Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 7/8/2010

Question
I have concerns about my 13 month old.  I orignally had concerns when he was an infant, as he has never been affectionate or liked to be held.  He has grown to be more affectionate with age - he will pull himself up on people to be picked up, but it seems like his goal is to see more than to get a hug.  As soon as he's picked up he typically wants back down.  He's not really saying any words.  He says "mama" and "dada" and "ga" and "go" but I don't think he knows what they mean.  He can say "uh-oh".  I think he's saying "tuk" for trucks when he sees them.  He just started pointing to things and does pick things up to hand to mommy and daddy, but doesn't wave.  

He's very social, but also very active.  He started crawling at 7 months and can now stand on his own, but he isn't quite walking yet.  He is a very fast crawler and I expect when he starts to walk/run we'll need a leash.  He is very social and interested in other kids.  He also makes great eye contact.  However, we aren't sure if he really understands his name.  Sometimes he responds, sometimes he doesn't - typically when he's engrossed in a toy or object.  He puts everything in his mouth right now, but he has just started to wheel cars/trucks around the house.  He also exhibits few signs of separation anxiety.  

Should I be worried, or is it just too early to tell?

Answer
Hi Tracey

Before a child begins talking, he or she goes through a rather structured pre-verbal stage where we look for certain behaviors. It's hard to tell whether your son is on track or not as the information that you have provided is limited. You have two choices: one-just wait another 2 months and see if he starts talking. Or option two-I can run through a developmental checklist with you to see the complete picture. It's really up to you. You can let me know. If you choose option 2, then we would set up a half-hour phone appt in which I would be asking you a lot of questions to see where your son is in terms of his pre-linguistic development.

Sorry I can't be more definitive, but with so little information and because he is so little, I wouldn't want to give you the wrong information and have you worry for nothing.