're reading your DD tons of stories! Again - that was just my experience - definitely try to rule out anything medical first.

 

[cepmom]

not sure if there is and exact amount of words your child should be speaking at this age, but DD wasn't really talking much and I brought it to her pediatrician's attentian at around 17 mos too. She only said a few words that were recognizable and she spent a lot of time screaming (out of frustration). She also made lots of noise in her throat when she was trying to talk ~ like she was saying the words but the sound came from her throat, not her mouth ~ very strange.

I was referred to Early Intervention and they tested her speech and language levels by the time she turned 22 mos (lots of time waiting to get all the paperwork done etc) Her receptive speech was right on target (meaning she could understand what was being said) but her expressive speech was at a 12 month level. She started speech therapy right away and attended an integrated preschool for 2 years. She is now going off to kindergarten and her speech is now at age appropriate levels!!

How is her behavior? Does she seem frustrated a lot of the time?

I would strongly suggest to anyone that has concerns about their child's speech to contact a professional to get some testing done....it isn't invasive or scary for your child and if there is a problem, the sooner you can get started the better. Good luck!!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

It's good that you are following through.
That being said, DS4 and DS3 didn't speak at all until they were both 2. I read a really good book about non talkers. 2 doctors did a study on late talkers and apparently they have found some parallels to late talkers who have teachers, musicians, and engineers in the family. This makes up my entire family. Now I am not one who really puts a lot of stock into studies but it was quite interesting. My mom and I also found similarities in these kids and myself and my brothers.
Definitely follow through though, as I'm sure Mishetta will agree, the sooner you find out if anything is wrong the easier it will be for her to make progress. Keep us updated on what you find out.
P&PD

Now if I could just figure out how to make them all stop talking.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

My daughter is also 17 months and I had/have the same concerns. At her 12 month checkup the form the dr gave me said she should be saying 2-8 words other than mama and dada between 12 and 15 months. Well at 12 months Madison said "hop" and "mama". That was it, and it was a rare day to hear either of them.

I've had the same concerns with DS (who'll be 17 mos in Sept). He says:
Dada
Mama
Buhbye
Baba
Kitty! (always that enthusiastically..it's hilarious)
Diaper (which he just RECENTLY acquired)
Pawpaw (what he calls DFIL)

We talk to him all the time and not in baby-talk,either. When we took him for his well baby visit last week, the pedi expressed a bit of interest in the fact that he didn't have more words by now. But he wasn't overly worried.

He also says "Up" when he feels like it. Mostly so that somebody will pick him up.

TOV

 

[the kabuki]

Had the same concerns as you about DD4. She's the youngest of 3 and around her 2nd b-day, she still didn't say too much, and what she did say only we could understand. Was just about to schedule appt with speech therapist, when in the space of aobut 6 weeks she just started talking like crazy.

I think the theory about the youngest in the family speaking later than the other one's is right on target. I know the older kids' would just speak for her, even I would anticipate what she wanted without waiting for her to ask.

I would mention it to the doc, but give it a little time too. As it is right now, she talks sooo much I can't even believe it. She never shuts up!

 

[FreshTressa]

It sounds a bit late, but nothing big.

Why don't you get her evaluated so you feel better? Our school district does it for anyone that asks for free.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

She never shuts up!

DS never shuts up either..it's a constant stream of bleeps,gurgles, "Bpppth"s and other various noises. Sometimes with his 'words' interjected between a bleep and a bpppth.

TOV

 

[DWhittles]

Hmmmmmmmm...now you have me worried. PJ babbles all day long but as for actual words he says mama and dadda and bye and no and stop and all gone but that's it.

 

[dismom9761]

Hi.Someone asked about her behavior.People pity me.Literally I have gotten alot of comments lately how i"must really be tired" and other comments to that affect.Rachel is constantly screaming .Either in frustration or just to be making noise.It is hard to take her out in public.I nrver talk baby talk to her.I have read to her almost every day since she was born but lately this has become a real challenge.She will not sit and listen.She loves music so I have been doing alot of nursery rhymes and songs with her.I believe her receptive speech is normal-she seems to understand any commands we give her.I can ask her to "go to Rebekah's room and get a baby" and she does it .That is just an example.She loves to sing with her sister to a cd but their are no words involved.I want to get her evaluated but I was told I need a Dr. note.She is trying.This morning she tried to say cup.It came out "uhu".

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My oldest only had a couple of recognizable words when she turned 2---until then, I wouldn't worry about it. She is now quite the talker--and not a hint of requiring speech therapy.

The youngest had a higher vocab at 2--but she also had her older sister to show her the way.

4 words at 17 months...I think is reasonable.

ETA: When my oldest did start talking--it was night and day between the time she knew very little and then..it was a language explosion.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Rachel is constantly screaming .Either in frustration or just to be making noise.

At minimum--perhaps having her hearing checked.

My daughter failed her newborn hearing screening (mostly due to no audiologist and lack of people properly trained to used the equipment). We did have her hearing checked at 12 months again (standard procedure when they fail in hospital either ear). And it was fine. So since we had on record that her hearing was functioning...her doc was not as concerned with her speech.

Additionally--we had her speech checked by the school board. We intend to be a homeschool family--and I had concerns b/c I had to translate what she says often, or have her repeat several times. It didn't require a prescription (though I had one just in case) as it was a screening. She was diagnosed as ...... talking to fast--just like her mommy! So I have to be more clear in how I speak so that she gets the pacing right--but no delays warranting speech therapy. This was last summer when she was 4.

 

[Nite0wl71]

My DGD is almost 19 months and only says a few words also. Besided mama and dada, its bird, ball, by-by, hi, juice and phone. Her thing is that when she learns a new word that is all she will say.

She had her hearing checked a few months ago and everything is fine. She babbles all the time and tries to say other words but they don't sound like what it is. I am not worried, by 2 my girls were talking non stop, my boys were a little older.

 

[Kristi1357]

We had DS evaluated after his 18 mos. check up with our ped. He was still talking very little: Mama, Dadda, hi, "eee" (= Mickey), and maybe a couple more. If he wanted something, like a snack - he would just take you by the hand and bring you to the snack cabinet.

When we did the evaluation in February and they found him to be more than 35% behind. So, we were approved for in-home therapy through the state. Mary Ann came to our house once a week and worked with us & him. Actually, by the time she came a few weeks after the eval., he was talking alot more. Figures! But since he was already qualified, we went with it anyway. She would play with him, trying to make him use his words. She would also give us suggestions and ways to get him to use his words.

He was officially "kicked out" of speech therapy last month! He is almost up to 100% for his age now. Even back when he was evaluated, I wasn't very concerned. We just figured, if he qualified, why not take advantage of the services?

I wouldn't be too concerned. Your little one is probably just a late talker like our Zack!

 

[marlasmom]

My grandson had a definite problem. He sounded like a drunk. He was visited by the Easter Seal Society at his home. They said it was a "texture" problem. He didn't like the way his tongue felt when he tried to say certain things. He is 7 now and speaks wonderfully. THey came weekly for about a year.

OTOH my younger daughter was 3 before she really spoke. She just babbled and because the older children were 8 and 10 years older, she didn't have to speak. She could, however, read and write at age 2 - taught by my older daughter who got hold of a book called "teaching your baby to read" by the Institue for the Achievement for Human POtential. I never had the patience, but Marla did. When she started talking, it was like a blast from a gun. My husband finally said - "Sarah do you ever stop talking?" She didn't miss a beat. She said "But Daddy, there's so much to talk about."

 

[ahutton]

Have you tried teaching her some basic signs (baby signs or ASL) to help her in communicating? I did these with my kids, and both had a lot less frustration because they were able to express their needs. The other thing we've worked on with both girls is as they use words that are difficult to interpret we repeat the correct work back and get them saying it with us. My 2nd was a bit slower to speak up, but her big sis rarely stops talking long enough for her to get a word in. When we focused on her speech it improved quickly.

PD for your little one!

 

[minkydog]

My oldest DS19 didn't have much recognizable speech either at 17 months. He didn't say Mama until well after 17 months. Mostly he babbled non-stop; he liked to be read to and he was very interested in everything. I was beginning to worry, when at 23 months & 25 days he suddenly started talking--in complete sentences!~ He went from maybe 6 words to whole conversations literally overnight. DD12 ,on the other hand, talked coherently from about 12 months on and she hasn't shut up yet. Both kids want to be theater majors.

 

[cepmom]

Hi.Someone asked about her behavior.People pity me.Literally I have gotten alot of comments lately how i"must really be tired" and other comments to that affect.Rachel is constantly screaming .Either in frustration or just to be making noise.It is hard to take her out in public.I nrver talk baby talk to her.I have read to her almost every day since she was born but lately this has become a real challenge.She will not sit and listen.She loves music so I have been doing alot of nursery rhymes and songs with her.I believe her receptive speech is normal-she seems to understand any commands we give her.I can ask her to "go to Rebekah's room and get a baby" and she does it .That is just an example.She loves to sing with her sister to a cd but their are no words involved.I want to get her evaluated but I was told I need a Dr. note.She is trying.This morning she tried to say cup.It came out "uhu".

I would pursue this with your pedatrician....just tell him you want and evaluation and you NEED to get the referral (or whatever you need). Here (in MA) we don't need a referral. In my town Early Intervention is run by South Shore ARC and all I had to do was call and set up the evalution. My insurance covered everything, but I was told that if insurance did not cover it, it would be covered by federal funding so I did not need to worry about the cost.

DD's speech therapist told us most doctor's tell parent's to wait until 2 years old to be concerned about a child's speech. Sometimes the whole process of getting an evaluation and then setting up the speech therapy can be time consuming (dd was 17 mos when we started the whole process and 24 mos when speech therapy actually started)

Someone else also mentioned teaching her sign language ~ great idea!! DD was taught some basic signs ("more", "all done" etc) and it helped her so much. She was able to communicate what she wanted to say without the frustration. I used to feel so bad for her when I had to ask her to repeat herself over and over because I couldn't understand her. She would eventually just give up and stop trying to tell me what she wanted.

I feel it's better to check it out early that way if there is a problem the sooner the better. If they find her speech is at age appropriate levels, then even better but at least you will know and you can relax and just let her go at her own pace.