Advice for Speech Delay

Just to give you some encouragement... My youngest who will be 3 in April did not talk until she was two. Until then whe sounded much like your child. She quickly made up for lost time and rapidly became a great speaker to where people often commented on how well she speaks. Remember, not every child follows the "timeline".

If you do want an evaluation, talk to the school disctrict you are in for a referral and the classes are usually covered by the district.

My son did not talk until he was almost 3. Every child talks at a different time. My daughter was born a year after my son and he didn't start really talking in sentances until he had to compete with his sister to get his voice heard. When he did start to speak it was in full sentances. The doctor just said, he has no reason to speak verbally when he gets what he want conveyed to his parents though non-verbal communication. Be patient, your child is still very young. It will happen, and soon you won't be able to shut her up..... :)

Speak to your local school district about early intervention programs they have. My son was diagnosed by the school district with early speech delay (at age 2) and the school district paid for him to have treatment (until he was about 3-1/2 when he didn't need it anymore). My insurance paid for a hearing test (done in a sound proof room - which might be difficult for one so young)--but if she responds to you when you whisper things, I wouldn't stress the hearing test at this point. Hopefully your district will have a program in place. On your own you can spend time doing simple things with her. I played Disney sing along tapes in the car and sang to them myself. When we'd go to the park I'd sing simple songs to him like Itsy, Bitsy Spider (check out the books by Iza Trapani--they are Itsy, Bitsy Spider, I'm a Little Teapot and others, with quite a number of lyrics in book format that I read/sang to him everyday--he loved them). At the park we'd make stacks of sand mounds with plastic cups. He'd stomp on them and I'd make noises like "bang" "pop" (simple sounds), encouraging him to make them too. At home we'd play sound time in front of the mirrored closet door. I'd give him Fruit Loops or some other "sugary" cereal he didn't normally get if he made the sound or attempted to. We'd try mama, lala, dada, papa, pop, shsh, rip, rrrrr, tata, byebye, bebe, etc. Get a See and Say (do they make them any more?) with the animal sounds, car sounds, etc. We'd do that too. I'd buy the large box of bandaids at Costco and we'd cover his stuffed animals with bandaids (kids love that). With someone so young it might be too difficult with small hand coordination, but we'd cover the animals and them I'd say "rip", or "owie" "okay" and name body parts. My son didn't actually say any read words until he was 3, but then he spoke in full sentences. On his 3rd birthday, he just started talking. He had been making these sounds with me, but only when we worked together. Then one day he sang the songs in the car. I also bought the books by Bill Martin--Brown Bear, Brown Bear--and there are others by him, that we read a lot and again, one day, he just started saying it along with me. All the repetition helps.

Our younger son (3.5) has a slight speech delay & has been receieving speech therapy for almost 2 yrs now. When we started the process, our insurance company, (Kaiser) did the hearing test which is part of the steps to take. Chances are, once you get her assessed, they're gonna wanna see the results from a hearing test. So, can your insurance company admiister the test? I don't really know of any private speech therapists but do know it is very pricey & may not be covered by your insurance. So, my suggestion is you call your local regional center every couple of days to let them know you're waiting & anxious to get her tested, in every message you leave, tell them the date & what number call this is from you (ie: this is the 2nd time I've called) & hopefully, they'll get back to you soon. In the meantime, get some simple, no frills ABC books & maybe some flash cards as well to look at w/her. Encourage her to try to say the word. For example, give her a choice of 2 foods & instead of allowing her to point, encourage her to say the word. Is she enrolled in any classes? Or spend much time aroung talking kids? If not, get her in a class or two & you'll see a lot of improvement in her speech. We started our son in preschool a year earlier than planned due to his speech delay & once he did start school, we saw a HUGE improvement in his talking. And again this year there was a huge improvement in his speech when he moved up to the next age group. For our son, the length & complexity of his sentces are on par w/the average 3.5 yo but it's blended letters (sl, tr, bl etc) that he mispronounces. Biggest pieces of advice: reading lotsa books to her & talk to her about everything. I now lot of folks will repsond the usual 'kids all talk at different ages & I'm sure she's fine,' but you also don't want her to get frustrated over her inability to articulate herself. My older son's best frined has had speech issues for years now (he's 8 & has a very distinct way of pronouncing things) & got speech a bit late & he still struggles w/his ability to express himself, form some of the words correctly & find the right words. Best of luck!

I'm really surprised that your pediatrician suggested that you move on this. My daughter was the same way and our pediatrician said it was no big deal that kids develop at different rates. Your pediatrician can check the hearing if that's your concern. Did your pediatrician referred you to specific place for speech evaluation or just say it might be a good idea. I have to wonder if your doctor isn't referring you for further tests because he/she is concerned about liability or if they are picking up on something else about your child that concerns them. Good-luck.

J., like the response below, my son didn't talk until he was almost three. The first thing he said was "I want some juice." Children start talking at different ages and if her receptive language is good, you're half way there. It is true that girls are usually earlier to talk, but not always. I think 18 months is a little early for testing, but since your pediatrician has asked for a speech evaluation, you should get your name on the list. My son's entire vocabulary before he started to talk was "baboo (bottle), dada, gaga (grandma), bucai (blue car) and bye-bye". No yes, no no, no mama, nothing! Try not to worry!

My son is 21 months old and he just started saying a few words (water, mama, dada). He understand everything but not talk yet. We teach him sign language and that is how he communicates most of the time. Sign language (for babies) can help with the frustration of communication and be good for when they start talking. I would say don't worry.