Talking, Doctor is worried, and now So am I
My son will be 16 months on the first of April. He says "mama" but that is more addressing everyone or if he wants something, and he says "uh uh" (like no) other than that, he isn't talking. He will babble a little, but he doesn't seem to want to talk. When we encourage him to speak, he gets shy, and even sometimes upset.
His doctor is worried, and wants us to take him to a speech therapist. But my mother in-law keeps saying he is fine, he will talk when he wants to.
Thing is, he started walking at 9months, and has always been ahead when it comes to being physical. He is very active (yet clumsy) :)
So how soon did your little one start talking?
I have an 8 year old girl that started speech at 24 months and graduated from it the beginning of Kindergarten. I have another girl now that is 5 years old that started speech at 24 months also, she has a way to go on her articulation.
My older girl didn't say mama even at 24 months, it was depressing at first but you what, she's fine now! My other girl not only gets speech, she has OT and PT so I spend a lot of time at therapy appointments with her.
Every kid is different and grows and developments in their own way, all you can do is just help them along. It will turn out just fine
I could be everything or it could be nothing. I would have your pediatrician refer you to whatever your state's Early Intervention program is. Here in NC it is called the CDSA. They should come out and do a FREE evaluation of your son and develop a plan for him. He might need more than just speech, you never know. The CDSA worked with us to help us find Speech, Developmental and Occupational Therapy for my then 2.5 year old. And guess what, it didn't cost us a dime out of pocket. Everyone billed our insurance and the CDSA picked up the rest.
When my son was about 18 months he just kind of stalled out in all areas of development. He had a HUGE meltdown at the dr.s office one day when he had the flu. They refered us to the CDSA. My son was diagnosed mid level Autistic. He is now a High functioning Autistic. He will most likely lose his diagnosis once the new 'rules' for developmental dissorders goings into play sometime next year (don't get me started on that) Early Intervention WORKS. My son is PROOF of this. Feel free to PM me, it may be a day or two, but I will answer.
At that age my son had two words "Daddy" and "No". He wouldn't talk. He was angry and frustrated and not a very happy child. I told my doctor and we started in with a speech therapist. We had his hearing tested, and he does have mild hearing loss. Within three months of his speech therapy he is talking SO much more (he uses well over 75 words/phrases now, which even the therapist is surprised by and says most children don't progress quite that fast). He is a much more happy child, and not nearly as frustrated. I had many people tell me that there was nothing wrong with him, but they didn't have to see how much he struggled just to try to communicate every day. I would say go ahead with the therapy. It can't hurt anything, all it can do is help your little child. I know it has helped mine.
The number of words wouldn't concern me as much as using mama indiscriminately. Most on here Agreeing with MIL aren't addressing that point.
Good luck, and I hope it all turns out well.
Quoting steph2884:Taking your child to be evaluated by a speech therapist isn't a bad thing. You know, everyone kept telling me the same thing your MIL is telling you... "Oh, don't worry, your son will start talking!!!" Well, he didn't. I started him in speech therapy when he was 15 months old. He didn't just start talking like everyone else said he would. He was diagnosed with autism when he was 2. Now at the age of 4 he is starting to say words... after 3 years of intensive therapy. I'm not saying your son has autism. What I am saying is that it isn't the end of the world to take him to a speech therapist. Don't always listen to your family when they tell you he'll start talking. He probably will. But now that he is 16 months and isn't talking, he needs to be seen by a speech therapist. The earlier you start therapy the better the results. Oh, and my son hit his physical milestones at a normal pace.
That sounds early to be worried about speach, kids do everything in their own time, and perhaps taking the pressure off for now would be better, and if it's still an issue at say 2 years old, I would address it then. Don't place too much importance on what your doctor says, doctors can make you nuts if you listen too closely.
My son, now 8, was a mush mouth. If you've ever heard a deaf person speak, that was HIM until he was about 3.5. MY theory is that he had a lot of ear infections we never knew about, so couldn't hear us clearly. Then, at 2 I put him in a daycare facility with a LOT of other kids that were easier to understand than him. He did, at one point develop a stutter when I was trying to encourage him to just say hi to people. When I stopped pushing the stutter went away almost overnight. Everyone was pushing me to get him into speech therapy. I resisted. He's my first and I still thought I could do everything. (ha ha ha) At 3.5 I pulled him out of that daycare because he then had a sister, and I was no longer going to school. Within 6 months his speech was fine and the same as other kids. He just needed some patient, one-on-one attention.
My daughter, now 5 IS in speech therapy. SHE drops letters off the ends of words, subtitutes one letter for another, has trouble saying consonates that are in the back of the mouth (like "g") and there's one other thing, but I forget it. They all tie in together. She's been in speech therapy once a week since November. I do see improvement in her speech, but I still have to translate for her.
One thing I was always told: If your baby/child points to a dog and says tweet (or some other sound) EVERY time they see a dog it is to be considered a word. At this age it doesn't matter as much if you and your child are the only ones that understand.
Another thought: have you considered/tried teaching him sign language? I know that really helped with my son. My daughter really could have cared less.
Speech-Language services are available through a federally mandated early intervention program that is there just for families like yours! Contact your state or county early intervention program to see who is your local Lead Agency. Sometimes it is a school district or a private therapy clinic, depends upon who holds the contract. The initial evaluation will take place within 45 days of your request and the therapsits will usually come to your home (natural environmnet requirement!) to do the eval. The eval will be done by a team of professionals including a speech therapist, occupational or physical therpasit and a Family Resource Coordinator. They will look at his speech/communicaiton, fine/gross motor, social-emotional, cognitive and adaptive skills.
If your child qualifies, he will have an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) written by you and your team of professionals based on your goals. Services will be provided in your natural settings (home, daycare, etc) based on his needs. This service is avaialble until he is three years old.
Your doctor should also know who your local Birth to Three provider program is and how to contact them.
Trust your gut instincts and remember that we know a lot more than when your MIL was raising her son. It is better to address delays or conerns now than wait until it becomes too frustrating for him and he stops communicating all together or begins to develop unwated behaviors as a way to communicate.
Good luck and let us know how he does!
Am I overreacting?
- Cherrycatt
on Mar. 28, 2012 at 1:01 AM