1 Year Old Not Talking

So how are things going now? have you contacted any services or agencies? I wouldn't start to worry right now if I were you. I have a friend who is a speech pathologist and says not to worry until they are two and not developing language. (If that is the only thing you see)

I think it's pretty normal for a 1 year old to not be saying any words yet. If you can tell she understand stuff then I wouldn't worry but if you think she's not even understanding language yet I would take her to the doctor.

One years old is very young to be talking. My son didn't say anything until 13 months.

My daughter needed speech therapy to coax her along but I didn't become concerned until she was closer to 2. Give it some time, if she still isn't saying anything in 6-10 months then mention it to the pediatrician.

M.,
Relax--It's probably nothing.
But if you are concerned I would tell your pediatrician about it and have them refer you for hearing/speech eval. In the remote case that something IS wrong, it will be better if you can catch it as early as possible. Good luck!

I wouldn't stress about it. I know several kids who didn't talk until they were almost 2 and they are completely fine. Sorry about your messy divorce....

M.,
Does she point to things? Does she gesture at all? Does she make direct eye contact with you? Does she respond to one step instructions? Does she bring you objects to share interest with you? Does she have facial expressions?

If you answer no to even one of these things, call the Alliance for Infants and Toddlers. They will come to your home to do a free evaluation, and if your child qualifies for services they will come to your home to provide those services for free. The # is ###-###-####.

And even if you're not sure, you can have an evaluation just to get some peace of mind.

My first child had a very good vocabulary (and still does, actually). But not at 1 year old. I remember going to the doctor for her 2 year old check up, and he asked, "Does she have 10 words?" I was floored, because she had around 40 or 50 by then. But apparently 10 at age 2 is the norm. So don't worry.

Watch how your child communicates. My sister's 5th child didn't talk until he was 3 and something. But he had developed an elaborate set of signals with which to communicate, and his older siblings interpreted for him. BTW, when he started talking, he was using sentences, not just words.

I think you'll begin to hear words around 18 mos. But in the meantime, just to ease your mind, start looking at your child and how she communicates. Remember the cries when she was an infant ? Is her communication more mature than that now, and how does she do it ?

Also, at age 1, as long as you are calm when you are around her, and you make her feel loved and protected, then she'll do okay, even through the messy divorce. Try to do fun things with her, and try to reserve your own trauma to take out and deal with after she goes to bed. (tough, I know) Just be as healthy a mom as you can be, and help her to be heatlhy, too !

Hi M., It looks like you've gotten good advice - and it is true that young children pick up on emotional signals, so I hope you both are doing okay in this tough time with your husband.

I agree that you could check with your pediatrician if you have concerns about her hearing or cognition. If she is at least communicative, you might find some success with Infant Sign Language. SigningTime.com has great board books (you can read with your daughter) and there are other resources on their website. Also, a lot of public libraries have their videos for rent... Even so, my daughter said a lot of things before she said Mama, so don't feel bad!

Best wishes, send me a message if you want more info!

M.
I wouldnt worry a bit. My daughter started doing rasberries at that age and saying mamma and didnt really says words
until 18 months and now she is 2 and 1.2 and she just started 3-4 word combinations. We do have speech therapy come to the house like the other poster and we started at 12 months and she has come so far in such a short period of time but she was born premature. All kids are different. If you have concerns you do have options like the Alliance ###-###-#### and consult with your Pediatrician.

It's not unusual for a one-year-old not to be talking yet. If you are concerned, then speak with the pediatrician...you always could go to a developmental specialist if you continue to be concerned. While there is a range for what is "normal," every kid develops on his/her own schedule. Good luck! Once your child starts talking, she may never shut up!

Hi M.. I wouldn't be too concerned about your daughter. My son is going to be 2 in January. When he turned 1, he was JUST starting to walk, and didn't say much at all. Now he says Momma and Daddy, and a few other words, but he's still not "talking". No sentences, etc. My nephew just turned 3, as well as my neice, and they both just started talking, putting sentences together over the last year. All children develop at different paces. Just take the time to sit with your daughter, and repeat things. Name everything she's playing with. Tell her you're giving her juice. Cup. Etc. The more you talk to her, and try to teach her what things are called, the more she'll being responding and saying them back. But if she just turned 1, I wouldn't be too concerned. She's still young, and between the experience of my son, niece and nephew, the talking doesn't start until approximately 18 months with just words, and not until after 24 months with sentences. I hope this helps.

Hi M.!

Don't worry! My mom always said they talk when they're ready! It's as simple as that. Developmentally, I wouldn't be concerned until she's two and not talking, but just ask your pediatrician if you're really worried! I'm sure many may disagree with me, but trust me. It's ok. As long as she has receptive language skills developing, meaning does she understand most of what you say to her? Just encourage her speech. Always talk to and with her. Always explain everything that 's going on around her and to her. I even sit with my son when he watches a tv program and chatter away explaining the show he's watching. He's 19 months and has very few words, but understand EVERYTHING! Feel free to email me if you want!

While it won't hurt to have her evaluated, one is too early to stress out too much about speech. If she has a history of ear infections or you are concerned about her hearing, then ask your ped. Otherwise, most kids get talking more between 18-24 months. Could be normal. Does she respond to commands? Does she know her name? Does she communicate non-verbally by pointing, etc.? If so, she's probably fine.

My daughter (going to be 4 tomorrow) would not say a word until she was 18months now she won't shut up. As long as she is acting normally I would wait a little longer until I began to worry. My son (will be 2 in Dec) is just starting to say more words but the pediatrician wasn't worried because he is normal otherwise and has his own way of communicating (gestures, grunts, and his own "words). I would wait until the 18 month check up and ask your pediatrician if she is still not talking.

My son went for his 15 month checkup and the doctor said he should talk more even though he says mama,dada and baba which we think is for goodbye. the doctor did say to limit tv to two hours per day.i talked to my mom about it and she asked if he understood what i said and could he communicate what he wanted.she also felt i should not be concerned until my son was two if he did not speak enough.
make sure to read her books also. another thing we do is have alphabet magnets on the fridge. when he takes them off the fridge and hands them to us we tell him what letter it is. you are going through a divorce and that is no fun. it could be that your daughter senses that stress. I am sorry that you and your daughter have to go through a divorce. take it easy. let me know if you have any other concerns or need to talk email me back. D. :)

Hi M.,

Don't worry about your daughter not talking yet. Every child is different and many children are not talking by the time they are 1. She will talk when she is ready. You can do baby signs with her to help her communicate in the meantime. I found with my sons friends that the kids who talked later all caught up by about age 2.5 - and you would never know that they had been late talkers.

J.

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Hi

You are the mom--you know best. Go to the pediatrician & make an appt. at CHOP.
Go with your gut.

Let me kno whow it works out.

Thanks,
D. :)

We had a similiar situation with my son. I suspected his ears were the problem (he had lot's of ear infections). I talked to my peditirician about being refered to an ear specialiest. In my case she told me to pronounce my words more clearly and he would start talking, so I set up an appointment with an ENT my friend recommended(so if your pediatrician isn't helpful don't be afraid to go on without their referral). My son had so much fluid built up he couldn't hear, as well as some other problems like a cyst in his ear. Once he got his tubes and the other problems cleared up he started talking and hasn't stopped. Good Luck!

If you are worried, do look into it and contact the intervention services that the other ladies mentioned. I have had a number of kids on my street use them,but they first tore themselves up about whether their child had a problem or not, and what to do. The specialists will tell you, and we pay for it through our taxes, so you might as well use the services available to us. Up to age three, I believe, any therapy that is needed comes to your house. Two of them are done, and my cousin's little girl still seems to need more. So, you could wait, and hope it goes away, and worry that you are wrong that she needed something, or you could look into it, get her something if it is needed, and feel better that you at least looked into it.

I am so sorry about all you are going through right now. I am in graduate school and just did a presentation on the effects of divorce on children. I went through a divorce 5 years ago, it gets easier to get through the day.

Your daughter is picking up your anxiety and is regressing, it is normal for a time. You need to be there for her so she feels secure and safe that mommy isn't going to leave her too. Lots of cuddles, extra time tucking her in, , she won't really understand you telling her she is loved, she needs to see it in your actions. This time of developing a secure attachment to you will have lasting effects on her entire life. If she gets clingy, try to get her to hold your hand rather than you holding her (except when you can see she needs extra reassurance).

I have suggested to others in this group who are going through a divorce to attend a support group like DivorceCare.org (they have a feature that finds the closest groups based on your zip code) to help you to see that your emotions a normal and help you to not feel alone in this journey. The daily emails were such a blessing!

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your daughter.

S.

Honestly I wouldn't be terribly concerned. My 2nd dd didn't say much at all until she turned 3yo. There is a certain time table for them to begin talking but really 1yo isn't that big of a deal. She may be very shy even around her own parents or she may have been able to communicate and get everything she desires without saying a word.
Does she make any sounds at all? Every child is different. But at a year it isn't as big of a deal as say 2 or 3
V.

Our son didn't talk until he was 18 months old. If your child isn't making any sounds or babble at all, you should probably be concerned, but your situation sounds pretty normal.

Can you tell that she understands what you tell her? If she shows signs of comprehension then I would not worry. My older son spoke early but my younger son spoke late. He is just now really starting to talk and he is almost 3. The doctor isn't worried. My son is more focused on physical things and keeping up with his big brother than talking. Each child progresses at their own pace. You can try sign language with her if you are interested. It jump-started language in both my kids. I took a class but also found great videos (at the library) called Signing Times. They are easy to follow and made for kids so the child is interested but it is also fun for the parents to watch. I know it is hard not to worry about our kids, as moms that is our job. If your daughter is meeting her other milestones then she is likely perfect. My friend's son only said "ga" until after 2. He is a very bright boy and knew all his letters before he was 2 (he would get the letter magnet off the fridge if asked but didn't say words). He is now almost 7 and perfect. Talk to your pediatrician at her next visit or call the office to keep you from worrying. Each child is different. It's hard for me to remember that too, even with child number 2 I still worry. :)

Best of luck!

Hi M.,
You may want to consider getting her hearing checked. My youngest son also had this problem, and it was found that his hearing had not developed correctly. We started teaching him sign language, and that helped a lot. He is fine now, but had a long delay before he could hear us.
HTH,
J.

My son had the same problem and my husband kept telling me, he'll talk when he's ready. Well needless to say at 2 1/2 he was still just pointing and making sounds. Although he understood everything we said to him, it concerned me terribly because my older kids spoke at a young age.

I decided to take him to a speech pathologist, she diagnosed him with Apraxia. I took him for speech once a week to Good Shepard, which does an excellent job working with the kids developing their speech through play. I also went through the school district and took him there once a week to the IU 20.

If you have your daughter evaluated through the IU 20, it's free and because she's under three they come to your home and work with them until she turns three.

I'm not saying this is what she may have, but the earlier you have her evaluated the sooner she will be talking. I never knew before this happened to my son how common it really is especially in boys.

My son is now in kindergarten and sometimes can't keep him quiet :)

Good Luck !

Hi M., First is your daughter listening to you? Does she follow directions? Can she follow a two-step direction like go to your room and get your blue shoes? Does she communicate with you non-verbally using her body, and expressions? If yes then you need to relax a bit. My youngest didn't talk until she was 3 yrs old. Sure, it bothered me, but she was so expressive we always knew what she wanted and when she finally decided to speak...well she hasn't stopped yet! It was as if she was just saving up until she could do it right and had something to say! She started with complete sentences! She could say Monogahala (okay, I know I spelled that one wrong) before she could say sprite! You can't force her to speak, she will when she is good and ready. So the less importance you give it the better off you will be. Good luck and best wishes.

Don't worry! I know a little girl who barely spoke until she was 3! She is fine now and very verbal, she just waited a little longer than most kids. You can try sign language to help your daughter's language development. I used it for all three of my children and I constantly hear "I can't believe how well they speak!". Reading to her may also help.

It is too early to be worried about that. Every kid starts talking at a different age. Some start early, others don't start until 4 or 5...not granted that is rare. Just keep talking and reading her and repeating small words like mommy and daddy. Eventually she will get it.

if you are concerned I would suggest calling your local birth-3 program to have someone come out and evaluate to see if she qualifies for speech serivces. It's free and you don't need a referral from the pediatrican. Both my kids recived speech around 12 months. Sometimes it could be longer is there is a wait list. You could maybe teach her some simple sign language or what's called PECS. It's a picture communication system that is used with special needs children. For example DOG, it shows a picture of a DOG and the word underneath the picture, say the word while pointing to the picture. I hope this helps!

Hi M.,

One is very young to be talking. I hope no one is trying to make you feel bad for this or comparing your child to another. Every child is different. My niece talked at 10 mos. Her brother, my nephew, didn't talk until 3ish. My own son is 2 plus 5 months and he's just getting started now. With my own child prior to now he understood everything, pointed to what he wanted, made good eye contact and our ped was not worried at all. I asked what was up at his 2 yr visit and he gave me the info for having him checked for hearing, etc, but only did that out of obligation, he really wasn't concerned at all. But one is really, really young. Girls do talk faster usually; however but I really wouldn't worry if all else is normal - like I said - hearing, eye contact, pointing, paying attention, etc.

J.

Hi M.

My son went through the same thing. There is a state program called Alliance for infants and toddlers that he goes through for speech. It has been wonderful for him! He loves his therapist and she comes right to the house once a week for an hour. He is talking up a storm now and we are only needing to focus on articulation of his speech. The best part is that it is no cost to you! I hope this helps.By the way she has only been working with him for six months and he has come this far!

Dear M.,
After reading your post, I would recommend scheduling an appointment for an evaluation. We live in PA, & my son had a vocabulary of under 2 dozen words @ age 2. My only regret is that I didn't get him tested sooner. In PA the testing (through Early Intervention Services) is all free, and so is the therapy, if she qualifies. Also, at this age, if she qualifies for therapy, the therapists come to your home.
One other thing, I noticed that you mentioned that you're going through a "messy" divorce. Any stress or tension that she feels between you & your soon to be ex will affect her. At this age, she's too young to communicate her feelings, so it's VERY important that you & your soon to be ex have conversations when she is not present. While she's very young & won't necessarily understand everything that's being said, if she can hear at all, she'll be able to recognize changes in your tone, and of course any changes in your volume (raised voices).
Good luck with your little girl. I'll be praying for both of you & your soon to be ex as you go through this difficult transition. Hopefully, despite the divorce, the two of you will be able to come together as her parents to find solutions that are in her best interest.

does she have frequent ear infections? does she respond to sounds?

ask your pediatrician and then can do some simple tests and then can call up for an evaluation.

does she babble?

Hi M.,

You got a lot of responses so I think you are covered! Just wanted to say do reach out for support from early intervention services if you think your daughter needs them. It won't hurt to check her out. Also, it might help to have a hearing test (in case nobody mentioned it yet) just to be on the safe side and rule out any hearing problems. Good luck!