At sixteen months my baby can:
point to his belly and head and occasionally his feet and nose
bring me things he needs help with, like an empty cup of water or a broken toy
eat with a fork and spoon
brush his own teeth (better than his brother!)
throw a ball pretty well for a baby
kick a ball pretty well for a baby
move a stool around so he can reach things he wants on countertops
walk pretty well, despite some initial concerns
take off his shirt and (unfortunately) his diaper
point to things he wants to eat
climb up on the couch, chairs, tables and everything else I don’t want him climbing on
crouch from a standing position to pick up something on the floor then stand again
use the shape sorter
complete simple puzzles
stack several blocks (or soda cans, if left within reach)
obey simple commands, like bring me the toy, when he wants to
imitate a simple tune- he loves to sing
But he doesn’t talk. He says mama and dada and points and babbles, but that’s it. No other words. Not cat or ball or hat or dog or hi or any of the other words his brother said by the time he was a year old. All of his other developmental milestones are right on track, but his language deficit is great enough that the city is sending someone out to our house for a full assessment to see which, if any, early intervention services he needs.
My instinct tells me that with or without Early Intervention he’ll catch up. I think he’s just slow to talk and will talk when he’s ready. But then I fear that maybe I’m missing something. Maybe I’m so distracted with everything else that I just never noticed there’s something wrong. I did once take him in for a well visit only to learn that he had an ear infection. Could I be missing something bigger?
Erin | 01-Oct-09 at 8:41 pm | Permalink
Charlotte said NOTHING until probably 24 months and she’s 100% caught up language-wise. I’m betting he’s just a late(ish) talker. He’s doing the important things: bringing things to you, following simple directions - I’d really bet he’s just working on other things right now.
Pigs | 02-Oct-09 at 8:35 am | Permalink
Aren’t second kids typically later talkers than first kids? Pigpen doesn’t talk as much as Tyler either, and he walked later. Pigpen is 16 months too and he sounds dead on where yours is. He just says a few words and a few signs, but gets his point across.
Katie | 06-Oct-09 at 12:31 pm | Permalink
Daniel said very little at that age, too. When I brought him for his 18 month well visit he was saying only about 5 or 6 words. And, much to my chagrin, mama wasn’t one of them! The doctor seemed a little concerned, but my instincts told me he was fine. He could understand lots of words that he couldn’t say. He was really into books and loved being read to. I was sure he was just a late speaker. Since I was a little overwhelmed with having just had another baby and since he was saying some words the doctor decided to let it go until his 2yr visit. By then he was right on track. Now he’s 26 months old and he doesn’t stop talking.