Your two-year-old isn’t talking yet. What now?
Somebody has probably already told you he’ll get there in his own time. They might be right. But “wait and see” is not a plan, and you are allowed to want a better one.
In short
- At two, a rough guide is around 50 words and starting to put two together — but the normal range is genuinely wide.
- Understanding matters more than talking. A child who follows instructions and points to share things is in a very different position from one who doesn’t.
- Get hearing checked. Always. It is quick, and glue ear is common and treatable.
- Losing words they used to have is the one thing not to watch and wait on. Ask for advice promptly.
- You can usually ask for a referral yourself — there is a letter template here.
- Waiting lists are long. Start the referral and start the things you can do at home.
This is information, not a diagnosis.
Nothing here can tell you whether your child has a speech, language or communication need — only an assessment by a speech and language therapist can begin to do that. Milestones are averages, and children are not averages. Use this to decide whether to ask for help, not to decide what is wrong.
What talking usually looks like at two
Rough averages, not targets. Children arrive at these at wildly different speeds, and one late area with everything else on track means something different from several areas together.
If your child is at 30 words at two rather than 50, and is otherwise pointing, copying, following instructions and having a good go — that is a different picture from a child at 30 words who does none of those things.
The bit people forget: understanding
Almost every conversation about a late talker is about words out. Therapists are at least as interested in what goes in.
Understanding (receptive language) develops ahead of talking (expressive language). A two-year-old typically understands far more than they can say. So the useful questions are:
- Can they follow a simple instruction with no gesture or context to help? “Get your shoes” when the shoes aren’t in sight.
- Do they point at things to show you, not just to get them? Sharing attention like that is one of the strongest early signs.
- Do they look where you point?
- Do they respond to their name most of the time, when they are not deeply absorbed?
- Do they bring things to you, or pull you towards what they want?
A child with strong understanding who simply isn’t producing words yet is in a much more reassuring position than one where understanding is also behind. Both are worth a referral. They just tend to go different ways.
What is worth acting on
Not alarm bells — reasons to ask. Any one of these is enough to justify a conversation with your health visitor or GP.
Worth asking about
- Fewer than around 50 words at two, or no two-word combinations by about two and a half.
- Understanding that seems behind, not just talking.
- Not pointing to show you things by around 18 months.
- Rarely responding to their name.
- By three, people outside the family can’t understand most of what they say.
- Very little back-and-forth — not much copying, gesturing or turn-taking.
- Any concern at all about hearing.
- Your own gut feeling. It is evidence. Parents are usually right that something is going on, even when they are wrong about what.
Don’t wait and see on this one
If your child had words or skills and has lost them — used to say ten words and now says three, used to wave and has stopped — ask for advice promptly rather than waiting for the next review. Regression is uncommon, and it is the one pattern where earlier is clearly better. Ring your health visitor or GP.
“Late talker” or something more?
Here is the honest answer nobody enjoys: at two, often nobody can tell you yet.
A meaningful proportion of children who are late to talk at two catch up without any lasting difficulty — sometimes called late bloomers. Others turn out to have a developmental language disorder, or a hearing problem, or speech sounds that need work, or differences that are part of a wider picture such as autism. At two, those can look very similar from the outside.
This is exactly why “wait and see” is such an unsatisfying answer. It is not wrong, in the sense that many children do catch up. It is just not useful, because nobody can tell you which group your child is in, and waiting costs you the very months when support works best.
The sensible position is the boring one: get the referral in, get hearing checked, and start the things that help either way. If your child turns out to be a late bloomer, nothing has been lost. If they aren’t, you are months ahead.
Get their hearing checked
Do this even if they passed the newborn screen. That test was years ago, and the most common cause of hearing loss in toddlers develops later.
Glue ear — fluid behind the eardrum — is very common in under-fives, often follows colds and ear infections, and can come and go. It muffles sound like listening underwater. A child with glue ear may hear you perfectly well on a good week and barely at all on a bad one, which is confusing for everyone.
Ask your GP or health visitor for a hearing test. It is quick and painless. Rule it out before you go looking for anything more complicated.
How to get a referral
In much of the UK you can refer your child to speech and language therapy yourself, without going through anyone. It is worth searching for your local NHS speech and language therapy service and looking for a self-referral form before you book a GP appointment.
Otherwise, the routes are:
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Your health visitor
Usually the quickest route for under-fives, and they can often see your child themselves first. You do not have to wait for the two-year review — you can ask for contact at any point.
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Your GP
Can refer to speech and language therapy and to audiology for hearing. Ask for both in the same appointment.
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Your nursery or childminder
Many settings can refer directly, and their observations carry weight because they see your child alongside others the same age.
Put it in writing
Our speech and language referral letter sets out what you have noticed with the specifics that make a referral stick — rough word count, whether understanding is affected, what the nursery has said. Fill in the blanks and send it. Ask them to confirm the referral has been made, and roughly how long the wait is.
What actually helps at home
None of this is a substitute for therapy. All of it is what therapists tend to teach parents anyway, and you can start today.
Do
- Get face to face. Down at their level, where they can see your mouth. It matters more than people expect.
- Comment, don’t quiz. Say “big red bus” rather than asking “what colour is the bus?” Questions put a child on the spot; commentary just feeds them language.
- Add one word. They say “bus”, you say “red bus”. They say “more juice”, you say “want more juice”. Slightly ahead of where they are.
- Leave a gap. Ask or say something, then wait — properly, up to ten seconds. Processing takes children far longer than adults find comfortable.
- Repeat it back correctly, without correcting. “Dat a tat!” → “Yes! That’s a cat.” No “say it properly”.
- Follow what they are already interested in. Language sticks to things a child actually cares about.
- Accept pointing, signing and gesture. These build language, they don’t replace it. A child given a way to communicate usually talks more, not less.
Don’t
- Withhold something until they say the word. It creates pressure and teaches them talking is a toll gate.
- Ask them to perform for other people.
- Fill every silence. They need the gap.
- Rely on screens to teach language. Children learn talking from back-and-forth with a person — a screen doesn’t wait for them or respond to them.
If your family speaks more than one language, keep going. Bilingualism does not cause language delay. Speak whichever language you are most fluent and natural in — rich language in one is worth far more than stilted language in another.
If you are stuck on a waiting list
Long waits are the norm rather than the exception. Some things worth doing:
- Ask where you are on the list, in writing, and ask to be told if there are cancellation slots.
- Ask what they offer in the meantime — many services run parent workshops, drop-ins or online resources while you wait.
- Tell your nursery or childminder. They should be putting support in place through the graduated approach, not waiting for a therapist.
- Ask again if things change, particularly if your child loses skills or your concerns grow. Referrals can be reprioritised.
- If needs look broader than speech alone, read our guide on getting an EHC needs assessment. You do not need a diagnosis, and you do not need to wait for therapy to start.
One reassurance, honestly given
Asking for help does not label your child. A referral is a conversation with someone who knows what they are looking at — and most parents come out of it either reassured or with something practical to do. Both are better than lying awake wondering.