worried about speech

Elizabeth - posted on 03/30/2011

The important thing is if he is trying to communicate, if he is pointing at things he wants, or brings toys and things to show you that's a good sign of communication. If not you might want to seek out a specialist. It is never to early to get your child help and to help get caught up. The earlier the better. I have 2 autistic boys, 1 was diagnosed at 18 months and the other at 12 months.

Dawn - posted on 03/03/2011

At 20 months I took my son for a speech assessment, which was just a play session for him and questions for me to answer He scored well in comprehension but qualified for speech therapy due to poor verbalization. We also had a hearing test and ear exam which ruled out any problems. After a few sessions, our therapist determined that he was communicating well and was using a lot of jargon (that special language they make up is very different from just babbling)...in fact, he thinks we are communicating just fine, because I give him a lot of what he needs with minimal effort on his part!!! We have been going 2x a week for about 10 weeks and while I don't see a big change, I have noticed a marked improvement.....he tries to mimick more, even a 2 word sentence here and there. I have learned a lot from speech therapy and I am glad I have ruled out any medical causes this early on.

Jennifer - posted on 03/03/2011

It is never too early to seek help from a speech pathologist. They not only work with children to see how they can get them talking but they also teach the parents. They show you games that are age-appropriate for your child that you can play together with at home and what words and things you should say/do. It taught us a lot! So I'd start going now. Some places ask for a doctor or a specialists request, such as a pediatrician but some places don't need that. I would contact your local speech pathologist (or local hospital if you don't know where the closest one is located to you), and say you have some strong concerns regarding your child's speech and that you'd like to have a consultation with them to see if they feel your child needs to be seeing them or not. But I say go as soon as you can. It would never hurt right?

Fiona - posted on 02/28/2011

It's probably fine but my 17 month old just had grommets put in (as did my older son). They had persistent glue ear and words/noises to them sounded like we were talking under water. Never realised with my older son who was 2.5 until I went to get his ears tested and they said he was not hearing very much at all. He could speak but words were badly pronounced. My younger son didn't speak, since his op last week he is babling massively.

Tina - posted on 02/28/2011

Try not to worry. My son who is almost 2 1/2 didn't say more than a few words at that age. I was going to have him evaluated by a speech therapist a few weeks after his birthday, but ended up canceling. In those few weeks he really started talking.

Kristen - posted on 02/23/2011

Hi, Don't worry, my son wasn't a big talker till he was older than two and now he is quite good but gets lazy at times when he is tired (still likes his dummy at times too which makes him hard to understand) - he is nearly four. He is learning more and more and having conversations, making sentences. The end result is that all kids develop at their own speeds, not according to some chart or what the so-called "experts" think. We weren't too worried until our childcare centre said something and wanted to get a speech therapist to see him! Waste of time as he is doing really well. Just do what some of the others here have said and keep talking to him, explaining things and when he says words that aren't clear try to tell him how to pronounce them properly - I do that still although my son laughs and tells me that he has it right and I am wrong!

Becky - posted on 02/21/2011

My son turns 2 in April and he has his own words for things. Like the word Light he says ile (eye-el) I was told by his doctor he would start picking up more words real soon. Every time I do something with him around I say what I'm doing and ask him to say it and I try to remember what he says if it isn't the right word. He did get a bunch of new words just recently. When he says a word I don't understand I ask him to show me what he wants or is trying to say.

Angela - posted on 02/19/2011

My daughter is the same age and is exactly like your son. She understands everything. I took her to a speech therapist and she just told me that she is laid back and will start speaking when she feels like it.

Amanda - posted on 02/19/2011

My son is almost 16 months old. When he went in for his 15 month check up the doctor told us we should look into therapy now. We have put it off a bit because we moved and didn't want confusion, but I am calling about my son next week.

Delani - posted on 02/18/2011

Now... if you are worried and live in the states... there should be a program for 0-3yrs old our is called Early On and you can call your health dept and tell them you would like the # for your local Early on program. call that and they will get some one out to your home to do some "play" testing and will also be able to give you information on what you should expect your child to do at different ages and they will be able to give you peace of mind and get you the services you need if that is applicable. 0-3 yrs is a critical time for language development to lay the groundwork for future learning.. Mother of 5 children 18 girl, 13yr boy, 6yr deaf girl, 4yr girl and 2yr deaf girl...

Adrienne - posted on 02/18/2011

I wouldn't worry about it until after 2 years old. My 3.5 year old had problems and had to have speech therapy which started between 2.5 and 3 years old. But my 2.5 year old talks very well and he talked his own language up til 2 years old.
I was worried about it lots but the doctor said if they are good in some areas it takes longer for other areas. So if their motor skills are off the charts, then talking might be pushed back a bit.

Christy - posted on 02/18/2011

If you are in the states, there is a program in most states that are free, regardless of income, to have your son evaluated. Here in Texas it's called ECI (early childhood intervention). The come to your house to evaluate your child, then make recommendations. They offer therapists that can also come to your home and provide speech therapy if he qualifies based on the initial intake. My son went through the same thing. We used ECI until he aged out at 3, then he was referred to the local school district for Pre K that also offers speech therapy. He's 3 1/2 now and won't shut up, LOL!!! None of this can hurt him. Even if he were to catch up without help, it's better to get him caught up now rather than when he starts kindergarten.

Belinda - posted on 02/16/2011

Thanks for the help i wasn't worried untill his childcare said there might be a problem , he is not delayed in any other areas and he can comprehend what i say very well so i don't think he has a problem with hearing, it was good to hear that other children specially boys are talking a bit later

Belinda - posted on 02/16/2011

My 3yr old didnt start to make sence until after he had turned two. My 20moth old is in his gibberish stage now aswell. I wouldnt get to worried until 2 1/2..

My 20mth old isalways pointing and saying hmmm, when he means "look mum". lol

LaCi - posted on 02/16/2011

I talked to my pediatrician about it all, when I was having the same problem. My son only said a handful of words until he was about 2. The doc wasn't worried about it, because he was on track/ ahead in all the other areas of development. I was freaking out though, and I wanted to send him to a speech therapist. I didn't, thanks to COM actually, I regained my patience and since he turned 2 his vocabulary has EXPLODED.

Boys tend to develop speech more slowly than girls. Boys are more likely to experience delayed speech. As long as he's on track with the other things, and understands what you are saying it's probably not a problem at this point. Talk to your pediatrician if you have concerns and they can give you a professional opinion about it, they could also run tests (hearing) as a precaution, just to make sure theres no physical reason. They all develop at different rates :)