He sure says a lot for someone who doesn’t talk

My son is pretty much non verbal. Not that he's silent, because believe me, there is a very small amount of time during the dead of the night when he isn't making noises. He just hasn't started talking yet. At all.

Now for me this is a big deal. I know it shouldn't be and that I shouldn't judge my child against other children his age, but it's hard. He's turning two next month and he still doesn't call me mama consistently.There are two kids the exact same age at our playgroup and a couple who are up to six months younger than him. They all have more words than he does. The health nurse at his check up scolded me for not getting him to say anything. Like I have a choice in this matter!

My son is in no way not intelligent. He understands everything we say. Everything. We have taken to spelling out things like chocolate or work because he understands and gets upset when we either don't share or when he knows Daddy is about to go to work. You can ask him to go turn off the tv, or fetch something from the other room and he will.

We've taken to teaching him sign language, in a hope that it cuts down on the total melt downs we have been experiencing when he cannot get across what he wants us to know. Its working beautifully but for me it's still bittersweet. My son can come up to me and sign "Milk please" and can say he's sorry when he hurts his sister but he won't or cannot say Papa to his father.

Now he had major tongue problems when he was born that I am absolutely sure is contributing to the problem, but it breaks my heart when people judge him, which other parents do even if they don't mean to. It hurts to watch him break down when he can't make us understand.

It just plain hurts to have my poor baby not be able to do the things we both know he should be able to do.