Talking - Saint George,UT

I had a son that wouldn't speak. He would point and grunt or scream or scream and cry if we didn't guess what it was he wanted. It was a very trying time for us.

We finally got where we would find out what he wanted, hold it just out of reach, and then make him say the words for it. It took about 3 or 4 months to go from grunts and crying to words. After he started using words he found out how well it worked for him and he made great progress.

BTW we always included the words, "Please, Thank you, May I have," as he progressed. By the time he was 5 he spoke as well or better than his peers.

The toughest part was standing firm requiring the words and not giving up and just giving what ever he wanted to him. When the crying got to us we sent him to time out or swats if he decided to take it to extremes.

Good luck to you. "Mom" and "Dad" are the toughest jobs in the world with the opportunity for the greatest rewards.

Make sure you do check his hearing. And read, read, read. Reading is absolutely crucial to language development. His personality might just be the strong and silent type. It sounds like you are doing the right thing. I would make sure that the speech "teacher" is a certified speech/language therapist and ask her/him to perform some tests. It would be interesting for you to know if it is only an expressive vocabulary issue or if there is a receptive component.
Good luck,
S.

hi-
how frustrating for you :( If he can't verbalize words have you tried other ways to communicate? Some thoughts include:
* sign language: http://www.sproutonline.com/sprout/activities/listing.asp...
http://www.google.com/search?q=sign+language+for+children...

* picture cards - www.dotolearn.com

Have you spoken to the speech therapist? Depending on your child there are "augmentative communication" devices (computers with buttons that you press that speak for you).

I have heard some parents say that they are concerned that using alternative forms of communication will deter a child from speaking. But there is a lot of research that shows that alternative forms of communication do not hinder speech. Instead it may help you and your child be less frustrated with not being able to communicate needs/wants/etc :)

Take care and Good luck!

Go to your library & check out books. I check out 10 a week & read them 2-3 times to my kids. Read, read, read. Next, talk with him, then pause & give him time to respond, if he doesn't, just move on, but give him the opportunity to talk. Next start with what he is interested in, like if he wants candy, let him know that you need to hear him say it. That is quite the motivator. I do the same with my kids, but I make them spell it, or rather at least t\ry to sound it out & spell it. I think they like the extra attention as much as the item they are asking for. :) Best of luck.

Aside from checking the hearing, I think you are doing the right thing. Some kids hold it in and then one day they can't shut up. The fact that he is speaking now is a good sign.

Best wishes.

A.,
speak to the speech therapist and ask for work that you can do at home. You can also try to get him more therapy with a different therapist the days that he is not going. I had my son taking therapy at school, while in kinder three times a week and hafl and hour each therapy. That was on Monday, Wed and Fri; and I had him at my job twice a week for an hour each session, on Tue and Thurs. So if you can try to get him more therapy and ask the therapist to give you some stuff for home. A lot of the therapist love to work with you as long as you are willing to do it at home. I used to work with my son, and all of that combined helps a lot. Don't feel bad, you can only do so much. But whatever you do, just let him know that you love him and that you want to help him too.
Blessings

A.,

If this is a school based public program, speech is without question not all he needs. Request a full evaluation from your school district because you suspect he has a disability. It is reprehensable that a public speech therapist would not have already reccomended that he have a full eval. He should probably be in a program full time that will provide early intervention and therapy.

That is not the whole answer though. You should not depend on public services for all his treatment. Make an appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician on Monday morning. Call your nearest Children's Hospital, and ask for one. This is not a regular pediatrician, this professional will call in every kind of professional he needs, from speech pathologist, ENT, PT, OT, neruology, genetics...everything. They will put all the evaluations into one report and give you a theraputic plan to follow, and you will know what is going on, what you can do about it, and how to help him.

That appointment will be many months away. After you hang up the phone on Monday, call a private speech therapist and make an appointment for an evaluation and start therapy as soon as you can. Do all the homework, and if they don't offer any , ask for it, then do everything you can to help.

Another option is to contact Easter Seals. They may be able to help too with evaluations and therapy. Do not delay, even if you make over lapping appointments with multiple agencies and therapists until you figure out what is going to work best for him. What ever you do, get the comprehensive evaluation.

15 words at age 4 is worrisome, but try to stay calm. Everything you do with your school district should be in writing. If you feel overwhelmed, check out www.wrightslaw.com and check out the yellow pages for Georgia on the Wrightslaw web site, you can find educational advocates near you who can help you get appropriate services.

Get as much therapy as you can, as soon as you can from every source. None of this will be cheep, but it is essential for his development. One of the only things you have that will be free, is time, don't waste it.

M.

Give you child reasons to talk---play telephone, do puppet shows, play TV Reporter, and let him get a little frustrated every once in awhile by saying "I'm sorry, Mommy's ears are plugged up, can you tell me what you want, I didn't understand. Tell me again."
T. EveryoneWantsJuicePlus.com

Do u have any of the Bee Smart Baby dvd's? or any word dvds? also what about a computer he can use? my son is also 4..he has some learning dvds he plays with like "thinking skills" "same or different" also "kid pix" and i also let him surf youtube.com maybe just something like that could help..or little fun websites..could get him chatting..
my son also enjoys the teletubbies website too. good luck xo

http://jamesdmacdonald.org/Articles/MacDonaldStart.html

Dr. James MacDonald has a book called Communicating Partners that has helped me immeasurably in helping my son to talk more. It is so common sense and easy to implement.

Hello, my 5 year old son has been in speech class for about a year so I know exactly what you are talking about. He is still working on it but he is doing a whole lot better and is going to 1st grade pretty soon. I partially blame it on my family because I notice that I am the only one who talks to him like an adult while my family still call him "baby" and speak to him like a baby. My niece has beautiful annunciation at 23 month because she has been talked to like an adult. I also put my son with lots of older kids when he plays at the park or whever he goes so he could hear what a word is pronounced. Kids catch on so quickly that he may not have to be in speech for much longer...hopefully. Well, good luck. ;)

Hello, The good thing is that you have him in speech therapy. Also, remember that delayed speech doesn't mean that a child isn't smart. Our oldest grandson was not speaking well until after he turned three. He is now 14 and in all excelled classes and getting almost all A's. He is very articulate and very bright. We did a lot of Story Time at the Library and read a lot to him and all of our children and grandchildren. If you are concerned that he is not hearing things as you are saying them, then you could have his hearing checked. It could be a factor.
Good luck with your precious little boy.
K. K.

Good for you for getting him into Speech! I would follow Martha's advice and get some more advice and evaluations. Follow your instincts! You need to be your child's advocate.

Try sign language. Even though he may not be hearing impaired, maybe just a late bloomer (my brother didn't start speaking until he was 4yrs old, went to a magnet school for technology for HS, and double majored in computer science and biochemical engineering for his bachelor's at UVA), it could ease communication. I had my first daughter start watching Baby Signing Times and Signing Times when she was 9 months old and she was able to sign when she wanted milk, food, crackers, etc. so I never had the communication frustration. It was a little more difficult with my second child. I tried to get her watching at 9 or 10 months, but she wasn't interested. It wasn't until she was around 14-16 months that she started to get into it. She's just about 2 yrs now and she loves it, picking up signs so quickly and easily, as well as saying the words that go with the signs. Neither of my daughters are hearing impaired, but using sign language is a great communication tool for infants/toddlers who are still learning to speak. I recommend going to www.signingtimes.com

Find classical homeopath. Well worth invenstment.
Good Luck
V.