My son is 23 months today and still not talking. Only says “mama” and “dada”. I took him to an audiologist twice and they advised he has redness in his ears and he has now been referred to an ENT. However, I’ve just learned the wait time is 6 months and I’m kind of freaking out now. I will be having my second child by then and was hoping to get this dealt with before the baby comes. Has anyone had similar experiences? I’m really at a loss right now and feeling super stressed about his speech delay.Edit: I know there is nothing I can do about the wait times and it is what it is, but just wondering if someone has had experience with their children having speech delays and what you did to help the situation. I’m scared he’s never going to talk
Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How many words should a 23-month-old say? - Mamas Uncut
My son didn’t say more than that until he was almost 2 and a half. Now he is 4 and hasn’t stopped talking. Good luck with everything.
As many as they do. There is not a right answer to this. Every child is different momma
You do not have to go to the ENT they set up, contact another one or tell them to find another one 6 months is too long.
Speech therapy & run test especially for autism. Could be just a delay but good to rule it out early
My son just turned 3 and isnt talking. He says a few and I mean few words and not always even clearly. He was referred to an ENT and had tubes put in at 18 months because of on going ear infections. He currently sees a speech therapist twice a week and it’s been slow progress. We do a little sign language to help communicate. It is stressful for him and us, but he will learn in his own time. Your little one will as well, make an appointment as soon as possible to an ENT and maybe speak to his doctor about speech therapy.
Teach sign language it will helpful
Check his ears, get him an assessment to look at possibly being on the spectrum for autism, get speech therapy started, and don’t freak out. Every kids different, blossoming when they want. Take a deep breath, momma. He’s gonna be okay. He’ll talk. 
My son did not speak until his 3rd birthday. Then he only 20 words for almost a year. About 3 months after his 4th birthday, he just started talking like crazy. He’s 5 now. He just takes a breath and will talk for hours. Everyone kiddo is different, but most therapies won’t intervene until 2.5-3 years old for speech.
If you have any concerns take your child for a speech therapy evaluation. I took mine at 18 months and it has helped so much. He is 5 and still in therapy. But he speaks in full sentences now. They taught me asl and a ton of techniques to assist him in communicating with me. Regardless of what anyone says, your mama trust your gut
Has baby had multiple ear infections within a year?
Could need tubes. And can interfere with speech.
I’d have to ask my mom what it’s called, but I didn’t start talking till I was 3.
My mother took me to an ENT and found out I could not tell if anything was hot or cold until I swallowed it.
My daughter didnt say much until she was 3. Shes a spoiled only child and we speak 2 languages at home.
If no es of those are factores in her life try speaking to her more and read to her.
Also get her hearing checked. My nephew had a speach delay and they found out that he is actually deaf
My son didn’t say much at that age and he was referred to an ent for his tonsils and they saw he wasn’t hearing perfect so he started speech and other testing.
now he’s almost 6 and won’t be quiet:joy:
I would ask to be on the call list that if someone cancels you can potentially take that appointment
One of my kids spoke sentences at a year old but didn’t sit up or stand until year and three months. second didn’t say nothing but bababa until 3, was walking at 9 months. Third child learned some words at 2 yr old.
My cousin’s grandson didn’t talk much until he was nearly 3
My son barely did anything until he was 3.5. Totally fine now. My daughter started talking at 6 months and hasn’t stopped yet 
all kids are different. Give him some time.
Is he developing well otherwise?? Like is he able to do the things a toddler is age does? He might just be taking his time to talk. Every kid is different and they do things at their own pace. I wouldn’t let it worry me too much momma.
Both my boys have a speech delay so far we did birth to three not sure if they have a program like that in your area but it was free to us
My son did not get labeled as speech delayed but he didn’t talk very much. I didn’t pay much attention to it but then ppl got in my head. Then his sister came along, when he turned two, and she came out of the womb talking lol. 
but that then sparked him to talk more to keep up with her. Now they don’t stop talking. Btw my son, even though he didn’t say much he was fully taking everything in… everything… Now he is 8, a straight a student, and so gosh darn smart. Try to be patient it just may not be his time…or there could be an issue. Either way you have looked into it and now you wait…it may be nothing . It may be something. You have already started thev process for early intervention, if needed and that’s all you can really do.
My son didn’t talk much, I used sign language then dropped the signs. Boys don’t say much. But he now talks a lot. Lol.
My 2nd daughter didn’t say more than 3words( mama,dada,drink) until after she turned 3. Doctor said her vitals and wellness checks were doing great, that when she was ready to say more words that she will. She encouraged to repeat a couple new words every week.
I would have positive vibes with my little one instead of stress and worry. A stressed tone does distract toddlers from what your trying to get them focused on.
My 18 month old should be saying 6-8 words. Thats it
My daughter is almost 2 and barely talks… she will babble but not speak real words when she wants something. It’s a bit early for intervention I think because kids progress on their own time. A child won’t speak if they don’t feel the need to - as I’ve learned. If they can make sounds or gestures to get what they want, why would they need to use words?
Redness in the ears could be ear infection issues. Maybe needs tubes? That’s something I’d be concerned about but not so much the lack of words until you know something is really wrong.
My son was a cave man until he was 3. All he did was grunt and point. Started talking shortly after 3 and never stopped.
Our son didn’t speak until he was almost 3. When he was 5 we learned he was severely hearing impaired in one ear and moderately impaired in his other ear so I’d suggest getting his hearing checked!
All children learn all the things ha at different ages. Once they pick it up, they won’t stop. It’s always good to be concerned, but I wouldn’t be scared or freaking out as much. I get annoyed at people when they are like “Little Johnny says 32 words and he’s 2 and then you have your child, “Mabel who only says 3 words and she’s turning 3 soon.” Literally walking, crawling, speaking, sitting teeth, acting out. All of it comes at their own time frame. Be patient, work with your children, and pray. Hopefully nothing is wrong and if at some point you do find out there is, I hope you’re able to correct it for your own sanity.
when you speak, in a normal tone of voice, does she respond to your voice? Watch cartoons? move to music? Hearing and speaking are unique - one can hear fine, and not speak, and kids develop at a different pace.
My daughter didn’t say much at all until pretty much within the last month. Shes almost 3 and the words spilling out of her now. One day she just up and decided to talk
My MIL says my husband didn’t speak till he was 5. He would grunt or point and she would get it for him. Never allowed him to ask. When his Dr told her to make him ask first or try to ,she was amazed when he said in full sentence what he wanted.
Give him a chance if you don’t have him verbally ask. If he’s having trouble …just be patient. I know it’s hard but don’t worry so much. He’s still so young and learning. Read to him. You’d be surprised how much it helps. Maybe ask for a hearing test.
I wouldn’t worry too much. My son barely said a word until he was 3. He had a very talkative older sister who did all his talking for him 
Now he’s 24 and trust me, he has no problems with talking or any language issues.
How are his motor skills? Many kids develop either really strong verbal/motor skills at first, and the other set of skills develops later or at a slower pace. This may be just his “normal” developmental pace. My kiddo was an early talker; but motor skills were slower to develop, and started walking much later.
My daughter was like that. Even a few years in. Turns out, she chooses when she wants to speak and when she wants to speak gibberish. She knows a lot more words than we gave her credit for. When she really wants something, she’ll speak clearly and even try to enunciate. Otherwise it’s whatever she gives you
My girl was similar to yours where she wasn’t talking a whole lot. I brought it up at her 2 yr appointment and her pediatrician gave me a referral for the early intervention program here in SC. My girl started getting early intervention therapy weekly in January and speech therapy in February and she has already improved. You want to see if your state has an early intervention program.
I also got a referral for an ENT. My kiddo had to get put to sleep to have her ears cleaned and hearing tested because she hates anyone doing anything to her ears. Doctors said her hearing is normal. ENT specialist gave me a referral for a developmental and behavioral specialist so I’m waiting to hear from them to have them check for anything the other Doctors may have missed.
My daughter really didn’t blossom with her speech until she started preschool this past November (she is 3). Now we can’t get her to stop talking. All in time mama!
Speech therapy. My 2 and a half year old just finished a 13 week speech group. Just starting to learn words
You should get him into speech therapy ASAP
6 months… Call your insurance company and seek another office. If it were my child I would take him farther away to a specialist. If they make you wait 6 months you can look elsewhere. Also sometimes it is that a child takes his or her own time. Are you trying on your own… Have you tried sign language?
6 months? I would drive any distance to be seen sooner. Call your insurance company and you can get a list with a radius of what you’re willing to drive and then keep the 6 month out one since it sounds closer to your location. I would ask to be on a cancelation list etc. 6 month wait is not okay.
My daughter didn’t talk until she was almost 4 & now she never shuts up! We noticed we spoke for her by answering our own questions that we asked her.
Apparently 7 words is appropriate at that age. My paed said that.
Doctors are backed up from all the COVID mess and I realize it’s been over a year but it’s still crazy ! All you can do is wait and go from there !
Babies will talk when they are ready my wife oldest child didnt start talking properly till she was 18 months
We started sign language with our littles and try to add words as it came along. No worries momma baby may just be taking his time.
My grandson is that age. He says some words like dad. Puppy etc. I think it will gratuitously pick up. Some kids are slower than others.
Are you talking for him? If he points at something do you just get it for him? Had a neighbor whose child did not talk, just point and grunt and everyone asked him if he wanted this or that -. (He had 3 older siblings) They took him to a Speech Therapist at age 4 and the therapist took him into his office by himself - when they came out the therapist said he talks just fine. But he doesn’t need to because someone will get him what he wants. STOP doing that. They did - and it didn’t take long for him to start talking to the family. My daughter didn’t start talking until she was about 2 1/2 and I don’t think she has shut up since then (almost 60 years). HA HA HA.
Einstein only started talking when he was 4.He’ll talk when he’s ready.
My granddaughter is turning 3 in June. She was about 28 months old before she started saying anything besides momma, daddy, etc. And now you can’t shut her up….not that I would want to😉
Her pediatrician said as long as she is hitting all her other benchmarks not to worry about it too much. Some kids just talk later than others. My daughter was really freaking out because her older 2 kids talked early and EVERYONE kept making comments about why Emersyn doesn’t talk and there must be something wrong. But eventually she just took off talking and has never looked back.
Don’t let other people’s judgements and comments get to you. People are ignorant and rude. Just trust your pediatrician!
It might help to call your ENT daily just to see if they have any cancellations or openings! Often times they will be able to slide you into a slot if they have a cancellation!
My nephew refused to speak until he was 3. Early intervention programs, Speech therapy, and OT helped. He didn’t say mama until he was 3. Now, he’s 6 and literally never stops talking.
our girl will be 3 in June and although most kids her age can talk on sentences, she cannot! she still says very few words but kind of tries sentences. like for example she’ll say ‘mama, dada, vroom vroom’ when we say we’re leaving somewhere. when she’s hungry she repeatedly says ‘yum yum’ but can’t tell us what she wants. so she’ll go to the freezer and we have to show her what’s available and she’ll say yes or no. we were in speech for awhile but had to stop going. we’re moving tomorrow so I may be calling about getting one of the ‘teachers’ that comes to your house and works with them right at home
My little brother barely spoke until he was like 2, probably even closer to 2 and a half, now he just never stops talking, I’m sure your little one will get there, it just takes time
Try not to stress, that just makes it hard on you.
I understand easier said than done!
Just keep encouraging him to speak, narrate everything you do and what he does.
My oldest spoke a ton at 9 to 10 months and my middle refused to speak until she turned 1.
He’ll surprise you with full sentences before you know it!
Have you had him tested for autism? I started getting worried at 18 months, my son is autistic. But my other son didn’t speak until he was 4.
I’d first take him to his Pediatrician, voice your concerns and have him evaluated. The doctor should refer you to get that done and know who to contact.
Same with one of my children. Everyone I know told me it was ok, that he would start talking when he is ready. He is now 10 and still takes speech therapy 3 times per week… I wish I would have gotten him started with speech therapy when I first began thinking something might be wrong instead of listening to everyone else. When he was 6 crying and saying “mama why can’t I talk right?” It broke my heart!!!
I had two boys. My first was almost exactly two years old before he said a word. Once he started talking he talked in sentences. He understood what I said but didn’t respond verbally until two. My second son was the same way.
Hi!! So my third little one had a speech delay. We started reading to him more during the day? And pointing to the pictures and saying the words more and we were able to bypass the speech therapy. His words picked up within weeks of adding more reading. I promise he will talk eventually. That’s how we felt about our little guy too. Lots of luck mama!
i have a grandson who didn’t talk until he was 2 and he is fine now.
My son had speech delays. I’m so relieved someone is listening to you sooner than my drs did. They weren’t so eager to listen back then as my son turns 19 in June. I’m sorry you’re stressed as we all would be. It was a lot of work but my son talks and talks and talks. I now have guardianship of my 3 year old neice who just started talking.
My grandson had speech delay. He went to special speech school when he was about 3 and potty trained. When he went to kindergarten he was speaking and expressing himself. He is fine now at almost 8. He talks a lot now. Sometimes I have asked to repeat what said. I wear hearing aids now so it’s not all him now
Do not stress about it, he will talk when he is ready, some kids take longer than others . In the mean time try to not baby talk to him , make sure that he is playing attention to you when you are talking to him , try to incorporate vocabulary with pictures
I’d call around for more than one location to check wait times but honestly some kids literally don’t talk at that age really and it isn’t always a bad thing. I’ve had six children of my own, one adopted, one foster, and one step…they have all spoken at different times. Two didn’t speak until two and one didn’t even speak until age four. They did require speech due to speech apraxia but they’re in grades Kindergarten, First, and second now and have no major setbacks in school and are understood very well by their peers.
Each child is different
I was just talking with my MIL about this today. I have a 16 year old 14 year old and just turned 2 year old. My first potty trained herself at 10 months old could do any animal sound, name and abc’s by 18 months it was wild. My second didn’t talk really till she was 3 she wasn’t potty trained fully until 3 either and I was sooo worried. No one ever brought up speech therapy to me or any concern at all about it. Once she started talking it never stopped ever lol shes 14. My son is 2 he says a few words help, mama, dada, bat (bath) some animal sounds, kiss, night night. Literally so many of my friends go to speech therapy and their kids speak the same as my son and they are all similar in age. What did people do before speech therapy? They read to their kids and made some extra effort in teaching them how to speak which is what I try and do. My dr never brought up his speech as an issue because he understands when I talk and he follows instructions.
I think we put soooo much more pressure on our kids and ourselves these days. Like soooo much! I know a lot of kids I don’t know any of them that can’t talk over 5. Don’t stress it helps nothing my little guy loves to sing he can’t make out the words really but he can make the sounds he hears. I put him in music class and we sing. Try and find fun things to do. It will come
My son is 3 years old and 3 months and he only says a few words…like mama and oh no
He will start when he’s ready. Just keep working with him. Don’t baby talk with him use complete sentences and words. All 6 of mine grands had so many different people in their lives family wise that they started and still never stopped. They all love to talk!!! Read to him as much as possible.
My mom took me to the Dr at 4 for the same thing, not talking. He checked me out and had me repeat words after him like hippopotamus, school, rhinoceros etc. I said them correctly every one. He told my mom I was fine, didn’t have anything to say. After preschool I started talking more. Today I’m either babling or quiet. A mothers job is to worry, find a different ENT to get seen more quickly. Your toddler may not have much to say. Good luck
My youngest was not talking as much, but started working with her and she also watches cocomelon, now she is 2, sings her abcs, counts to 10 says animals, most colors and some shapes.
My Daughter in law had her 3 all knowing their abc and numbers to a 100 before they were 2/3. She worked with them everyday.
My eldest (Chloe) was/is like this.
Her and her sister are 22 months apart.
Chloe didn’t talk really much at all until she was almost 3. The pediatrician suggested speech therapy but then lockdowns happened and then her speech improved enough at the time.
She’s 4.5 now and she talks like crazy but is very hard to understand to everyone but me. So now we have an audiologist appointment this Friday to see if there’s any issues there or not.
Now it’s fairly common for the first child to not talk much, especially if they’re not constantly around other kids.
Now
My youngest was saying 5 word sentences by the time she was 14 months old.
It was a shocking contrast to me.
Even now she speaks just as clearly as her sister.
I’ll tell you what other told me when I was stressed out and felt like a failure somehow.
“Don’t compare your kids to other kids and as long as they get there in the end it doesn’t matter the speed at which it happens.”
My 11 year old barely spoke until she was about 2.5 years old. She would point, show her dad, and he would figure it out. I was worried. My older sister, who is in the medical field said relax, she doesn’t need to speak to communicate, she father knows what she needs. (she came out thinking she came out of him. He is her person for everything) and then she got friends at day care and now we pray for the old days 
. When you fetch here from school, she does not stop talking, so be patient. Also, a shift will come when the baby arrives.
Good luck
I didn’t talk til I was 2. For some danged reason I said Dut Grl (Dutch Girl on the milk carton) and Amoco. NOw you can’t get me to shut up. He is how he is. Don’t stress - just love him.
My niece really didn’t start talking until she was almost 3 then she never shut up lol
Calm down. Don’t expect the most of your kid. All kids are different and do things at different times. My momma would say you’re doctor’s best typa Dinner
I have a daughter who was similar at that age. We went through hearing tests and speech therapy and what not. She did have fluid buildup in her ears which resulted in tubes put in. (She doesn’t have them in anymore tho) they thought she wasn’t hearing words clearly so that was an option to see if there’s any improvement in her speech. That wasn’t the case though. We learned she is developmentally behind. I kept her home all her baby/toddler life so she never really got exposed to much kids other than her sister and family. We tried daycare for a bit before covid happened and now she’s 6 in SK and I would say there has been a huge improvement since then! She still can’t say some words clearly but I’m glad she’s finally talking! So my advice is do your best in support of him and get him exposed to kids his age 
even if he’s not in daycare you can try family centres or drop in centres if there’s any in your area. He will pick up at his own pace
I was really delayed all u can do Is let him listen to TV music and nursery rhymes and read read read but books wit couple words in or one word … If u have money u could pay for speach therapist once a week or fornight x
Speech therapy. We started speech therapy at 18 months.
Do not go by “every kid developed at their own pace” that can hurt the child. There are milestones for a reason.bif your child isn’t where they need to be, find out why, speech delays, tongue tied, hearing issues. All that and more can be a part of your kid not speaking by age two
Me. Rachel (songs for littles) on YouTube does speech therapy and speaking for toddler videos. Amazing! Like one on one therapy with your child.
My 22 month old says
No, don’t, go mama mommy daddy dada stop sit “here you go”, I want this, yay, uhh oh, up, baby, dog. Etc
My 4 year old didn’t say most of that until he was 3 
he was in speech therapy and that helped him.
He is ok. He will talk when he talks.
I had the same concerns about my son at that age. He didn’t talk much, and would say words once in a blue moon. Everyone kept trying to reassure me that he will talk on his his on time, but he’s five now is basically non verbal. Turns out he’s on the spectrum and is waiting for speech therapy. But there were other signs of ASD besides the speech delay though.
Speech therapy… talk with your Dr. They will give you a questionnaire to fill out… and recommend you
My daughter is 2 and a half. She’s says momma consistently, but Dada occasionally. Other than that, not much. Her doctor, last time we saw him, stated that a lot of kids this age are behind on talking. He attributes it to the pandemic because of social distancing. If you’re concerned, get a referral from your pediatrician. My biggest problem with my little not talking is she gets frustrated when she wants something and can’t tell me. Just be consistent. We’ve gotten to a point where she’s finally mimicking what she hears, on occasion, but not on a consistent basis. Good luck, momma. I know it’s tough.
I pushed for 6 months even after seeing the ENT to do tubes. If baby is getting constant ear infections push for an er appointment with the ENT. My son suffered so bad with double ear infections and it ended up effecting his speech. If baby is not in pain or lethargic it’s ok to wait unfortunately it is usually a long wait time unless it’s an er. My son had tubes put in and the surgery kept getting canceled because of covid. If you’re unhappy about the wait time call around and see if you can find one sooner but 6 months is pretty normal
my son was 3 before started talking a bit. soon as everyone brought up other things he slowly did it on his own now you would never even known! he picked up so fast and huge words! honestly I think it was blippi the YouTuber it got him singing all these songs lol if the wait is so long I would honestly do your own at home before baby comes ether way it wouldn’t hurt him to try 
I’m an SLP grad student and have learned recently that at 23-months, children should be speaking approximately 50 single syllable utterances (words). No two children are alike and will develope at their own pace. You can encourage talking by labeling everything (saying what everything is), for example “let’s put these white socks on your feet” instead of “let’s put your socks on.” If your little one isn’t speaking by three, you could ask for an evaluation with a Speech Pathologist. You’re both doing good. Hang in there.
Something to look for. Tonsils and adenoids, ENT is the doc for that. My mom tonsils were inlarged causing hearing loss as a child. My son barely spoke. Hearing was just fine. His tonsils on the other hand where so big they touched when his mouth was open, doctors would gasp they were so big but the size was the only thing wrong with them. When he was 3 the school audiologist suggested removing adenoids as they can cause issues with speaking. The ENT agreed and took both, as tonsils were just too big and they are in the same area. He is now 13 and won’t shut up, lol. He did have to go through speech therapy during grade school but is all good now. Waiting for Dr’s apt suck but it’s all we can do sometimes.
My son took until way after 2 for getting sentences together, he just wasn’t ready but when he did he never stopped talking, all morning, all afternoon, all evening 
My son just chose not to speak. He understood fine. He just had nothing to say. He was almost 4 before he decided to chat. .
The pedi referred my oldest to speech therapy when he was like 18 months. It helped him tremendously. They got him on track in no time.
Einstein didn’t say his first words until he was 6 and he said" I don’t like potatoes" and he was a genius. Children talk at their own pace. Try to remember that. He may have a problem hearing but therapy can help that.
Talk to him and have him repeat what you said. Use small words not ones that is hard to pronounce
My youngest grandson had a speech delay. For awhile we had all sorts of fears. We worried about hearing loss. We worried that maybe he was autistic. We worried about many things. Today he is 8 years old and he never stops talking. He does have some learning delays that we are concerned about, but those seem to be more related to a possible condition of ODD, a disorder where the child resists authority figures, than any actual problem with intelligence. My daughter has been trying to get him tested for ODD for some time now, but his father has custody and is remarkably slow to take care of medical or mental health needs. All I can say is that once he decides to talk, you’ll have times when you’ll wish he had an “off” button. He’ll talk your ear off! My little grandson will come into the room and with an excited “guess what?” begin to tell you all about it! Don’t be afraid. There may very well be a problem there, but you’ve got this.
Call for early intervention through your state. They can evaluate and provide services.
I encourage you to sing to and with him…this is the we wash our face…incorporating appropriate songs and play throughout his day…this is the way we eat our lunch…go to bed…ect…the wheels on the bus…and using appropriate facial and hand gestures are fun and soothing…all the children s songs. Get other children to play and interact as well. Godspeed!
You may be able to take him to spec savers for a hearing test. They do it for adults but I don’t know about children. If there is a problem they write a letter to your GP.
Remember with the pandemic a lot of children are struggling. I would recommend speech therapy while you wait for audiology. One thing that helped my son was teaching him baby sign language. I would say the word as I signed. This adds some visual context for her if she’s having a hard time hearing.
“Get it dealt with before the new baby arrives”
Wow.
He’s still a baby himself, stop expecting huge overnight results because you are having another kid, he’s not doing to make your life hard!