My Baby's Language Development Is Not Up to Speed

My son is about to turn 2 and he's not talking. Sure he says "mama," "dada" and "dog," but most 14-month-olds say those things, too. I'm not overly worried about him. His development is otherwise perfectly normal, but what I find disconcerting is how unworried most people we know are.

Grandparents, friends, his day-care teachers all seem shocked that we're considering getting him services for his speech delay. They seem surprised that we even think he's delayed. "Oh, he'll catch up, just give him time. He's not even 2!" "He understands everything, even if he doesn't say much." "Pretty soon you'll wish he'd stop talking!" I hear comments like those all the time. Then there's my favorite: "Einstein didn't speak until he was 3." Well is it possible baby Einstein's parents were worried too when their little shock-haired boy was lagging behind his peers in baby language development? I bet they were!

Usually parents are the ones who think their kid is totally fine, while others nudge each other knowingly, wondering how Mom and Dad can ignore what's wrong. Not that anything is wrong in a big way; our boy just needs some help that's readily available, and often free. We don't have a problem with him getting services to catch up, yet the implied message from those who think he doesn't need assistance seems to be that there's something bad about getting special help. There isn't, is there?