Speech - Edgewater,FL

Mine starts at 2 1/2 years old his first words and now that he is 3 years old he speaks like Obama...so don´t worrie. By the way, his grand ma was so worried because his sisters started talking at the 1rst year....it seems like a typical grandma worries. be patience and good luck! everything is gonna be fine

Yes - he should qualify for state funded speech therapy - my daughter was speaking minimally at 18 months (mama, dada, elmo) and she qualified.

When parents are concerned about something that might affect their childs future, the first thing should be to consult the pediatrician. He/She will recomment a speech therapist, if one is needed, who will do some tests and give you advise on what to do next. Good luck and God bless.

YES!!!! First you need to have his hearing checked. It needs to be checked in a sound proof room - not at the pediatricians office. If he has an ENT, they usually have "real" hearing testing equipment. In addition to having his hearing tested (which should happen first). Oh - before I go on - I have a son with a hearing problem and another with a speech problem so I am pretty versed and passionate about this topic!

Anyway - the hearing test is your first priority. Second, the state of Florida has a program that they fund for speech problems. The program is run, in Tampa, by USF. For the younger ages (under 3) I think it is called Fiddlers. The number you can call is ###-###-####. This is the referral department adn I always dealt with a lady by the name of Agnes. They will get you in the system. You will have to meet with them and answer questions regarding your child (at which time they will ask if his hearing has been tested and request the results), they will then schedule a meeting with you and your child/grandchild to evaluate him. They evaluate everything to see if he is developmentally on track as well as speech so that they can determine if he needs assistance (which it sounds like he might).

From experience, don't let it go on too long. The older they are when they try to correct the problem(s) the harder it gets. My 4 year old is just now saying things correctly and learning how to sound letters correctly. Can you imagine what would happen if he could not make the right sounds next year when he is learning to read in Pre-K?

Good luck to you and your grandson! He may just be delayed in speaking, but better to know that there isn't a problem then push it off and try to correct it later.

Hi J. (and everyone)-
I am a speech language pathologist:
Quick answer: call your local Infant Toddler Services/ Early Intervention Services. Fluid in ears? Maybe, maybe not. This is NOT always the reason for delayed speech. CALL. The sooner the better. Even if he doesn't qualify- his parents will get some great strategies to encourage language at home!! J.- I sent you a private message with more details :-)

J.,
Look for an early intervention program in your area for a speech and hearing eval. Their services are free.
Victoria

Updated

J.,
Look for an early intervention program in your area for a speech and hearing eval. Their services are free.
Victoria

Updated

J.,
Look for an early intervention program in your area for a speech and hearing eval. Their services are free.
Victoria

Have him evaluated by a professional. If he doesn't say at least 50 words by the times he's 24 months he's at risk for a language delay. However, if hes understanding he may be fine.

Absolutely get a hearing and speech-language evaluation!!!! I am a Pre-K Speech Language Pathologist and can tell you early identification is critical. Before the age of 5 kids go through major developments in speech and language so each month they fall behind makes it more difficult to catch up. You can go through your peditrician for a referral or call you local school board office and ask who to call for birth to age 3 evaluations. The second option would be free for evaluation and for therapy if recommended. You are doing the right thing to be concerned and want to get it checked out. At 22 months your grandson should be using 2 words together consistently to express his wants and to comment. Good luck!

check his ears for fluid both my boys did that and both had fluid. I wouldn't check into speech yet he has to be able to talk for speech to work. I had to put my oldest in speech but had to fix his ears first. my youngest had tubes is 22 months old and just started talking more within the last 2 weeks. But his ears are still draining though. check for fluid and then bide your time.see if he needs tubes then if he does you have to give the tubes time to work before you consider speech.

You should be concerned. He needs to be evaluated by a doctor and referred accordingly. Also, if you contact Early Years for intervention they can help with evaluations and getting the tests and therapy needed.

I agree with what Denise said. We have a friend who's son is the same age as ours (3) and his son is way behind our son as far as his speech. He took him to another Dr. and they found out he had fluid in his ears. Had tubes put in and it is day and night! On the other hand, my niece didn't start talking until she was almost 3. All she did was smile all the time(little cutie!), and then one day she started talking. She's perfectly fine developmental wise.

Since you are concerned, I would take him to the Dr. The pediatrician will let you know your milestones and start you on the right track if speech therapy is needed. Keep in mind, some kids just talk later. One of my BF's didn't speak until she was about 4 and then her first word was a sentence, "Please pass the mashed potatoes" floored everyone at the table.

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I would most definitely consult his ped. Something is wrong with a 22 month old not saying any clear words. My daughter is turning two in June and she can say plenty of words. I think that they should at least be saying words by at least 10 months old or maybe even younger. Good luck and get him some help while he is still young.

For sure check it out. Hopefully he is babbling and making connections between simple requests and responses, but by 22 months he should have a few words. :)

Hugs to you, at the very least checking things out isn't going to hurt matters.

He should have a 24 month check up coming up. I would talk to the doctor about it.

Early Intervention is only useful when it is EARLY! Yes, he needs to be seen.

I wouldn't yet. As long as his pediatrician isn't worried, and it sounds like he understands everything you say, he sounds fine.
Boys are usually behind in the word department and can be quite late bloomers. :)

I would call your local Early Intervention Services. They will come to his place and evaluate him. If he needs services, they are free for children under 3 years.

At 22 months, my son had 6 words (including vroom for car... so not real words) His hearing was tested and fine.
At 25 months, he was evaluated by Early Intervention and eligible for services. At 30 months, he had more than 400 words in each French and English and doing short sentences (3 words)

The therapist from early Intervention told me again and again when I thanked him that he really did nothing more than play, that my son was just a late bloomer, ready t take off when he began helping him.

Does he use baby signs, does he point or use any other form of non-verbal communication? Does he babble? Can he follow simple commands? Does he make eye contact? All of these are important developmental milestones too. If he does all of the things I listed but is simply not talking, I'd be LESS concerned. Kids do talk at different rates. My daughter is 23 months and speaking in full sentences but my nephew was only saying a few words at this age. Your daughter should talk to her pediatrician at his 2 yr appt. for sure just to be safe.