Speech Delays?

Have mom call the county health department or the county infant and toddlers office (you may be able to call) to get him evaluated ASAP. They come to you (or to the child's home) to do the evaluation.
Good luck!
N.

Dear C.,

This sounds like it could be serious. But all you can really do is keep "bugging" his mom...you know the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water"? The local school system has an early intervention program and he should be evaluated by a speech pathologist ASAP.

Good luck on this one,
Pam H.

If they are getting ready to move she may hesitate to start something and then go. you might let her know that the school districts will evaluate him for free and if he needs services it will be easier to get them when they move if she already has had him tested and has an IEP.

Hi C.,
With all that is going on it is admirable of you to be concerned about his speech. First, let me say that as a speech pathologist, speech and language development is quite confusing to many mothers and caregivers. Speech sound development varies but at two years old the sounds themselves are far less an issue than how he uses the few words he has. By adding /sh/ to the end of words, he is experimenting and learning how it feels in his mouth. By adding it to so many words I would judge that he likes the ability to do that and is just practicing. It is early for him to be making that sound so he is ahead there. As a rule, we don't worry much if the child still hasn't mastered that particular sound even when he starts school. It is normally a later developing one. If you want you could model for him "shoes" by "yes, Tommy's SHOES" without any corrective focus about it. It just gives him the comparison so his ear will eventually learn that he could change it (which he will anyway). Using a plural marker is also impressive so young so I wouldn't worry about that. Expanding his vocabulary is more important than individual speech sounds now. Speaking in only one to three word phrases will focus his attention on those words. Putting "want _____," "more ______," "no ______" with the words teaches him the context as well, and likely he will use those words together which are very functional at that age. If he hears many words he doesn't know which go with what, nor how to imitate them. Single out the label words including relevant objects around him; names of significant others, specific verbs such as eat, drink, go, sleep; locations such as up, down, in, out, chair, etc.; greetings such as hi, bye, and so forth.) What happens is once he is able to say those functional words independently, you add another to them, then so does he (as in "drink juice," "Mama go," "go car," etc. Once he catches on, the development is rapid.

I hope this helps and is not too complicated. I tried to omit the pathological jargon we use but if you need clarification I will make an effort to do that.
J. Ames, MA, CCC-SLP

Hi C.,

The toddler needs to be screened for delays.

There is a web site that may lead you to someone who can screen him.

www.infantva.org.

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

It could just be that he thinks that the 'shh' sound is funny. When I was in 2nd grade(?) I started having a lisp because of the way that the 's' sound felt through my teeth. I'd purposely try to make that sound. I started puting a k on the end of 'ing' Somethingk, nothingk, cuz I thought it was funny. Try teaching him to not put the 'shh' on the end of the word by only rewarding him when he says the word correctly.
M.

hi, I am a mother of two boys....I am a nurse as well.... I would say not to worry. Really!! .. ......the only thing I can think of is start with physical....just to rule out things just in case..... like ears.... if they dont hear well they may have delayed speech, then if everything checks out there... then look at the childs emotional needs... at 2, children who are neglected or abused may have speech delays or regressions.... NOT saying that is going on with you....or his parents.... just helping you rule out some things..... other than that 2 years is too young to tell of anything... just relax and enjoy the child your watching over.... he is talking and that alone is a good sign....if he wasnt talking at all than that might be of concern... you will know when something is wrong... it wont be subtle... it will be extremely obvious, although, your instincts are better than any doctors diagnosis too.... all children develop at a different pace... continue observing.. very good... but usually if anything is wrong then they usually exacerbate themselves at the age of 5-7 years old...you will know then... most important thing ... communication and persistence with the parents.... if you truly think something is wrong... continue you to communicate your concerns with the parents, this will show that you are genuine and if they are like most parents they will eventually show concern and take action themselves... a speech pathologist will probably not do anything at this point unless he is mute.. and even then.. too hard to determine...he is too young

I am no expert, but this rang a bell with me. My nephew started losing speech at about the same age. First his parents had him tested for a hearing problem, a logical first step. In the end, tho, it was the first sign of autism. Don't mean to be scary but this is something that should be considered. The sooner it is discovered, the better the treatment results can be. Good luck and I hope you manage to get the parents to focus on this.

S.

C.,
Its good that your noticing this pattern in this little one. when my son was two my then sitter brought it to my attention my son lack of speech. I use the defense of he is the only child and its nothing wrong with him. I was completely wrong. I finally broke down and took him in to see his doctor. she ran test on his hearing ( which wasnt the problem). after a series of test she recommended me to take him to see a neuro development specialist because he was developmentally delay and possible autistic.
believe it or not she was on the money. they were able to set him up in a special ed preschool to correct his verbal,motor, and cognative skills. because we caught the issue so early he didnt require medication. I am proud to say that will be 7 in july and no longer needs full special ed service but still has speech theorpy once a week.
He is in an advance reading group in his class and loves every minute of school.
However my advice to you is first get the attention of mother and express your concerns sincerely. even if you have to set up the doctors appt for her to show the seriousness of the situation. things you can do to help him is let him feel the vibration of your lips when your pronouce words. this is one of the theorpy techinque that help my son alot in pronoucning words. ( sit him in your lap and place his little hand against your lips repeat words like ball , shoes etc...) also when he says ball s-h-h correct him. he doesnt know its wrong if no one says it wrong. i cant express enough get him help immediately... soon as you do you will see the difference.
Good luck to you and your family.

The mother should contact the local school district. They will test him for free and if he qualifies send a speech therapist to the house. At age 3 he'd have to start going to the school for therapy but until then they come to you. I understand the mom is busy but it only takes a phone call. Even if she is moving she can start the process now and the information will transfer.
I used to teach Special Ed. before having kids and sometimes sat on what the speech and language therapist did. When they are that young they just worked on naming objects and having the child repeat them. I would just try to get him to use his language skills as much as possible. I think that's great you are so willing to help him!

Have this child's hearing tested, again if already been tested. Also, the school system in you district should have free speech testing. Have the mother call the school her child should attend for Kindergarten and the nurse or guidance department should be able to help her get in touch with the correct speech program.

Kudos to you for noticing and looking stuff up FOR his mom. Sadly she is too busy to be concerned and even sadder she is in denial perhaps. I know a mom who was in denial that her son had adhd (turns out he had 3 disorders total). I guess all you can do is help him w/ his speech by repeating the correct way to say things and read to him. You can also practice techniques like if you notice his tongue doing strange things when he is talking you can mimic the correct tongue movement for him. Anything you can do will help and cant hurt. If the mom is not being receptive to your helpful tips and such, then let things be since they are moving soon. But upon his last day w/ you I would send him off w/ a nice letter to the mom stating what you have observed and some helpful websites and phone numbers where she can get help for him. I hope she gets him help soon. Thanks for caring for that little guy.

You seem like a wonderful caring person to help this child! My 27 month old has a speech delay. He has been working with a Speech Pathologist since 18 months. I'm finding this is a very common issue with boys. I live in Loudoun County Virginia - the program we use is with Loudoun Cnty Schools/Child Find. Web-site: www.loudoun.k2.va.us (look under 'services'). So, I would start with your county. Feel free to email back if you have more specific questions.

Hi C.,

If he has speech delays, the best thing to do is to let the city take care of getting him evaluated. My son attends the DAC center in Portsmouth, and they have children who younger than 2 who attend. If the city will pay for him, don't waste your dime! They really have a wonderful program. Each city should have some sort of program going through the school system. The DAC can probably point you in the right direction. It's not based on income, it's based on the child's need. Their info is:

D.A.C.
401 West Road
Portsmouth, VA 23707
Phone: ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####

They've done wonders with my son, but I don't think many people know that they are there! Good luck

Hi there, my name is K. B hoping I can help you..... Alittle about me.. I work with autistic children in a public school, I have a 12 year old autistic boy , and married. It could be a speech delay and I understand that you want to help him.. Thats good!!! What I don't understand the mom, doesn't have the time???? Well just tell the childs mother you are willing to bring a speech specialist to your home and see what she says to that. You might beable to go to a teacher store and get activity books or go online... Also when the child says ball-sh the way he does with sh at the end since you understand him just repeat it back to him ball but speak clearly b-a-l-l... Maybe the childs hearing could be a factor too.

The fact that he is saying some words is positive. I have a 5 year old son who went through the same delays. If they live in AA county they can contact child find and they will help get a speech therapist in. My son was tested this time last year and today he is speaking as well as other 5 year olds. Its hard work, but the parents have to want it. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.