Worried About Development

Hi Y.,
My advice is going to be a little different....
I have a 6 y/o son and when he was 3 you couldn't understand anything he said. He stayed with Grandma and there was very little communication, interaction anyway. I was very concerned. Grandma didn't really puch the vocabulary and could understand his grunts and such. I didn't really care for it myself. Anyway when he was 3 I started staying home and watching other children in my home, within 6 months his talking was completely different, you could understand what he was saying and everything. By the time it had been a year you couldn't even tell there was a problem. I'm not saying that this is your case but sometimes children don't feel the need to use words and things because their needs are met by the sounds and noises the make.

Here is my suggestion....
When he wants something make him try to pronounce the word. Alos try something when he asks for something start telling him I don't understand that response, it is either yes or no, or whatever he is asking for. Start with little things and work up from there. I have watched some kids that would answer witj umm hmmm and uttt ummm, I don't understand those sounds and I would make them talk, sometimes it was just because the constantly had fingers in their mouth. One other thing you can do is get him into a play group, even going to the playland at McDonalds or like at the mall will work, this builds his vocabualary and communication skills. With siblings sometimes they speak their ow language and although you may not here it, they still communitcate with each other. This is not to say that you shouldn't take him to the Dr and have him checked out, because you should, but in the mean time start trying these things and see if they start to work. Hope this helps, W.

I don't know where you are located so I will make a general suggestion - and then give a specific that I know of.

I would start by talking with the school district you live in. Many districts offer developmental screening for children ages 3 and up. You could also call Parents as Teachers to find out if there are any publicly funded dev. screenings provided in the area where you are. (I know at 3 your ds might be too old to qualify for PAT any more - but they should be able to tell you where in your area older kids get services)

Two of my three kiddos have gone through screening with Count Your Kid In - this program in in the SMSD. They run them once a month. (They probably will have one right after school starts.) They do vision and hearing sceenings as well as a Denver Dev. Assessment -- and they do some observation of play.

This would possibly give you an idea of what direction to take.

Both of my kids qualified for speech therapy through the public schools - even though they were preschool age.

The plus side for me was that with referrals from the schools I didn't have to mess around with my insurance - which probably wouldn't cover this service anyway

Hi-- you might try to get him evaluated, I'm pretty sure now that his 3 you can get it done in your school district for free. Good luck.

Dear Y.,

I think that your son sounds wonderful and it is really common now a days to have children that are talking later and continuing to develop in all other areas. A Speech Therapist would be a great resource for you and am sure would provide some ideas for your son and you to help him not only talk, but find ways to communitcate his wants and needs without becoming frustrated. There are many resources throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. Your local school district, if you contact them, will have someone that could provide you with an evaluation and some ideas, and possibly set up some type of services at the school if he qualified. Children's Mercy is also a great resource, however they have a very long waiting list. I am the owner of Therapeutic Living Solutions. We have specialists, including speech therapists, that come to your home and will consult with you and evaluate your son to help find ways to communicate and increase his vocal skills. Our therapists are wonderful and are seeing many little ones about this same age that have some mild speech delays. Our goal is to work with you, your son and your family to acheive what your family goals are and to help him participate fully with his family, friends, etc. All of our services are provided in the home and community, for example, daycare, parks, and home. We work with Missouri Medicaid, the Kansas City Regional Center, private insurance and so forth to cover services for children. All of our therapists are specially trained to work with children and many have children themselves who have at some point had concerns. You can look at our website at therapeuticlivingsolutions.com or contact our office at ###-###-####. I am happy to work with you or to provide additional resources for you to review and get some questions answered that you may have regarding your son. This is very common and can be frustrating for both parents and children, as well as other siblings. Please let me know if we can be of help, either with services or community resources. There are many children that have some speech delays without being Autistic. Not knowing your son for sure, I can't say that he doesn't have Autism, but again, we see many children that just have some speech concerns but that are not Autistic. There is a lot of information out there about Autism and we work with many children with that diagnosis. We understand many parents concerns but please know that even though there are speech delays, it may not necessarily indicate Autism, especially if he is developing in all other areas. Is he a picky eater or prefer certain foods? I know that it this age, sometimes can be hard to tell as this is such a great age for independence. It doesn't sound like you have other concerns regarding his development and sounds like he is a very loving boy. Again, please let me know if you have any questions or if we can be a resource for you for other resources. I can be contacted either via email at this address or at ###-###-####.

Take care and good luck in your search for information!
C. Glover

Y., you should give your local school district a call. By law, they are obligated to do tests on your child because he is 3 years of age. If they do detect any problems, they will be able to give you some assistance. It is a free service. Many school districts are tied in with Parents As Teachers and have children screened from birth to age 3. Give them a call and they should be able to assist you. Hope this helps.

My three year is going to preschool on a IEP this fall for his speech. Since your son is already three call the school district in your area. Ask to talk someone in the speech area, and have him tested to be able to go to school. We lived in Kansas and now live in Missouri. Both states offer this kind of help to little kids. Feel free to email me if you have any other concerns. I have four kids and they have all been in speech.

I had my son screened through Parents as Teachers here in Springfield. They sent us to get him tested through the school district, but he did o.k. and didn't qualify for classes. Parents as Teachers is easy. All you do is make a call and someone comes to your house for free. They track your kids development and play games with them. It really is fun. They only visit during the school year. Anyway, it does seem that your son could use a little help. If the doctor isn't helpful then you could try Parents as Teachers when school starts back up.

Hi, we had our son evaluated through our school district - he was not speaking very much at the age of 2 1/2 and we had a speech pathologist visit him. They will interview you and your son to see if he qualifies for a speech therapist to work with him. They also have classes through school districts where the child will be in a class a couple times a week and work with teachers on speech. My son did not go through the class, he did very well with the person that the school district sent to visit him. We were lucky enough to only need three visits from her-he took off talking like crazy once we got him going. It really is worth checking out.

Hi,
Could it be his hearing? Children can be very adaptable and this could go unnoticed. Worth getting checked anyway. I will pray for your son.
Janet

my son had the same problem and it turned out he was not only bipolar but had a severe speech problem that has since been diagnosised and is being treated. I hope this helps you in someway. I took my son to the SMS Speech, Lang. & Hearing Clinic to be diagnosised and treated as well.

My middle son was not speaking well a little before three alot of grunting and such with physical frustration towards us. I had him evaluated throught the health department and he did speech through the health dept. for a year then we actually did both the health dept and through the school district. The health dept is a very minimal fee I think it was $4.oo a session and the health dept was free. They will also test his hearing. Good luck I bope this helps.

Y.:

First you want to rule out anything medical/physical. Have him assessed by a Pediatrician, and have his ears/eyes checked. If not medical...has he experienced any trauma? Has there been a change (was there a time that he spoke more words), in his other daily habits. If you want, you can email me direct, I am a child Psychotherapist.

A. L

My daughter was three and showed the same signs of behavior and speech. I took her in to have a hearing test done....even though she seemed to be able to hear. She could hear some things, but not all and had fluid behind her ear drums that the regular doctor didn't see. After having the fluid sucked out and tubes put in her ears she could hear great and after two years of speech therapy at her preschool (free through the school district) she talks normal and ALL the time! I am not saying that is what is wrong....but maybe something to check out. Good luck. C.