# reasons for speech delay??



## R_x

hi, hoping you can help. my little boy is 2 and still not talking, we also worry he doesnt chew his food properly.

we havn't had much help as of yet from professionals because of waiting lists etc.

was hoping some mums on here can help with some ideas, tried looking stuff up on the interent but you read a website think yes thats it, then look at another and think no it can't be that :cry:

:flower:


----------



## ZannahRain

I would take him to your regular family doctor or ped, and ask about speech therapy. ST also includes swallowing and eating safely. He may just need a little therapy to catch up. :)


----------



## R_x

he had a speech therapy appointment recently and she wasn't much help she won't see him again until he has been seen by a ped and that isn't going to be any time soon.

i also asked her about the eating as we have been told the speech therapist will help.
she was no help, all she had to say about it was that i'll have to be careful what i give him?!


----------



## ZannahRain

Personally, I'd tell her that I think she's a moron and have them send out a different one. No matter what they think, you know your child best... and if they're to dumb to use that to help things, I'd find one that will. :hugs:


----------



## llsarahll

Hi I'm in the same situation with my son, he is almost 22 months and isn't talking at all really gets me worried I've been to my gp which where no help at all told me to contact the health visitor who never answers her phone! X


----------



## sun

They suspect that my son's speech delay is because of hypotonia (low muscle tone), He also has problems eating/chewing and can't do things like blow bubbles or do things with his tongue. I actually posted about it a while ago because it took a while for them to go in that direction with his treatment - but I really notice a difference since they have been working on the muscle issue.

He goes to a speech therapist and they do things like blowing flutes, making mouth shapes, etc - and he also has a chew tube that he uses. He also had gross motor skill delay due to the muscle tone.

I wrote more info in my previous post about it: https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/special-needs/775951-low-muscle-tone-speech.html


----------



## R_x

thank you for the info on low muscle tone. can't wait till we get to see someone who can give us answers. 

can you help on any tips on chewing his food? 
do i give him crunchy stuff to try help incourage chewing or do i cut things up small so he doesnt need to chew it much? 

:flower:


----------



## sun

My LO has been using one of these for about 6 months and it is really helping work on his chewing skills https://chewytubes.com/products/chewy-tubes/ 

I don't really limit the foods I offer, but he doesn't eat really chewy things like meat at all. Not sure if it's because he has a hard time with it, or that he just doesn't like it. I will give him hard things to chew now, but I watch closely and remind him to "crunch! crunch! bite" bite!" or he'll often just try and swallow the whole thing. 

Not really sure how your LO compares to mine with his chewing though. Does he eat most foods now? What kind of food does he have a hard time with? x


----------



## R_x

He'll eat anything but had nights where he's been sick and we can see it's not been chewed properly. Most foods he isn't chewing properly if it's not cut up small xx


----------



## Shezza84uk

There can be a number of reasons for speech delay my daughter has speech and language impairment and got diagnosed at 2 they also looked into selective mutism and glued ear it really sucks when they drag their feet. I had to press to get my daughter seen as after GP refered her there wasnt much he could do so I called the clinic he refered her to daily until I got an appointment 6 weeks later. 

There is hope as she's now speaking better although at times mixed with baby babble but it's progress non the less x


----------



## Peanut78

My son has delayed myelination which manifests as a motor planning difficulty and, has in his case, caused a severe speech delay (no words at nearly 3). He communicates using sign at home, which has helped aid his ability to communicate and alleviate frustration.

When we were first going through the motions of finding a speech therapist (when he was 2), we found it quite difficult. Alot of the ST's I spoke to were quite dissmisive when I said he was 2, as they said that some children are just late talkers etc. It was only once I had a diagnosis that ST's were more open to seeing him regularily.

In terms of the oral motor skills, we found a company called "talk tools" which develop a series of straws, whistles, flutes etc to help aid oral motor skills.


----------



## Loui1001

Hopefully you'll get some answers soon. There can be a number of reasons so personally I would request an SLT review or referral to another spcialist SLT for a second opinion. Not all SLTs are trained in feeding so asking to see one who is should help.


----------



## FiNZ

R_x said:


> hi, hoping you can help. my little boy is 2 and still not talking, we also worry he doesnt chew his food properly.
> 
> we havn't had much help as of yet from professionals because of waiting lists etc.
> 
> was hoping some mums on here can help with some ideas, tried looking stuff up on the interent but you read a website think yes thats it, then look at another and think no it can't be that :cry:
> 
> :flower:

Hi there

Sorry your little boy has been having some problems. I don't know if this will be of any help to you, but a friend of mine had the exact same problem with her baby. It turns out he was tongue-tied. He was nearly 2 years old and it had gone undetected for that long. I am sure that you would know, but I just thought it would be worth mentioning. Good luck finding out what is going on with your little darling. I hope everything is OK. xxxxx


----------



## Aunty E

Once we actually got referred it was six weeks before our appointment. We got bumped after that and got actual therapy within a month. We had to pester repeatedly for a referral, but Imogen is nearly three which helped. Imogen has perfectly good chewing and sound making skills, but has been delayed elsewhere. We're having her ears checked out as she's had quite nasty ear infections and we wonder if she has some hearing loss.


----------

