Speech Seems Delayed

by Susan Ayers
(Fort Myers, Fl)

My 21 month old baby’s speech seems delayed. He understands most things said to him and can follow directions like give this to your dad, throw your diaper away or touch your nose, toes etc. He even can eat with a fork or spoon. However, his speech seems delayed as he only says babble type words. He can say bye, shoe, cat, mom, and dad. He has trouble pronouncing words and when his sister says "B" he replies back saying "P".

At this stage it is hard to get him to communicate clearly. Is this normal? Should I take him to a speech therapist? He fell a number of times and incurred bruises to his forehead. Could that have caused any permanent development delays?