speech therapy

I think we are going to be facing the same thing in 2 months...for his 2 year check up. My son does not talk a lot and they mentioned it at his last appointment. I am hoping he improves. I think your husband may be feeling that way because it makes him feel like his baby needs help, and guys have a hard time admitting they need help. Just talk to him some more and reassure him it can only help, and maybe just to try it once and see how he feels. Also mention that if it does not improve now it may be a bigger issue later when he is in school! But ask him why he is not into the idea and reassure him you understand but think trying it could not hurt and offer that he go too! If it becomes too much of an issue then let it o for a while, but I think you need to come to an agreement, just remember to always have these conversations when you are calm and can be able to try and see his point of view! Good Luck!

I've had kids in speech therapy. It will make a difference at this point if how they the therapist - approaches lessons with one so little- works or not. My little ones were in their threes and given games to play that didn't require directions much plus lessons of speech also.

The two's were too ornery and cranky to be worth too much other than the waste of money for that time span. That's why we waited until 3yo. Call around and see first how different therapists would teach a 2 year old. It's not scary at all.

Maybe your school district has early intervention and could teach him either now or a bit older. I'd compare private speech therapy and also hospital speech therapy and also school district all against each other to get good opinons. Except for school eval you would have to pay for evals from insurance or upfront maybe billed by a hospital. Does your insurance over speech therapy?

Yes by all means get the help. It will probably have to be private, and in my experience private is way better than school district based. The more time you wait the more the therapist will have to over come.

Remember speech has nothing to do with intellegence. Getting your son help now doesn't mean he is disabled, handicapped, or any thing else. It doesn't mean you have done something wrong as a parent. I suspect that if he is helped now he will graduate from speech by 4 at the latest, probably before 3.

So do it, please don't hold your child back.

There are different METHODS of speech therapy, and which one you choose to use will make a big difference. My son uses the hansen method with his speech therapist. For the most part, though, and especially with a very young child, the sessions are more about teaching YOU how to help him speak by providing an atmosphere that encourages speech--and eventually requires it. IT TAKES TWO TO TALK demonstrates this method, and it's cheaper than speech therapy---but it's meant to be used by a parent being guided by a therapist. I read the book made for autistic children--MORE THAN WORDS, which can help autistic children who may lack the ability to speak use other forms of communication. I would recommend trying out speech therapy, and if you don't like it--quit. Fathers who don't want speech therapy usually don't because they are in denial about their child's limitations or they don't want to fork over the money.

Getting an evaluation and possibably therapy can only help. My daughter was evaluated for developmental delays and we found she had mild hearing loss due to fluid build up in her ears. We have no idea how long it would have taken before we found out had we not had the eval done.

There could be any number of reasons why he's a slow talker. The eval is probably free though your state (here in Jersey it's called Early Intervention) and the therapy will probably be free too.

Here in Alabama and in Mississippi they have early Intervention. My youngest is 2 and is in Speech Therapy through Early Intervention. His therapist sees him once a week for an hour. Either at home or daycare, so that the child is in an environment that is comfortable to them. Right now all they really do is play. She only uses one toy or activity per week and concentrates on words that go along with it. Like when using blocks, put them in a basket and say in, take them out and say out and so on.

I work with children with all types of special needs. It cannot hurt to have him evaluated to see if he qualifies for speech services. They will probably also check his hearing and vision. This is importtant to know because if he is having ear infections frequently or fluid in his ears, this can make other peoples speech sound distorted. This could cause his speech to then be incorrect.. From what you describe,it sounds like he is leaving off the final sounds in a word. He is saying "ca" instead of "cat" or "ba" instead of "ball". He may be whining because he is feeling frustrated about not being understood or because he cannot communicate. I recommend the evaluation and speech therapy.

I definatly think you should get him at least evaluated. I babysit a little girl who is almost 3 and she hardly knows any words. I bet she only says maybe 10 and she gets so frustrated. Her mom mentioned to me once that she thinks her dd needs speech therapy but she hasnt done anything to move on it and it frustrates me because I feel that if you notice a child needs help at a young age then it is best to start as soon as you can so that by the time they get to school they wont need as much help if any. All children have weak spots so its up to use as parents to help them along to the best of our abilities.

i meant his two year check up. i wrote two months. ahhh

thanks moms! you've really helped. i'm gonna get him evaluated.