Speech and Language Question

I suggest that if the teacher says he's within normal limits you needn't worry. You could ask his pediatrician to be sure. A phone call may do it. Make a list of all the words he uses and of the sounds he's able to say so that you can tell the doctor.

Or you can have him evaluated for free by the school district. They'll do a short screening first to determine if he needs the full screening. This service is provided by Federal law and is free of charge to you. Call the district officer for the number to Early Intervention Program.

My oldest, at 18 months. My youngest, at around 30 months. There is a lot of variation.

There are many elements of speech and language. In my opionon, the most important thing is that your child understands you and can follow simple instructions. Beyond comprehension, are vocabulary which can be slow to develop in some kids and articulation which can be even slower. My 3 year old (the younger) just had a speech evaluation. She has the comprehension and vocab of a 6 year old, but her articulation is at the 35th percentile for her age. But she is improving a lot every day.

So you need to ask
-does he understand me?
-is her understandable by others?
-is he stagnating or improving?

Odds are he is fine. One thing to keep in mind is that the standards for government services in this country are pitifully low, like the 25th percentile for age. So, you need to decide what your personal standards are and your point of willingness to seek therapy. My child's teachers have always said, the key for them, is whether the speech production is interfering in their social development. So, one more question is

- do his peers and teachers understand him?
- is he embarrassed by his speech or unwilling to talk?

Remeber that "normal" is always a RANGE on a bell curve! He sounds WAY ahead of where my son was at that age and my son was evauluated twice for language delays (and came in at the low side of the normal range both times!)

My daughter could tell people her name and her age by 18 months. Not sure that she actually "comprehended" it, but she "knew" how to answer those questions. I did, however, work on those 2 questions with her a LOT, so not sure how much of it was just "repeating" what she heard. She also could spell her name and recognize her name when it was written.

I don't think there really is a "normal" for speech. If he talks a lot, i wouldn't be too worried. I know there are lots of 2 year olds who can only say a few words, and their parents have been told their development is fine.

Since he is 2, I would not be overly concerned but would just be more aware of it and continue to monitor his speech.
Have you talk to his pediatrician, they will know the normal range in pronunciation for his age group?

My daughter is almost 3 and still not potty trained, does not know most colors, and does not know the numbers or letters when she sees them. I would say she is definitely behind in these areas but not out of the normal range.

When she was about 2 1/2, she knew her first name, mommy and daddy's first name, and if you ask her where she lives, she will say the town and state and she can say her abc's and can count to 10. I would say she is advanced in this area.

My point is that every child develops at different rates. My daughter seems to learn to learn things that you tell her, but not be able to learn visually. Your son may learn other things faster than other children and vise versa.

I want to first say that I usually err on the side of caution on speech questions but in your case, it sounds like your son is fine. When you say he is 2, did he just turn 2, is he 2 1/2 or is he closer to 3? I will assume you mean he is 2 like he just turned that age a few months ago. No young child will know the answers to those questions unless he or she is taught. What you are describing is an articulation issue. Articulation takes time to develop and if the preschool is not concerned then I would not be either. Nowadays preschools and daycares are very proactive in identifying possibly issues. You can get a speech evaluation but articulation is not a "delay". There is a little girl at my son's babysitter who is 3 1/2 and Very hard to understand. She has a major articulation issue and needs help. She does not get any. I would wait a little longer for your son because there is a big difference between 2 and 3. If he is still having articulation issues as he approaches 3 then get a formal evaluation.

If you are worried, get him evaluated. No harm can come from an evaluation, only good in my opinion. However, my daughter's pediatrician was surprised when my daughter could answer those two questions at her 2 year appointment. She said it was something they usually ask at the 3 year appointment. My daughter's name is Sofia, and it wasn't until she was around the 2 1/2 year mark that she was able to say it clearly enough for people to understand. I wouldn't take what the preschool said in a negative way, at 2 I would expect your child's ability to pronounce words to be developing. I wouldn't worry too much if it was me, but again no harm can come from an evaluation.

He is fine. Let him be and he will develop at his own pace.

The very best thing you can do for your son is to take him to get a speech and language evaluation. Then you will know where he stands on the "chart" for a two year old.

A group eval is the best kind, I will tell you. My son had that - there were 3 people in attendance. I wish that they had mailed me the questionnaires in advance - there was a lot to fill out and a lot to think about. I had no idea that my son had so few words compared to what a two year old was supposed to have. (He had 60, and it should have been at least 3 times that.) And that doesn't count the pronunciation. (My son could only vocalize vowels - no consonants.)

Please go get him evaluated. Your insurance should cover the evaluation.
Tell your ped you want this referral and don't take no or wait for an answer.

Good luck,
Dawn