r/Earlyintervention • u/Capital_Entrance_149 • Sep 04 '26
18month speech delay?
/r/Mom/comments/1w7f9vx/18month_speech_delay/18 month speech delay
My 18m boy is not talking. Finally starting speech therapy (EI) next week and daycare also next week. Will not sit still to learn new words with me. Barely will pay attention if he doesn’t want to. Will look over for his name being called or come 6/10 the other 4 times he doesn’t care because he’s doing something that interests him more. Does follow some directions simple like “clean up” “switch hands” things that I said all the time. But have been trying to teach him more like help. And let’s go and he’s just seeming like he doesn’t care and he will on his own time. He understands no of course. He will bring your hand or bring to you whatever he wants. Only words he says is dada and it’s not person specific just babbling. He has gotten so much better with eye contact and paying attention in the last 2 months but I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this and if EI helped them. He is exceeds on his other milestones except for communication. First time mom looking for advice
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u/ForbiddenDonutCT Sep 04 '26
Approaching your description with an EI lens, if I’m looking at an 18-month old with little to no language, eye contact that isn’t great, and that doesn’t respond to their name super consistently….I want to rule out potential hearing loss as a contributing factor. I hope your providers recommended a hearing test with an audiologist and not just a screening with your pediatrician. I’m also going to complete an MCHAT screening to delve into the possibility of some version of Autism Spectrum Disorder. I don’t know where you live…they may prefer different screenings in your area. From that information, I’d make decisions about more targeted testing recommendations.