How Can I Encourage My Son to Talk More?

Hi, Try Audio Books...Set him up with headphones in a nice quiet place, As he listens I betcha in no time he will be speaking more...Good Luck, Let Me Know how it goes...

Hi C.,

Your son sounds a lot like my son did at that age. Have you tried Birth to Three? I was concerned about my older son's language from the time he was about one, but my relatives just said, "He's too little; He'll talk when he wants to," etc. etc. It wasn't until after a whole year of college for early childhood education that I finally saw enough red flags to call Birth to Three and get him evaluated. You can reach them at 1-800-505-7000.) He was 19 mos. old at the time and probably only had about five words, and they were very garbled. Birth to Three sent out two consultants to my home to test him for language, gross and fine motor, attention span, and probably a few other things (it's been a while so I can't quite remember). Turns out he was of concern for fine motor, and delayed for speech and communication. I then had to choose a service provider--I chose Easter Seals, and they are fabulous!--and come up with an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) to be reviewed and approved by his pediatrician. Once the doctor signed off, Easter Seals sent a tutor and a speech pathologist to our home for services. When we had a review and I said I thought he needed more, they upped his services from twice a month for one teacher and once a month for the other to once a week and twice a month. They also added another teacher, an occupational therapist, to his plan because of some wierd sensory seeking behaviors and his attention span. All this was done for free! Anyhow even with all these tutors working with him (doing sensory brushing, baby signs, all sorts of things) we still had a very rough time until about three months ago--when he finally calmed down and started speaking in two or three word sentences, and using the corresponding signs!

When children are going through the early developmental period of language acquisition, they have to "absorb" language from their environment (receptive language) before they can speak (expressive language). Once a child reaches a vocabulary of fifty words, then then acquire fifty words A DAY until then turn ten, amazing huh? It's called the "language explosion", and there is a wonderful book called Magic Trees of the Mind by Marian Diamond and Janet Hopson if you want to study up more on this. Some kids, like yours and mine, just take longer to build up to this explosion.

Like one of the other moms also suggested, his hearing may be impaired in one way or another, and that could be why he cannot clearly articulate his words. He can only imitate what he takes in, and if he cannot hear, or if it sounds like everything is underwater, etc., he could speak unclearly. The Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford has a hearing center where they will do a full hearing evaluation. If you choose to go through Birth to Three, and you do have his hearing tested, make sure you sign a release to have Birth to Three authorized to keep the test results in his file. Birth to Three will provide you with this document.

Playgroups and daycare can sometimes work wonders too; he spends time communicating with "friends" and absorbs much more language than he (usually) could at home.

Good luck C. and if you need a buddy to support you with this, email me and let me know. Like I said I've been through it first hand, and I'll help any way I can.

--M.

HI C. THIS IS A GOOD ONE , I STARTED TALKING TO MY SON WITH WORDS AND NO BABY TALK ALWAYS DID, ALSO TRY USING CHILDRENS VIDEO CD'S BUT I WOULD TRY A SPEECH THERAPIST AND TRY HAVING HIS HEARING TESTED, HOPE THIS WAS HELPFUL GOOD LUCK

He's frustrated so that's why he has a little tantrum. they get frustarted because they don;t yet have the words to talk. and they can understand more than they can say, just like with any new language. his mouth has to develop more so he can pronounce things. but you'll see a big jump in his vocabulary from now on- you won;t see any word combinations until he's a little older- once he hits 2 it will be a vocab explosion! you just have to be patient with him. what you can do is repeat things for him so he knows the words to use. and you can make mini sentences later to encourage him to repeat. he's a sponge right now, so you can do the talking, and he will listen. once he grows a little more he will use the words, just give him time and be patient. don't rush him. Thats' actually a great vocabulary for his age so far- you're doing great!

Hi C.!

You can encourage your son to talk more by talking non-stop. Just narrate your day as you go along. "Mommy's putting the groceries away. The cereal goes in this cupboard...." and so on. Also, when he wants something that you know he can say, make him say the word before he gets it. When he says "eh eh" and points down to get out of the highchair, say "Down? Down?" If he can't say it, then get him down. But I would do this everytime he wants something. And when the day somes that he does say the word, make a huge deal out of it with lots of clapping and hoorah's! And just never stop taking.

Hope this helps!
D.

PLEASE>>> i was (and sorta still) have had the same issues.. boys hate to talk.. What i started to do (when i figured out it was an issue)
What did you say? What is that?? (repeat what it is).. on walks point out differtn things and ask him waht he sees...
flash cards.. Pre - reader books.. (lots of pictures) yes even use the tv as an interactive tool./. WHo's that on tv? Weres dady? weres' grandma??? Oh at work>?And dont give in to the Ewws and HUHU>> say What?? Use your words.. sorry i dont know what you want..
it does work.. its a pain in the tucas.. but it works.

Hello C., I had the same situation with my son and he was premie. My son didnt start talking until he was three and when he did he pronounced sounds wrong because he was tongue tied. But he did begin to start talking in sentences which I was surprised. Every child has their own pace and usually they are taking everything in and processing it but the biggest thing is to continue reading stories and watch how he does talk when he begins to make sure it coming out right. They are little sponges just sucking all the information.

Hey C.,
Have you tried the old, stand your ground? If he is truely capabile of saying the words, don't give in to his wines. It may be a little breaking on your own heart, but you don't help him at all my giving in when he points or "eheheh".
If he isn't capabile of saying it yet, then just wait, it will come.
My oldest also was not able to speak clearly till he was almost 2, but the daycare started him on sign language when he was 6 mos. By the time he was 18 mos, he could tell me -more, eat, drink, thank you, please, sorry, and a few more little ones. It was a lifesaver. maybe look into that.

hi for starters i went thro the same thing with my son now 16 but whne he was born he didnt talk until he was 2 years old took him to the doctors had him evaluated and was diagnos with speach delay but thank god everything worked out fine and now he is an honor student getting ready to graduate fornt he 12 grade and going to the university of cin so just to let you know look into it b/c i did dont wait to see if he is going to talk just to be on the safe side

I found that using baby signs with my son helped a lot. There are lots of books, and videos that can teach you, or you can sign up for classes. It is a stepping stone toward speaking, but can help with the melt downs and tantrums until he can talk.

My suggestion is to keep reinforcing the right words to use when you find out what he wants and Say to him something to this effect. Name of your son..... if you want your juice please say Mommy juice please. Maybe you can even get a book/DVD/VIDEO on sign language and help him learn very simple words for what he wants. My friend Amy runs a daycare in her home and she plays these all the time with her kids and also uses the signs with the kids when working with them. I even picked up a few things when I helped her out a couple of days. When he uses his words gie him lots of praise and celebrate that he did it. Kids response so much to praise. My son is 4 now and he has improved with language so much more since he started watching the Leap Frop DVD's. He is more knowledgable with the sounds of words than most 5 year olds are. His has given him an advance over the other kids. Alex also has SPD which is Sensory Processing Disorder and I ran into the same things that you are now with the EHEHEHE sound. It drove me nuts to figure out what he wanted. I hope this helps.Oh also read lots of books to him when ever you can. Make it as part of his bedtime routine. We read one book plus his devotion book before he goes to bed and he looks forward to it.

try sign language...i know that he is still not using words verbally but it could be encouraging because children pick up sign faster than they pick up their vocal skills...it could help with eliminating the breakdowns as well...ive used signing time-it is an awesome video series...check out their website www.signingtime.com but i would recommend buying from a discount store online...good luck