Expressive Language Delay

Call the Scotish Rite Hospital in Dallas and find out if they can help you. Fabulous Hospital. Their website might provide the information you need also.

Hi W. H,

I have never heard of this??? Of course, mine are 6 and 4 now. I know that boys language typically develops later than girls and my 6 year old didn't talk until he was 2. I was really worried about that, but he was ahead on everything else! I knew he was smart, but couldn't "express" in words.

One day, he finally got it - he is totally normal and has an excellent vocabulary. The only thing we struggled with was the "hitting" because we had to teach him how to "communicate" with his new words. He's so sweet and very loving. Just my experience with late talkers.

Blessings,
N.

Hi. Our daughter has received services from ECI (she is now 4, and with the local school district) as well as privately through Baylor Our Children's House (Coppell) and also Therapedia (Southlake). I can't say enough good things about BOCH, they have been fabulous. My daughter began there doing PT at 7 mos of age and then has had ST & OT there as well. All the therapists are great, they really take the time and care. I feel their approach is very personal (not one size fits all) & they give you additional things to do at home, which really help your child. Our daughter has come so far, even our neurologist is amazed, and I credit much of that to her therapists.

ECI was good--some of the therapists were WONDERFUL, some were not so great. So, it very much depends on who you end up with, and of course, how many hours ECI is willing to give you. For a time, we saw zero progress at ECI & just weren't happy with the therapists, so we went completely privately. When our daughter needed so much therapy & insurance would only cover so much, we went back to ECI & had the most wonderful team. She received OT (focus on sensory integration), ST (oral motor skills), behavioral services (social/behavioral issues), and nutrition (she has a gtube & history of feeding difficulties). We remained at BOCH Coppell for ST (expressive/social). Now since the school seems to offer even less time than ECI, we do a lot more private (ST at BOCH and OT & PT at Therapedia--since it's closer to our home).

Feel free to send me a message if you'd like more info on BOCH & the therapists there. Best of luck! I will tell you also, our daughter was nonverbal until around 32 months. We began sign language very early and that greatly helped. She is now very much verbal, but still uses some signs (has a hard time communicating in public & in social settings) and PECS cards (visual cues are very helpful!). We found the sign language to be a bridge to verbal communication. Our neuro had recommended it and I'm so thankful we started it at a young ae (eased a lot of her frustration). Take care!

P.S. Callier is supposed to be incredible. We began at BOCH Coppell b/c we lived in Lewisville, but moved shortly after closer to Fort Worth. I didn't want to switch therapists, since it takes our daughter a while to attach/trust people, so we handled the 45 min commute 2x a week. But, I couldn't handle driving even further to Dallas (Callier) when she needed ST, otherwise we'd have tried there. I have heard it is wonderful, they have a preschool program as well.

I went through the same thing with my youngest, who is nine now. is older sister did all of his talking for him! My ped recomended ECI and I loved them. They'll want to test his hearing, etc., to make sure there isn't some other problem causing the delay. They come to your house, I really liked that, and they work with him with learning toys. It was a "fun" type thing and my son enjoyed it. I believe they work with them to develop their speech to where they should be for their age. After that they recommend speech therapy from a school district facility so that the information is in his school records and you can continue speech therapy when he starts school. Here in Carrollton my son went to Marie Clarie. They have small groups of 4 or 5 kids and they have lessons to do as a group. At the end of the session the speech therapist goes over everything with you about where he is having problems, where he did best. This is on a report you get and I believe, there is a list of words to work with him on. This is done until age five, then starting kindergarten you can have speech therapy in school. I was quite pleased with all it. My son did well and his ped was very happy with his progress. It seems like after ECI you couldn't "shut him up"! ha We have a cousin whose youngest did the same thing and she went through ECI and loved it. So start with ECI and they will have answers to all of your questions. Good luck!

Hi W.!

My husband is an audiology student at UTD/Callier Center and he said they have an excellent speech department and if by chance they cannot assist you, they should be able to recommend someone. Good luck in your search!

My 15 month old ( I have twins) has been diagnosed similar. Please email me at ____@____.com so we can visit. My son will now have testing for his hearing to see if that is why he is not making sounds.

Hi W.,
My son went to Callier and I cannot say enough good things about them. They are wonderful. They have a preverbal program there thats great. I have to tell you though to PLEASE watch the vaccines you give him now that he has a speech delay! I am NOT ant vaccine but believe in a safer schedule and there are too many too soon. I have done my homework with this. You sound like a great pro active mom! If you want any questions answered about that , email me. Your doc will not tell you.
We go to Baylor House in Frisco and they know what they are doing too! I don't know about their Irving clinic but I bet they are good.
I hope everything turns out great!
larua

Hi W.,

I have been a practicing speech-language pathologist for 16 years, and have found the Callier Center to be a wonderful, therapeutic and diagnostic facility. They have truly earned their strong reputation.

Your child is very fortunate that you are acting upon your concerns. Every bit of research backs early intervention.

All the best,
S.
www.startherapyprograms.com

My son had an expressive delay as well. He wasn't diagnosed until about 26 months though. We went to OCH in Coppell and had and exceelent experience. Our therapist trained at the Callier center (another excellent resource that we checked out) and they follow a similar model. We did not do ECI for a number of reasons (I do know others who've been pleased). I doubt they would have been as aggressive in our son's therapy given the fact that his receptive language skills were great. We went 2x a week for about a year. All the therapists we dealt with were highly professional and trained. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Berkley is an slp at the Collier center Richardson. She is great

We currently go to NE Cook's Rehab Center in Hurst. The therapists there are absolutely amazing and it is a kid environment, which is wonderful!

We are working with Just for Kids. My youngest has down syndrome, so he receives OT, PT amd ST twice a week. I love the fact that they come to the house. The services are paid for by our insurance.

Hi W.,
I actually just posted expressive speech delay recently. You're in a much better situation than I am though, my son is almost 3. He was diagnosed at 2. We started with Easter Seals but then learned of ECI, which was free. Honestly, its not really working for us, but it has for others. Your little guy is younger though, and if he doesn't mind strangers, at first, coming into his home, it may be fine. My guy started finally saying words at about 2 1/2, but I think he did it on his own. The people at ECI are very nice. I"m glad you are starting earlier, hopfully by the time he is 2 1/2, he'll be all caught up. Also, many people mentioned the Callier center. I may check into that myself. Good luck!!

Hi W.,

I am a speech pathologist and I graduated in 1999 from UTD Callier Center. I know that Callier is an excellent place. I don't know about the other 2 places. I am currently a stay at home mom of 2 boys in Flower Mound, but I am going to start working alittle giving therapy to kids in the area. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have as I have dealt with expressive language delay before.

T.

My middle child had significant speech/language issues...I highly recommend Callier.

I am a foster mom and have worked with speech therapists from several different venues. My favorite, by far, is ECI. Of the ones I have had experience with, ECI is the only one that comes to your home and works not only with the child, but with the parent as well. They teach you strategies to work on your child's speech goals throughout their normal routine. So rather than getting 1 hour with the therapist 2X a week, they are getting speech when they brush their teeth, when you fix lunch, when you play with puzzles, etc. I found it to be VERY effective. My one issue with them is that they require such a significant delay in order to qualify for services.
Good luck finding just the right program for your family!

My son had the same exact issue. He started with ECI when he was 18 months. Because he had no other delays, he only had therapy twice a month and made no progress. At 2 we switched to Janice Harden at In Home Speech and Language Associates. (She will come to you, but we went to her office at Park and Preston in Plano). She has 20 years experience and 2 kids of her own. She worked with him for 30 minutes twice a week and we saw quick progress. She diagnosed the processing problem within our first session. My son loved "playing" with her. After he became expressive we switched to articulation issues. He misses her now that he is all caught up. His Kindergarten teacher was surprised he ever had a delay or articulation issues. It is easier to fix when they are young. Let me know if you need contact information.

DO NOT GO TO SPEAK, INC! We just left there after 6 years of service there, sad to say. My son is no where near where he should be and the owner has run everyone off. It is now just her and her one office person there. When we started she had a full staff as well as an occupational therapist, but they have all left and she is not hiring anyone else. The facility is in terrible shape. And now we are having insurance problems and they will not return the insurance company's phone calls or ours. So run away from them!

That being said, we are now at a great place in Southlake called Therapedia. They only have one speech person right now, but are hiring a second one. I think they may have a waiting list. Their website is
http://www.therapediacenter.com/. Cannot say enough great things about them. I know nothing about the other 2, so I cannot comment on them. Good luck! My son has the same disorder as well as articualtion problems, so I know it is important to find the right place.

Many blessings!

Also try Our Children's House at Baylor. I have had very good experience with them. They have several locations and may have one closer to you.

Speak Inc. did screening at my sons Montessori. They recommended further testing as they believed there was some problem. As a mother I always felt my son was fine. I asked around, mothers don't always have the most unbiased opinion of their children, but no one noticed anything either. I went to Speak Inc. for testing. I must say I have an extensive working and educational background with children. I was absolutely bewildered. They took a three year old and tested him for 2.5 hours without a break! When I got the assessment, they used a different name to refer to my child half way through. Judge for yourself.