# Speech delay :-(



## Boo44

I've definitely decided now that my 23 month old son must be speech delayed. I haven't seeked any official assessment yet but think I should

I've posted a few times about this. He does have some words only he is NOT progressing, he is using the same old words and noises/gestures that he has always used, and the gap is widening between his peers. I am so upset and frustrated by it it's untrue. He seemed to be learning with if not ahead of his friends last year. He learnt a lot of his words last year!

I keep being surprised by how much other children his age can apparently say. For instance I was posting in the toilet training thread and people said you know they're ready when they tell you they need the toilet or don't want nappies. Can other peoples 2 year old really say that much? He's so far away from that

I have no concerns about his communication, understanding and language. I understand him 100%, he's developed a lot of sign gestures and noises for words that we can almost 'converse'. He listens to me and can follow complex 3 stage instructions. He points to things in books that I have no idea how he knows those words. He simply has an issue with actually saying the words himself. 

I did the mchat and he scored low risk. I don't even know what I think the problem is but I'm starting to get anxious now. I just can't imagine him ever talking to me, he can't even say 'bye' he just waves and says 'ahhh'

Do I just wait for his 2 year check to mention it? Does anyone have any tips?

I made a list a few weeks ago of what he says, I'll try and find it and post it here


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## Boo44

Mama
Dada
No
More
Go
All gone
Car
Uh oh
There
In there
On there
Lawnmower

Nooo - nose
Gaaaa - 'ta' ie thank you
Aaaaah - bye
Nann - man
Nana - banana
OoVa - hoover
Sssshh - Freddie
Ma-Maa - grandma 
Dadad - grandad
Nornor - police/fire engine
Wowow - Owl
Mo - mole
Num num - food
Nono - snowman
Dodo - dummy
Dansair - downstairs
Brmm brmmm 
Dack Dack - Jack

Pig/cow/sheep/snake/dog - all noises, no words 

The two words he can string together:
Car mama/dada etc
Aaaaah (bye) mama/dada etc
Uh oh mama/dada
No mama/dada
Gaaaa (thank you) mama/dada


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## Misstrouble19

hey i'd talk to your hv and see if you can get him referred to speech therapy my son is only just saying 2 word sentences at 2 years and 10 months!.... but best to have piece of mind xx hope this helps


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## Boo44

Thanks I will do I think. Just the thought of getting them involved makes me anxious!!

My main concerns are that he isn't progressing and lots of the things he says, he said almost 1 year ago and not much new...


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## AP

It sounds like the main issue is his speech. Mchat is for autism, and it doesn't sound like your LO meets the criteria for that kind of investigation, from what you have said. 

Our second daughter Tori is speech delayed, she has just turned three. She has speech therapy, but most of the progress she has made has come from time, makaton signing (we have specifically learnt for our older asd child), and playgroups. Playgroups have certainly made a huge difference. Speech therapy have left us alone a bit because we have the tools we need, and theres not much they can add.

Speech therapy is the way to go, do get in contact with your HV, she can also advise of places in your area you can go to.


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## Ward

Both of my sons have had similar issues. One has been diagnosed with autism and one has not and I'm leaning towards thinking he won't be.

We originally didn't stress about the lack of language, as we too could understand him just fine. He found other ways to communicate, like pointing for what he wanted. 

Since my ex-husband (we were married and living together at the time) doesn't speak English as his first language, we just assumed that had something to do with it and that he'd catch up eventually. Now, I'm not sure why we assumed that since his dad really didn't speak Portuguese to him at all.

It wasn't until we took him to his 3rd year checkup and the doctor asked if we had any concerns, that my then husband brought it up. He didn't think much of it and neither did I. Neither of us would ever have thought autism. I don't know it was a word we were even all that familiar with.

So fast-forward a bit. It was pretty quickly after that that he went through assessment and immediately began different forms of therapy. He had speech therapist coming into the home and working with him twice a week. We also ended up putting him in day care at their request, so that he would have a daily chance to practice his skills talking to the teachers and other children.

All of these things made such a huge difference for him, I almost want to cry just thinking about it. Within the first year, the impact was huge. He was using fully formed sentences, he stopped pointing for stuff he wanted, etc. It was awesome.

He still has plenty of therapy and he's still behind the kids his age in the language department, but he's come such a long way! (he's six now)

His brother was slow to develop his speech too but I'd say once he hit three-and-a-half, his verbal skills suddenly came out of nowhere. He's a regular chatty Cathy now and I couldn't be more thrilled.

I think that therapy is the best thing ever invented, so if you think your son has delays that concern you, don't hesitate to reach out for what's around you. It's never too early to start.

I hope things work out for you! :hugs:


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## Misstrouble19

just dont think your alone.. im in pretty much the same boat except my son is delayed with all things and again my son does alot of pointing but i encourage him to say what he wants and he will tell me , alot of encouragement goes a very long way.. im a worrier got a big meeting on 19th june and that makes me nerve wracked knowing there's gonna be me and his dad and like 8 others :(


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## Boo44

AtomicPink said:


> It sounds like the main issue is his speech. Mchat is for autism, and it doesn't sound like your LO meets the criteria for that kind of investigation, from what you have said.
> 
> Our second daughter Tori is speech delayed, she has just turned three. She has speech therapy, but most of the progress she has made has come from time, makaton signing (we have specifically learnt for our older asd child), and playgroups. Playgroups have certainly made a huge difference. Speech therapy have left us alone a bit because we have the tools we need, and theres not much they can add.
> 
> Speech therapy is the way to go, do get in contact with your HV, she can also advise of places in your area you can go to.

So is it possible to be speech delayed without having any other kind of developmental delay or autism spectrum disorder? Sorry if I sound ignorant I just know nothing at all about this kind of thing and am getting myself really worked up about it

Everyone's advice and words have been really helpful. He doesn't go to any kind of day care (ie nursery or anything), when I went back to work after him he spent each day with family. Then I was back off on another maternity leave by December so it's mainly with me again, although we do go to little groups and see friends almost every day. I'm already thinking of putting him in nursery one day a week when I go back to work again in August. My family have offered to have them the full 3 days again but I already wanted to get him socialised so said no. Now you girls have said that as well, my mind is made up. 

He is a really sociable little boy. He's fun, giggly, smiley and seems to have bags of personality. He is fun to be around and loves other children. He's upstairs having a nap now and I've just rung the HV. She was lovely and listened to my concerns. She said at 2 years you'd expect 50 words, is that right? She is going to come out and do a home assessment and said he does need checking out. I feel so guilty now, I can't explain why!


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## AP

Boo44 said:


> So is it possible to be speech delayed without having any other kind of developmental delay or autism spectrum disorder? Sorry if I sound ignorant I just know nothing at all about this kind of thing and am getting myself really worked up about it
> 
> Everyone's advice and words have been really helpful. He doesn't go to any kind of day care (ie nursery or anything), when I went back to work after him he spent each day with family. Then I was back off on another maternity leave by December so it's mainly with me again, although we do go to little groups and see friends almost every day. I'm already thinking of putting him in nursery one day a week when I go back to work again in August. My family have offered to have them the full 3 days again but I already wanted to get him socialised so said no. Now you girls have said that as well, my mind is made up.
> 
> He is a really sociable little boy. He's fun, giggly, smiley and seems to have bags of personality. He is fun to be around and loves other children. He's upstairs having a nap now and I've just rung the HV. She was lovely and listened to my concerns. She said at 2 years you'd expect 50 words, is that right? She is going to come out and do a home assessment and said he does need checking out. I feel so guilty now, I can't explain why!

Yes, it's possible just to have a speech delay, probably more common than anything else! At present our Tori has had a preassessment for autism only on the basis that her sister has autism and we want to monitor things. Autism is based on a triad of impairments, speaking loosely, it's social relationships, rigitidity of thought (imagination), and language & communication. The fact you can converse, he can follow 3 step instructions, has a great understanding, you say he's sociable - that's all really positive. I'm not saying autism or the like isnt a possibility, I am no paeditrician, but, everything sounds well! You don't sound ignorant - I knew nothing about ASD to begin with!

The whole "xxx number of words at xxx age" is just a sorta average, but if you look at what you listed above - that's about 50 words - the animal sounds count too.

I was never one for nurseries or social parent things, but, sending Tori to those type of things was were she really blossomed. She is still delayed, but weirdly can sing some songs (unfortunately it has to be rude stuff she picks up - sods law :rofl:)

Nursery rhymes with signs are fantastic. I would really really recommend this lot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0peZ5AN5vs8 (Toris first favourite rhyme) They use makaton signing. Signing isnt there to replace the speech - it in facts promotes it, neurologically. It's great fun and extends the vocab and understanding. Mr Tumble too, uses Makaton. It can be scary to think about learning something that is almost another language, but you'll find its easier to pick up through songs - most signs are common sense really!


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## Boo44

Thanks atomic pink that's all so helpful. You've been so nice. He actually enjoys me tumble a lot, and does have a tendency to sign things. I'll be showing him those YouTube clips too :)

I didn't know the animal sounds count as words but the HV said that to me on the phone today too. Am waiting to hear back from them about when they're coming to do a home assessment x


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## RachA

Hi.

It's always worth seeing your HV just for peace of mind. 

Did you say he used signs for words too? If so those signs actually count towards the number of words he can 'say' So my daughter at 3 years had 7 words but of those 7 3 were actually signs and not spoken words.


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## Boo44

RachA said:


> Hi.
> 
> It's always worth seeing your HV just for peace of mind.
> 
> Did you say he used signs for words too? If so those signs actually count towards the number of words he can 'say' So my daughter at 3 years had 7 words but of those 7 3 were actually signs and not spoken words.

Yes quite a few of his first words were signs/noises. For instance he taps his head to mean 'scarecrow' (from us singing dingle dangle scarecrow with a flippy floppy hat to him), and he whirls his arm in circles whilst saying szzzzz to mean a helicopter. He also taps his chest and says 'da' which very clearly he is using to mean 'jack' or 'me'

Do these really count as words?


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## Misstrouble19

ive started saying words for my son and he copies me and i also sign them to him so that he gets the understanding of it, try flash cards to get him to communicate?? it's really helping with my son :) like if i say 'ball'' he will say ''ball'' and we sign it x


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## sequeena

Hello I'm another one with a delayed speech child. My HV picked up on Thomas' problems so it may be worth speaking to them. They may also send him for a hearing test as speech delay is sometimes because of a hearing problem - it could be something as simple as glue ear.


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## Boo44

My son won't copy me at all. No matter how many times I say things, or if I say 'jack, say ...' he just giggles at me! Absolutely no parroting at all. Not sure if that's significant


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## Misstrouble19

speech therapy should help him along .. its good that you have your hv involved now to help you along and these support forums are a great thing


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## sequeena

Boo44 said:


> My son won't copy me at all. No matter how many times I say things, or if I say 'jack, say ...' he just giggles at me! Absolutely no parroting at all. Not sure if that's significant

He's only little still. My son has only recently started parroting and he doesn't do it all the time :)


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## Boo44

Misstrouble19 said:


> speech therapy should help him along .. its good that you have your hv involved now to help you along and these support forums are a great thing

You're right, I feel so much lighter this evening even afte just a few posts in this part of the forum. You ladies have really helped me. I think that admitting to the HV i think he has an issue has also helped me... Fingers crossed he just gets it one day and talks, but I'm really glad for all these tips to help him


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## RachA

Boo44 said:


> RachA said:
> 
> 
> Hi.
> 
> It's always worth seeing your HV just for peace of mind.
> 
> Did you say he used signs for words too? If so those signs actually count towards the number of words he can 'say' So my daughter at 3 years had 7 words but of those 7 3 were actually signs and not spoken words.
> 
> Yes quite a few of his first words were signs/noises. For instance he taps his head to mean 'scarecrow' (from us singing dingle dangle scarecrow with a flippy floppy hat to him), and he whirls his arm in circles whilst saying szzzzz to mean a helicopter. He also taps his chest and says 'da' which very clearly he is using to mean 'jack' or 'me'
> 
> Do these really count as words?Click to expand...

If he is using them regularly as 'words' then yes they do count in the same way that animal noises count. 

Esther has only just started parroting in the last few months. 
I would definitely just push for a hearing test. I know it's not always that simple but a friend of mine has a sister that wasn't talking much at 3 1/2. She wasn't delayed in any other way and after having her hearing checked and dealt with she started talking within weeks. 

It is more unusual for a child to just have a speech delay. Most of the time other areas of development are delayed too, even if it's not as much. 
Guess what I'm trying to say is first port of call would be HV and ask for a hearing test.


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## bananabump

Hi Boo44.. my son is 2 years 9 months and sounds veeeery similiar to your son. We started the ball rolling with the HV when he was 22/23 months aswell and I hate to say this but it's been a very slow process so far! We did have a bit of a breakthrough a few months ago though when our Paediatrician and Speech pathologist both said they would unofficially diagnose him with Verbal Dyspraxia which is also known as Childhood Apraxia of speech. When he's 3 he'll be having a more in depth assessment so that he can be officially diagnosed. Have a look at this website and see what you think about your son.. https://www.tayloredmktg.com/dyspraxia/das.shtml


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## Boo44

Thanks bananabump that's very interesting. So if he was diagnosed with this (not sure as he fits some but not all on that site) then does it tend to be an isolated thing? That can eventually resolve or does it have long term consequences?

I knew each child is different and needs their own specialised assessment but thought you may know a bit about it in general if that's what your son may have x


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## bananabump

Yeh it's not associated with anything else.. and with intensive speech therapy they can be absolutely fine :) It's upsetting that he isn't coming out with all the funny sayings like his little friends are but like your son he definitely has his own way of communicating and getting his message across plus he's very friendly and caring so I know this isn't going to hold him back xxx


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## Boo44

Well thought I'd update as the HV visited us today. Overall it was a positive visit. Ultimately she is referring him for audiology testing, and to SALT. She said they may see him once and that's it, but that it is worth doing as she could see what I mean. 

She said he appears very bright and engaged/engaging, and he obviously is absolutely fine with his language and understanding. There just seems to be a mismatch between transferring that into speech. Anyway, we'll see. I feel glad he's getting looked at, but the whole thing makes me really anxious!

Oh and over the weekend, he repeated two new words which was exciting. 'Hello' and 'toes'. Thing is he won't say them again now (lol!!)


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## mummy3

Sounds very positive and that you're in line for the right services:thumbup: Yay for new words too:happydance:

I have 2 (well soon to be 3) kids go through speech therapy and it does make a massive difference. Learning sign language also helped alot. Ultimately my kids have other issues too, autism, global delay and genetic disorders but from talking with their therapists they do get kids with focused delay in single areas. Speech delays themselves can be very diverse, my son had one word at 3, he now has speech weekly for pragmatic language (the way he understands communication), my daughter has severe expressive delay and moderate receptive (she had words at 1 then lost all words and sounds by 15m and then and now presents with apraxia of speech!) then my baby who is only 10.5m but is looking to start speech at 1 due to lack of noises. I also have a friend whos son presented with severe expressive language delay and it was eventually found he had glue ears so that got fixed and now they're working on him relearning words and how they really sound! So all different! But therapies have helped all so getting in there and at the very least getting tips and advice will be so valuable:hugs:


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## Boo44

Just a mini update really. We're still waiting on any appointments for
SALT or audiology (no surprise there!) but in the past 2 weeks since the HV came I think I may be noticing subtle improvements

She said to me that all the words he has learnt 'wrong' for instance 'ahh' for bye and 'snorty noise' for pig etc, to him they are words. So whereas I was concentrating on trying to get him to say those words properly, she said to him he IS saying them and so I should concentrate on new words. Now my son had never ever parroted words for me, but I encouraged him a bit and he says hello and toes and cheese now. He doesn't use them quite freely yet, but if I encourage him he will say them. It's almost like 'laziness' of speech!! Also digger used to be brrrrrm but now I've encouraged him and he says 'di-di' which I'm happy with

This morning when his cereal ran out he pointed at his bowl and said 'uh-oh more in there' I nearly died! And in the car he gave me two dummies for my bag and said 'ahhh (bye) more dodo'. So he's stringing 3 words together but not really spontaneously using any new words. I guess we'll see how it goes and I can continue encouraging him until the appointment

I was so happy but then I was with him in a book shop this afternoon and a little boy who looked younger was with his mummy reading Dear Zoo and he was saying every single rhyming word at the end of the phrases and he could actually SAY the animal names instead of automatically using the noises. Ahh comparing is rubbish isn't it :(


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## bananabump

He sounds like he's doing great though hun! Leo isn't doing some of what you've said.. and the things he is he's only started in the last few months and he's almost a year older than your little boy! Stay positive :) We've got another assessment with th speech therapist on 25/06 so I can't wait to see if she thinks he's progressing etc x


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## Boo44

bananabump said:


> He sounds like he's doing great though hun! Leo isn't doing some of what you've said.. and the things he is he's only started in the last few months and he's almost a year older than your little boy! Stay positive :) We've got another assessment with th speech therapist on 25/06 so I can't wait to see if she thinks he's progressing etc x

Thanks bananabump! You'll have to let me know what they say, I hope they can see some progression for him :) What sort of techniques have you been using with him?

I'm trying not to compare and it's easy until I get together will all my friends whose sons are the same age. I really don't want to get to the stage of dreading meeting up with them all as I've always loved the get togethers x


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## RachA

Sounds like he's doing great :) 

It's so so hard not to compare, think it's a compulsion for us mums. Lol. 
One day you'll look back and wonder what all the worry was about. 

At the same time as E was referred for speech therapy (at 2years) another 3 children that I know were also referred as they had a minimal number of words. All of the other 3 children did one 6 week course of therapy and were signed off as they were fine :)


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## Boo44

So I'm just wondering...

Jack has a very limited vocabulary and those words he does say he has been saying for a long time now. I can't remember the last time he spontaneously said a new word. He hasn't lost words though (touch wood)

Anyway within the words he does say, he is now really trying to string little sentences together. Like this morning he said 'dada dack in there lawnmower' whilst pointing outside to where him and OH had been cutting the grass yesterday (before you get too impressed with 'lawnmower' he's been saying that for 12 months - I was excited last year....)
Thing is he will not add new words no matter how hard I try to encourage him. So he's progressing within his known vocabulary alone and none else

Is this a recognisable 'thing'? Have any of you experienced this? It seems strange to me that he can say a little sentence but then doesn't seem to be able to say simple words like ball or bike etc...


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## RachA

Esther is a little like that. She can put together certain words in a sentence but doesn't use new words spontaneously. She can now copy most words (this is new to us as she's only been doing this for about a month). So for example the other day I said something was marvellous. E copied the word marvellous but hasn't since used it. 

I don't know if this is anything recognised. Obviously for us it's different because E is nearly 5 and is doing this where your son is still very little. I would of thought if he's trying to put little sentences together then he's going the right way :)


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## morri

https://s25.postimg.org/fc3e8zjzj/Screenshot_from_2014_06_19_11_01_20.png


according to Largo.

This is vocabulary from age 2 to 5. you see there is a huge span, the average is the middle line, but it is the same with growth, weight it can vary by a lot.


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## Ashla

Hi Boo44. I don't want to hijack your thread- but I think my son might have the same thing. He is 27 months now and has been referred to a speech therapist but we are still waiting, waiting, waiting:( We went for his hearing check and his hearing is fine.

He is also a good communicator by using a lot of pointing and non verbal noises, uses made up words (bace means elephant etc), lost words between 12 and 18 months old and has only uttered a two word sentence 3 times ever.

Sometimes I think he is doing well and that I am over reacting. Then we visit with one of his friends and I am shocked by what other two year olds are able to say. I just want to get the speech therapy assessment already. I'm worried for my little boy:(


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## bananabump

Hi Ashla and Boo44, are you both on facebook? I was thinking about making a private group on there where we can keep upto date with our childrens speech developments? If you want to then message me your facebook names and I'll add you as friend. Anyone else is more than welcome to join aswell xx


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## Boo44

Hi bananabump that sounds good to me! Will message you x


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## Ashla

I'm not on Facebook anymore. If I was though, I'd definitely want to join!


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## Menelly

Boo44 said:


> Thanks I will do I think. Just the thought of getting them involved makes me anxious!!
> 
> My main concerns are that he isn't progressing and lots of the things he says, he said almost 1 year ago and not much new...

I dunno, Kesslie was severely speech delayed (scored in the 2nd percentile on all her tests) and in the last month she's gained probably 200 words. (She's 27 months old now.) I have her in Early Intervention with a play therapist, a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist (she's a bit sensory seeking). I also took a DIRFloortime class.

It's AMAZING what she started learning once it clicked. Early intervention is a godsend, IMO. It's made such a huge difference once we finally got all the interventions she needed going. Seriously... she went from signing 10 words or so (and saying maybe 5) to a vocabulary of easily over 250 words. Get into early intervention ASAP. It makes such a difference!


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## bananabump

Menelly said:


> Boo44 said:
> 
> 
> Thanks I will do I think. Just the thought of getting them involved makes me anxious!!
> 
> My main concerns are that he isn't progressing and lots of the things he says, he said almost 1 year ago and not much new...
> 
> I dunno, Kesslie was severely speech delayed (scored in the 2nd percentile on all her tests) and in the last month she's gained probably 200 words. (She's 27 months old now.) I have her in Early Intervention with a play therapist, a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist (she's a bit sensory seeking). I also took a DIRFloortime class.
> 
> It's AMAZING what she started learning once it clicked. Early intervention is a godsend, IMO. It's made such a huge difference once we finally got all the interventions she needed going. Seriously... she went from signing 10 words or so (and saying maybe 5) to a vocabulary of easily over 250 words. Get into early intervention ASAP. It makes such a difference!Click to expand...

Are you in the UK? How did you go about getting early intervention? My son is almost 3 and we've been waiting for speech therapy since he was 2 and he's still not started! X


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## Menelly

bananabump said:


> Menelly said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Boo44 said:
> 
> 
> Thanks I will do I think. Just the thought of getting them involved makes me anxious!!
> 
> My main concerns are that he isn't progressing and lots of the things he says, he said almost 1 year ago and not much new...
> 
> I dunno, Kesslie was severely speech delayed (scored in the 2nd percentile on all her tests) and in the last month she's gained probably 200 words. (She's 27 months old now.) I have her in Early Intervention with a play therapist, a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist (she's a bit sensory seeking). I also took a DIRFloortime class.
> 
> It's AMAZING what she started learning once it clicked. Early intervention is a godsend, IMO. It's made such a huge difference once we finally got all the interventions she needed going. Seriously... she went from signing 10 words or so (and saying maybe 5) to a vocabulary of easily over 250 words. Get into early intervention ASAP. It makes such a difference!Click to expand...
> 
> Are you in the UK? How did you go about getting early intervention? My son is almost 3 and we've been waiting for speech therapy since he was 2 and he's still not started! XClick to expand...

No, I'm in the US. Utah, to be exact. I'm sorry you have to wait so long, that sucks. :( Here in Utah, they have 14 days to get you evaluated (by law) and 90 days to get you started on services (by law). Anything longer than that and (I believe) you can actually sue. So we got services pretty quickly.


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## Boo44

So Jack had his audiology today. He's a bit of an awkward age to test hearing - apparently they have one test for 6-18 month olds, and one for older kids. I said to give the older one a go and he was a superstar. He sat and listened for a sound and pressed the space bar on a computer keypad every time he heard one. She said he was one of the youngest to cooperate with their test, as he didn't just press the button to see the picture, he understood that he had to wait and listen when I told him. I was super proud. And he passed so no hearing issues, which is great! We're still awaiting SALT (obviously!)

As an aside - what is hand flapping? I am obviously full of concerns regarding his speech delay and one of those is the risk of autism. I've read about it and now am a bit obsessed with checking for signs. He's never hand flapped before but I saw him do it twice today, once when he stroked a cat and got all excited. I've got heart sink about it now. Just wish this mummy business was easier on the nerves xx


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## Mysunshine

Wow what an exciting thread. Boo44, just to let you know that many of us here are sending our love and support to Jack and yourself! Hugs XXX


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## Misstrouble19

since my son's birthday all he's done is sing happy birthday to you lol :) yes my sons with early intervention team and it's done him the world of good... hardly much babbling now i dont think... i can understand what he's saying now like 50% of the time but he's come such a long way speech wise he's a number 8 IN HIS IDP AT NURSERY (play group) but changed from a 5 to an 8 within 4 months.. he's 3 and working in 16-26 gap but thats changed very quickly


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## nicki01

My daughter is autistic and has a speech delay, its frustrating at times, my 18 month old neice has almost caught her up with her speech now only Charlie is 3.5 yrs!
We done a speech and language therapy course in January for 4 weeks and she has come on loads since.
The key is limit your own speech hugely. 
I have always talked to Charlie alot. However they have taught me so differently but it seems to have helped.
I just tell her what she needs to hear, whereas before I would say 'Charlie we are going in the car to the shop, we need to get bread, milk and cheese, have you got your coat. Where are your shoes etc etc.'
Now i say 'Charlie shop, find coat and shoes'
Then when we are in the shop 'where is the bread...... Where is the milk.......'
Then 'shop finished, home time'
Really basic and simple, just what she needs to hear. Before I would chatter away to her and it wasn't actually doing her any good!
Sadly the referrals take a while, Charlie's delays where picked up when she was 2 and 1 and half years later we have only done one speech & language course, our second is in August.


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## Boo44

It's very very frustrating waiting for SLT with no improvement in the meantime. Am actually considering paying to have private SLT but not sure how expensive it is or how to go about it...


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## minties

He sounds very similar to how Thomas was at 22-25 months old. Thomas was always very good at understanding language but just didn't seem to want to speak it. It was extremely frustrating and worrisome. When he did talk it sounded a bit weird, like teddy was teh-yee and he didn't parrot and refused to call me mummy.

Now I have Sophie who says new words all the time and parrots any word i ask her to, but can't pronounce a lot of them correctly (no for nose, kiyee for kitty etc) so I freak out that she's got something wrong too. Even water sounds like dawda. And when she does attempt a sentence, it's with this weird pause between words. "water....mummy...Sophie?" (which actually sounds like dawda mummy fofee). 

I hope things go well for Jack. He is a lovely wee boy from what I see on here.

Oh and Thomas turned out fine in the end, he just randomly started saying lots and his speech took right off. So no idea why he didn't talk until he was 2.


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## Boo44

Thanks minties! It's always reassuring to hear of others who have come out the other side! I think I would be ok if it wasn't for comparing with other kids. I know that's like number 1 in the book of what NOT to do as a parent, but when he is so clearly behind how can I not?!

For instance his friends say things like 'oh the farm! A pig! Pig hungry!' Or the other day his friend said 'ding dong broken we must knock door'. I was flabbergasted!

Jack is showing improvement but like I have said before it's almost like he's decided which words he will say and sticks to them. Very difficult to get him to try new words. But he can say 'uh oh mama num-nums all gone!' when I've finished my food, or he'll say 'uh-oh shush dodo in there!' if his brothers dummy falls out (Freddie is 'shush' to Jack) and a few weeks ago he wasn't stringing words together. But I spend a long time on words like bus or baby and just nothing!

It's like a constant level of anxiety now. And waiting for this explosion as I have been for over 6 months makes it worse when it doesn't come :)

At least if I pay for a SLT assessment we can get the ball rolling

I'm sure Sophie is completely fine I read that you should be able to understand something like 50% of what they say at 2, and 75% by age 3. Then they should be understandable by everyone including non family members in the main part by age 4


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## minties

I used to hate other kids being around Thomas, it would make me feel like I was some failure as a mother. It really didn't help that I have a cousin who is 11 months older than Thomas and who started talking when he was 10 months old! He could sing nursery rhymes at 13 months, could sign for also sorts of things and say complicated words like helicopter and butterfly perfectly. At family gatherings no one would even try to talk to Thomas because my cousin would be the only one to respond.

Thomas only chose to say so many words also. Daddy, teddy, car, one and bye were a few I can recall. He didn't say mummy until 2.5 or thereabouts. 

There were lots of other kids that were similar in speech in our coffee group, funnily all boys. Sophie also has a friend who is 2 years 1 month and his speech is very much the same. A set of words he's used for a long time, noises and grunts in place of words, and some animal noises. Sophie has way more words than he does, but he communicates his needs just fine so doesn't bother with new words.

My brother also had difficulty with talking as a toddler, on a much worse scale though (like not till almost 4). He's the most talkative, successful one of the two of us these days. Has a whopper of an IQ too, around 160, mine is 118 and I was full on talking in sentences by 18 months apparently.

Thomas is perfectly normal with speech now and even shows quite a talent for comedic timing and comprehending difficult words and concepts. 

Best of luck to Jack!


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## Boo44

I love you minties!

All of those boys you've just described sound exactly the same as jack! Lots of gestures and sounds and a few words he's comfortable with. Then who needs any more?! Hopefully he'll catch up just like your Thomas did

When we kiss him we make a noise like 'mwah' and when we hug him or he hugs us we always say 'ahhhh' and cuddle him. So jack being jack has decided to say those noises instead of words. In the car when I picked him up today we were talking about what we could do when we got home, and he was saying

'Mama shush num-nums, Dada dack mwah ahhhh!'

Which translated means - mummy and Freddie can have food and daddy and jack can kiss and cuddle. In one sense I'm like Ohhhh that's so cute! And then on the other hand I'm like whyyyyy can't you use the actual words...


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## veganmama

any update boo?? :)


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## Boo44

Hi thanks for asking :) He's had a private SLT do a speech assessment and one therapy session so far

She says he has some very advanced sounds and has advanced language and understanding for his age. Speech wise she agrees he is behind but it is that he has missed two critical sounds 'p' and 'b' which they usually pick up first. She says it is likely due to his recurrent ear infections in his first year (although hearing test was normal)

So we're concentrating on those sounds now and have had some breakthroughs although it is generally slow! She says he is very Young for speech therapy and I have to be careful I don't push him and make him rebel against it completely!


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