18 month old speech delay

[starlight78]

Hello there
Just wanted some advice as to how much my toddler should be saying by now as I am getting rather worried about him. He has today learnt to say Hello, he can say "bye", "ready, steady, go", "oops", "uh-oh", "oh dear". If he wants to eat something he says "cookie" which is a word that he has made up himself. He did learn to call me "mum" but has forgotten now and will only cry if he needs my attention. In fact, he is quite miserable the whole day through, he constantly cries, looks frustrated and tired. I cannot think of a reason why this could be, whether it is due to him getting frustrated from his communication difficulties or just plain tired all the time. He does not seem interested in playing, he is very clingy and wants to be carried most of the time.

He does not seem interested in playing, he does tend to turn the wheels of cars etc. without playing with them properly ie. wont push cars along. He does not understand instructions as yet. For example, if i tell him were going outside, or can you get me the ball please, he cannot follow through.

Another problem we are having is that he is a very poor sleeper, that is, he will constantly wake up in at night, sometimes every 20-30 minutes. He tries to get up or starts crying. I dont know what to do as this is making him quite groggy I guess during the day. Sorry for the long post. I guess I just wanted to know your thoughts on these problems, whether I should take this up or not. He is currently attending Speech Therapy playgroups. Also, he has a 10 year old brother who has Aspergers and my own brother who is severely autistic.

Many thanks for reading.

[iAutism]

Baby Babble DVDs is an excellent resource to help understand and aid speech therapy. Diet intervention could help aid sleep

Speech and Language

www.meetup.com/AutismUK/messages/boards/thread/31910942

Rgs

Autism Resource Centre - Early Intervention

www.meetup.com/AutismUK

[Ahhhcantthinkofagoodname]

Hi I've been told when there's a family history you should get referrals sooner. I was fobbed off for a good year by a nursery nurse / health visitor who actually didn't have a clue! I thought I needed a referral from her but actually it can also be your gp. Can you ask your gp for a referral to a community paed. We ended up getting referral from speech therapist to commhpunity paed and then she referred DS to the social communication clinic. So it was a weird pathway and we should have seen paed earlier as they check for the broadest range of things if that makes sense. Good luck.

[salondon]

Starlight - has he lost other words? If its regression then you should get a referral quickly along with family history being a reason.

I would also start the intervention without waiting for diagnosis.