23 Month Old... Not Talking - Hollywood,FL

hi sweetie, last november my son was 23 months old. i told myself if by 2 yrs old he hadn't improved then i would call ECI. so the talking didn't improve & i did call. he wasn't saying much more than mama and barely that. it was very frustrating to not know what he wanted/needed - i'm sure you can relate! :(
he just "graduated" ECI b/c he'll turn 3 next month and it only goes til 3 yrs old. i would say in june of this year when he was 2 1/2 he was talking SO good. they were aiming for 2-3 word phrases & he did it! of course we still work on pronunciation & clarity but what 3 yr old talks perfectly anyway! i'm SO happy w/the outcome & so proud of myself for making that call & getting him started on ECI. a lot of ppl discouraged me & said he was fine but i trusted my momma instinct. i'm very proud of him & we just have so much more fun together & i'm more in love w/him everyday.
i hope you'll do the same if you feel it's right. :)
(btw, it's not "clinical" feeling at all. you'll getta case mgr, a developmental service coordinator that checks on other areas of development, and a speech therapist). they met w/my boy at home & school & taught me what areas to specifically work on him with. it was just great. i think he gets his last session this month. i was offered an eval at the local ISD but declined b/c i am happy w/his progress. good luck to you & your sweet boy!

2 moms found this helpful

Sounds like both of my sons... late talkers, but they were fine and started takling very well a few months later, though some children do need some extra professional help.

In the meantime, you can contact ECI for an evaluation and more. It's free until the age of 3.
http://www.early-intervention.org/

If this is not the correct area for you, contact your pediatrician's office, they should direct you to the right area.

1 mom found this helpful

Sounds like my son at that age. At 24 months they should have (I think it's) 50 words and be putting two words together. The words do not need to be pronounced correctly. My son had early intervention, it was not free but it was VERY inexpensive, they came to my house and offered to go to his preschool as well. They bring toys and things to keep the kids interested and talking. He learned so much and made so much progress in one year! There is no reason not to contact Early Intervention, if you have trouble call your local elementary school and ask them to refer you....
S.

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Are you in Broward county? Here's a link: http://www.childrensdiagnostic.org/cdtc_early-steps.html. I would recommend having him evaluated. My son has been receiving speech therapy since he was about 20 months. One of the earlier posts mentioned torturing him. I will say that my son did not like his first therapist. I should have realized it sooner. We switched therapists and he loves when she comes to visit. It is not torture at all and it will help him in the long run. You may want to start using sign language. My son really enjoyed the signing times dvd's.

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Talk to your ped. You really need an evaluation done.

Ask the ped for the contact number of early intervention through the school system. That will help. Do you have insurance? They will pay for an eval. A private eval will help the public school system. If you don't have insurance, the early intervention people can evaluate him.

The most important thing is to get him some help. And watch them work with him, because you will need to do a home program with his every day. I mean that, really, every day. I did it twice daily, morning and night with my son, for 7 years.

Good luck,
D.

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Talk to your pediatrician and they can point you in the right direction for a speech evaluation!
This will most likely be at no-cost to you since he's under 3.
All the best!

he can say some words, thats good and he is smart... i think that your are blowing this out of proportion.... i mean how much do you thing a 23 month old should say??? hes still a baby..... give it a few months before you start torturing him, let him be a baby....

Check out www.masgutovamethod.com
There is much more to non verbalism then just the mouth.
Primitive reflex integration and a therapeutic listening program move these children very quickly and clean up many other issues.

Hi,
I totally understand your concerns. You are right to want an evaluation early and smart to target speech right away! Here are some options for you in South Florida for free evaluations and other early childcare providers:
- Broward211, dial 211 on your phone. They are a non-profit, family resource line that will put you on the right track for providers in your area from medical to therapies to events.
- Broward County Early Steps 'Part C' Childcare: Call Broward County's health department and request a review for speech. Children under the age of 3, qualify for the Part C healthcare programs, including developmental evaluations and therapies.
- Broward Children's Center: a comprehensive early childhood therapy center and provider. Located in both Pompano Beach and Hollywood.
- Nova Southeastern University's Baudhuin School/ Autism Institute. This is a VERY wide based program offering everything from free evaluations, testing and consultation to language based educational programs and a Pre-K school, specific to children with language disabilities.
- UMCARD - also based in Davie, this is a non-profit coop between UM Miami and Nova, a community resource for many within the Autism community.
- Medical centers such as Miami Children's Dan Marino Center and Joe DiMaggio's Children's Center at Memorial Hospital will both have active therapy centers and offer outreach programs with evaluations and programs throughout the year.

Before starting, you will need a script from your Pedi requesting speech services.

I would go with Broward 211, Broward Health & Nova as my first call's. They will give you most direct course of action for free evaluations and protocols if speech therapy is required.

If so, you'll have fun with it. There are tons of providers at all of the locations above (and many, many more including school) and it's a playtime environment for the children. There are also wonderful speech focused games on YouTube and APPs that will help improve your child's skills as well.

Good luck!

Certainly get him evaluated, but until then, TRY not to worry. Honestly, SOOO many bright boys I know did not talk until almost 3. My son didn't talk AT ALL at 2 1/2, and we're talking WAY less words than your son is using. My friends were all trying to get me to get him therapy, but we had so many relatives who were late talkers, I just wasn't into pushing it. He's now almost 4, and since age three, he's been a better talker than most, and now has an awesome vocabulary and use of words-it's one of his best traits! Those milestones are way off for boys imo. My 2 year old daughter is also not talking much and I'm not worried about it. My first talked up a storm at 18 months! All kids are different. If you are not sensing any difficulty in his comprehension, I would not be worried at all.

My 3 year old said NOTHING., not a word until he was almost 3. Now, 8 months later, he is the most talkative & bright boy I know.

Is he your only child? My DS#1 didn't start speaking until 27 months. The pediatrician set him up for a speech therapist appointment and said if he wasn't talking by 27 months we needed to go. We ended up cancelling. I found that I asked him a lot of yes/no questions and he didn't really need to talk. He speaks fine now. :-) DS#2 started speaking at 18 months which I attribute to asking him what he wanted and having an older brother to imitate. If you feel it necessary to initiate all of the available speech tools then definitely do that but if he hasn't had any other issues that would impede his speech I would give him a little more time. I wish you the best of luck. Please keep us posted on how everything works out. :-)

In the Miami-Dade County area there is The Children's Trust which has info on resources for children's health http://www.thechildrenstrust.org Since you are in Hollywood you could ask if they know of resources in South Broward. If you have insurance then that may cover free speech evaluations. I'll be up in Hollywood myself a couple Tuesdays this month doing vibrational sound healing meditations (I work with tuning forks and crystal and Tibetan singing bowls to facilitate meditation and clear energetic blocks/tension.) Kids who have speech issues usually have an energy disruption around the throat area (throat chakra in the yogic terminology).
Best wishes in getting help for your child.

I wouldnt worry to much at this age. My son is 20 months and still isnt talking very well or pronouncing. You may also want to get his ears checked. if he has lots of ear infections you may need to get tubes. after my son got his tubes he started to talk a little more. hope this helps