2 year old boy still doesn't talk- should i worry?

[loraine]

Its been great to read this topic! My son is nearly 22 months old and only says mum and very occasionaly dada. I got quite upset when i went to the govt clinic last month as the nurses implied I wasn't stimulating him enough. But I know deep down that he's ok, because his language comprehension is good. He understands alot and likes to read books. I agree that a hearing check is a good idea. But I also note we mostly have boys, and most people seem to be of the opinion that they begin to talk later.

[emilyc]

BTW, close monitor of diet is also necessary as mercury (plentiful in HK seafood because of contaminated water) is a known speech impairment. The nutritionist tested my son high on mercury. In fact, it is a common reason + working moms are why HK kids are later talkers than kids in western countries.

My son's comprehension is also good. But must say I am guilty of not sufficient speech stimulation. Leaving him with maids and nannies are just not good enough, despite playgroups etc. Mommy is always the best teacher but I only get to see him 2 hours a day and most of the time I am so tired that I am not trying my very best to stimulate him.

Rgds

e

[Lylah]

Our paediatrician in HK examined my son for 5 minutes and ask me and hubby a couple of question then gave this diagnosis: Mild Autism. She then went to recommend therapy to help him with his condition.

I was of course, both shocked and confused. How can we have a diagnosis that easily? She based it mostly on the inability to have language facilities at the age of 2 and the fact that my child was not responding to her during the consultation. (she was wearing a face mask at that time which could explain why my son was ignoring her)

This prompted me to research about the condition and the more I read, the more I am convinced to go for a full evaluation in the hopes of having a more accurate diagnosis. I am not denying that my son could be having language and developmental problems but i want clarity as to what it really is and what level he's in so that I can seek for the best possible help.

Has anyone had this experience? We are seeing the following this Friday/Saturday:

1) Audiologist - Joyce Tang from Adventist
2) Speech/Occupational Therapist - Rainy Chan also from Adventist
3) Clinical Psychologist - Dr. Tommy Chan

Hopefully, after these 3 experts see my son, I will have more clarity on the situation and will be able to respond more as to what my son really needs.

Let me know if anyone also had experience working with abovementioned people and tips to make my consultation more productive. I am preparing lost of basic questionnaire types of documents which i am able to download from the web to help ensure a thorough discussion with these practitioners.

Lylah

[L'est Rose]

My son's language development is very slow as well. My family has been speaking with him in English since he was born. He only watched English TV, English music and books. He attended English playgroup. However, when we (i mean, family, friends) talked with each other, we used Cantonese. (now, I realized that even though we never talk to him in Cantonese, he pick up our conversations and words by hearing it; he understands, everything is inside his brain, but we didn't realize until recently).

He started to pronounce some simple words such as 'car, cow, boy' right after his 2 yrs old birthday.
When we asked his name during 27 months, he would say 'mark' (his name is Marcus.
When he started nursery school, it's getting better. In his nursery last year, it's 1 1/2 hr English, 1 1/2 hr Mandarin. I never speak Mandarin with him at home.

I can say that his language development started to mature after his 3 yrs old birthday. He started to speak up and it's very very funny now.

Since he is old enough to understand different languages now (3 yrs 7 months), he started to learn Japanese & French few months ago. Really surprise, he pick up these two languages faster than me.

During X'mas holiday, I spent lots of time with him at home. I explained to him that Mommy also knew Mandarin. I tested and found that he knew lots of words and understood my Mandarin conversation.

[L'est Rose]

I guess lots of kids started to use straw to drink water right after 1 yr old. My son started it...almost 20 months, which means his mouth muscle development was slower, and it's part of the reason why his language development was slow.

Another observation was bib using. I guess lots of kids stopped using bib....around 18 months. In my son's case, his clothes would get wet by his saliva even when he was 22, 23 months, and he was still using bib at that time. This is also related to his oral muscle development which related to language development as well.

[joannek]

l'est rose, just out of curiosity, was your son pre-mature?

[L'est Rose]

noop. Born just 1 wk before my due date. Average size, around 7 pounds. (to me, it's a big bb because I am very thin and short).

Both he and me are very healthy during pregnancy and after birth. due to breast feeding for 11 months, he didn't get sick until starting attending school.

His mental and physical development are good. Very talkative now.

[L'est Rose]

suddenly remember, my husband and I are also 'late talkers'. maybe related to genetic reason???