Does a preemie have to be corrected by 18mos?

Kimberly - posted on 12/20/2010

No. That is totally false! Your child is not behind. I had a cousin who chose not to talk till he was 4. He just didn't say any words till he had them exactly right. Some preemies don't catch up to their age until they're 3. Doctors usually estimate 2 years old, but it really depends on the child.

For example; my daughter started walking at 10 months but she didn't really talk that much till 18 months. Her cousin, however, (who was full term and a month younger) didn't start walking till 14 months, but she was talking by 15 or 16 months. It all depends on the kid.

Schmoopy - posted on 12/16/2010

Lots of people say preemies catch up by age 2, but for us it was more like age 3. And I know a lot of families with preemie children who had the same experience.

So it's probable that your toddler still needs to be judged by his corrected age.

Ume Ammara - posted on 12/15/2010

the most importsnt thing v shd ve in our minds that our kids are developing no matter they are delayed.with my son i always believed slow and steady wins the race:)

Beth - posted on 12/15/2010

I was told each baby is different...as the same with full term babies. The doctors and specialists working with my son, born at 26 weeks, think he will catch up for sure by 5 years old. I guess it depends on if there are a ton of complications and medical problems. My son is riddled with medical problems which is why they say he should catch up when he is 5...but it could happen a lot sooner than that.

Ume Ammara - posted on 12/10/2010

yes.docs say they catch up at 2 yrs.my son was 34 weeker and was 1.75kgs.he started walking at 19 months.he is 4 now and no one can tell he started that late.speech can also be delayed as well but they catch up at their own pace.

Jennifer - posted on 12/10/2010

I think that 2yrs is an avarage estimation of when MOST preemies have met most early milestones. My son was a 29wker and was declaired "caught up" at the 15m appt. by the pedi. He is now 4yrs old though and we still make allowances for his prematurity. Things like teething, he didn't get his last molars until he was 3.4m. Things like emotions, he has anxiety issues and emotional outbursts, but we can see where mainly it is just a delay in development. We are also planning on having him do kindergarten when he is 6 and not 5 (he is a May birthday and was supposed to be August, with a Sept. 1st cut off) because we want to make sure he won't have to struggle through any areas just due to a delay in development. I have read that often "new" issues start popping up when a preemie enters school, but it is really just issues they havn't had to face before. My son is still realtively young, but I am already understanding how preematurity has affects for all thier lives, even if they are "caught up" by 2yrs!
As for the speech question if your child is recieving speech services, take advantage of it even if you feel they may not need them. It puts them in a position of the services being available to them when they enter school and these "new" issues may pop up without having to go through all the red tape!!! Most speech therapy also gives the kids a boost in early language development, using great prereading/reading activities. As a former kinder teacher I once partnered with our speech teacher to pilot a program for the entire classroom; normally developing children and delayed children. The results in ALL of thierlanguage arts aquistion were wondeful. Also my son never qualified for services (his speech delay fell wit in range for his developmental age) but he was always around as I worked with and for the therapies of our foster daughter who was recieving services and I FULLY believe he benifited too!

Pamela - posted on 12/09/2010

No many premeis do not "catch" up untl 3 or even later. Depends on each child, As for speech delay? If your child choose to talk when he wants to he can tlka, but just might be stubborn, And if he's only 18 months give it some time. Not sure if a Dr is tell you thses things, but they know better than I. I'm just a mom no PHD here, just an MOM ;) Do you have older childeren around your son? My brother didn't say a wors until he was three, Dr said cuz his big sis did all the tlaking for him, and he was right, He's very smart, he always had a lot to say just waitied until he was ready. I do think getting kids around other kids their age help bring out their talking esp if they might be shy.

Goos Luck,

Cheryl - posted on 12/09/2010

I have heard that they usually catch up by 2 but not always. They are hoping that my daughter catches up by the time she has 2 but they have said it is possible that it might take her longer

Amanda - posted on 12/09/2010

I know with walking that they give the premie upto 18 months but they still give X amount of leway depending on how early the baby was up until the age of 2. As for speech delayed yes because they aren't using their words and know that if they don't they will still get what they want. Both mine have speech delays and when i look at other kids their ages (3 1/2 and 2) and hear them talk i can tell my kids are behind.

Liz - posted on 12/08/2010

I have heard they adjust the age until two or three years of age. As for delays my daughter was similar, but in the physical aspects of development, and just stubborn. Their pediatrician never was concerned, but if you are I'd suggest speaking to your dr.

Iysha - posted on 12/08/2010

I heard the age when preemies USUALLY catch up with their development is at 2 years old. My daughter was born a little ove a month early. She is 17 months. With all her milestones, we expected her to hit them at the age she would have been if she was full term....give or take a bit of time since not all children start walking at the same age or crawling...we didnt worry too much about it...she was going to do it eventually. lol. At 17 months, she says dad, bad, sthat (what's that), dog, hi, and bye. She doesnt say it every time we tell her to, she doesnt say it everytime someone is leaving, says hi to her, every time she sees a dog, etc...she just surprizes us with her speech when she feels like talking. Around people she is more shy and will not talk, with us, she talks more and babbles more.

Natalie - posted on 12/08/2010

There is absolutely no specific time that a child does or does not perform a scientific milestone. I'm assuming that since you have a premie, you have an early interventionist coming to see them periodically? If your child can speak but speaks only to a certain person or when they feel like it, that may just be their personality. It may also fall into the category of language delay according to the interventionist, in order to make sure support services continue. She may be concerned about something that seem minor to you, but records it as such just to ensure that follow-ups are made for you child and that any potential delay doesn't fall through the cracks. Good luck with everything, and try to be patient with service providers. They are not there to accuse you of anything, but to support you and your whole family. I just hope you've got a good one.

Debbi - posted on 06/08/2010

I have heard that by 2 developmentally the doctors like them to be caught up, and they are usually physically caught up by 3 years.

I have never heard of that definition of speech delayed. Like everyone else said, each child is different and he needs to be evaluated based on how he is improving and growing. He may speak more "quality" than "quantity" because it is so deliberate.

My son (18 months/15 months adjusted) is a chatter - all day long, but only says maybe 10 words that we understand (even if it's his own word for something.

Allison - posted on 06/08/2010

My sister-in-law is a brilliant, brilliant woman and she didn't talk until she was 4. She just didn't want to...I would watch that sort of thing closely, but keep in mind your child's personality and other developmental factors that may make it more or less of a concern (eye contact, babbling, motor skills). My son knew some words but was NOT a talker, on the other hand, he walked before 10 mos old and was very interactive with us, so we didn't worry about it too much. Now he is three and won't give us a moment of quiet!

Monika - posted on 06/07/2010

I've heard that it's about a year per month a preemie was born early... but that it's always just a ballpark figure, and they are on their own time schedule. :)

Alda - posted on 06/05/2010

They generally catch up by the age of 2. My twins were born at 28 weeks and caught up with weight and height by about 16 months, but developmentally it's different. The one has been walking for 6 months, the other one isn't even standing unsupported yet. The first one is also saying new words every day, but the other one is just saying pica and dada. They're all different and develop in their own sweet time. Unless you're really worried I would just wait and see.

Emily - posted on 06/04/2010

What I've been told is that they like for them to catch up by age 2. Never heard that about speech.