No babbling at 10 months?

I feel slightly stupid for posing this question because I am a speech pathologist- and you may think I am nuts, but here I am. But I work with older children and feel lost when it comes to baby language development and what is within the range of normal. My 10 month old DS is not babbling yet. No ba, ma, da, and no babababa, dadada, etc. He does make some vowel sounds like /ah/ and grunts a lot. He does the raspberry lip movement (like's he is spitting) a lot. Obviously it worries me that he hasn't made any consonant sounds yet and he also won't imitate sounds or other mouth movements too, except the raspberries.

He's also not imitating other movements yet like clapping or waving. Other milestones are on target. Oh and he has had fluid in his ear for the last 2 months. No ear infection since about 3 months ago, but the fluid hasn't gone away yet. I brought up my concerns at his 10 month check up yesterday. I am going to have his hearing checked and ears again in a month. And hopefully we'll see how he is at his 12 month appointment. That may be affecting it too.

I guess my question is if your DC wasn't babbling at or around 10 months yet, when did they start? Did just happen one day? Was their language delayed at all? Thanks!

No babbling at 10 months?

PM-ing you

Message edited 4/24/2015 1:47:31 PM.

Re: No babbling at 10 months?

I didn't have this problem exactly, but my DD is 19 Months and still isn't talking. From 12-18 months I was concerned as she was making all the sounds but wasn't speaking words yet. I kept waiting and waiting and then finally at my 18month appointment I requested EI. The process was quick and even though she didn't qualify I was happy I did it. My point is don't wait if you can qualify now. I would consult your ped and see what they say about requesting it but I think at that age they should be babbling. Good luck and hope all goes well.

Re: No babbling at 10 months?

If it comforts you at all, knowing very little about speech as it relates to development, if my 10 month old was doing what your DC is doing, I wouldn't be worried yet... But then again a sound to me is a sound and I don't know if I would be looking for vowel sounds vs other kinds of sounds. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go forward with having him evaluated if you are concerned. Being a speech pathologist you know early detection means early treatment, and better outcome.

Although, Sometimes knowing too much is the enemy. I know it's mine! I am a psychologist but my speciality is not with infants/toddlers. I can't tell you how many times I fret saying things like "according to Piaget, DD should be doing _____ and she's not". I realize that most people don't even know who Piaget is and even fewer can recite his stages of cognitive development by heart but I can, so I fret even when I shouldn't.

Good Luck!

Re: No babbling at 10 months?

Re: No babbling at 10 months?

Posted by IVFmiracle

If it comforts you at all, knowing very little about speech as it relates to development, if my 10 month old was doing what your DC is doing, I wouldn't be worried yet... But then again a sound to me is a sound and I don't know if I would be looking for vowel sounds vs other kinds of sounds. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go forward with having him evaluated if you are concerned. Being a speech pathologist you know early detection means early treatment, and better outcome.

Although, Sometimes knowing too much is the enemy. I know it's mine! I am a psychologist but my speciality is not with infants/toddlers. I can't tell you how many times I fret saying things like "according to Piaget, DD should be doing _____ and she's not". I realize that most people don't even know who Piaget is and even fewer can recite his stages of cognitive development by heart but I can, so I fret even when I shouldn't.

Good Luck!

No babbling at 10 months?

I think I am going to wait and see until 12 months and see hopefully what changes. Knowing what would qualify him for services it would be tough now, and I'll give it a little more time. My co-worker at my school who does early intervention recommended waiting until 12 months. You're right, there is no sense to wait. My pet peeve is when pediatricians say just wait. Sometimes they are right, but my advice to other moms is to get the eval if you feel like it is needed.

Re: No babbling at 10 months?

My son was not babbling at 10 months and it did concern me. My pec told me that he was concentrating too much on walking and that it would come. 12 months there was still no sounds, just humming and my ped said to give him till his 15 month appointment. At 15 months without any babbling we got an eval and he qualified for speech through EI.

Finally at 28 months my son opened his mouth and started talking. In less that 3 weeks he was giving me 3-5 word sentences. He just wasn't ready to talk, even with speech, any time sooner.

Re: No babbling at 10 months?

I'd wait til 12 mo. It's likely that they expect more at that point and he will qualify easier. My DD babbled early on. I called IE at 11 mo bc she didn't have a pincer grasp and ate food by smooshing food through her fist. They did Ana eval and while motor skills were fine, she actually had a pretty big receptive language delay. Ahe had no actual words, just sounds. They gave us family training at that point. At 15 mo i was still concerned with speech and her understanding so they gave her speech. They held back a bit although she technically qualified bc sometimes things just clicked. (Which I'm kinda pissed about but I didn't know better to push).

No babbling at 10 months?

I always feel like if you are concerned it cannot hurt to check it out.

No babbling at 10 months?

i'll preface this by saying that my DS has profound hearing loss in ONE ear so that does come into play a bit…but…at 11 months, he was not making the m/b/p sounds either and he too was not clapping or imitating any of our sounds or gestures. we had him evaluated through EI and he qualified. i think the hearing loss helped him qualify but i do believe that even without that factor, he would've gotten services.

with my DS it ends up that he has an oral motor delay which personally i think is the main issue (more than the hearing loss). it's great they are sending you guys for a hearing test and keeping an eye on his ears. i know a lot of kids have speech delays and then need tubes and blossom after they have the tubes in.

i agree about waiting until 12 months for the eval since they will definitely expect to see more at that age.

Re: No babbling at 10 months?

Re: No babbling at 10 months?

I would be concerned about the fluid in his ears. as you know the fluid is decreasing his hearing. without being able to hear the noises and words around him he will not be able to imitate. On top of that it will affect his comprehension. If you say "come on clap your hands" along with the actin he is not going to tag the word "clap" with the action if he does not hear the word.

Does he snore or mouth breath? adenoids play a role in the ability to clear your middle ear. If they are enlarged they won't allow the Eustation tube to open to drain the middle ear causing fluid to build up. you might see snoring and open mouth posture with low tongue (this would also affect articualation later on).

No babbling at 10 months?

Good point about the adenoids. I'll have the doctor check. He does be breathe with his mouth when he has a cold but otherwise he doesn't have an open mouth posture.