Comments on: Speech Delay – Moment of Truth?

By: Colleen

Colleen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:22:40 +0000

Where is your doctor I am also in the Sf bay area and looking for a holistic doctor..thanks!

By: gina

gina — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:55:38 +0000

My kid same problem almost 4….The doctor was no help at all….

So I went to my local school district found a preschool therapist for free and I am having him evaluated… If you want something done ..

Do it yourself is my advice. Be pro active and do it because sometimes these doctors tell you wait, wait, and the more you wait the harder it will be on the child to communicate when he goes to school.
And because if the class size he will get lost in the shuffle.
Good luck hope this help

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:55:56 +0000

I have had my son in speech therapy for 3 years. It really helps. He was diagnosed with a speech & language impairment. He’s 6 now. Some people thought he was slighly autistic. Who cares about the labels…just help your kids. But here is a huge tip for everyone. As I was doing speech therapy for about a year(at 3) i noticed a little change. Then I finally took him to a developmental pediatrician in Los Angeles. She said keep him in speech 2 times a week for an hour each, and make sure they are comfortable with “advanced language concepts”. Thats what you want!! Also… the doctor perscribed Occupational Therapy 2 times per week for an hour each, but it had to be with a sensory integration certified therapist. They started the “sensory integration approach” therapy with him (by the way, insurance does not cover this) and in 2 monthes he was talking…ALOT!!! I truly believe that is what made the major difference. Speech helps move it along, but the OT made it happen!! They work with “fixing” the central nervous system through play. You want a place that litterally looks like a kid’s gym. They play a certain way, and it stimulates there brain amazingly!! Ofcourse maturity plays a big part as well, but this definitly made a difference!!
hope this helps! By the way… Orange county, california has an abundance of services to help your child. I reccomend the capistrano Unified school district in south orange county, or the Newport-mesa district in north orange county. may not be the most perfect place to live, although the beaches and scenery are real nice, people can tend to be pretty stuck on themselves, but who cares…it’s awesome for special needs children at all severitys.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:01:22 +0000

I have a three year old little boy, and I have exactly the same problem. He has a very limited vocab, and more than 80% of what he says…you really cannot understand. The comments on here have been wonderful—-I’m now also in the process of getting him evaluated. His doctor has also submitted a referral for him to see an audiologist, to check his hearing. I’m getting a little bit of pushback from my husband, who seems to think that because we are a bilingual household, that could be hindering his progress, but I just have a nagging feeling that it’s MORE than that. Even his daycare teacher gently asked me about his speech. I definitely think it doesn’t hurt to have your child evaluated………and catch the problem early.

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:58:54 +0000

I’ve a 6 year old that currently is in his second year of kindergarten at a private catholic school. We’ve had him evaluated at our local public school and he goes there twice a week for speech therapy. His tests indicate that his intelligence and behavior/attention level is average for his age, but he has a serious difficulties in the are of comprehension, expression and clarity of speech. And there are strange ways it shows up, for instance he can recite can write all of his letters of the alphabet, but he can’t tell you the sound the letters should make, not one! Then even if you tell him the sound of the letter he can never reply to you a word which begins with that sound.

We wish we had taken more action when he was younger. If we had researched more we could have found that we were in a risk group in that I myself was a late talker, and my wife is not a native English speaker. In addition his baby sitter from 2 until 5, a wonderful woman from Paraguay, only spoke Spanish. However we never took the issue serious enough, until the last 2 years and its very difficult when they start school because the system are so demanding now a days.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:52:23 +0000

Well I can tell you that I am also a mom dealing with a 3 year old that is non-verbal. We started after his 2nd birthday by getting him evaluated. Started therapy 2 days a week for a half hour and then and early interventionist once a week. This was paid by a program called Early Steps. We also took a class called “It takes two to talk” which was very helpful in teaching us how to communicate with him and understand the way he was trying to tell us his wants and needs. We also did sign language and picture therapy. Since he turned 3 we phased out of Early Steps and into the school system. He loves school and still gets 120 hours of speech per week in school and gets private therapy. As for your child not wanting to sit still you would be surprised how well they will do. I said the same thing but it is fun and they want to learn. After only being in school for 3 months he sits quietly when he is asked to and participates will all the other kids.

The progress has been slow but he is very happy. He does not have a hearing problem but did find out that his ears were not equalizing properly as well as having very large adenoids. We had his adenoids taken out and tubes put in his ears about 4 months ago and seems to have helped out a lot. With limited progress for over the last year they are tossing around verbal apraxia but will not diagnosis him as my therapist thinks he is to young.

I know it can be frustrating but keep up the good work and hang in there. I have had a lot of experience with therapist and different programs so just email me if you have any questions.

By: statia

statia — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:57:25 +0000

I echo everyone else that says to get him evaluated. You can either do this through the state Like a few have said, check your county for an Early Intervention program. They will most likely refer you to an “intermediate unit” type of program given that he’s closer to three. IU is a little bit tougher to get through, because it’s through your school district, not the county in most cases, so they’re a little bit more limited and in most cases, children who have been in EI already have an “in” but persevere and you’ll probably get somewhere. I have a friend who had to go this route with her son who ended up finally getting diagnosed with PDD/NOS. Either way, if it’s bothering you, take action. The other thing I would do is to try and find a developmental pediatrician, who deals strictly with developmental issues. Depending on where you live, you may be waiting awhile (current wait time to even get an appointment in the Philadelphia area is TWO YEARS, that’s not totally typical though. I know some other top cities who have much less of a wait). But having a developmental ped evaluate him might help you get help through the state more easily.

As for the amount of words, some kids are just slow to pick them up. I don’t think that 400 words is typical. I would say, realistically, 200-250 words at two. At his age, though, he should be able to repeat them back to you. The good thing is, that, if his comprehension is good, it may just be something like low muscle tone. Or, some kids just have nothing to say, if they know they can get their needs met. I know that was partially the issue with my son. At 16 months he had maybe 9 words, and now, at 22 months, he still jargons when his brain is going too fast for his mouth, but he does speak in short sentences (age appropriately) and he has maybe 1-200 words. I’d say for his age that’s advanced. 400 words is WAY advanced and even his little friend who blows him out of the water with her language does not have 400 words, and they’re the same age.

And I don’t know of any two year old where you can understand 75% of their speech. Maybe at 2 1/2.

By: Lori

Lori — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:51:33 +0000

this was my personal experience. my oldest son didn’t speak until he was almost four. i did extensive research at the time. many people were telling me to have him “evaluated”. we felt he was perfectly fine. i had a friend majoring in speech & hearing and she gave me a giant pile of papers and documents to read. the material said that half the children who aren’t talking at 2 will talk by age 3, and half the children who aren’t talking at 3 will talk at age 4. the remainder will have some other issue — behavior, signs of autism, etc.

now take this with a grain of salt, as i am no expert. the material all said that children are usually recommended for speech therapy “if the parents are worried” or “to make the parents feel better” but it isn’t necessary at all for those children who will begin speaking naturally.

so .. we didn’t have him evaluated and he stayed almost completely silent until sometime late in his third year when he suddenly began speaking in complete paragraphs — and with a vocabulary that caused a stranger to say to me (one *week* after he began speaking) “oh, does your son go to montessori? he is so advanced!” lol

we felt 100% comfortable that he was happy, content, had zero behavior issues, zero markers for autism or any other issue, had excellent hearing, etc., so we left it alone. some aquaintances were horrified. :^P but it was all fine. late speech also correlates with math and engineering ability, and my husband is an engineer and we found out much later that he also didn’t speak until age 4. (this would have been excellent information to have earlier, but alas.)

this is just my personal experience, so take it as you will, but i hope it helps. :^)

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:21:18 +0000

Although my son is younger, I too had the same concerns. Depending on your state, you should be eligible for free services – the service isn’t income dependent, it’s child dependent…so, if your son isn’t where he “should” be, your family is eligible. We were living in OH; the service there is called Help Me Grow…each county has it’s own system set up. We are now in FL and the service is called Early Steps. My son gets therapy 1/week for an hour. He loves it b/c it’s focused on play. He’s still delayed but showing improvement. I’m hopeful that this will help him.

Also, as much as I hate to admit it, I think the fact that he’s not in day care has something to do with him not talking much. We are considering putting our son in day care for 1/2 day/week just so he can get some socialization skills and have to communicate with others (as you know, mommy and daddy can figure out when he wants something and we anticipate it. Others will force him to talk and ask for what he wants).

By: Becky

Becky — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:32:35 +0000

I’m an SLP in FL. The most natural way to provide speech therapy for a 3 year old is by training the parents to encourage verbal and non-verbal language use in everyday routines. The best program I have found for this is the Hanen program. Our state’s Birth-3 year EI services provides the training in certain areas, but if this is not available to you, you can purchase DVDs and a guidebook to give yourself ideas. I would recommend the “It Takes Two to Talk” program from what you have said. It’s available in their online store at http://www.hanen.org. Children’s speech and language develop in a wide variety of ways. Many do catch up by school age with and without therapy. One-on-one therapy can be very beneficial if the therapist’s methods match with how your child learns, but that does not always happen. If you use the Hanen program, you will know you are playing with your child in ways that encourage him to communicate with you. Oh, and the developmental checklists like the one you referred to can vary significantly depending on how, where, when they are researched and developed. Best of luck!

By: Linda

Linda — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:36:05 +0000

I’m in Australia and I think I got a referal from a normal doctor.

I found with a different child that a TV program called Playschool helped on video because of the songs and the things or words they can learn from them. They also used songs with my son who had the problem.

He didn’t have trouble with the therapy at all. And he didn’t sit still much.

Going back in time I wouldn’t sign anything. That is the main concern where I live. You know, sharing information. However, the doctor, pead did point out that it was bad when he started out with them so he did need to come to them. By school he could say sentences, but it took more effort than it did for the other kids. He did start school early though. Some of the other kids would have been older.

I like chiropractors as well.

Some of the early things they did with him included OT.

By: Noa

Noa — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:12:39 +0000

I am a neurodevelopmental pediatric nurse practitioner. I work will children with autism spectrum disorders, learning disorders, and genetic issues providing a biomedical approach (diet and nutrients based on lab results). This is the type of question that I am frequently asked. Normal devleopmental milestones are 30-50 words by two years of age and 475 words and 75% understandable by three years of age. I hope this helps clarify and I am happy to answer other questions. Noa

By: kellyb

kellyb — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:42:16 +0000

Yes, yes, yes, take them for an evaluation. I took my daughter to a college that offers a Speech Pathology Degree. The students did the evaluation (which was so neat to see and to see exactly where she fit in with her peers) and then they did the therapy as part of their college classes – we paid very little for the services and they were fabulous with her. She started at 3 and they did so much with her and kept her engaged and I watched through a 2 way mirror so I could reinforce the things she was learning at home! She made such huge strides she was caught up in 9 months!!

By: shena

shena — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:01:45 +0000

You are doing everything right for your child with a speech delay. By keeping toxins out of his environment and food and body, you are doing the best that you can as a mom and he will be fine I’m sure. If he is not doing echolalia (repeating what you say back to you) then he probably only has a small speech delay that will be easily corrected by a good speech therapist. It is the smartest and most sensitive kids that go through this.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:54:45 +0000

Thanks for all your help ladies!!! I appreciate it so very much…lots of stuff to think about. I am having him tested so we will see where we go from there.

By: Jessica (aka @kikarose)

Jessica (aka @kikarose) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:38:35 +0000

My best friend is a speech pathologist and she would tell you that getting your son evaluated can’t possibly hurt. From hanging out with her and hearing her talk, I would say that you should definitely take your son in.
The good news is that starting at 3 the schools take over paying for speech therapy, so you’ll be well covered if he does need a bit of help.

By: Jennifer A

Jennifer A — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:06:48 +0000

I have lots of experience with this in my son. My son spoke his first word at 8 months and didn’t speak again until 12 month, When I brought it up to his ped I was told, “he’s a boy, he’s slow and that is how God made him”. I took him to a new ped at 18 months who took one look at him and heard his lack of words and said we have a big problem. He basically babbled and said maybe 15 words. Ins did not cover therapy, so we got him into Early Intervention at 2 and he went to the school district at 3.

By: tracy

tracy — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:20:17 +0000

Our local school system has an early childhood program so you might see if there is one at yours. They would give him a series of tests to see how he is developing and help you decide what if anything needs done to help him. Plus it is free so this can give you an idea of what is best for your son.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:17:30 +0000

I would definitely get it checked out. It looks like many before me have offered good suggestions about the speech delay.

If I may, I’d like to suggest you think about seeing a chiropractor for the kids instead of a pediatrician. Most chiropractors will back you in your decision to not vaccinate your children.

While we do vaccinate, my kids only see the pediatrician for and annual checkup and shots. We see the chiropractor for everything else and my kids are rarely sick. They LOVE their chiropractor and actually argue over who gets to get adjusted first.

Will be looking for updates on your little guy.

By: Stephanie - Green SAHM

Stephanie - Green SAHM — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:24:41 +0000

Getting an evaluation is a good idea, especially if free services are to be had in your area, as they are in mine. He might need therapy, he might start talking on his own, but if there’s a cause, best to know it as soon as possible.

In my area, once they’re over 3, speech therapy is the school district’s problem. It’s free, as were the county services up until age 3.

Therapy has really helped my son, although it’s hard to say how much progress he would have made on his own, since he has only a fairly normal speech delay of a sort common to slightly premature babies. He was only barely considered preemie (36.5 weeks), but he and my sister’s daughter who was also a bit preemie have followed almost exactly the same speech development patterns!

He had a big leap over the two weeks of winter break. One of the teachers was really impressed by the change.

I figure I would rather he work out the issues now than when he’ll be dealing more and more with other kids his own age and they get less understanding about it… not to mention impatient relatives and other adults.

Then again, one of my cousins apparently didn’t speak at all until she was 3, and then started in with complete sentences. She’s fine now.