8 Month Old Baby Not Saying Mama or Dada

Amy!

I have read your blogs for months, and I detect them to be spectacularly hilarious and full of good communication. I wuv yoo! Anywhoodles, here's my question…I take a daughter who is xiii months old. While other babies can at least say Mama and Dada, she can't. She babbles away constantly, and has seemed to primary the word "YAH!". (Which, I'll admit comes in handy if I want my SO to agree with me. I just ask if she thinks it's a good idea, and she says "Yah." From the mouths of babes….) Problem is…That's the simply word she knows, (except for mimicking Mommy'due south use of the "F" word…) and she tin can't associate words with people or deportment. I've tried asking, "Up? You desire upward? Upwards?!" when she's property her arms out, but she doesn't seem to get it. She can't acquaintance the two. While most toddlers tin can at least say Mama & Dada and associate their parents with the words, she can't. My Then and I talk to her constantly, even if it's explaining that I'thou chopping vegetables for dinner. Point it, we talk to her all the fourth dimension. I read somewhere to say the words she says back to her, and say things similar, "Oh actually? That's so interesting, what else?" And we exercise that, just she'south just not getting information technology.

I read in your blog that Noah was/is speech delayed…So, is there something we can do to help her? Is there a way to tell if your child is definitely spoken communication delayed? She's on track with every other area of development, like motor skills…BTW, nosotros're kinda bankrupt right at present, and then delight tell me that's there's something we can do besides some expensive test.

Thank you, O Wise Ane of the Internets, One that I worship.

Sincerely,
Freaked The F Out

"Is in that location a way to tell if your kid is definitely voice communication delayed?" At 13 months? No. I do not call up then. 13 months is entirely too young, also early on. Nosotros did not go our start red flag for speech until Noah's 18-month visit, and that's considering he but barely failed the 5-to-10 word marker. (He said Mama, Dada, aball, anana and that was information technology. And he was DEFINITELY not maxim those by 13 months, either.) And we were still told to give it another three months and come back if nosotros didn't see an improvement. And…okay, we didn't see an improvement, and we went dorsum, and were referred to Early Intervention. Who were extremely impressed, actually, that our pediatrician referred the states and then early. Most doctors will indeed wait much, much longer to bring up the possibility of a oral communication delay to parents. Late bloomers, late talkers, etc. This isn't to say that's a Proficient thing, the waiting-until-ii-years-old-or-maybe-three, just…13 months? Oh, honey, don't freak out just yet. Really.

The all-time, best, All-time book I have ever read on early speech evolution is "It Takes Two To Talk: A Practical Guide For Parents of Children With Linguistic communication Delays". Non a cheap book, no. $50. Textbook pricing. I borrowed a copy (deposit required!) from our county'south Early Intervention programme while taking the accompanying Hanen program through them; you may be able to track down a secondhand re-create online or through your library or pediatrician. But if you really, really desire to sympathize how language develops and acquire exactly how you "should" be talking to your child to assist with that evolution — in super-breezy, easy-to-read terms — this book is astonishing. (And amazingly simple, to the point of slapping your head subsequently realizing that all you lot had to exercise is *tweak* your conversations with your kid in the slightest way to maximize their expressive language responses.) Yous'll also be able to pinpoint exactly where your child is in their language development and figure out whether your expectations are really reasonable, and how best to aid them move into the next stage of language use.

At 13 months, your kid really (Actually) doesn't need to have a ton of vocabulary. Some kids practise, and that'south fan-freaking-tastic for them. Some kids don't. A lot of 'em, I'd wager. (Like I said, I was all kinds of blissfully ignorant at that historic period, when we didn't even take YAH.) (Which is Adorable!) You mentioned your daughter will hold her arms out when she wants "up." That! Right there! Big! Crawly! Expressive gestures ARE language: pointing, waving, clapping, etc. And here'southward the thing: some kids don't mimic. They aren't going to parrot back whatever you say. Your daughter puts her artillery out, you lot say Upwardly, she thinks, "Yeah. Up. That'southward what I want." You lot've already gone and said the word/concept that she wants, and so why in the globe would she say information technology now? UP, Adult female. WHAT Y'all JUST SAID. GOD.

The Hanen book uses this dumb piddling acronym. O.Westward.L. Detect. Wait. Mind. You lot see your daughter with her arms out, or contemplating a ball, or pointing at the milk carton on the counter. Yous DON'T supply the word. You lot DON'T say "Up" or "Brawl" or "Milk? You want milk? Milk? MILK MILK SAY MILK MMMMMMILK." Instead, you say nothing. Y'all wait. Waaaait. Mayhap y'all gesture back. Point back. Allow her (yeah, I know) go a little upset. Allow her really understand why expressive language is important.

And then yous listen. Maybe she'll say, "Uh! Uh!" instead of "Up! Upwardly!" Or some long mmmm sound instead of milk or SOME kind of exact cue to express what she wants. Afterward she makes an attempt at a sound, you can So supply the word and a heapload of praise and an firsthand granting of her desire. Up. Milk. Juice. Whatever.

And oh, simplify. I was super guilty of this. She's not prepare for sentences yet — and she's not going to get much from "Oh actually? That'southward so interesting, what else?" Hell, my almost-four-twelvemonth-one-time still doesn't know what to do with vague, open-ended questions like that. Strip your linguistic communication down to simple, unmarried words and ESPECIALLY sound furnishings. I'll never forget subsequently our first oral communication therapy session, the therapist told me to accept Noah outside and blow bubbles some time that calendar week, and spend the entire time focused on 3 words/sounds. 1) An exaggerated blowing sound, in hopes that Noah would mimic the puckering/bravado and piece of work his mouth muscles, 2) The word "POP," whenever the bubbles…you know, POPPED, and 3) the sign and discussion "More." I felt like an IDIOT. I mean, Noah and I blew bubbling all the time! Are you telling me I was doing it WRONG, or something?

Well. I gauge I was. I said nothing else also Popular and MORE, and information technology took exactly 15 minutes earlier my child popped a bubble, looked at me expectantly, and so when I failed to say what he was waiting for, said, "Pop!" all by himself. Within 20 minutes he was signing for "More than" after I put the wand back in the bottle and stared at him, pretending to have no idea what in the world he wanted. Give everything a sound: pop, woof, choo choo, vroom, etc. These seem to be more attractive to little ears and mouths than the proper nouns, which: WHO CARES.

And speaking of sign language…yeah, I was one of those people who idea baby sign linguistic communication was just for the neurotic kid-prodigy fix, for the parents who needed an activity in betwixt Chinese Mandarin and Baby Mensa Playgroup. And then my kid didn't ever talk, and my pediatrician recommended teaching him some signs to ease both of our frustrations with the state of affairs. We used the Signing Fourth dimension DVDs (now bachelor for streaming on Amazon) and within ii or three viewings, the light bulb went off over Noah'southward head. He signed "milk" one forenoon and my lands, I have NEVER gotten milk into anyone's hands so quickly. He stared at the cup for a minute and I swear you could come across the wheels turning and the pieces coming together and the huh. If you notice that your daughter really doesn't brand any close approximations of sounds no affair how long y'all wait for them, sign language might be a more than natural transition from gestures to language, at least for her. And, you know, hundreds and thousands of kids who develop at their own pace, march to their own drum.

Look, I'm the LAST person on world who wants to pull the "whatever, don't overreact, don't compare her to other kids" crap. I knew — KNEW– something was going on with Noah just…what? five or 6 months past your girl's historic period. I didn't know exactly what was going on — I once heard someone describe spoken communication therapy equally the "gateway drug" to all the other many wonders of Early Intervention and SID and ASD, and damn, if that own't the truth — but my gut knew, and thankfully our doctor didn't sweep my concerns away with a dismissive wave. So…this is Not a dismissive wave.

Get your easily on the Hanen book (I had to return mine to the county or I'd mail service it to you lot in a second), or something that someone in the comments recommends (I read a few spoken language filibuster books, I admit, just only flat-out got the almost from Hanen). If you really don't believe that she connects "Mama" with you, I'm not going to tell you lot that oh, PISH, everything's fine. (Though I acknowledge that's a hard one to test out, particularly when Mama is right there — the little ones LOVE to accept our existence and presence for granted. Peradventure go some pic cards or toys and test out other words? Like dog or machine or brawl? She may not point, but she might give you some indication that she does indeed connect words with objects.) Try out some sign language. Tell your pediatrician that you're concerned at her adjacent visit. Don't panic, don't freak out. Heed to your gut…but also make certain your gut isn't engaged in a game of oneupmanship with the mommy adjacent door with the potty-trained one-year-old who speaks in consummate sentences on-demand like a performing-monkey child.

Photo by Richard-G

Related Articles:
– Against Speech Delays Without Family Support
– Food & the Sensory-Sensitive Child

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Source: https://alphamom.com/parenting/baby/what-to-do-when-you-suspect-your-child-is-speech-delayed/

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