Can I “force” my 2.5 yr old to speak?

by Lydia Forand
(Gatineau, QC (Canada))

Hi!
So my 2.5 year old doesn’t really talk. He talks in gibberish. Can we somehow “force” him to speak without upsetting him? We know he’s trying to communicate because if he says a sentence and we ask him to repeat it it’s the exact same sounds but we don’t know what he saying. We have had his ears checked and his eyes checked to be sure he could see and hear us properly. We’ve been trying to get him to look at us when we talk to him giving him options and over pronouncing words. We’ve always constantly talk to him normally. So today my doctor suggested that we find a way to kind of force him to speak but without getting him upset. We are also on a year waiting list to see a speech therapist with the CLSC but anything we can do now to help it along would be greatly appreciated. We know he can do it!