Communities

mommies to preemies

All Communities > mommies to preemies > prematurity and speech development

prematurity and speech development

Sarah - posted on 04/23/2009 ( 3 moms have responded )

1

1

my daughter was born at 27 weeks. she was a big girl at 2.5lbs. she was in the NICU for two months and came home at a whopping 5+ lbs. her development has been delayed a little and she started physical therapy at around six months old. she is now 13 months adjusted and i am finding her speech is not advancing as a 13 months should. is this because of her early birth? i am just worried she has developmental delays that i am not addressing.

her pediatrician just says lets put her in speech, but the speech doesnt seem to be making any difference



am i expecting too much of her? her brothere was born at 34 weeks and is develpoing just fine. i just want whats best for her. any advice would be greatly appreciated







hret

Join Circle of Moms

Sign up for Circle of Moms and be a part of this community! Membership is just one click away.

Join Circle of Moms

3 Comments

View replies by

Adelle - posted on 11/30/2009

2

1

have you checked her hearing. my son was born at 29 weeks and he has hearing issues which effects his speech.

adelle

Kerri - posted on 07/15/2009

4

11

My son was 2.5 pounds when born too. I often worry about the same thing because when we are in public he doesn't talk at all to people. I see other 2 year old's and to me he seems behind. I am blessed with a great pediatrician who tells me that even full term babies advance differently. I still watch him closely and make sure that he is picking up stuff. Does your local government have a program for preemies. Maybe March of Dimes or another local program can help. There are many different ways they learn and she may just need a different type of teaching. Good Luck and God bless. Sorry I am so late posting.

Desiree - posted on 06/17/2009

70

22

I have a friend whose daughter was born very early, too. The girl is now three and most people would probably say that her speech is delayed, so it's probably normal for preemies. My son is also 13 months adjusted and says three words - dada, mama, and dogga. I don't think you need to worry that you're not addressing her needs, especially if you have her in speech therapy already. I have another friend who is a speech therapist and I asked her about my son's speech. She said that there's only cause for alarm at this age if the kids aren't communicating at all. Pointing, gesturing, and babbling are all forms of communication normal for children this age.

Want to find out the opinions of this community?

Add Poll