What do you think? Speech Therapy has been suggested for 17 mo DD?

Hi Again! Just wondering when your children began to speak. I've become slightly concerned that my 17 month old daughter barely speaks. She really only says one word "eat" & I guess you could count "uh-oh". She makes alot of vowel sounds, but no consonants. She rarely says mama or dada. My 4 yr old spoke really early (with a tremendous vocabulary a 1 year), but my youngest doesn't utter a word. She seems to understand what you're saying but doen't vocalize.

At my 15 month well baby check up last week (she was nearly 16 1/2 months, but couldn't get in for a well baby until then...), the doctor recommended sending her to speech therapy for an evaluation. I think I agree with his decision, just to rule out any potential problems and find ways to work with her to improve her verbal skills.

I can really only base her development on my oldest daughter and what doctors say as far as where her speech should be at this age. I can tell you this, my oldest talks NON-STOP. I've heard from some people that if an older sibling talks alot, often the younger child is delayed in speaking.

So, I was just wondering your take on it and when your children started speaking?

Thanks!

 

I wouldn't be too terribly worried just yet...................DS didn't speak much till he was almost two, and now he never shuts up! Did she walk early? I ask because DS did (9 mo) and when I mentioned my concerns to the ped that he wasn't talking much, he told me that if they are ahead in one area, they may lag in another. That there brains kind of concentrate on one thing at a time. No harm in getting her checked out though, on the off chance. Early intervention is key. Some friends waited till their daughter was nearly 4 to get it checked out and she had to have speech therapy for years. :?

 

She walked pretty early.. Around 10 months. And as far as her motor skills are concerned she has always been pretty early! Just not verbally!

Actually, she's almost potty trained! I didn't try to start and train her, I just sat a potty in there and when she saw her big sister using the big potty, that's what she wanted to do too! She gives me a hand signal to let me know that she needs to go. Her big sister was VERY Stubborn about potty training. She just didn't want to do it. But once day it clicked, and she never had an accident again!

I tell everyone, Go figure, I can't get her to talk, but she'll use the potty! :lol:

 

As another mom, I really don't think you have anything to worry about. In the words of my pediatrician, "they either walk or talk, but not both at the same time." Made me laugh and put my mind at ease. She's not even two yet, so I really wouldn't worry. They all develop at their own pace and with an older sibling, she probably doesn't "need" to talk yet. I'd just make her attempt to say things like "drink" or "milk" before I gave them to her, that's what I did with DS. I had an aunt who mimicked her son's baby talk, instead of teaching him the proper words (wobble for waffle, and other such nonsense). He ended up in speech therapy too, big suprise there!

 

I know! I've never "baby-talked" to either one of them. The closest baby talk I do is to refer to my oldest as "sissy".

 

WOW! Sounds like we have the same daughter. At her 18 month visit she still wasn't talking. She only says MaMAaaaa (like she's Italian or somthing its very funny) and she says yes or no by shaking her head. She, which is very important: 1. Understands Everything we say to her. 2. Follows instructions 3. Responds to her name 4. Plays with the other two very well (if you count all that fighting and sibling rivalry!)

I was/am worried about her speech but only as a mother should be. Her doc said if by 21 mths she wasn't talking to consider taking her to a speech thera. but he also said That a lot of therapist get credit for what just happens naturally.

My other two, son 5, didn't speak till 26 mths...The DAY my second 3 was born. My three year old spoke at 15 months!! and was using 3 and 4 word sentences by 18mths. She is the reason I was so worried about my baby not talking (now 20mths)

Sorry for my life story...

I wouldn't be worried. I would get concerned maybe after age 2.

 

I never did it either, but I am lacking somewhat in the "mommy" gene for that sort of thing. I'm just not one of those sentimental types I guess. 8)

But I baby talk my cats..................what is up with that?? :jester:

 

I also would not be too concerned. My 2 boys were talking by the time they were born it seems, but Samantha is very quiet and doesn't say alot for a 2year old. I would wait until about 4 before sending to a specialist, if it were me

 

My son didn't start really talking until he was almost 2 1/2. I was getting ready to take him for testing, and made all of the phone calls, but withing 2 weeks, he started talking and hasn't stopped since. He just has been slower at those things. He is now 6 and doesn't have any issues. That's not to say you shouldn't have her checked, but it is very normal. If she does have some issues, at the age of 3, the school system will offer her speech and it won't cost anything. Also, that will qualify her for preschool in the school system under the EC program.

 

ok here's the scoop... kiddo was the world biggest premie...9lbs 8 oz and yes she was a premie - her lung developement confirmed that. most of you know, she is really small now.
Her developement at that age seemed to be delayed also - so I had an evaluation done. This was in another state and so perhaps someone here can tell you if they do this in NC....

Through the school district – even though she was just a baby – less then 2, they did an evaluation at my home. I had a psychologist, and speech therapist, and physical therapist, a behavioral therapist, and a pediatrician all come to my home and watch the kid play for an hour. Then when she went down for her nap, they all told me what she was lacking and what she excelled in. Her speech was delayed so only the speech lady came once a week to work with her and I, to encourage her to talk. She learned and hasn’t shut up since. Lol
They may have some kind of early child intervention program here. I do not know – it was done on a sliding scale fee if I recall correct, my insurance paid for it all.

 

19 month old and CSDA

Hi - I was very interested to find this post. My 19 month old son will be evaluated by CDSA next week b/c he is not talking yet. He also understands everything we tell him, but does not verbalize. (Like his Dad - ha ha). Anyway, I can let you know what happens with the evaluation. I am very curious and excited about these people coming - experts - to tell me their opinion. The pediatricians always seem to say don't worry about it, but in reality some kids do have problems and it is so much better to know then not know. Anyway, you can ask the pediatrician for a referral to this service. It is a government service. We make a decent income and it is free for us (based on a sliding scale of income and family size.) Best of luck to you.

 

It is not unusual for a second child to not talk as much as the older sibling tends to do a lot of talking for her.

It might not hurt to get an evaluation, however, it is likely that a child who does not talk much at home will not talk at all to the stranger who will be evaluating her. So, an evaluation may yield very little.

 

I would highly recommend that you get your child's hearing checked. Finally figured it out for my nephew and with hearing aids he is now like a normal child. Unfortunately it took 3.5 years to figure it out.

 

Okay, have some experience w/ this arena. I honestly would NOT be concerned yet at 17 months of age. Kids vary greatly in developmental milestones. However, I whole-heartedly agree w/ Hught to double check and get the hearing checked just in case. I have 2 kiddos w/ hearing issues. I have a few w/ speech issues. It was recommended when a few of mine came home to do speech therapy. We never did. Ironically, the one who desperately needs speech therapy can't get it from the schools.

Kids have very different developmental milestones. Shoot, if they evaluated me as a baby nowadays, I would have really been in trouble--LOL. I didn't utter a word or sound until 24 months of age my mom said. When younger, my sister always spoke w/ a lisp. She grew out of it. There are things that just take time. I'd give your daughter a few more months but double check the hearing in the mean time. Go w/ your gut.

The good news w/ an eval is it gives you a starting point if nothing else. My kids (except the one w/ the speech impediment & the one who is Deaf) were all told to get speech therapy every time they were evaluated which I found hard to believe. I did not go w/ it b/c gut told me not to. They speak clearly now, articulate just fine, and can verbalize. All their "stuff" the eval said went away w/ time. And a very short time I might add. However, the one who's needed it for years and I've been trying to get it for her, can not seeem to be able to receive the speech help despite many professional recommendations. So, lesson here, if she really needs it & you are able to find professionals to help her in EI, then by all means do it before she gets to school.

Good luck and let us know how she does.

Stephanie--mom to 7

 

no cause for alarm....I have twin boys who didn't speak a word till after they turned two. All of our home movies are 'silent movies' for the first two years of their life....its amazing. Trust me, when they start, they never stop. I am sure everything is fine. Relish the solitude while it lasts.

 

I would get her tested. It certainly can't hurt to get a baseline of where your child is. then you can decide what to do next.

 

I have 2 girls 27 months apart. My first started talking fairly early and very well. My second barely talked at 18 months-just a few words. By 19 months she opened her mouth and out came full sentences and she still hasn't stopped! She's much more talkative than her sister. Since you are also dealing with an older sibling, I wouldn't worry too much, yet, as long as she seems to understand you.

 

I agree that it wouldn't hurt to get an evaluation. If there is an issue, it's often a HUGE benefit to start therapy earlier and not later. From my experience, our therapist told us younger children often graduate from therapy earlier when they start younger. My daughter had a slightly different issue, but we went to a speech therapist and she "graduated" from therapy in just a few months. Our therapist told us if we had waited until she was a year older, that her therapy would have probably lasted a lot longer (maybe a year or two). I'm not a therapist, but I believe it has something to do with development stages and certain times of development kids will pick up or respond to therapy better at an earlier age.

The same is true for autism, they claim the earlier children get help, the better they respond.

 

When reading through all of this I was wondering about the hearing myself. I would have that checked, if anything right now. My child could not move her legs at seven months old, she barely made a sound and her eyes were crossed. I adopted her at that time from a foreign country. I worked on her legs, had her eyes checked and had her ears checked. Her legs just needed exercise, she had to have two eye surgeries and when she was older had tubes put in her ears. She is a sophomore in high school, runs track and swims year round. And, somebody please give me something to make her shut up. She drives me nuts when I am talking and then she just starts talking like I had never said a thing. I always say, "excuse me for talking while you interrupt." Never works.

Grace

 

My daughter couldn't speak properly either, and speech therapy was recommended for her also. It wasn't until we took her to the DENTIST, dentist Beavers in Cary for a check-up at 3 years old that he found she needed a Fruenelectomy (SP?) That is that she couldn't move her toungue to speak because the skin under the tongue comes out to far to the teeth. Once he cauterized some skin under the tongue could she move her tongue to speak.. She couldn't even stick her tongue out at us that's how bad it was. It takes 2 seconds to do the procedure in the dental chair. That is something to have your dentist look at. It is covered under dental. Ice cream for a day or two and she did not need speech therapy at all. Hold your tongue down in your mouth and don't move it and see if you can talk.!