OT: speaking for 14 month old

[goofy4wdw2]

How well does/did your 14 month old communicate verbally? How many words and how easily can you understand him/her? Thank you!

 

[las3888]

Our DS really started to take off verbally right around that age. He is almost 20 mos now and says almost anything I ask him to say and speaks in 2, 3, and sometimes 4 word phrases, BUT, it shocks the heck out of me, seeing as DH AND myself both didn't speak much at all until well beyond 2.

Everything wasn't this rosy though...about the time they are supposed to be doing all the babbling, dadada, mamama, bababa, etc. DS never did that. He just babbled a bit with just vowels, but he didn't do much with that. We worried a bit, but he caught up.

Our pedi said at our last visit that most kids his age (18 mos) are usually saying 5-10 words (I think, could be wrong). DS is way beyond that, but he is not as physical...he still crawls up stairs, doesn't run (well) or jump and I know alot of kids his age are doing these things.

PS - we did baby sign language with him starting around 8 or 9 mos I think, and it helped alot with communication (both ways).

 

[MomtoGKC]

When my daughter was 14 months old she was saying full sentences. Baby number three - my little boy - was only saying about 10 words! I was a little nervous (I tried not to compare him to my girls but it was hard not to!) but the doctor said he was right on track. Now he's 19 months and says tons of words, repeats most of what we say and is finally starting to put two words together. Mostly phrases not sentences though - like "happy birthday" and "flip flop."

 

[monorailsilver]

My first was very verbal at 14 months.

She was doing 2-3 word sentences & had a vocabulary of over 200 words. The only reason I remember this (besides the baby book) is because when I took her to the ped, they'd give me a sheet that said she should be able to say 10 words & I laughed. She was very clear & still is at 5.

My ds was slower at talking. He is 3 & still doesn't pronounce all the sounds correctly but that is OK because that is the norm.

And my dd#2 is just saying dada but she is 7 months.

I wouldn't worry if her words are off as she is still learning. But I think at 15 months they are supposed to say about 10 words.

 

[justhat]

My daughter said nothing other than "mama" at 14 months. In fact that was pretty much all she said till 18 months when she starting speaking pretty quickly, but not necessarily with understandable words. For example, pumpkin was 'papeete' and airplane was 'abeet' and her best friend, a stuffed alligator named Nick was 'Deet'. By 22 months she was speaking in full sentences with real words. We were shocked cause we thought she had some kind of language delay and kept asking the ped but she wasn't too concerned and said to just wait awhile. Apparently she was right cause by the time she was 2yo we could not get a moment's peace as our daughter was constantly talking, in full paragraphs, singing every song she's ever heard, and it was all very clear and easily understood by strangers.

 

[all4fun]

My ds is speech delayed so I am a little too familiar this subject. At 18 most they should have about 10 words.

This site has a checklist of things you should look for:

Hanen.org

Remember expressive speech comes after receptive so if your dc seems to understand things you say then that is a good sign.

In our case, ds had really good receptive language he just wasn't able to express himself. He's gotten lots of therapy and his speech has improved immensely over the past several months. I am not too worried about it any more because of the improvements I've seen I know he's well on his way to speaking normally. The hanen.org site I listed above also has some tips for parents on things you can do. Mostly the site is to promote their programs though. I took a class for parents of speech delayed children and I thought it was very helpful ("It Takes Two to Talk" - you can find the book on Amazon.com & sometimes the public libraries carry it).

hth!

 

[my2minnies]

I have twin 15 month old boys and neither says anything other than mama. They can do some simple signs and can understand everything I say. Twin boys almost always have some sort of speech delays and given that they have two older sisters who cater to them as well I know they are going to have trouble. Last week their pediatrician said to wait until they are 18 months before really worrying about anything. I may call early intervention next month if they still arent speaking.

My oldest didnt start talking until she was about 17 months, but once she did she started speaking sentences. She was speaking extremely well and way better than her peers before she was two. I shouldnt worry about the boys because so much can happen in such a short period of time, but I do.

 

[cheerbop]

Every child progresses differently so I would not be worried unless your Pediatirician says something.

 

[grlpwrd]

My youngest is 15mo now and she speaks about 25 words plus uses sign language (about 18 signs so far). Last month she knew about 20 (verbal) words. She has 4 siblings which keeps her very verbal.

Our pediatrician said the same thing that by 15mo they are supposed to say about 10 words.

Yes, every child progresses differently, but OP, if you are concerned that something serious is going on I would speak to your pediatrician and/or get an assessment done. Many places and specialists offer screening for verbal/et al delays. I also distinctly remember someone from these boards that had intervention for their child (though I think the child was school aged) and it made a difference for them. I apologize whom it was, but I can't recall usernames.

My dh and his twin brother had a speech delay and my MIL took them to a specialist. My twin sister and I just had our special language, but we didn't need any intervention.

GL!

 

[tedhowe]

Our DD1 (Grace) said her first words at about 10 months and by 14 months was speaking in full sentences and probably had a vocabulary of close to 100 words... I know this was early, but somehow didn't remember with our DD2 (now 2 years old).

By 14 months, DD2 (Joy) was saying about 10 words (Mama, Dada, uh-oh, cat, etc). Over the next 6 months, she didn't say much more, but we could tell that she understood what we were saying - she could follow simple instructions ("Get your cup"), so we weren't too worried.

She added some words during that time, but didn't appear to be progressing much.
One night at dinner when she was 20 months old, she looked at us and counted: "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...Yay, Joy!" My wife and I looked at each other dumbfounded. Then she say "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" all the way through and said again "Yay, Joy!"

The next morning dropping her off at daycare, we asked her teacher if Joy had been talking much at school. She looked at us like we had extra heads on our shoulders.

It turned out, she had been progressing very normally in her verbal development at school (which is why the daycare hadn't asked US anything). We realized that at home, Grace had been doing most of the talking for Joy and the little one couldn't get a word in edgewise. When ever we would ask Joy a question, Grace would answer.

Now 4 months later, you can hardly make Joy shut up. She'll sing songs of her own making... talk about anything and everything that happened during her day at daycare. The other day in the car, Grace was DW and me to make up stories to tell her during the ride. After several stories, Grace asked for one more and Joy piped up and said: "My turn for story... Once upon a time..."



Long story short... as others have said, every child develops at their own pace. 14 months is not late enough that I would be "worried"... we were starting to get a little concerned by 20 months, but then the switch flipped. I know the quesitons our pediatrician asks at each well baby visit wouldn't lead me to worry too much about it at that age.

Ted

 

[KristiKelly]

My 15 mo. old does not say very much, maybe 10 words total (and many different grunts ). When I took her for her 15 mo. check up 2 weeks ago, the nurse asked if she was saying at least 3-6 words, so I guess she's doing okay. We've started baby signing with her, but all she will do is "more" for everything.

Our 2nd child didn't really start talking until she was almost 2 and she hasn't stopped, so I'm not too worried. DD15 mo. is our 3rd and DS9 & DD6 never give her a chance to talk, they just answer for her.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

My dd2 talks excellent! By 14 months old she was using 3 word sentences.
But my other daughters said a few words around 14 months and didn't really put words together until about 2.

 

[Robmom]

My 18 mo DS isn't speaking yet. My pedi gave me a phone number to have an assessment. He understands pretty much everything I tell him, so I'm not overly concerned. He's constantly "talking", it's just jibberish though. I know one of these days, he will surprise us.

 

[shamrockshake]

My daughter was very verbal at 14 months, sentances and all.

My 20 month old son is " a man of few words" as we like to call him. He is just starting to really talk. Before that only a few words. Of course the most important, MAMA! Choo Choo, Doggie, Cheese, no and mine.

He is still hard to understand, but he is improving. Every kid developes at a different rate. I just cannot compare him to my daughter. She out spoke him, but at the same age he is WAY more coordenated and physical. Both win!

Best of luck, Kids are a joy!

 

[goofy4wdw2]

Thank you for all of your responses. It's really helpful to know there is a wide range, and it makes me feel more relaxed about my daughter's speech (she says a few words and lots that we can't understand but she seems to think it means something!).

 

[mariolatry]

Well, my daughter is 14 months and barely says anything. Inconsistently "dog", "duck", and "hi". I have a hard time gauging how much she understands. I don't worry about it though. She'll talk when she's ready.

 

[macmahony]

If you are worried at all, GET HER EVALUATED by early intervention. In NJ is is free, and they only provide services up to 3. After that you have to work with your school system, or private therapist (which is insane), and most insurance won't cover speech therapy.
After three, at least in New Jersey there are two years when unless your child qualifys for the school disctrict you are sort of on your own. We learned the hard way, my daughter has always talked a lot, just had problems with articulation. I was worried at 18 months (probably even younger), and everyone including my doctor told me she would grow out of it. So, at three, when she no longer qualified for EI, we had her privately evaluated, and she was found to be 90% unintelligible (except to us, I know her speech) so now we have had to go through the school disctrict, and what a mess that has been, court, lawyers, etc. (it is not always so difficult, I just wanted her to get what she needed, long story..etc)
But, I tell everyone now, just get the evaluation, if you find out your daughter is on track, then wonderful, but they might pick up on something you do not, and since they are trained cangive you such good tips to even help with speech. Here it is free, so it is silly not to have the evaluation. (they even come to your house here, when it is good for you...)
Good luck

 

[minkydog]

How well does/did your 14 month old communicate verbally? How many words and how easily can you understand him/her? Thank you!

My oldest one didn't talk intelligibly until he was two. Until then he communicated by biting And sometimes kicking

My second child made two-word sentences at 14months, so we thought she was a genius (see my previous "I hate teacher conferences" thread )

Both children were entirely within the norm for talking. Once DS learned to talk he became a lot less physical. He is now in theater and talks every weekend for people who pay to listen

 

[all4fun]

Thank you for all of your responses. It's really helpful to know there is a wide range, and it makes me feel more relaxed about my daughter's speech (she says a few words and lots that we can't understand but she seems to think it means something!).

That was something one of ds' speech therapists told us, that we can count sounds he was saying that sounded like a word but weren't said correctly, if that makes sense. So they don't have to totally "intelligible" to count.

There is a wide range of "normal", like others have already said. Of course if you're really concerned there is nothing wrong with following your instincts and requesting an evaluation, either through your healthcare plan or thru your state early intervention program (your ped can refer you and some states you can self-refer...this site should be able to help you find out who to contact.)

hth!