Anybody got toddlers in speech therapy?

Krysti - posted on 04/25/2009

Both of my sons (1 1/2 & 2 1/2) are in speech therapy. My oldest son didn't say a word until he was 2 and then only babbled..and speech therapy with out local school district & a program called Early On has helped SO much..they have taken off with talking. Maybe look into that. Check with your school district, also check for an Early On program near you. It is a wonderful thing that REALLY helps A LOT.
Good luck!

Vanessa - posted on 04/24/2009

Hi my name is Vanessa. Both my children are hearing impaired. my daughter is 2 and my son is5. This sounds just like my son when he was 2. he said a lot of differant words and just stopped talking. eventually we had his hearing tested and found that he has moderate to severe neurological damage to both ears. it took a good 2 to 3 years for my son to start opening up again and eventually speaking. of course he wears hearing aids and has a speech therapist who is a teacher of the deaf, a speech pathologist, and just a lot of extra love and understanding from friends and family. Knowing what my son has i was able to identify this in my daughter at a very early age and she is now also wearing hearing aids and speaks in sentences already. my son speaks well considering and is getting ready to start kindergarten. It's been a long hard road but it's possible!!!!
Vanessa Werner
Alliance, NE

Mary - posted on 04/23/2009

After ruling out any medical issues, I would try some simple and meaningful words with your child. Does your child have a favorite food,toy, activity, relative, or friend. Use what you think will motivate him to produce the word(s). In therapy I would find his motivation and begin using that to work on more functional words to help him communicate his wants and needs. Do not let them point, cry or grunt. Model words as you give the item. Also..you may want to use pictures to exchange for items and work on saying the words (this can reduce frustration). Make sure you give praise/reward when there is an attempt or he produces the word!

Paula - posted on 04/23/2009

My son didn't talk until he was 4 and part was due to his CP but i think it was also because his sister did the talking for him when he wanted something. She would tell me what he wanted or he would just point and grunt. He was in SP since he was 1 1/2 and no longer has ST. The therapist gave me pictures of things and actions for him to point to and he also learned some easy signs to "ask" for MORE and PLEASE. We still have issues sometimes of him just pointing and grunting but then i say "HOW DO WE ASK FOR THAT?" Ask the therapist if she would use the word/sign to get him to "talk". My son still uses some signs when he talks because he likes to use them. I did use Life Savers to do colors and if he said the color then he got the Life Saver. Also used pennies for counting and when he counts them he gets to put them in his piggy bank. just made the learning fun for him and he thought that he was getting something special when he got it right!!

Amy - posted on 04/23/2009

Hi - My twins stopped learning speech around 2 or 3 years old - both of them - so needless to say we started speech and other programs - we did not start more than 2 words utterances till after "special ed pre k " and like 5 words till like age 7 - it took along time and the only tricks i used was if they wanted something they had to say the word for it - and talk alot to him - Dre and Ty have alot in their head but for some reason could not get it out - it is better we are getting there - lots of therapy

Cindy - posted on 04/22/2009

That happened to my daughter when she was 2 1/2 she got tubes as well but did not help she had hearing test and found out she has hearing loss. I am sure if you saw ENT that your son had a hearing test as well. she was in Buck I.U. and already getting speech, and PT. she is now going on 6 and still gets PT, Speech, and Hearing support at her school, she talks all the time now but still some sounds are harder for her then others. she was born 11 weeks early, and has malformations in her head.

Maria - posted on 04/22/2009

I have a daughter whose speech was very delayed. She is now five and a half, her speech is still a little delayed but she is picking up more language everyday, thanks to speech therapy and preschool. In fact, today she just told me to "shut up" when I was singing, (yeah, my singing is bad!!) and I had to tell her not to say that,it wasn't nice etc. And then I thought...Wow, I am at a place where I am actually telling her not to use words! I was really kind of impressed!!! :O) Hang in there! Good Luck!

Jill - posted on 04/21/2009

Wow, after reading all of this there is hope at the end of that tunnel moms! My daughter was born with IUGR and she was behind on everything. I knew her speach was off but I could understand her and didn't feel the need for speech until she was 4 and in preschool and came home taping her hand at her bottom and the front saying she learned how to play with "dicks" meaning "sticks". I freaked out til I realized what she was saying and we got her into speech. It took a long time but she is now 9 and in all the gifted programs after being in every special education program from age 4. You just have to keep trying until you find what clicks with them and then it is nothing but a memory for most of them. Good luck ladies!

Danielle - posted on 04/21/2009

My daughter is 2 and has been in speech therapy for about 1.5 years. I find it very useful as now we are finally working on getting her to eat from a straw rather than the bottle. She is still nonverbal - we are waiting for her physical functions to catch up so she can talk.

Sarah - posted on 04/20/2009

My son who is 5 now has a speech delay as well as developmental delays. I took him when he was 3 to see a developmental peditricain who helped but what has helped the most is the speech therapy at school. He was in an integrated program for two years of preschool and now he is finishing his year of kindergarten and is speaking so well now. It has been a long road and we still have a ways to go but huge progress has been made with the therapy he is getting at school. I would still maybe get that MRI to make sure nothing was affected with that loss of air. We had the tubes in my sons ears too and I do not feel like that helped much. The state do the birth to three programs which we used then the schools have wonderful preschool programs.

Lesa - posted on 04/19/2009

Hang in there! My little guy Draven (now 5) didn't talk for the longest time. He babbled but he didn't speak. His twin was talking sentences and asking questions. We put him in speech therapy when he was 3.... now he goes to a special school because he has been diagnosed with speech delays, developmental delays, as well as learning disabilities. You should HEAR him now!! He's talking all the time... and he's asking so many questions... he has come so far in the past two years... keep working with your son.... Draven is going to start Regular Kindergarten in the fall... he will still have his IEP, but he's made great progress!

Alicia - posted on 04/19/2009

Has he had a MRI? That would tell you whether he has damage to the brain and what area. You would have to see a neurologist.

Bev - posted on 04/19/2009

Hi Catherine,

My son went through speech therapy after losing his speech, i'm also raising my 4 and 3 yr old grandchildren who both have needed speech therapy, the youngest in the middle of a course of therapy now. I have found the best way of getting a child to learn is via play and talk to them about anything and everything. You dont say how old your son is? My grandson Conner is 3 yrs and loves his farm animals, so i started there. I got an old shoe box, covered it in bright paper and cut a sqaure out of it...making it look like a post box. I named the animals and made a game of him posting them in the box. Made this very repetitive e.g.saying, "wheres dog? there's dog...dog in box...dog gone etc. Use a bag, put all the animals in, have him reach in and pull one out and use same repetiveness. Is difficult to advise without knowing more.

Have many, many ideas, so if you want to know more, drop me a line. Wishing you lots of luck Catherine, very best wishes, Bev :)

Karen - posted on 04/19/2009

hi, how old is your son, have you tried otorhinolargyngology?it specializes in that cases,.my daughter is undergoing speech therapy, but the case is different , she is profound deaf and just got an implant, but there are cases of children you are like him in her school. They are talking before then suddenly stopped because of several kinds of sickness.Try 2nd opinion, don't be afraid, he will talk again, as soon as they know what causes it. Speech therapy will truly helped.

Ambyr - posted on 04/18/2009

How old is he? My son was very active and talked also before he turned 3. At 3 he quit talking... it was very frustrating! Other parents think you are a bad parent not forcing your child to speak. Like you want them to grunt for a cookie. gah! My son was also a very big boy so people always thought he was older than he was, except for he wouldn't talk. I would love to help you and answer any questions I can. My son is now 11 in the 6th grade and has been mainstreamed for 2 years. He is also top in his reading class and math class. He is immature, has bad handwriting and lacks a large vocabulary. He has really shocked us all with how well he is doing. It really is a miracle because when speech is delayed so much else is delayed. I was lucky. I had a lot of support from my mom and our Dr's. We had 5 hearing tests done before he was 4. (he is not one bit deaf) He had tubes, and then he had his tonsils and adenoids out. Are you an American? Most US school districts can help you! Hope this helps knowing there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Just remember you know your child better than anyone else out there, and never let them tell you something you feel is wrong! :-D