Speech Delay in 2 yr old

Orange - posted on 03/21/2012

I was in your shoes 7 months ago. Although my then 2 year old boy was at a level of 12 months. He has been in speech therapy 2x a week and wow what a difference. Some basic things we do at home for "homework"



1) Talk in simple phrases, rule of thumb use one word more than him. If he uses 2 words phrases "want ball" you reply "want red ball". it is exhausting but works.

2) Label EVERYTHING as you talk and point. Book. Red book. Big red book.

3) Do your best to encourage speech when he just points. If he points/cries at the cereal box reply "Cheerios. Want Cheerios. Owen wants cheerios." Then give him a chance to reply. Applaud any effort that sounds like those words.

4) Do lots of play together using sounds so he learns sounds are fun. ie, trucks. get down and make them drive "zoom zoom" and crash "boom!" etc. animal sounds are great too.



and yes Early Intervention is supposed to be great...in my area it wasn;t a good option. Sigh. Yes, it is expensive. Double sigh. But worth it. Hearing the words Mommy Schnuggle never sounded more beautiful...

Janine - posted on 03/20/2012

don't leave it long the sooner you get him in to it the better

Jen - posted on 02/08/2010

Do they have Help Me Grow programs there? It is my understanding that if a child qualifies for a disability, it should be provided for free. The Early Intervention specialist in your area should be able to give you some resources. Is he going to be 3 soon? Once he is preschool age, he will then be old enough to go to a special needs preschool or have speech at home, but there would be no fee.
Good luck!

Holly - posted on 02/08/2010

My daughter also has a speech delay I am forunate enough to get state funded therapy but the best no cost advice I can give is when he wants juice say " Mommy may I have juice please" and make him repeat you as best as he can and do that with everything and grcery shopping when you pick up eggs show him and have him say eggs too etc.....this will help alot and this advice came from my daughters speech therapist...good luck

Jennifer - posted on 02/06/2010

Go to your local school district they have to pay for the services. There should be some sort of early start program that he will be able to participate in. They would have done the evaluation for free too. I f you get the run around from them find your local regional center who handles special services for people and they will be able to case manage your son and get the school district to service him. I have an almost three year old who went through the same thing at two and I am a teacher so I know the laws. School districts in California start servicing children with needs at 6 months all free of charge. Do not let them tell u otherwise!

Rhona - posted on 02/06/2010

My 1st born son was a talker - not a walker! He had a huge vocab of at least 1000 wors by 18 months. On the other hand, he only started walking at 17 months!! You don't want to know how my back felt!! My advise is relax!! What I done with my son, was talk to him all the time, even from a few months of age. I would describe everything I did, use exaggerated tone, and pause in conversation with him to allow hime to "answer" The other thing I suggest is BOOKS! Read to him, show him picture books, discuss what you see. I purchased two stuninning books on 1000 words depicting scenarios and objects. These were winners. Early morning wake-ups were heralded with a perusal of his books. Of course, you must be involved and not leave him on his own to "read". The reward are that in time, he will actually loves "reading" on his own.

HIs speech will blossom. Be patient. And don't wast your money!!

Shannon - posted on 02/06/2010

My son has a speech delay diag at 14mo. through early intervenation and my own reenforcing he has come leaps and bounds...I used some cheep tools like dvds andrefridge puzzles,some dvds to check out (wal-mart)Leapfrog letter factory and word factory they help teach phonics and putting sounds to lettersbut also pbs has the best!Word World check local listings..good luck and if you still can't get affordable help try getting your son an advocate I am not sure of your states laws but the may be programs for free

Miranda - posted on 02/06/2010

My 2nd daughter was the same way. I can tell you a year later and now we can't shut her up she talks so much. Some is hard to understand but it's coming along.

I would contact your Early Head Start Program. Once he gets evaluated through them they can start a process of having someone come to your home and do interactive play therapy or they will get you in a govt funded program. You should also contact your local Parents As Teachers (PAT) group. That is run through your local school district. A Very good program. We had our PAT lady offer so many good suggests on my 2 yr old.

We also read short story books and every few days we introduced new words. I made her talk more. When she wanted something we would get on her level and say use your words. Over time it worked. Between the reading, 3 letter simple words every few days and being patient she got it. We did have to take her pacifier. She was my most attached baby/toddler.

We also encountered many tantrums. Even today when she gets so frustrated she can't express her feelings she has outbursts.

Definitely call those two places above and also call your local school district. They should have much information about your area in regards to getting help.

Michelle - posted on 02/05/2010

yeah, the 1st thing the doc did was a hearing test, but his hearing is good. Thanks for the suggestion though :)

Vegemite - posted on 02/05/2010

Hi I also think it's a great idea to talk to your doctor. My doctor notice my 2yr old was a bit behind in speach the first thing he did was to get his hearing tested turns out it's just fluid built up in his ears from infections due to colds. He will be getting grommets to fix it. So it's probably worth having him checked, something so little left can cause bigger problems.
Also making sure you speak to him in full, clear sentences help a lot.
Good luck to you and your son

Michelle - posted on 02/05/2010

lol. i know, im afraid of what he is saying in baby-babble sometimes.



That is a good tip though: I should slow down my speech. I need to put myself in his lil shoes and realize my words prob all blend together when im speaking normally.



Thanks Brandy

Brandy - posted on 02/05/2010

I had taken my son to a speach therapist and got his hearing checked and it was all good.They told us it was because we were talking to him the way I would talk to an adult. He was our first child and I have never tought any one to speak before, so we learned to slow our words down. He sees a speach therapist in school once a week just to help with prenouncing his "s" clearer. Not sure if were you are that is paid for or not. I am in Canada and we do not pay for that. Keep with it and do not give up hope. My son now we can not keep him quite and talks to much. I guess enjoy it while it last.lol.

Sheryl - posted on 02/05/2010

early intervention is who has and is helping my boys. there are great. if you don't make much money to help pay for it. have you looked in to medi. or well here it called all kids where they pay for a big part and you pay a small part. we had to get recom. from are predi. first here. it is a great place to go. my oldest is talking like crazy cause of there help. yes he was frist born too. that don't work out for you best thing you can do is set an hour a day and find simple toys like blocks with colors and lil shapes that they can put in to a bucket. i mean there is a lot of stuff that you can do at home too. they till the parent to also work them too. that way the more the better. oh simple puzzle. if you would like some more ideas you can just email me and i would be welling to give you some more idea's cause i know it not easy. another thing there is a group on here for mother of deve. delays kids. it a great group if you have not found it yet. hope that helps some.

Laurie - posted on 02/05/2010

I am a Preschool Teacher at Head Start/EarlyChildhood. This is where I work with kids with speech delays. We also have two speech teachers. Personally, if you did get him evaluated and he needs help with speech, it is good to get the help. Getting help now will help him in school later on with reading and writing. You should look to see if there is a Birth to Three program. After her turns three and needs more help then he may be eligible for an Early Childhood program. The best thing you can do at home is talk, talk and talk some more to him about everything and what you are doing.

April - posted on 02/05/2010

You're very welcome! Glad to help :)

Michelle - posted on 02/05/2010

And April, I googled Early Intervention and there is one in CA! I will call tomorrow! Thanks so much for that suggestion!

Michelle - posted on 02/05/2010

Thank you Cheri, I have heard of the Intelligent Einstein Syndrome too. My son is extremely bright and I think he does focus more on learning concepts than communicating them through language.

Cheri - posted on 02/05/2010

Hi Michelle,



Yes, it is common for highly intelligent boys to have delayed speech. Einstein did not say a word until he was 4! I was shocked to read that a couple of years ago. Since I'd cared for kids (72 special-needs foster kids) who didn't want to talk!



Things that helped me were a great baby-book library, mostly board books and those plastic-squeeky books, a huge "Big Bird" book, books that looked like a set of tools in a toolbox and even truck books with real wheels on them! If they look good to you, they'll look good to your son and it will encourage communication.



Please see my family-friendly articles (for moms like us) on my news page published online at: AssociatedContent.com/cmajors or for daily updates you should follow me on: Twitter.com/blondygirl1



I would love you feedback, helpful?



God bless,

Cheri Majors, M.S. (Early Childhood Education)

Michelle - posted on 02/05/2010

Thank you so much! Good idea about the pediatrician instead of the actual therapist because the ped isnt going to make money out of it regardless. And im going to google Early Intervention right now :)

April - posted on 02/05/2010

My nephew had to get speech therepay and my sister did not have any money to pay for this. She got gov't assisted speech therepy. She does not have to pay a dime for it and it sure did and is helping his speech a lot. The program she goes through is called "Early Intervention" I'm not sure if they have it in your area ( i'm from NY) But it's worth checking out. I'm sure there are assited programs in your area. Talk to your son's pediatrician, that's how my sister found out about early intervention. Hope this helps.