Severe speech delays

[Peanut78]

Hi all,

My son has delayed myelination (meaning the white matter in his brain has not developed at the same rate/or taking longer to develop than the average). This basically manifests as a motor planning issue - like dyspraxia.

He has caught up loads in terms of fine and gross motor (pretty much age appropriate, but perhaps not as dexterous etc.) But his speech is still a major issue. Still no words and nearly 3. He uses sign to communicate, which is great and increasing all the time.

I was wondering if anyone had any very late speakers and how their experience has been in terms of catch-up once they start speaking I guess I am clinging onto the hope that once it comes it will come quickly. I am worried about what his delays will mean in a school setting and that he will not be able to progress with his peers although he is cognitively on par....

 

[LilianA]

My son has mild autism and didnt say anything much till around 3 years..we had to put him thru LOTS of speech therapy (private and school) plus occupational therapy..he is 6 right now and says sooo much..his grammar is not right about half the time he talks but im hoping that will fix itself with time.
I know how you feel ..it was eating me up inside when he was that age and not saying anything but with therapy he should get there. for us it wasn't as fast as people tell you ( once he starts talking it all comes so fast) it wasn't easy but now 3 years later he is such a different boy.

 

[Peanut78]

My son has mild autism and didnt say anything much till around 3 years..we had to put him thru LOTS of speech therapy (private and school) plus occupational therapy..he is 6 right now and says sooo much..his grammar is not right about half the time he talks but im hoping that will fix itself with time.
I know how you feel ..it was eating me up inside when he was that age and not saying anything but with therapy he should get there. for us it wasn't as fast as people tell you ( once he starts talking it all comes so fast) it wasn't easy but now 3 years later he is such a different boy.

Great to hear that your son has progressed so well

We have been in ST and OT for a exactly a year now. He has come so far in his gross and fine motor. But the speech seems to be the last "block" that we are struggling with. For the last 6 months he has been having ST 2 x weekly. I do feel we are moving fwd, just thought the speech would be further along by now

 

[AP]

Just wanted to say hi. My daughter has no speech either - just "dayday" for anything she seems to like (Hello Kitty, Lady Gaga...) When she was born she had an ivh 4 (a brain bleed) and it hasnt affected her movements as we had all expected - it seems however she will have learning difficulties. We have just been assigned a home helper who will come and visit, and an occupational therapist along with speech therapy. We have tried signing with her but shes such a whirlwind and wont take much in

 

[hotsexymum]

Hi all,

My son has delayed myelination (meaning the white matter in his brain has not developed at the same rate/or taking longer to develop than the average). This basically manifests as a motor planning issue - like dyspraxia.

He has caught up loads in terms of fine and gross motor (pretty much age appropriate, but perhaps not as dexterous etc.) But his speech is still a major issue. Still no words and nearly 3. He uses sign to communicate, which is great and increasing all the time.

I was wondering if anyone had any very late speakers and how their experience has been in terms of catch-up once they start speaking I guess I am clinging onto the hope that once it comes it will come quickly. I am worried about what his delays will mean in a school setting and that he will not be able to progress with his peers although he is cognitively on par....

hi my son has speech delay and he is 4 sep that's fab he has caught up with fine motor skills , my son sign also and has only said 4 words , my son gets a lot of help at nursery special needs nursery , have you had education physiologist round they can help you with your sons needs ready for school , if you get a statement before school then you get to chose what school your son will be for him and down hear they get 1 to 1 help that's how it works hear . i don't know when my son will start talking , but i understand and mega (((hugs))) hope your getting the help you need and good luck xxx

 

[JASMAK]

My daughter had/has severe speech delay , but has come leaps and bounds wirh time and weekly SLP sessions. She was considered 'non verbal' (had echolalia but no purposeful speech) until almost four years. Se is still very delayed, but she can seem like she is further ehead than she is, as she says more than she can understand. The sppech therapy will really help. M daughter started with sign language too. My first 'I love you' was signed...best moment ever!

 

[Mrs_X]

i had severe speech delay and i didnt say anything till i was 4. but once i started to talk i quickly caught up

 

[JASMAK]

Just realized all my spelling mistakes....stupid iPad!!!

 

[Peanut78]

Just realized all my spelling mistakes....stupid iPad!!!

Hadn't even noticed until you pointed them out

I tried using my mum's ipad (she is Norwegian and bought her ipad in Norway). It wouldn't let me bypass the predictive word thing. Anyway, tried for about an hour to send a brief e-mail in english - they must have thought I was drunk or something when they received my message

 

[candee2007]

My daughter is 2.5 and has a severe speech delay. It is so hard not knowing when and if she is going to ever be able to talk like other kids. Then I worry if people will understand her when she does.

 

[Peanut78]

My daughter is 2.5 and has a severe speech delay. It is so hard not knowing when and if she is going to ever be able to talk like other kids. Then I worry if people will understand her when she does.

Hi hun

Sorry you are battling with speech as well

Does your daughter have a known condition?

I think in most instances, and with the right support, the speech does come. My sister also had a severe speech delay (although for different reasons to my son), and although languages were never her strong point she did develop "normal" speech (in her case only just started having words at 3 and went to a speech therapist till she was about 8).