Just Won’t Talk

My son started walking at 9 months but did not want to speak. He didn’t even make sounds. The doctors said he was fine.
Well, after he turned one year old there was still no verbal communication. After a while, we started hearing him talk to his stuffed animals when he was in his room alone.  He had a lot of stuffed animals.  I think at one point he was sleeping with 15. More on that subject in another post

I decided to start having him learn sign language, just basic words. We watched videos at breakfast. Me and his father learned as well. We also made him sign before we gave him things like food or milk. STOP was an excellent sign. No, we never starved him, but he needed to start talking. We all learned a lot of signs. However, still no direct talking to another person.
Then I had an idea, maybe puppets, so he could pretend he was one of the animals and the attention was focused on them, not him. At first, he spoke in a whisper. But after a while, he started signing and saying the words. Next, I purchased a puppet theater.  Finally, talking. We were treated to theatrical performances beautifully created by a 2 year old mind. Which can be fascinating.
Talking directly to people still comes with difficulties. In high school, I had him take some speech classes. There, he conquered his anxiety by talking with a British accent.  His teacher thoroughly enjoyed this and even wanted him to join Toastmasters. He also talked more when he was taking pictures.
Like I have said, I am not an authority. I am just sharing things I did that worked. Plus, we had fun while developing communication. He never felt like he had a disability and it was wonderful to encourage communication through dramatic play.