Poor Language Development

A

ag1

Registered User
My 2 year old (second child) is showing very slow language development. She can only say about 10 words. She babbles a lot but generally what she is saying is incomprehensible. She doesnt even have a word for her own name nor her older sibling's. She can follow my instructions easily and can identify objects but just cant say their names.

Should I be worried about this? I have had her hearing checked and it was normal, and the doctor doesnt seem too phase by it but I must admit my concern is growing especially as others her age are stringing sentences together.
 
Hi ag1-
My son is 2.5 years old and at 2 years old her was diagnosed with mild autism by a paediatrician in HK simply because of his delayed language skills. We then took him to a speech therapist and child psychologist who both ruled out even the mildest of autism after several tests. Thank GOD! He was just delayed with speech and needed additional stimulation both from the home as well as environment. I have enrolled him in a kindy and 6 months with kids the same age as him proved to be the best stimulation by far (plus of course, the time I spend now just constantly trying to communicate with him). Have patience, and as long as your child can understand/communicate... it might just be a case of language delay. Continue talking exposing her to a lot of verbal stimulation. See specialists like I did to also give you peace of mind.
Hope that helped.
 
Ag1,

Your daughter sounds just like mine when she was 2, babbling incomprehensible sounds but able to follow instructions and recognize things. My daughter started kindergarten at 3 and took a speech assessment test at 4. She's under speech therapy for a few months and improving a lot. If you like the govt service, I would suggest taking yr daughter to a speech assessment at the government clinic as early as possible, since it'll take a year before she can have her first appointment with the speech therapist. Meanwhile, you may take her to playgroups and to a private speech therapist to improve her speech. My daughter is 4 1/2 yrs old now and pretty smart, but still slower in speech than others. Slower development in speech doesn't neccesarily imply low intelligence, definitely not.
 
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can anyone advise on different between private and public speech therapists? Am new to HK. My daughter seems to be exactly like what you have described above and I am starting to worry.
 
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