15 months -- where should in be in terms of speech development?

[TaraF]

I don't know if I'm just being a paranoid mother or what, but I'm constantly worrying about Connor's speech development (and I don't know if I have any reason to worry). I guess I worry cuz everyone we know with toddlers have had to deal with major speech delays (for various reasons)...

Connor doesn't have a "well baby" checkup till 18 months, but he's seeing the dr on Wednesday for a pre-op appointment (having surgery to descend a testicle at the end of the month), so I plan to ask my dr then... but in the meantime

Connor is very "talkative" but doesn't seem to say much. He babbles for hours at a time (Just like his mommy, he never shuts up! If he's awake, he's "talking"!). He says Mama (or Mum), Dada (or Dad), Nana (or Banana)... he points to a dog and says "Doh" (not like a Homer Simpson "d'oh", but a short "o" sound! ). He points to his nose and says "Noh" (same short "o" sound). He stands at the fridge and says, "Mi, mi" when he wants his milk. When "Bear in the Big Blue House" comes on TV, he says what sounds almost like "Bear" and points to the bear. And he says "Duh" or occasionally "Duck" when he sees a duck in a book or on TV... He says "Down" when he wants out of his highchair, and a grunty version of "All done" when he's finished eating. He's making lots of new "Ba, buh, be" sounds, and a couple times has said "ball" and a string of sounds that almost sounds like "baby" when he sees one on TV or when he's pointing to my belly... He says, "Bob" when he sees his "Bob the Builder" bedtime book.

He understands a lot. He can point to his ears, nose, mouth, hair, head, tummy, toes, when asked to. I can ask him to go to his room and get his pajamas and he does. The other day, Brent was looking for his wallet and I told Connor to go help him look, jokingly. Brent found him wandering around our room, bending down, looking all over the floor! He nods or shakes his head appropriately when we ask, "Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you ready to go to sleep? Do you want to take a bath?" When he wants to do something, he nods when asked. When he doesn't, he shakes his head. He knows who his parents and grandparents are when asked to point them out in pictures. He can point out various animals/things in books when asked.

I think he's where he should be... but it seems like "everyone else's toddler" says more than him. Most of his "words" are only understood by us... other babies seem to say more distinct words than he does... But then, other babies don't seem to babble as much as he does (not sure if that's good or bad), so when they say a word, it comes out of the blue, where his "words" are jumbled up in all the other sounds he makes...

Anyway, I'm probably just being paranoid... But does anybody have any info on where kids should be in their speech development at this age?

Tara

[Jillian]

I was told at Janelle's 15 month appointment that they like to see 4-7 words by 15 months old, and these can be any combination of words and signs...so if he knew 4 signs or 4 words, or 2 words and 2 signs or whatever that is completely normal.

[Tracy]

Sounds normal to me Char is another babbler, constant and loud ...She can say alot of words, but she is also around many people (alot of adults) everyday, and has the older kids, I think that makes a difference..

Every kid is different, so try not to think about what other kids are doing, even though we all tend to compare developement..

[kim]

connor sounds like he's where he should be

i had tony evaluated at 17m by the early intervention program. at the time he only had about 4 words, he would not imitate words, he would not point to things even if he knew what they were. he did understand everything we were saying though, and could follow directions. it was very frustrating. after the test he was assessed at 4 months behind and now he has early intervention sessions every other week. his word count has increased dramatically since he started i am sooo glad i had him eval'd.

if you are still concerned in a few months, call early intervention. the evaluation is completely free.

[Mom2Alex]

I was told by a speech therapist friend of mine that the big thing to look for is if the child is easily understood by the age of 4 years old. If not, then you need to consider speech therapy. Some babies just start talking later than others, and it's nothing to worry about, she said.

[Kasi]

I don't have any experience with a 15 mo old but just wanted to add that my son is only 3 months younger than your's and the development you are talking about seems lightyears ahead of where Nolan is. As of right now he only says, 'mama & dada' for sure, we think he might be saying 'sissy' and 'duke'. And as far as following commands, etc... the only thing he does is get his ball when we tell him to. If he is doing all of the things in 3 months that Connor is doing I will be ecstatic!!

[TaraF]

Originally Posted by Kasi

I don't have any experience with a 15 mo old but just wanted to add that my son is only 3 months younger than your's and the development you are talking about seems lightyears ahead of where Nolan is.

I guess that's one thing that should have me happy... My dr said that they don't do anything until at least 18 months and even then, only if there is a severe delay... and I know how much can happen in 3 months! On Connor's birthday, his vocabulary was basically just "Mama", "Dada", "Nana"... so he's come a long way since then, and I'm sure he will in the next few months too... it's just so nerve wracking, especially when "people" (like my mother!) are constantly asking, "He's not talking yet??"

Tara

[Carrie H]

Sounds like he's doing fine. It amazed me how much Cody's speech just "exploded" right around 18m old.

[Leslie]

Tara - Conner sounds like Ian's *speech* twin! Ian is saying all the things that Conner is. I think he is right on target. I think a lot of mommies like to say that their babies are saying all these words, but really, how articulate are the words coming out? And do they use them repeatedly? I bet Conner has been saying lots of other words but they're garbled. Ian does it all the time. I'm always *hearing* a new word. But then it only happens once and it is garbled. I don't count that as words he uses on a regular basis.

[Jillian]

Janelle's words are pretty clear, strangers know what she is saying and she uses most of them everyday. She has 23 words and 12 signs right now... I don't think anyone is lying about their child's speach, just some kids talk sooner than others. There is a little girl in my mom's day care who was talking in full sentences before she was 1...it was funny cause 1 year olds have very silly thoughts.

[Leslie]

Jillian - I hope I did not offend you by my post. It sounds like Janelle is indeed very advanced in her speech. You should be very proud of her development. Most babies at this age do not speak quite so clearly. All I meant in my post was to support Tara and tell her that Conner is right on target.

[Jodi_E]

Tara,

Makenna who is now 15 months does a lot of the same things. Every so often there is a new version of a word that comes out and I wonder where it came from. Her latest thing is pointing to everything and asking "What's that?" I think I have named everything in the house and in town more than a dozen times. I know she's just trying to learn but I can only tell her what a street light is so many times. :lol When she was at her 15 month appointment they said her speech and language development was just fine for her age, so I'm sure your son is perfectly normal!

Jodi

[Patti]

Hi Tara,

I thought of this thread this morning when dropping Owen off at daycare. Another 16 month old came up to him and started singing, owen here, owen here and I was surprised. Owen has a few words and I've noticed more in just the last week or two but he can't say any names. This little girl knows the names of all 9 kids in her class.

The director mentioned that the two girls speak more than the 3 boys their age. She didn't think it was necessarily a gender thing but personality. The boys spend the day running around chasing each other while the girls sit and read books (more often) and just chatter to themselves. Knowing that all kids are different, she did generalize a bit and say that the kids like Owen who are so busy seem to speak a little later. And I know that Connor is a busy little guy!

Patti

[Jillian]

I think I'd agree with that. As far as toddlers go Janelle is very calm. Quite content to sit on our laps and read a book or whatever...I mean she seems super hyper and needs to run around quite a bit, but in comparison to most toddlers, she is lazy!

[TaraF]

Originally Posted by Patti

Knowing that all kids are different, she did generalize a bit and say that the kids like Owen who are so busy seem to speak a little later. And I know that Connor is a busy little guy!

I've been thinking about that -- the kids that I have met that are more advanced in their speech seem to be much calmer, happy to sit still, kids... And Connor is definitely not one of them! :lol

We were at the doctor last week because Connor was sick and I asked her about his speech, told her what I wrote here, and she said that he sounds like he is right on track. She gave me a pamphlet from some Toronto speech center that gives listings of where kids should be at 6, 12, 15, 18, 24, 36 months, as well as 4-5 years. And after reading the pamphlet, I do feel a lot better. Connor is doing a lot of things already that it says a kid should be able to do (speech-wise) at 24 months. The 18 month list said that by then he should have a vocabulary of at least 10 words ("mi" for milk would be considered a word) that we, his parents, can understand, even if strangers can't. And Connor has that now... It also said that he should be able to understand a lot more words than he can say -- he understands a lot more than we realize, and it's scary! :lol It said that he should be able to carry out a few one step instructions ("Go get me the ball."). He does that very well, and is starting to understand 2-step instructions (when he doesn't get distracted ). So, I feel a lot better now!

And in the past month, since I wrote this, I have noticed him trying a lot more new sounds/words. And we're starting to understand him better, even when he doesn't get something right -- his Kermit doll, we've realized, is who is talking about when he says, "Armah" (when he's upset, he often says this, and we had no clue what he was talking about, and he'd get hysterical, and we'd be clueless!).

I've also noticed, talking to other parents at his Gymboree class, that while a lot of the kids his age are ahead of him in speech (they either say a lot more words, or say only a few words but very clearly), he seems to be ahead of them in more physical ways. He is content to sit and "draw" or "colour" now, and he loves to play puzzles -- the kind with the little pegs - he can now get the pieces back in most of the time. A lot of the kids his age that we know can't do these things. So, I suppose I should relax and realize that he's ok

Tara