My Son Is a Late Talker...

My first son was a late talker too. That's great that you've visited a therapist. My son began stuttering when he was 5. I didn't get him into a speech therapist until he was in the 2nd grade. The speech therapist said that he had a mild stutter and not to worry. Now he is 15 and still stutters a bit-- not at home with his family but I hear him stutter from time to time when he is talking with his friends.

Hi P.,

Like I tell everyone. There's our time and there's God' time.

You son doesn't have any strikes against him at all. God designed him, so he's destined for greatness! Each child develops at their own pace.

You have a beautiful little boy that is unique and different from any other child. So what if he is a little behind. He has different strengths and weaknesses. All kids do. There isn't one child or adult for that matter that is alike. Personally, I feel those charts should be banned! I think it scares mom & dad for no reason! Your children can feel those emotions. Some kids have to work a little harder than others. So what! I feel those children are the strong ones, because they are the ones that had to overcome. The doctor's therapists have found the weaknesses.

What are his strengths? Focus on those.

You'll be amazed at how things begin to go into focus.
It will get better.

J.

In January at my son's 2 year well child check, his doctor recommended getting his hearing checked out, and also getting evualated from Early Intervention through the school district, as he wasn't speaking as well or as much as is expected at his age.
His ears tested out fine, and just last week we were able to get him qualified for help for Expressive Language Development Delay. It seems he is understanding everything, and all other areas of development are fine, but there is something missing between what he is thinking and what comes out of his mouth in the form of speech.
He starts his therapy with the speech pathologist on Monday, we are hoping for quick gains. Good luck with your son!

True boys can start talking later than girls, my nephew realy didn't start talking til he was 3 now he is getting clearing with his speach and talking more each day. Second child surprising he isnt picking up his speach from your daughter. You may want to also get his hearing checked I know this sounds goofy, but my other nephew was having some speach problems not pronouncing things correctly and began speaking late also they found that he wasnt hearing properly and that will affect their speech. Give it time he will I bet eventualy catch up and when he does you probably wont beable to keep him quiet. I hope that whatever information you receive it helps you out.

Sincerly,
B.

My son is also a late talker! He's 2 now, and I'd guess his speech is to that of a 18 month old, if that.. He tries his best to say new words and most of the time we know his language when he wants something. I had a Csection two weeks before my due date because of placenta previa. He also sat up late, crawled late and walked late. But he is such a sweetheart, not to mention the last child I'll ever have, so I just try not to think that there's anything wrong with him, I love him and cherish him for who he is. Physical development is great, though, he's very tall for his age. :) I've decided to just give him time, talk to him all the time, coach him, love him, and he will talk when he talks. When he gets to schoolage and it's still a problem then I'll go from there with speech therapists, etc. Don't worry about your child being "on time" with the "average." There's no such thing as "average" when it comes to children! Hope this helps.

P.,

My son was the same way. He also has an older sister (that was 6 when he was born) that did most of his talking for him.

He turned 4 in October and at times we still can't understand him. We went to the school districts School Speech Pathologist today and after she listened to him while he played with another teacher, she actually had no concerns. We were really surprised. We were told to just keep working with him and he will be just fine. She also told that that from here experience, girls to start talking before boys.

Good Luck!

My nephew was a slow talker as well, until it was discovered one well baby check that he had fluid build up behind his ear. He had had ear infections, but they never noticed the fluid before. He got tubes put in and had his adnoids (spelling, sorry) removed. When he came out of surgery, he was amazed by what he hear, like the clock ticking. The first thing he asked was what that ticking noise was! He went thru speech therapy, and learn words very fast. He is now a teenager and doing as well as a teenager does (he seems to have hearing troubles again, but I think its selective hearing troubles now ;) ) Good Luck!

Have you taken him to an ENT or had his hearing tested? My daughter was around the same level as your son when she was his age and her daycare thought maybe she was autistic. That was ruled out and the early childhood screening department at school suggested I get her hearing tested. The ENT said she had hearing problems and she had surgery to have her adnoids removed and tubes put in(not saying thats whats wrong with your little guy but it doesnt hurt to check everything!!) About a week after the surgery she started talking more and had speech therapy for about 3 months. Now (little over a year later) she does not stop talking!!! Its so great its like I am getting to know her all over again. Good luck with your little one!

hi P.

i come from a family of 6 and we were all different. i have heard first child develops faster than others as they have only adults to converse with. and next kids can sluff off as being the baby.. lol.. kids love to finish sentences or even respond to a grunt. lol.. well. all 6 of us are about the same now.. i like the idea of checking hearing. etc though.

J.

See I don't think the strikes against him are legit at all. My oldest was a late talker, he didn't speak more than mumbo jumbo until he was 2 1/2, and when he was close to 3, he literally woke up one day and started speaking full clear sentences. He's 5 1/2 now and he speaks very clearly, reads, and is a great little conversationalist! :) He was very smart in other areas though, very physical, very coordinated, and he was just behind on tlaking, very ahead on everything else.

My youngest, also a boy, was speakign clear words by 8 months (cup, yes, no, nurse, potty, bites, sleep, play,etc) and by a year he was 2-3 word sentences. He's 2 1/2 now and talks.non.stop. I'm not joking.. he is never quiet. :) BUT he's not NEARLY as coordinated as his big brother. He's a 2nd child, and he's a boy, and he spoke VERY early, so that rules out your 'strikes' against your son. Please don't label him. Maybe its because I have two boys, but I HATE hearing parents say thier boys are slower because they are boys.. its not true, each child is different regardless of gender.

Wiht my oldest I WAS concerned, but with alot of reassurance from family, friends, and our doctor, we waited it out and sure enough he had a major language explosion around 35 months.

I have four kids and our third child was not a big talker either. He was tested at our school when he was three and they were not too concerned at that time because kids make big speech gains between 3 and 4. We did have him retested when he was closer to 4 and he now goes to early childhood classes 4 days a week and sees his speech pathologist while he is there. He has made great progress in the last 9 months. Everything you are doing for your son is great and he will get there.

Good luck!!

I have heard that it can take 1-2 years to "catch up" what ever that really means! Be patient and accept him for all the great things he is! It sounds like you are doing a ton for getting him help! That's great! Does he like to talk with Baby Einstein shows? Where they name the things? This worked better then any therapy for a friend of mine!