I knew it was going to happen: The 1st thing our pediatrician asked when we went to Mathis's 18 mos appointment was "How many words is he saying?"
Answer: None.
No words. Not even Mama or Dada. She was worried. That's her job. I am a little concerned, I can't deny, but like 6% concerned. Dr Shuman was more like 75% concerned. We ran through a lot of things, even did a sort of Autism spectrum questionnaire. She didn't think he was anywhere on the spectrum but she did say that maybe some of the questions would answer the question of whether or not we should see a speech pathologist. We scored a 0 (zero) on the test and her worry level went down to about 60% at that point. She decided to carry on with the rest of his exam. As expected, everything was great.
Height: 33.75 inches, 75%
Weight: 24 lb 12 oz, 15%
Head: 20 inches, 95%
Pretty much consistent with how he has been since birth, with a drop in weight percentile at a year just like Truitt. The kid eats so much he leaves dining companions speechless, so we aren't worried about the weight. But the no talking...
Even on the bottom of the handout that they print, it gives different areas for Well Child Care. nutrition, dental hygiene, toilet training, safety. And Development. For 18 mos, the development section says "Children at this age should be learning many new words. You can help your child's vocabulary... yadda... yadda...."
Dr Shuman asked if Truitt does a lot of the talking for Mathis. I said no, not in the conventional sense. For example, he doesn't hear Mathis crying and say "he needs water" therefore making Mathis not have to ask for it himself. Truitt does, however, like to translate Mathis's baby talk, especially when it benefits himself.
Mathis: Blah di di di blah eeeeee
Truitt: Mommy, Mathis says he thinks we should be able to have our windows down on the highway.
Mathis: Eh eh eeeeeee du du ba
Truitt: Mommy, Mathis thinks we should have mac'n'cheese but not the kind with broccoli
Mathis: Eeeeee eh ahhhhh ba ba ba ba ba
Truitt: Mommy, Mathis doesn't want to listen to the news. Can you play a rock star song?
So, the talking- or lack of- isn't a younger sibling thing. I think Mathis just doesn't want to talk and doesn't need to talk. He is very vocal but just doesn't say words. He doesn't even have sounds that he regularly uses for things. But, he is definitely communicative. He has very little trouble getting his point across. He is also fiercely independent.
Here he is at Dr Shuman's office before his exam.
Wants a book
Is very happy and proud of himself
Look on face says
"Yeah, so I don't talk. So what. Didn't you just see me totally get my way?"
I also think that by not talking,
he doesn't have to be as responsible for his actions as,
say, his brother.
Mathis is 100% mischief, 100% of the time
After 30 minutes in the same room, Dr Shuman's concern had dropped to about 25%. She said he looked and seemed fine and is figuring he'll just talk when he's ready. I think this is probably right and I have the feeling I'll be thinking "Be careful what you wish for..." when he starts. If he's anything like his brother (or mother), lack of words will be the least of his problems.
4 comments:
I wonder if the delay is partially due to all of the ear infections. I have a feeling you'll be in trouble one day - he'll have spent so much time not talking that he's going to be the kid that never stops talking!
Heaven help me if that is the case, D. I already have one of those!
He looks so grown up... and maybe he is just a man of few words and more actions. :)
My cousin didn't talk until he was 3 1/2 and when he started, his first words were in sentence form! He just didn't feel like talking until he was ready.
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