2 year old not talking yet

[bcarter]

I have a two year old stepdaughter.  She can only say one or two words.  We try very hard to work with her, but no improvment has been made in 6 months.  We only get her three days a week.  How can we use our short amount of time to help her best?  Is there any way we can bring up our consern to her mother without making it sound like she is doing a bad job in her development?

[Worriedmam]

My child is just 2 and a half and there is no sign of an words coming from him, not even mama ir dada. Should i be worried or what should i do?

[naes]

A related discussion, 2 and not speaking yet was started.

[worried mum]

My son was 4 in Feb, and was late developing his speech (at 2 1/2 spoke very little and progressed a bit at a time. At just over 3 would say short sentences, then now he is average for his age, and he has had no speech therapy. He has behaviour problems, which have not been attributed to a cause yet, but when he was undergoing tests etc, they found out he had 'glue ear' which was affecting his hearing. This was at age 2 1/2, and no one in family had noticed a problem, he passed his hearing test at age 1.

Have you had your child tested as this may be cause - the children are not ' deaf' all the time, its bad when they have an attack, but then may get better, unless condition is left untreated when damage may be permanent.
My son did seem to get a lot of ear/ chest infections which is one indication.
It cleared up on its own without treatment, but sometimes the children have to take medicine or have grommets fitted.

[worried mum]

My son was 4 in Feb, and was late developing his speech (at 2 1/2 spoke very little and progressed a bit at a time. At just over 3 would say short sentences, then now he is average for his age, and he has had no speech therapy. He has behaviour problems, which have not been attributed to a cause yet, but when he was undergoing tests etc, they found out he had 'glue ear' which was affecting his hearing. This was at age 2 1/2, and no one in family had noticed a problem, he passed his hearing test at age 1.

Have you had your child tested as this may be cause - the children are not ' deaf' all the time, its bad when they have an attack, but then may get better, unless condition is left untreated when damage may be permanent.
My son did seem to get a lot of ear/ chest infections which is one indication.
It cleared up on its own without treatment, but sometimes the children have to take medicine or have grommets fitted.

[treca]

I was told by my 2 1/2 yr old doctor that he may need to see a speech therapist.  I can understand my son most of the times, he can say his body parts. He pronounces noodles "noo noo". He says when he needs to potty. He can say orange, apple, juice, and pronounces water "waer".He doesn't say say the "T". I thought my child was doing well at his age.  He is saying alot more words than before.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It does make sense to address this, because if it's determined that your daughter requires some intervention, it's best done at the early stages. Now, some children are simply late in their  learning of speech and language skills. But it's imprtant to evaluate why the delay is occurring, and once this is figured out to determine what, if anything, should be done about it. Delayed speech canm occur even with the most capable parenting - it's not a reflection of parenting skills (usually). So, be gentle and straightforward about it, just as you would about any problem.