Speech Development Question

[elf feet]

Good evening, Green Screen!

I have a question regarding my kiddo and would love to hear opinions from experience and opinions from a medical standpoint.

My daughter is 14 months old and doesn't seem to talk much. I don't know if I should be concerned. She is 100% on track in everything and even "ahead" in some areas, but just doesn't use a lot of words. I say "use" because she has said words in the past, but does not use them consistently. She only has two words that she uses consistently, dog and dat (for "what's that" - I think ). She has said "up," "dolly," "hi," "mama," and "dada" but does not use them on a daily or even weekly basis. She signs "more" and "all done," shakes her head "no," points, waves "hi" and "bye," points to her belly when I ask her to, points to the fan (random, I know) when I ask her to, and motions "up." She'll say "dada" at least every other day and knows what that word means.

I work full time so she is at Day Care during the day. By the time I get home I only have her for about two hours so I don't get to work on words with her too much. I don't think Day Care works on specific words with the kids - there are 14-16 children in the class with only 2-3 teachers.

Now that I have it all written out it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. The internet says she should have more words by now and I am concerned that she has said words with meaning before, but does not continue to use them. I am not concerned with her not saying "mama" consistently because I have recently realized that I just don't stress it.

So I guess this is my question: How old were your kids when they started using words consistently and should I be concerned for a speech delay?

In addition: How did y'all teach your kiddos words?

Thanks!

[bwssr]

does she hav a big sister or brother?...my youngest didn't need to talk...the big sis, always helped her. My daughter got set up thru the March of Dimes..speech people..man it made a big improvment

[elf feet]

does she hav a big sister or brother?...my youngest didn't need to talk...the big sis, always helped her. My daughter got set up thru the March of Dimes..speech people..man it made a big improvment

Nope - not yet, at least

How old was she when you went to them? (If you don't mind me asking)

[jrfan]

How is her hearing? My son had issues with saying words and it turned out he was hard of hearing. Im not saying she is, but just asking if that might be a possibility.

[Mac...]

does she hav a big sister or brother?...my youngest didn't need to talk...the big sis, always helped her. My daughter got set up thru the March of Dimes..speech people..man it made a big improvment

Mine is about to turn 2 and he doesn't say much for the reason stated above.
My oldest is 7 and she could say her ABCs at 18 months.
They all learn at different rates bud. I remember saying that I wanted my daughter to just be able to talk so I could have a conversation with her.

Well... I got it! Lol
She won't ever shut up anymore. Lol

[elf feet]

How is her hearing? My son had issues with saying words and it turned out he was hard of hearing. Im not saying she is, but just asking if that might be a possibility.

She's passed all of her hearing tests and responds when I call her or speak to her.

[texasrazor]

I'm no Dr. or speech therapist but I have a great neice who only used 3-4 words. found no medical reason for it hearing was perfect. Her mom was worried so she started at age 2 to teach her sign language. Close to her third birthday she started talking and hasnt stopped since, She's 10 now and is doing great in school, and very out going.

[BrandonA]

I grew up with a bad speech impediment ... I couldn't speak hardly till I was four. I was enrolled in speech therapy and attended almost everyday through third grade. Not sure what was the cause but I had it... My daughter has the same. She went to speech therapy through 2nd grade. Hers was traced back to the many ear infections during the speech development yrs. due to the infections and swelling she heard everything in muffled , jarble noise... So that's how she spoke. She is much better today but we still work on it.

[elf feet]

I grew up with a bad speech impediment ... I couldn't speak hardly till I was four. I was enrolled in speech therapy and attended almost everyday through third grade. Not sure what was the cause but I had it... My daughter has the same. She went to speech therapy through 2nd grade. Hers was traced back to the many ear infections during the speech development yrs. due to the infections and swelling she heard everything in muffled , jarble noise... So that's how she spoke. She is much better today but we still work on it.

My daughter has had a cold for about two weeks. It developed into an ear infection on Sunday. She has pretty bad allergies, perhaps her ears are more congested than I realize.

[Mary]

How is her hearing? My son had issues with saying words and it turned out he was hard of hearing. Im not saying she is, but just asking if that might be a possibility.

I would have her hearing checked as well. Sometimes it is a pitch problem....they can hear fine to a certain pitch and then there is an issue. It makes it difficult for learning new words...depending on who she is hearing them from and the pitch they speak in.

[El Viejo]

Did you mention your concerns to her doctor? If not, you should. One think that helps them pick up vocabulary is to read to them as often as you can.

[Mary]

She's passed all of her hearing tests and responds when I call her or speak to her.

Have you tried to call her when you are behind her and she is unaware you are speaking?

[elf feet]

Have you tried to call her when you are behind her and she is unaware you are speaking?

I call her from a different room and she comes to me.

[elf feet]

Did you mention your concerns to her doctor? If not, you should. One think that helps them pick up vocabulary is to read to them as often as you can.

I did. He didn't really say anything but gave me a number to the State of Texas Language Department. They send someone to my house and monitor her. I don't want the State of Texas in my house monitoring my daughter - that's just too much for me.

I read four books to her before bed every night and during the day on the weekends.

[rocky]

Children progress at different stages.
I have a grandson that was very intelligent, but would not pronunciate words properly.
This slowly progressed to the point that we all could understand what he was saying.
Ol' Nubs is doing fine now.
Give it some time.