child speech development

[meagan's mom]

My daughter started saying da da and hi around 1 year old, but now she is 16 months old and has stopped saying these things and will not attempt to say anything.  I know she is still young but at her age she should have a vocabluary of 10-30 words. Is this something I should be concerned about?  (She seems to understand everything I say to her and she can follow simple instructions, and she can identify different body parts, objects and people.)

[Mick82207]

I would urge you to have your child evaluated by an experienced speech-language professional. Early intervention in receptive and expressive language disorders (if that's what your child has) can make all the difference.  And it is free and mandated by Federal Law under the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  There is no reason not to get assistance with this and every reason to do it.

My daughter followed a similar pattern and we delayed dealing with it because our pediatrician told us that we should just "wait and see."  This was not good advice.  We lost six months of time during which she could have been receiving therapy.  (And six months at age 3 is something like five years in a 30 year old since it is such a large percentage of their life.)  Don't delay.

[susan502]

To Megan's Mom:  My son said a few simple words by about 9 or 10 months old.  Words such as "bye-bye" and "NO".  He said them for a little while and then quit talking completely.  It wasn't that he was quiet, he made lots of noise, but did not talk.  

At about two years old he started talking.  I don't mean saying words, he started speaking in complete sentences.  Today he is a happy ten year old, and we have not been able to shut him up!  LOL!  He is a straight A student, the smartest kid in his class.  

I would speak to your pediatrician, but as long as everything else is okay, I'll bet she is fine.

[susanne]

Here is where posters to this forum need to beware.  I don't know HVMA-KDK's qualifications, but s/he must not be an expert in developmental disorders such as autism, Rett's Disorder, Angelman's Syndrome, etc.    It is a warning sign when a child loses any language at any age!!!  The answer must not be "No, there is no need to worry."  Probably nothing is wrong, but still, with even a loss of "mama" or "dada" there is a chance of developmental problems, and the sooner that these problems are diagnosed, the better!  Is this a forum just to lull parents into thinking that nothing is wrong?  What a disservice!  At least they could advise parents to go to websites with surveys on developmental delays such as http://www.childbrain.com/pddassess.html  or http://www.bath.rang.k12.va.us/pre/page2.html

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

No, there's no need to worry. Just keep talking with her and encourage her (without pressuring her) to identify objects. If she points to things, as you reply be sure to say out loud what the object is.