Toddler - Hearing Test

My daughter only said mama, daddy, milk and "I'm done" at age 3.

I worked & worked with her. Everything I saw, I would say the name of it and point at it or pick it up and look really intricately at it with enthusiasm. She would repeat it after me. Then we'd test it later that day. Then we wouls put on a show and line up the items and I would say what is that? And when she got it right, I would praise, praise, praise! Good for the old self esteem. When kids know they are doing it right, they want to do it again. It worked.

I have a 10 mon old and a 25 mon old, both adopted from foster care and both drug babies. Neither one talks and both have other delays in addition to speech. They are suppose to have 20 words (not ma ma and da da - real words) by 10-12 mons. My 25 month old only has about 20 words. They are telling me to take them to an audiologist for testing. I am teaching them sign language using signing times videos (can be found at www.signingtimes.com). It helps to increase their communication and it really does decrease the temper tantrums and the terrible 2's. I am not going to worry about it until they are closer to 4. Then we will go to exteme testing measures. That is just my decision - it might not be the right decision for you. My other 5 kids (3 boys and 2 girls) all talked EARLY - the boys talked before the girls. All were making complete sentences with nouns, verbs and adjectives in the proper order by 2. I figure these 2 will talk when they are ready. They babble constantly and do have a few words so I know they are capable. Good luck. hth

Hi, I am the custodial grandmother to a 5 yr old boy who also didn't talk at 20 months. We had him tested and ECI worked with him until the age of 3. His hearing test showed no hearing problems but his speech evaluation showed many problems. At the age of 3 he was transitioned into the Preschool Program for Children with Disibilities (PPCD) in the public school. He attended 3 hours a day Mon-Fri. When he started with ECI he was 13 months delayed. He didn't really start talking normally until age 4. Now he talks almost nonstop, lol. I would suggest you have the hearing and speech evaluations. That way if there is a problem it can be addressed much sooner and hopefully prevent lots of frustration for him. I definitely would not wait to see if he develops more normally later. You have nothing to lose by having the testing done, and so much to lose if you don't and there is a problem.
I wish you the best.

Little boys typically (though not always) take longer to speak. Honestly, at 20 months, I wouldn't worry if he isn't saying anything. My daughter is hearing impaired, so I can understand that side as well. I don't think a hearing test is a bad thing, but if he seems to be babbling, he's probably able to hear fine. It's not really that odd for him to not be speaking yet. My nephew didn't speak until 3 yrs. He speaks great now at 8 yrs old. Anyway, good luck and hopefully things will be fine!

If you are really concerned about his speech I would recommend calling Early Childhood Intervention. If you call they will send someone out to evaluate him to see if he needs any help. My son is 2 years old and only says about 5 words. I was going to wait it out to see if he picked up more words, but decided to call just to see if he might need help. I am very glad that I did because he was evaluated at a 14 month speech level. Now he will have a speech therapist coming to the house to work with him. I definitely recommend calling the number is 1-888-754-0524.

My daughter did this as well. I had her tested with Early Childhood Intervention to be on the safe side. After she was evaluated she started talking up a storm, but I felt better having it done. I am going to have her evaluated again at 2 (in March) just to be safe that she is on track since she did have the speech delay.

There is no cost for the evaluation and they do the hearing and vision test as well. Based on income the first 6 months can be covered and then they work with your insurance.

Good luck... don't worry, soon enough he will talk so much you won't get a word in edge wise...

My 23 month old son is going through a similar thing except he attempts to say many words but is unable to pronouce them in a way that you'd understand what he's saying...unless you're mommy or daddy. ECI is coming out tomorrow to evaluate him, and my pedi recommended that I contact an Ear/Nose/Throat doctor to have his hearing tested...just to rule out any problems with his hearing first before we started speech therapy (ie. he could have problems hearing certain pitches). My pedi said his physical development is ahead of other kids his age, but I didn't want to wait it out for his speech development. I'd rather catch it now if there's a problem.

I'm surprised a request for a hearing test is being done just because he not talking at the average rate. My daughter is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids in both ears. Her hearing loss was detected at birth. Has your grandson had ear infections or nasal congestion? In my opinion, it's not unusual that a 20 month old develops his speech differently. However, a hearing test cannot hurt and be thankful for a proactive medical provider. Our pediatrician told me not to worry about my daughter's hearing loss. If I had listened to him, she would not have been aided and her speech would have been terribly delayed. If your grandson does have a speech delay the earlier the intervention the better. My daughter is now 8, and was dismissed from speech therapy this year. She had been receiving speech and language services since she was 5 months old. I credit her progress to early intervention and wonderful audiologists. Good luck!

My 20 month old only a month ago could only say "Mama, Dada, Baba & Go". She has been using ECI for speech Therapy since 18 months but hasnt worked very well for us so we switched to Therapedia (we go once a week) and it has worked great!!! After only a Month of Therapy with Therapedia she can now say "No, Down, Dont, Gein (Again), Good Girl & Good Job (the last two are hard to understand unless your mommy and daddy).

She has had a hearing test done with Cooks Childrens Rehab in Downtown Fort Worth and her tests are normal. It is just a requirement that they have done before early intervention is done. Every child is different and develops at differently than others.

Although they believe my DD delay was from her being born with Torticollis because she also she some sensory issues a few physical development delays. So she has PT through Therapedia once a week and Occupational therapy through ECI once a month. It is a lot for a toddler but it has helped us understand her more and she is learning a lot better.

Good Luck!

Hi B., my son is 2 1/2 years old and i was going thru the same thing. I had his adnoids removed and tubes put in his ears and he started speeking better with in one month. Check with a good ear, nose and throat doctor they can be a great help. Hope this helps. D., mommy of 5

My three year old is having speech therapy test and now hearing test. I know for me it get's hard with my son having 7 specialist. But what is done to test his hearing? Very curious and nervous.