Delayed Speech

Do you have any other children? In my experience the kiddo's with out siblings develope slower, if you have other sibs they catch on quicker, how long has he been in daycare?

I have a 5 year old that had the same problem. We found out that it was fluid behind her ear drum that was causing her to hear echoing sounds. We had her tested by kids on the move. They will come test your son for free as long is he is under 3. And if he fails the test of normal speech for a 2 1/2 year old, which sounds like he will they will put him in a program for an hour a week with a speech therpist. When they turn 3 they get turned over to the school district and meet with a therpist there. I currently have my 5 year old in a program called talking time (most kids in the program do not have any hearing problems at all). It is a wonderful program for preschoolers that focus's on speech. There are a lot of kids that have problems with speech, that do not have any hearing problems at all. Most of the time it can be corrected by seeing a speech therpist. If your son hasn't turned 3 yet my best advise is to call kids on the move and ask for an evaluation. It did wonders for my child. Our doctor kept telling me not to worry about it, so I took matters into my own hands and she is now doing great. Any questions you can e-mail me at ____@____.com

hey D... you should check into DDI Vantage. Its an early intervention program designed for under preschool age kids. They will come to your home/ or your childs daycare free of charge and give your child an evalution. The fee for their services is on a sliding scale. It helped my son so much I would recommend them!

hi my name is B., i have a 5yr old who didnt talk until he was almost 4. my doctors said it was either lazy or he wasnt ready, does he have siblings, if so that is a big part. all he has to do is say or point to something and someone will get it for him. my oldest talked for him, so he never had to, funny thing when i lost custody of my oldest my youngest started talking almost instantly. when he wants something, tell him i dont know what u want. tell him do u want drink, tell me drink and ill get it for you. i had to all the time, its hard cause they get mad, but it does work. try it.

Hi D.,

I read your note and immediately thought of my dad. He has told me many times that he didn't start speaking until he was 3 years old. He simply had no desire/felt no need to verbally communicate much until then! Today, my dad is one of the most intelligent and articulate people I know. He went to college, has working knowledge of just about everything, and can express his thoughts with eloquence. Simply put, his speech delay was not an indication of his IQ or social/verbal skills--it was just part of his personality! I understand that this problem is probably very frustrating, but remember that it might not be a problem for much longer. However, keep communicating with his doctor so that if there is an underlying medical problem it can be diagnosed as soon as possible. Good luck to you!

My son just turned 4 and we have been working with a speech therapist for the last year. Sometimes I wish that I had started the process sooner so that we could see more results now. When he was 2 he didn't talk much either. He still has trouble getting people who are not around him on a regular basis to understand him. Follow your instincts and stick to your guns about having him checked out. The least they can do is tell that you need to wait a little longer. On the other side they can get started on treatment sooner.

Hi,

I am also the mother of a 2 1/2 year old boy with a speech delay. My son also passed his hearing tests. He has been getting speech therapy since he was 20 months old (at that point he had a 50% delay). He is doing great and we (his therapist and I) believe he will be on level by the time he is ready for preschool next fall. A 2 1/2 year old should have about a 100 word vocabulary and be putting words together. Personally I think you should have him evaluated by a professional speech pathologist. If he wasn't running and jumping, wouldn't you be looking into it? Good Luck.

~ R.

D.,

Our son had about a dozen words at 18 months. Everyone... especially his grandparents... pushed for us to check with his doctor. She was mildly concerned and recommended a hearing test and an evaluation with a speech pathologist. She said for his age, that was on the low edge of normal and that kid develop at different paces. Boys are usually slower on language skills than girls. I encourage you to see a speech pathologist for peace of mind ... and, if everything really is okay, just to get everyone off your back. She did give us some exercises to work with him on and said she would see him in 6-12 months if we felt it was necessary.

The other thing to look at, is does he comprehend what you are saying? Is he pointing or going to things he wants? Can he follow simple instructions? If he is doing all those things, it is a language issue and not something bigger.

Good luck!

I live in Utah County. I contacted Kids On the Move to do test on my son. He has speech delay. We had someone from Kids on the Move come to our house once a month. Before he turned 3, he did a test at Alpine School Dist. Now he is at Special Ed Preschool (two days a week).

Hi D.

Well, my son at 18 month was not saying much, and I was reading a parenting mag that said if they are not say so many words by a certain point in time it could be autism So, I ask the doctor when he went for his 18 month visit and I was told he definetly wasn't (there are many other signs). So, I am sure your doctor would take that into consideration when telling you he is fine. Have you been reading to him? or just talking to him more, about anything and everything and giving him a chance to repond. Like ask him if he wants cereal or toast for breakfast. Listen very carefully to his response. Cereal might sound like seal or toast might sound like toe. Another question is 'what color of shirt to you want to wear red? or blue?" it might sound like ed or bue. Children often have a hard time "saying certain letter sound like r or l. Don't let him just point to something and cry for it, try to get him to say it, even if it doesn't sound just right. You can repeat back to him like "Oh, you want to wear the blue shirt today" The more vocabulary they they hear the more they will say. Try to get him in a preschool as soon as you can, and maybe speech class too. My son is 4yr old now, in preschool and speech at school, but I still have a hard time trying understood what he is saying at times. He was trying to say "Christmas" once but I was hearing "Kitchen" or something and it took awhile to figure out what he was saying. My older son (now 12) did have a lot to say at age 2 (just not understandable) was having a hard time with the L sound even in kindergarten. So it not going to happen overnight and it going to take a lot of patience. Hope this helps.

I had the same issue with my son. We took him to speech therapy and other screenings and no one could figure it out as there were no "symptoms" of anything. He didn't respond to the speech therapy and he had perfect hearing. It wasn't until His Headstart teacher suggested that he be evaluated for autism, but he had to wait until he hit first grade. Turns out the teacher was right. My son was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism..(which some people consider the same as Aspergers). Notice any other little "odd" behaviors ?

I am 28 years old and have permanent tubes in my ears. I have had tubes for 25 years of my life. When I was 3 my parents noticed I wasn't talking either. I had a vocabulary of 6 words. They took me to a specialist in Greeley...Dr. Blatner (who unfortunately is no longer in practice). They determined that during delivery "fluid" had gotten into my ear canals. At the time my hearing was about 30% in each ear. They placed tubes in my ears and over the years my hearing improved.

I personally would seek out a specialist in hearing. I'm not sure on who to see...if you're in the Greeley area, I believe the Dr.'s name is Peterson. He is located on 16th Street just west of Family Physicians Central. (sorry, I misplaced my phone book)

Don't let it go. On the other hand, it's possible him being your only child...he doesn't have older siblings talking all the time.

I have 3 and my youngest is almost 4 and talks plainer than my 6 year old.

Good luck. Please let me know if you find anything out.

I am a mother of a 2 1/2 year old boy also. My son's speech got off to a slow start also, but he was developing fine everywhere else so I have never been worried. As he is getting older words just stated clicking and he is now doing very well. The fact that your son's speech is slower may just mean that he is growing in other areas and taking a lot in instead of "out-putting". I think that if he is doing fine developmentally in all other areas then I wouldn't worry. I think people can over-react. My brother had a vocabulary of about 10 words and made sounds for other words until he was about 3 1/2 and then he just started talking in sentences. He graduated college Sigma Cum Lade!! Speech is in NO way connected to intelligence (Einstein didn't talk until he was 5).

My cousins daughter was the same way except you could tell she was developing slower all around. She started her with a speech therapist when she was 2 and now at 4 she speaks very well she even knows how to use her words better than most 4 year olds. You can still tell that with my cousins daughter she is developing slower and doctors don't think anything is wrong with her still. But since your case is speech related and thats what helped my cousins daughter I thought you could look into it. It was covered under her insurance, if not it is a little expensive to have one come into your home one or two days a week but it did really help.

My kids both started talking around 15 months and by 20-months they were learning words daily. He's your son and if you really think everything is fine, then it's your call on whether or not to take him to a specialist. But if it were my child, I would at least want to make sure there wasn't anything to worry about and would take him/her to a speech pathologist. The way I see it is if there is something wrong, better to find out early and start therapy and if nothing is wrong, at least you have peace of mind knowing he just doesn't have a desire to talk right now.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

Hi D.,
You may want to check for a "problem", but I'd try encouragement first. Some children are shy about talking and some talk very quietly or mouth words. I would try to encourage him to talk to you. Instead of responding to the normal words that he uses to get things ask him to say the proper word or "please" or "thank you" before or after getting something.
Children are so smart, and catch on more quickly than we realize. If he is getting what he needs or wants with little effort then he there is no "need" for him to do anything more.
For example, I tell my daughter (not quite 2 yrs) to knock on the door to go in the house, so when we get to the door she is occupied knocking on the door while I mess with my keys to unlock it.
Hope that helps,
TRUDI

My friend is a teacher and she told me about a program called Child Find. childfindidea.org. And, from what I understnad it's a free evaluation of your child to see if they have an learning disabilites. She told me that it's very important to detect learning disabilities early (even as early as babies) that way they can get therapy and avoid many learning problems in the future. I have a neighbor that doing this for her child because she has the same concerns you do, about limited speech for her almost 2 year old. So, check it out...it can't hurt, it's free!

C.

My FIL is the same way. HE can't understand what my son says, so he must have some kind of problem. Nevermind that I can understand him (he'll be 2 in March), and he's starting to be understood by some other people--rarely, but it happens. He expects him to be able to recite Shakesperean monologues and use the proper fork at a 12 course meal, I swear *roll eyes*. He even had my husband worried for a while that our son might have apraxia. 2 and a half is not time to start worrying, I don't think. I worked in daycare, and a lot of kids weren't particularly advanced in the speech department (especially boys). That's at least partly because daycare kids don't get as much 1 on 1 communication as other kids (adults talk AT them, not TO them like parents do), and spend time learning speech patterns from other people who can't talk well either. Keep an eye out for advancement, and read to him, talk to him, etc.

I am a special education student so I have taken several classes on speech and language. I would just encourage you to get it checked out right away. The biggest thing that helps children with speech delays is early intervention. If you get help now then he can be up to speed by the time he starts school. One of my close friends had a son that was like yours and sought out help for him. It seemed like nothing was working and then at about 3 1/2 he just started speaking in full sentances like it was nothing. It was strange and now he is right where he should be age wise at 4 1/2. It could be a number of things but I would seek out help for sure!

I have heard that boys talk later than girls! I have never seen this to be true with all the children I have been around! (I have babysat for 10 years, and I have a 23 month old sister, a 16 months old daughter, and 7 boy cousins under the age of 5!)If he only has 3 words and he is over 2 years, then I do think you should get it checked out, it doesn't mean that something is wrong, just to be on the safe side! I don't want to sound offensive, but to you talk to him and have conversation with him? I have met several parents who talk at their children instead of to them, and they wonder why their children don't talk! Children that are talked to tend to talk better and sooner than if they are talked at! I really hope that wasn't rude! I was just trying to help a little!

Good luck and take care!

D.,
My now 17 year old daughter was alate bloomer. We started spending 30 minutes twice a day with her. We read to her and had to to say each word back to us. We also made her use her words for everything. Yes I know it is easier to just decifer the pointing but taking extra time with her will help. You an dyour husband can take turns. One of you in the AM and one of you in the PM.
T.

Hi D.,

I had to write to you after I read your post. I have one boy too and he turned two a couple of months ago. He says 'BA', and a few other words to communicate his needs. Most of the kids his age that we seem to be around are putting words together and talking a lot more. His other milestones have always been more advanced than these kids. So, I spoke to my doctor last month and had him checked out for a speech delay through the early intervention program (Denver Options) all the time assuming that he will not qualify but he did and starts speech therapy soon as they did find him lagging in speech and language development. He also has a hearing test scheduled next month. I don't want to scare you or take you down a path you do not have to go. But I've been researching this and since the hearing turned out just fine, may be you could ask your doctor to do a lead test, it's a simple bood test. Metals like lead and mercury in the body are known to cause speech issues in kids. I live in a house built before 1978 and so, just want to rule that out. Also, my son used to put a lot of things in his mouth like sand and keys and stuff which contributes to the lead issue sometimes.

Your son could just be one of those kids who do not learn one word at a time and will soon surprise you with conversations and proper sentences. But if you are concerned, then talk to your doctor about a lead test and early intervention (it's free and it's hard to qualify for their services which are also free unless there is a real lag in speech).

Hope that helps a little and hope he amazes you with a barrage of words soon. Take care and hang in there.

S.

My 7 year old was the same way at that age. we had her evaluated by several people and it was found that she was developmentally delayed (at the time. she is now diagnosed as high functioning autistic w/ sensory integration dysfunction. and asperger's). her hearing tests came back as normal too. our pediatrician wasn't worried about anything until she was almost 3. we started her with a speech therapist, who did an awesome job working with her and she was saying more words after about a month. we also got her evaluated by the school district and got her enrolled in the early intervention program. this is a free preschool program that is done through your school district and is federally funded. if you feel that there's a "problem" with his development then you probably should persue getting an evaluation. true he might be a "late bloomer" but he might not be either. the earlier that they're able to start speech therapy and working with him, the better and easier it will be for him later on. better safe than sorry i always say. good luck!