Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Motherly Words Of Wisdom Needed

I know that part of my personality includes a quirk for worrying, but I need some advice:


Anderson isn't talking, and I don't know what to do.

He's almost 13 months old and he has no vocabulary. No "Mama" or "Dada",just nothing but, "Eh" which has earned him the nickname of "Caveman" around here.

Jackson walked and talked very early, and I know that each child is an individual, but it's hard for me to realize that Anderson is beyond a year old and not speaking at all. We read books to him, and we always talk to him to narrate what is going on. I'm not worried about his hearing because responds to things we say, (especially if he gets fussed at) and he looks at us when we are talking. Hearing is definitely not the problem. I brought this up to our pediatrician at his yearly checkup, and she wasn't concerned. She said we would follow up and see how he's doing at 15 months. That, my friends, is 2 months away, and I am sick of worrying about this.

Here are a few of my thoughts:

1. We know he has an issue with his upper frenulum that will be addressed in September, if not sooner. I don't think that is causing him to not speak, like it could if he were tongue tied and the frenulum was attached on the bottom.

2. Maybe he's not talking because Jackson talks so much, and he can't get a word in edgewise.

3. Maybe he's just stubborn and he knows that he's worrying me.

I know this may seem silly to some of you veteran mothers out there, but this business of him not speaking is really getting to me. And yes, I'm aware that I'll probably look back on this in a few months when he's talking up a storm and want to kick myself for not loving the quietness.

But for right now, this Mama needs some motherly advice or words of wisdom...



3 random thoughts:

With love AMD said...

My niece just turned two back in May. She has an older brother around Jackson's age and he does all the talking for her. If we ask her "Gracie do you want your cup?" My nephew will then respond for her. Is Jackson doing something like this for Anderson? Now when I kept Jackson at the daycare he was very ahead of most of the kids in his class. So yes each child is different, but if Anderson and Jackson are anything like my niece and nephew and are very close to each other, not talking age, then I wouldn't be too concerned about it. Anderson might feel like he doesn't have to respond or talk because he has Jackson to do it for him. He will finally catch on and then you won't be able to stop him. I hope that helped you.

Alex

Katherine @ Grass Stains said...

I know how hard that is, Amy. Nathaniel wasn't talking at 18 months, and we were scheduled to have Nicholas just a couple of months later. Our ped referred us to speech therapy, which we had to pay for because it wasn't considered "early intervention." Technically, he wasn't outside of the guidelines, so we just paid out of pocket.

At the end of the first session, he was already saying a couple of words. We kept him in speech for about four months, and he made huge strides. And of course, he's ended up being so bright we have to wear shades. ;)

If you are really, really concerned about it, you can always enroll him in speech on your own. Your insurance wouldn't pay for it, but you could certainly make that decision. At a minimum, you could have him EVALUATED by a speech therapist, if you'd like to get an opinion other than your ped's.

I'm sure he will be absolutely fine, but there's a lot to be said for your own peace of mind. I wish you all the best!

Pam said...

I agree with what the others have said. I think it has a lot to do with having an older brother. I was also wondering if his grunts produced a parent saying "is this what you want?" sort of thing. Both of which will keep him from seeing the need to figure it all out. And maybe he just wants to listen and get it all in his head and then start off spouting complete sentences. I've heard of that too. I think he's fine, but you could certainly have him evaluated or put in speech just to give him a little boost, if you really think he needs it. : )

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