Delayed Speech - Indianapolis,IN

J., have you checked her for wax plugs? My brother was that age and barely spoke any words but he could hear us and responded. A doctor finally realized he had this big wax plugs so all the sound was coming in "muffled." As soon as they were removed, he started picking up words very fast and his pronunciation improved enormously.

My oldest son had this problem also, except he started to talk, then stopped. He was able to understand everything we said, and used sign language for his needs. He did start speech therapy at 24 months and was talking by 30 months. Here are the things the S.L.P. (speech language pathologist) said are possibilities for the delay. 1) He is intelligent and hears mom and dad talk in 10+ word sentances. Since he cannot form sentences linger than 3-4 words, he may think that he shouldn't be talking so he does not. 2) He can communicate with the sign language so he feels he does not need to talk to meet his needs. 3) We-mom and dad-talk alot to him, read to him, etc., so he doesn't need to fill his time talking. 4) He had oral issues-sucks thumb, likes to hold food in his mouth for long times, so maybe he wants to keep his words in there too. Whatever the reason, they gave us strategies for woking with him at home on days he did not have therapy and he came around quick. It sounds like you have an intelligent family, so maybe some of these issues are at play for you. I would reccommend seeing her doc or a SLP for treatment or suggestions. Good luck.

Hi, J.!

My daughter (at 2) said "mama", "dada", and "bup" (up). Had her evaluated by a speech pathologist who said that everything else was right on, or ahead of, schedule, and that her comprehension was that of a four year old. She had mild apraxia (don't know it that is spelled right!)

So, against the advice of my parents/husband/friends who said she'd talk in her own time, let her be.........I took her to speech therapy. The floodgate opened and within six months she was speaking almost as well as a five year old. It was incredible. Now we can't get her to stop. (Seriously, she starts the moment she wakes up and is still talking as I walk out of her room at night.) Everyone says it would have happened without the therapy, and maybe they're right. I often wonder. But we'll never know. :)

So, you may want to wait just two more months, and see if it happens, or get her started now. One thing that might help your determination is - does your daughter make herself understood without speaking? My daughter used sign language to communicate, so we always knew what she wanted, and she didn't get frustrated.

Also, if your insurance won't cover speech therapy, you might want to check with the universities around you. I took my daughter to the graduate program at KSU, where they would work with her for 45 minutes/$45.00. Maybe a school around you does the same.

One last funny thing -- when she was three, she told me, "Mama, I'm glad I'm three. It was HORRIBLE when I was a baby." And I'm thinking, horrible? I carried you around in a sling and catered to your every need! How horrible could it have been?? So I asked her why it was so horrible when she was a baby, and she said, "Because, Mama, when I was a baby I couldn't talk! And, oh, Mama! I LOVE to talk!"

Best of luck! J.

My youngest brother had the same problem. It was partially due to hearing problems (which doesn't sound like that part applies to your little girl) but it was also due to he had 3 older siblings who would "talk" for him so he never really wanted or needed to talk. Good luck!

Your daughter is probably just going at her own pace, having two older sister's they probably just know what she wants and either gets it or finishes her sentence for her.My niece was this way and her brother was always telling every one what his sister wanted.Finally we made her tell us what she wanted regardless if we knew.She also needed speech therapy as my sister spoke baby talk to her and she wasn't saying her words correctly.She came out just fine.

Hi J.,
Just wanted to share my personal experience. We heard the same thing at my son's 2 yr. well check. He was barely speaking at all (less than 10 words), but seemed to understand everything. The pediatrician referred him to "help me grow" to be evaluated. It was great because it was free...he saw the speech pathologist there as he went to 'classes' where she basically interacted with him while he played, encouraging him to use words more frequently. Although I am not sure if it was the class or just time that helped him to improve, he loved going. Within 4 months he was talking up a storm, and they soon after dismissed him from the class. Every child develops at their own rate. My oldest daughter and other son were talking in sentences at 16 months...you just never know. I would get her therapy, but don't worry too much about it. She will talk when she is good and ready! Soon you will be begging for some quiet, when she is talking too much! LOL! :)
Good luck!
S.

I taught a Special Needs Kindergarten-1st grade before I had children. The fact that your daughter understands you and is able to follow a two step direction is really good news. It means that she understands language, but isn't using it to communicate. The possible reasons are many. It is also encouraging that she is social and affectionate, so autism spectrum is also unlikely. You should definitely go forward with the speech language evaluation. A speech pathologist can help her unlock the secret to words, and if there is anything misfiring in her brain can help her get around it. It is federal law that children get free services, such as speech/language therapy from birth to age 21. First steps is the Indiana program for kids who are younger than those the public school serves. Good luck!

Wow... I'm surprised that your pediatrician is already concerned. My son was 2 in December and wasn't saying a word. (he COULD say mama and dada and sissy, but he just wouldn't talk almost all of the time) Now, 3 months later... it's like something "clicked" with him. He was watching one of his favorite shows on Noggin, it was at the end of the show and they were saying goodbyes, and he busted out with "See ya soon!!" My jaw hit the floor! My son who does not speak blurted out a 3 word sentence?! Since then he's been talking more and more every day. His vocabulary went from 3 words that he rarely spoke, to probably 15-20 words all of a sudden. I was not very concerned in the first place, children do EVERYTHING at their own pace... and he proved that to us! LOL! Good luck!

S.
Mom of 4 boys

My son was diagnosed at 3. He was evaluated by the school psychologist at our school district so that he could get free speech therapy by the district. AT 3 he started at the preschool in the district and had an IEP to make sure he was getting the services he needed. We also went to a private speech therapist who evaluated him and worked on his speech. We eventually got him into a better preschool that specialized in speech and language disorders. He was identified with receptive and expressive language disorders at that time. Are you seeing a neurologist? We see a neurologist once a year to help guide us. My son is now almost 11 and he has been given the diagnosis of PDD-NOS which is on the autism spectrum. He only gets speech therapy at school and is not treated any differently. He is mainstream and is very bright and creative. I have kept a journal of everything we have done from age 3 to now. There are summer camps out there, social groups, speech and language therapy and get your child involved in team sports and anything that interests her. Every child is different so asking each of us for a prognosis will get you a different answer. Your daughter may be just a child who doesn't like to talk a lot or maybe there is something correctable going on in her ears. You never know. Just be patient with the process and make your daughter feel special so she doesn't feed off your worries. Sometimes we get so wrapped in our children we forget to enjoy them. I think society spends too much time analyzing and trying to "perfect" us or fix us instead of realizing we are all unique with different type of personalities. Encourage your child's own uniqueness and enjoy her.

J.,

You really can't get a prognosis until after she is evaluated by the SLP. Make the appointment and then get her as much therapy as you can and do the homework religiously. If she is still delayed after she turns 3, contact your local school district because she may qualify for public services, although you will always want to continue with as much private service as you can afford because the school is not required to give her as much as you will want her to have.

The best predictor of a good outcome is going to be the earliest intervention you can get. There are many different kinds of delays and many causes, and this will impact her prognosis. Many kids have delays that do not effect their future in the least, but only time will tell. Try not to worry, but be diligent and do not ignore any other developmental issues, even if they seem mild, because you will not want to miss any opportunity for the earliest intervention if she needs it.

M.

Hi J.,

Our son had almost the exact same description when he was 2 years old. We had him evaluated and his expressive speech score was that of a 15 month old. We started him in the recommended speech therapy one day a week at the end of August. Around November we did research and started him on 1/2 tsp. a day of Nordic Naturals Omega 3-6-9 Jr. oil. The week after Christmas he had a language explosion and just started saying all of these words that we didn't even know he knew. He is now testing above average on both his expressive and receptive scores and even pronunciation. Although we are still working on those last few sounds that are typically harder for most kids like /t/, /d/, etc. We don't know - and will never know - if he was just a late talker or if the therapy and/or the oil was what worked. We are thankful that we went the therapy route. I don't want to discourage you from seeking help earlier rather than later but a lot of kids especially boys will have a language explosion around 2.5 years.

We also bought the DVD Baby Babble 1 and 2 from Amazon. It was created by 2 Speech Pathologists and my son loves it! he still watches it and it helps with the P, M, and B sounds.

Good luck on your journey and just do what your gut tells you. If you want to email me directly I can recommend our speech place if you would like. His evaluation was performed at Akron Children's Hospital.

M.

Our 2 year old didn't really start talking until recently. Really - she didn't even start the typical baby "jibber jabber" until recently either. We really attributed it to that we've got an older daughter who taught us well. We know what the hungry/tired or gassy cries are, and we knew when she was hungry.

My mother has a joke about a 4 year old who never said anything until one night at the dinner table, he said, "Will somebody please pass the mashed potatoes?" Everybody got so excited that he spoke and said, "Oh my gosh, what finally prompted you to say something?" He said, "The service had been pretty good until now." Meaning he really had no reason to speak because everyone always gave him what he wanted/needed.

Our 2 year old, like yours, very much knows what's going on. We'll say it's time to go, and she's the first one at the door. She's observant too. She knows if I come downstairs and get my shoes, it means we're going somewhere, and goes to get her coat and shoes too. She responds to commands, etc. too.

It couldn't hurt to contact "First Steps" (I think it's called) to see about finding a speech pathologist, but more than likely she just hasn't had the need to really talk yet.

Start prompting her though - who is that? What animal is this? What sound does it make? What color is that? What letter is that? What sound does it make? (Yes, my 2 year old knows her letters and their sounds.)

For what it's worth - and good luck!

It sounds like your daughter is doing great! You should have her evaluated, just to see if she need just a little "boost". My daughter wasn't saying anything at her 1 1/2 year appointment. We had her evaluated and she receives speech therapy once a week at our house through First Steps. She has made incrediable progress. Now she talks nonstop!!! I'm sure your daughter would make the same progress!! Good luck, First Steps is a wonderful program, look them up or ask your doctor.

My experience is personal, as I did not speak except for unintelligible grunts until I was 4 years old. As an adult, people never notice problems with my speech. I had intensive speech therapy through the schools and at Crossroads in Indianapolis. This was in the 60's. My son also had speech problems and has been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. (I think they might have diagnosed me with that, but it was not known about back then.)

At any rate, it is important to get the evaluations, and the earlier you can start therapy the better if it is needed. The speech therapists can really work miracles!

I had the same issue with my oldest son at age 2 - we had him in speech therapy for about 8 months, which helped tremedulously. We stopped the therapy due to scheduling issues with our work hours, and he was at the point where he could converse pretty well with peers and adults. He's in first grade now and has about 6 sounds that he still does not say correctly, and is going to speech therapy through the school - he's been doing that for about 2 months, and has already made a good deal of improvement - i would definately recommend taking your daughter to be evaluated by a speech pathologist.

Good Luck!
~T.

http://MamaWorksFromHome.NET
http://FamilyBenefitsLive.com

I too live in the Indianpolis area. Sorry for the long post, but I want to reassure you. My boys also had speech delays. One would look at you and say the most jibberish ever, none of it understandable. The other would only say a few words to you, mostly introducing his family to others. He knew he should be talking, but didn't have the words. With my older boy, I immediately freaked out, he was evaluated by First Steps, and enrolled in their program. I even had him evaluated at Riley who had me more freaked that he needed to be in a developmental preschool, not available here in Hendricks County. They mentioned he might do better when he went to preschool, and sure enough, he strted after he was 3, went two mornings a week, and exploded. Being around other kids his own age did it for him. He continued speech through the school, but by first grade wasn't in speech any more. For the younger one, when he was 2 and the ped said the same thing, I waited. After talking to someone at First Steps, she said it was fine to wait, but if he needed services after age 3 it is easier to get him into the school prgrams if he was in First Steps to begin with. (First steps then school-based is the natural transition.) I was feeling guilty because we didnt' do First Steps until he was 33 mos. and he was so delayed. But again, he took off once he changed to a new babysitter that also had children his age there. Now a kindergartner, you would never know he had speech issues, didn't have therapy after age 4. He speaks a mile a minute. For some reason, my boys had delays that improved when around kids their own age. I tell you their stories to show you that I went with early speech and later speech and still had good outcomes. The good thing about First Steps is they use a sliding scale, and the most you pay a visit is like $5 or $10, and they come to you home. It is a tax payer funded program provided by the state of Indiana. You can self-refer with First Steps, or your doctor can refer you.
Good luck. I'm sure years from now you will look back and wonder why you were ever worried.
R.

Our youngest who turned 3 in Feb never spoke much at all until I got ahold of him on a full time basis as his sitter. Mom and Dad didn't interact with him like I did. I spoke to him constantly. Now he speaks non stop. The day care where he now goes was amazed at how far along he is. He was begining to read for me. Knows all his numbers and can do basic math. I think maybe she's just a bit slow but having her evaluated is good too incase if there would be a problem. Our middle had a tied tongue and the issue took til he was almost 5 to figure it out and he did years about 6 with a speak therapist. He spoke and knew what he was saying it's just we had no idea. He has a short temper from that. He would get so mad because we had no idea what he was saying.

Hi J.,

It sounds like you are describing my younger son--when he was that age. He is now 14. Once he got to talking (around age 3 I think) he became a regular little chatterbox. I also talked very late but had sign language and understood everything (maybe it is hereditary?).

Have the evaluations, it will make you and your doc feel better. I'm betting she'll talk when she is ready. Good luck!

K. Z.

Hello, well, you just described my son when he too was 2. At that doc appt. we were referred to 1st steps. I am an elem. school teacher and knew what to look for like you. He too could follow complex directions and had no problems socializing. The 4 specialists they sent were amazed as I attacked all of their concerns before they even asked the question. I had an advantage. After being in a mom's group for many years, I had seen this same thing happen 3 other times in other families all with thier 3rd child and they all ended up talking fine in a year or 2. My son just turned 5 and the other parents in his pre-K class can't believe that at 2, he barely spoke a word. We found out that he was just being stubborn and didn't yet feel the need to talk. Instead of starting with small 2 word phrases, when he did decide to speak they were longer more descripitive ones. He now picks up and uses words like ginormous and other various long words and we can't shut him up to save our sanity. Try not to worry but accept the therepy as we did as perhaps a new face may spark that want to verbally communicate (we always knew what Kyle wanted through his nonverbal cues).
PS : Sorry to say but this also applied to pottying so try not to get too upset if this happens as well. They are just the types that have to decide for themselves that it is a good thing to do on their own timeline.
Hope this helps.