Speech development is not currently on track...
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SarahBear
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Sophie's in speech? What for?
Leo also said a few more words today. He said "yes," "done" and some other word that I can't remember. My sister (currently visiting family) also said that she heard him say his name. He also said other words that he's been saying:
hi
bye
thanks
this
Leo also said a few more words today. He said "yes," "done" and some other word that I can't remember. My sister (currently visiting family) also said that she heard him say his name. He also said other words that he's been saying:
hi
bye
thanks
this
Fruitmash
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DD was really slow picking up speech, my mum told it it was 'cause she was an only child so I didn't worry about it until her school sent her to special lessons and gave her a referral. By the time the referral went through and she was going to be seen, she'd already caught up, and now she's marginally ahead. Only by a couple of months but I'm really proud of her
Hi - I've read through your whole thread & it does sound like Leo is beginning to pick up more new words - great news!
I just wanted to say that I can totally relate to your situation. My dd was a great talker, her speech was really clear early on & she had loads more words at ds' age than he has. She continued to be a great communicator & in school she is in the top group for all of her subjects. Ds has a lot to live up to!!! I didn't think he had many words, but then I started filling out a checklist & realised he had more than I thought, they're just not very clear. At all. I'm doing makaton with him & that is helping both his understanding & his ability to express himself. I don't feel he's behind, it's just that he's not doing what dd was doing & it worries me. I worry that I don't spend enough 1:1 time with him like I did with dd & so it's "my fault". I am my own worst critic!!! I have had a thought about having dd as a role model though - when she was little I always talked about things in the "here & now" - things she could see at the time. I do that with ds too, but he's also exposed to lots more conversation about things that happened in the past or will happen in the future because that is what dd is talking about. I try to tell myself that he is still picking up the language, but can't relate it to the events yet. Does that make sense??
This is the checklist I used if it's of any help....
https://www.region10.org/r10website/assets/File/Mac WG_English.pdf
I've now decided to stick 10 words on the fridge to really focus on to help ds pick up new words in a slightly more structured way - but still within his activities & interests. Words like 'more' and 'go'. Will see if it helps. I'm hoping the clarity comes with some time.
I just wanted to say that I can totally relate to your situation. My dd was a great talker, her speech was really clear early on & she had loads more words at ds' age than he has. She continued to be a great communicator & in school she is in the top group for all of her subjects. Ds has a lot to live up to!!! I didn't think he had many words, but then I started filling out a checklist & realised he had more than I thought, they're just not very clear. At all. I'm doing makaton with him & that is helping both his understanding & his ability to express himself. I don't feel he's behind, it's just that he's not doing what dd was doing & it worries me. I worry that I don't spend enough 1:1 time with him like I did with dd & so it's "my fault". I am my own worst critic!!! I have had a thought about having dd as a role model though - when she was little I always talked about things in the "here & now" - things she could see at the time. I do that with ds too, but he's also exposed to lots more conversation about things that happened in the past or will happen in the future because that is what dd is talking about. I try to tell myself that he is still picking up the language, but can't relate it to the events yet. Does that make sense??
This is the checklist I used if it's of any help....
https://www.region10.org/r10website/assets/File/Mac WG_English.pdf
I've now decided to stick 10 words on the fridge to really focus on to help ds pick up new words in a slightly more structured way - but still within his activities & interests. Words like 'more' and 'go'. Will see if it helps. I'm hoping the clarity comes with some time.
minties
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People in public were struggling to understand her and she was getting very frustrated. So I kicked up a fuss and got her into some publicly fused therapy pronto. Turns out she's hard to understand because she's nasally due to adenoids and so therapy isn't needed now.
My daughter's doctor wasn't concerned with her speech at 18 months, but I was starting to worry. I finally contacted our local Early Intervention program right before she turned 2 and they came out to our house and did an assessment. She did end up being diagnosed with a speech delay and received weekly in-home therapy (which also included teaching signing since that is supposed to help them build language steps instead of hindering their progress) until she turned 3. I liked the Early Intervention route because it didn't involve a formal setting, but instead the case manager came to our house where she was comfortable and did a combination of working on her speech through play interactions/age appropriate methods as well as teaching us ways to help improve her speech since we're the ones that were with her all the time. Plus it was a government funded program, so there was no messing with referrals/insurance companies/etc.
We saw a huge improvement once she started EI
redneckhippy
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Boys are often slower in speech development than girls so I wouldn't compare too much. Have you checked his hearing? That is the #1 cause for speech delay. My son had multiple ear infections and that affected his speech. But also I remember about a month before his 18 month check thinking he MAYBE had 5-10 words and the. It was like he all of a sudden took off and picked up a bunch. To me, I think the main question is "does he seem interested in communicating?" If yes, and there is continuing improvement then I wouldn't feel too worried. If he's uninterested or regressing that's where I would be more worried.
SarahBear
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The average difference between girls and boys is a month. A month is so negligible. Leo is 20 months and while he has probably said at least 10 words, his active vocabulary (words used on a regular basis) is stagnant. He is SUPER interested in communicating though. I work as an autism consultant (new to the job, but it's still my job) and so I'm finding myself paying attention to all sorts of aspects of communication that I didn't think much about with my first when I was not an autism consultant. And he has so many strengths when it comes to communication. He's just not talking. He keeps having these little bursts where we see new words and I think "oh, he's starting to talk!" but then the new words don't get absorbed into his active vocabulary. I'm hoping that he just has a different learning style with talking and will just take off with it when he finally does apply all that he knows. Walking was similar. He crawled at 5.5 months and really good body awareness. He was super mobile and as he got a bit older he was good at climbing and getting around. He had really strong physical skills. However, he also progressed slower and less linearly than would be expected for his physical skill. He stood up at less than 7 months and then just stopped doing it for weeks. At some point (don't remember exactly when), he had the skills to stand and he had the skills to walk on his knees and he just did that for a long time, even when he appeared to have the skills necessary for walking and was really skilled in other physical ways. So... now we're seeing something similar with talking. He has so many good communication skills. He has spoken words that he didn't absorb into an active vocabulary... and hopefully eventually all the pieces will come together. I won't worry until after 2 years old.
SarahBear
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Leo said "apple" yesterday and he repeated it again today. He also has been making a certain sound to mean "duck." I think he's trying to say "quack," but it's so unclear that he could be attempting "duck." Who knows! Also according to this article, pretend play and language development are supposed to parallel each other. Leo's pretend play is much better than his language. I guess he didn't read the article!
https://www.sentinelsource.com/pare...cle_39a1275c-92f3-11e2-bf44-001a4bcf887a.html
https://www.sentinelsource.com/pare...cle_39a1275c-92f3-11e2-bf44-001a4bcf887a.html
JumpingIn
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Zach didn't read it either Sarah, he's been having tea parties with his animals since 15 months but he's only just started producing words. Apple is awesome! Zach said 'pretty' yesterday at some Christmas lights! It's exciting!
Sarah - I can't access the article because I'm not a subscriber. I just wondered if the article gave their interpretation of "language development"? Were they talking understanding? Use of words? Communicative intent? (e.g. Directing vocalisations at people, pointing, using gaze to direct an adults attention etc).
Just curious - thanks!
Just curious - thanks!
SarahBear
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I'm not a subscriber too. You just have to close out of that window. I don't remember exactly what they were talking about because I looked at a number of articles, so I don't remember if all the details I remember were from that one. I do know however that they talked about the complexity of utterances.
I can't get it, but it might be because I'm on my phone.
My assumption was that it related more to the understanding of language. Only because a toy is a symbolic representation of a real object. Just like a word is an abstract representation of (initially) real objects. So the understanding that toys represent reality should link to understanding words represent real things??? Like I said - totally my assumption.
My ds's play is developing nicely but is still fairly exploratory and relates to object functions (e.g. He likes to throw balls, talk in a toy phone & brush with pretend brushes). He's not got much true pretend play yet, although he will feed and "ssshhh" a doll/teddy so it's coming.
Jumping - sounds like Zack is doing some brilliant pretend play!!
My assumption was that it related more to the understanding of language. Only because a toy is a symbolic representation of a real object. Just like a word is an abstract representation of (initially) real objects. So the understanding that toys represent reality should link to understanding words represent real things??? Like I said - totally my assumption.
My ds's play is developing nicely but is still fairly exploratory and relates to object functions (e.g. He likes to throw balls, talk in a toy phone & brush with pretend brushes). He's not got much true pretend play yet, although he will feed and "ssshhh" a doll/teddy so it's coming.
Jumping - sounds like Zack is doing some brilliant pretend play!!
redneckhippy
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That may be the average but in my experience I see a big gender difference. At daycare if you see where the toddler boys vs girls are it's big. And all kids are individuals. If he's picking Up lots of new words then it sounds like he's doing fine.
SarahBear
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He seems to be starting to pick up words more frequently. The other day he said "apple" for the first time. Then yesterday he started "counting to one." I'm sure he doesn't understand the word, but he saw his sister counting and picked up the word "one." In response to the question "Leo, how many," he would point to the item and say an approximation of "one" as if counting. He's been saying "this" forever and sometimes says it so that it sounds like the letter name "s." However, at other times he says "this is." Today, he approached me with something he wanted named and he said "Mom, this is?" It has felt like he's on the edge of talking for so long! Another change in his communication - he is starting to request the toilet again using ASL. He started doing this before he was even a year old and stopped at, I don't remember what age. So he has a small signing vocabulary, can answer yes/no questions with gestures, and has a tiny vocabulary that he's starting to build slowly.
SarahBear
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Leo recently said "up," and although he said it multiple times, it was on one day during one interaction. He's also been sticking out his tongue and panting to say "dog." We have a baby signs book that uses that to mean "dog" and I guess my husband has read it with him a few times.
Receptively, he's doing great. Last night I was talking to Violet about washing her hair. Leo was playing in the toy kitchen while this conversation was happening and he stuck his head under the faucet to "wash" his own hair
Receptively, he's doing great. Last night I was talking to Violet about washing her hair. Leo was playing in the toy kitchen while this conversation was happening and he stuck his head under the faucet to "wash" his own hair
My daughter's doctor wasn't concerned with her speech at 18 months, but I was starting to worry. I finally contacted our local Early Intervention program right before she turned 2 and they came out to our house and did an assessment. She did end up being diagnosed with a speech delay and received weekly in-home therapy (which also included teaching signing since that is supposed to help them build language steps instead of hindering their progress) until she turned 3. I liked the Early Intervention route because it didn't involve a formal setting, but instead the case manager came to our house where she was comfortable and did a combination of working on her speech through play interactions/age appropriate methods as well as teaching us ways to help improve her speech since we're the ones that were with her all the time. Plus it was a government funded program, so there was no messing with referrals/insurance companies/etc.
We saw a huge improvement once she started EI!
I agree with this post, my pediatrician too was not concerned about my sons speech delay at 22 months, I also contacted early intervention who came to my home to evaluate and found him to be both delayed in his expressive speech and more so in his receptive speech due to hearing loss. Although I ended up using the speech therapy students clinic for speech therapy at a local college, it has helped significantly! He is now 27 months and still in their program! I highly recommend you have early intervention do a evaluation, it's free! Plus they were showing me ways that I could play/ teach my son at home during routine pal time! They were very helpful
SarahBear
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Leo is continuing to learn new words and expand his use of others. He said "up" multiple times now, for example. He also said "bell pepper" (!) yesterday. He's using a combination of words, signs, and gestures to get his point across. He's been using the "more" sign in more contexts which is cool. For example, we went to a place that has a gondola lift (for sight seeing, not skiing) today and it shows down and speeds up. Well, when it slowed down, he signed "more." We asked him a couple questions to figure out what he was asking for more of. Then we realized the timing of his signing and asked him if he wanted it to move again and he nodded. Then when we were in the house, one floor lamp was on and the other was off. He indicated each. Then he indicated the one that was on and signed "more." I asked him if he meant "more light." He nodded, so I showed him how to sign that. When he did, I turned on the light and he looked quite pleased.
