Why my toddler could not speak yet ?

The day after tomorrow is Adli's 2th birthday. But until this day, he could not speak any word yet. Even to say Mom or Dad.

Six months ago, "maybe" he could said AYAH (= dad, in Indonesian) only when he was crying. Yes, only when he was crying he call his dad, but it happened only for a couple moment only, and he never say AYAH again until now.

Last week, he said: YATTA (I did it, in Japanese), following what I said and also what I did (lift my arms up). And I never heard again that word until this moment however I asked him to follow me again.

Sometimes I worry about it. His pediatrician suggested him to get the hearing test. But he had got it when he was newborn, and the result showed no abnormality in his ear and hearing function. Then the pediatrician suggest him to get a specific hearing test that is cover a specific-tone evaluation only in hearing ability. Also the pediatrician suggest him to take a speech therapy. I agree, but I will wait until Adli turn 2, and it is mean 2 days left only !

Here, I found some arguments about toddler's speaking ability delay.

• I'd like to tell you not to worry but I can't. At 2 years and 4 months he should be talking more than that, even if you can't understand what he's saying. My best friends son had similar problems and was diagnosed with autism. Everyone told her the same thing, including his pediatrician: "Don't worry, he's a boy. Boys are slower to develop then girls." She was worried but didn't do anything because everyone was telling her she was being silly. Finally she took him in for an evaluation and he was diagnosed. I'm not saying your son has autism, but if you are worried about his development don't hesitate to have an evaluation done. Don't listen when people tell you not to be worried, you might be wasting valuable time. My friend put off doing anything for a year because of people saying "don't worry". Has he reached all of his other milestones? My friends son developed normally until he reached 12 months and then started regressing. I remember one day when he was around 3 yrs we were watching The Wiggles and they were singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". He would do the motions but would just kind of mumble everything but the word "toes", that one word was the only one he knew so he shouted it really loud. He also flapped his hands a lot and shook his head. Observe his behavior and see if anything sets off any alarms for you.

• Take him to early intervention as soon as you can. Ask them for a developmental screen. It sounds like he might be about a year behind in his speech. My son was, and he was saying about 10 words at 26 months old. My son was also very frustrated that he could not make us understand what he wanted/needed, so he had 12 or more tantrums a day. He started in speech therapy about 4 months ago, and has gone from 10 words to more than 100. Plus we started to teach him some sign language to help him communicate with us, and he now knows 50+ signs. Within a week or so of learning his first signs his tantrums all but disappeared. we have now discovered how smart he is...and funny too.

I found these too, Warning signs of a language/communication developmental from www.babycenter.com

Call your child's doctor or a speech pathologist if your child:

4 to 6 months

• by 4 months, doesn't imitate the sounds her parents make
• by 6 months, isn't laughing or squealing

8 to 10 months

• by 8 or 9 months, isn't using sounds to get your attention
• by 9 months, hasn't begun babbling
• at 10 months, doesn't respond to her name
• by 9 or 10 months, isn't letting you know when she's happy or upset

12 to 15 months

• at 12 months, doesn't use gestures such as waving or shaking her head
• by 12 months, isn't using at least a couple of consonants (p, b, etc.)
• by 12 months, isn't somehow communicating to you when she needs help with something
• at 15 months, doesn't understand and respond to words like "no" and "bye-bye"
• by 15 months, isn't using at least six different gestures (waving, pointing, etc.)
• by 15 months, can't say at least one to three words

18 to 24 months

• at 18 months, isn't saying at least six to ten words
• by 18 to 20 months, isn't pointing out things of interest, such as a bird or airplane overhead
• by 20 months, isn't making at least six consonant sounds
• at 21 months, doesn't respond to simple directions
• by 21 months, doesn't pretend with her dolls or herself (brushing her hair, feeding her doll, etc.)
• at 24 months, can't join two words together
• at 24 months, doesn't know the function of common household objects — toothbrush, telephone, fork, etc.
• by 24 months, doesn't imitate actions or words of others
• at 2 years, doesn't point to body parts when asked

30 to 36 months

• at 30 months, can't be understood by anyone in her family
• at 36 months, uses no simple sentences, doesn't ask questions, and can't be understood by strangers

3 to 4 years

• at 3, can't speak in short phrases
• at 3, is unable to understand short instructions
• at 3, has no interest in interacting with other children
• at 3, has extreme difficulty separating from a parent
• at 3½, consistently fails to add final consonant to words (for example, saying "ca" instead of "cat")
• at 4 years, still stutters frequently
• 
  

Ok!, so Adli have to go to the pediatrician asap? I hope Adli only has a speech delay problem. I already checked all the signs of 2 years development, based on Japan Maternal and Child Health Handbook, and Adli passed all of the signs except about his speaking ability. Here they are:

1. Can your child run?
2. Does your child feed himself with a spoon?
3. Does your child scribble with the crayon?
4. Does your child imitate adults or TV performers or characters?
5. Does your child speak in simple sentences? (i.e., 'Me hungry' or 'dog come')
6. Does your child eat meat or high-fiber vegetables?
7. Does your child try to brush his teeth?