Early Intervention for Speech

Definitely do it. Get the process started as soon as possible. My son had no words when I had him evaluated at 18 months. He's now 33 months and speaks in sentences, has a beautiful vocabulary, etc. Best thing I could have done for my son. Good luck.

Call and get an appointment. Check your insurance benefits, sometimes the evaluation is covered when thearpy is not, and you could benefit from having that evaluation to give to the ECI theripist. By age two, he should have 50 to 100 words and be putting two together in a simple sentence. At two, you should not expect his speech to be without errors and substitutions, as these are expected at this age.

If you can afford it, you may want to supplement his speech therapy privately. ECI is the preschool version of IDEA, that is how it is funded. IDEA is only required to make your child "functional" in the classroom, not to maximize your child's development. That is not to say that if your child has very mild issues, that this might not be enough, but no parent should expect it to be, and should know that they may have to make some hard choices. Early intervention can make all the difference in the world, and sometimes, it can be more important to invest in early speech therapy, then to start saving for college.

Once he turns 3, the local school district is responsible for his services, if his speech issues are severe enough to qualify. He can qualify for speech only through the school. Again, they are obligated to serve him if he qualifies for speech services, but, they are not mandated to maximize his potential, which is what you will want as his parents.

I would see what you can swing, and try to get the private evaluation paid for, so that you do not know less than the state agency, or the school, about what your son needs. You might be able to work out a payment schedule with a therapist, maybe going less often and doing more homework...but I would definitely find out if he needs more than ECI will provide, and then find a way to get it for him.

Good luck,
M.

Contact your local school district and they should be able to help (and not charge for it). They should have their own "child find" system to help evaluate and provide early intervention. Contact them now...sooner rather than later. The earlier he gets help, the sooner he will be up to speed.

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ECI is free.
My son had speech therapy per his speech delay.
I called them myself. *I did not need to get referred by our Pediatrician.

They come to your home.
They assess & evaluate your child.
They come to your home and your child receives speech therapy.
It is great.
My son LOVED it.
He LOVED his Speech Therapist too.

Just call your local Early Childhood Intervention organization.
Do a Google Search, for your area.
Here is the link for your State of NJ:
http://www.nj.gov/health/fhs/eis/

But, it is only for children up until 3 years old.

My son had speech therapy from about 19 months old to almost 3 years old. It benefited him a ton.

I would have him checked out by an ENT. Your son might be understanding everything you say but that doesn't mean he can hear the words you are saying (if that made any sense at all). My son could understand everything but his ears were so blocked up it was like he was hearing everything as if he were underwater. Once he had tubes put in and his ears were clear he could hear better and his speech picked up. He is 4 now and still goes to speech and preschool because he still has issues but the tubes made a huge difference.

My daughter has some speech issues, she is too advanced for the program or we would have started it too. I was told that the program is for seriously delayed speech problems, and I figured if they didn't think she was seriously delayed then I wasn't going to worry about it too much. Of course two weeks later she added a whole bunch of words to her vocab, because that is how it always goes. I live in FL so it might be different from where you are. Best of luck!

I think 24 mos is a little too early for early intervention. Here in NY they won't even do the evaluation until 3 years old - and then if the delay is either 30% or more, or there are 3 items that are causing the speech delay then the school district provides it for free. My son was eligible from age 3 and it definitely helped. My daughter had a delay but not enough to get it covered through the school district. We got some limited coverage through insurance but decided to pay for some out of pocket over one Summer when she was school age to help her not feel awkward. I t hink that was worth the expense for social reasons. At age 2 that's obviously not a concern.

Hope this helps.

hi sweetness, i live in texas, i make low to moderate income, but qualified for free state services through early childhood intervention. i called right when my sweet boy was 24 mos old, but wish i'd called a little sooner b/c of the waiting list. anyway, that was 3-4 months ago and now we finally got a speech eval & speech services should start pretty soon. my son couldn't say very many words, but i think just w/the passage of time he's gotta lotta words. :) (that doesn't come from speech therapy though).
anyway, good luck, they should have a free service in your state. :)

Early Intervention is usually free....or here in AZ it is now a sliding scale based on income. The evaluation should be free though.

It is always a good idea to get them evaluated. I have had two kids in the program. One needed it badly (and still gets speech in school) and my daughter sounds like your little boy. She did qualify for services and now she is 2.5 and talking up a storm. It is amazing how bringing someone else in and all the tricks and tips they give you can get a non-talking kid to talk (because it seems like he understands, so it may be more of him chooing not to talk).

Definelty call....it can't hurt and like you said, the earlier they get help the better.

Most or all states have an early program. Ours in WV is called Birth to 3. My son was in it from birth until roughly 2 where he progressed out of it. They were wonderful with him. They will help you with what sounds they should be making and the speech. My son had a birth defect, so he was predisposed to some issues, but he has conquered them and I credit our Birth to 3 program with how quickly he was able to do that. Now he is 5 and you would never know. The earlier a child gets help the faster the problem can be corrected and possibly not lead to some long term issues. Good luck.

Although 6 words at 20 months doesn't sound all that delayed, there is a reason your pediatrician reccomended Early Intervention. I would call them NOW. It takes a month or so to even get anyone out and the evaluation is free. They will look at everything, not just his speech and then if he qualifies, they will set up another appt to get a some therapists out there to schedule services. Then, probably a month later, the services will start. NO, 20 months is not too early at all! You don't want to kick yourself for not calling earlier. And who knows, maybe he wont even qualify. My son got services, I live in NJ too. Its a sliding scale. Some people pay nothing. Our team was excellent and my son got speech, developmental intervention (most kids get this) and later occupational therapy because it turned out he had sensory issues with I didn't even realize when I called. At age 3, if he needs it, he will be evaluated by the school district. But right now, just focus on EI.

I had my son evaluated at abt 18mos as he had no words other than mama and dada and was getting very frustrated with his inability to communicate his needs, particularly eating. If your pedi suggested it, then I would have him evaluated. They will suggest a hearing test to make sure it's not his hearing. My son follows directions very well and cognitively he is beyond his 22 mos, but verbally he is way behind. He has had a teacher come once a wk for past 3 mos and now says up, in, eat, drink, juice, help, mine, and no. He has some other words, but they are more like sounds that only therapist and hubby and I understand. What state do you live in? We are in Monmouth Cty, NJ. For us, the state has to provide services if your son is 33% deficient in one area or 25% in 2. They send a speech therapist and another type of teacher to your house and meet with you and your son to evaluate then they write up results and talk abt it with you. If he qualifies you have a family information meeting to discuss goals and set up plan then a meeting abt your cost share(similar to a co-pay) for each visit that is based on your income. One of the most impt things is that you particiate in sessions so you learn how to continue to prompt your son to speach throughout the day. It has helped our son immensely.

I am quite sure that it's a free service in NJ. Your pediatrician needs to send a referral to ECI, once they receive it they'll contact you to set up a time where they can come to your house and do an evaluation. If he qualifies, he'll receive services for free. Your pediatrician should be able to give you this info.

I went through the exact same thing. At our 18 month appt our doc (we have Kaiser, not sure if that is national) referred us to a specialist b/c my kid did not have 10 words. 4 days later we were meeting with the specialist. The specialist met with us for almost two hours. Half the time was spent interviewing us and half the time was spent 'playing' with our kid (which was really testing). At the end, the specialist told us everything was fine. Our kid was just slow to speak. The specialist gave us some tips on helping our kid learn to speak.

'Newscaster': verbalize everything you are doing. 'I am walking into the kitchen. I am grabbing a bowl'. This helps them learn vocab and put words to actions & items.

Speak clearly but do not correct your child. If your child uses a word for a specific thing: like baba for bottle and ki-cat for cat, don't say: no, the word is bottle. Instead, use the proper word in your response: Here is your bottle :) This way they hear the proper word but don't feel they've done anything wrong. Much of language is not just comprehension but the physical ability to make the sound.

I also added sign language immediately, even before meeting the specialist. My kid could pick up signs in a matter of minutes and learned about 20 in the 4 days between being referred to and meeting with the specialist. This helped immensely while my kid was learning to speak. We could communicate just fine until the words came.

You don't have to be a speech pathologist (teaching letter sounds etc). Just talk and read to him a lot. Make eye contact and respond to the words he does use.

It sounds like your sons comprehension is right on. That is great. Do talk with a specialist, more likely than not, it is covered by your insurance. Even if it is not, it is money well spent.

Then relax. While the docs want to see at least 10 words by 18 mons, every kid is different and the language will come. He is not damaged for life (believe me, those thoughts went through my head too!) and he will be yakking up a storm before you know it. My kid now talks non-stop and has some of the better language skills among the group of friends/peers.

Now...take a breath. Be patient. Study & reach out. Everything is going to be just fine :)

((hugs))

Our state offers Early Intervention, but you have to be 3 years old to get in. My daughter was only saying maybe 10-12 words when she entered the program. She is doing much better now, but is still way, way behind. It is a fantastic program,

Talk to your pediatrician and ask for him to be evaluated. In Ohio, there is a free program for early intervention (age 3 and younger) that is available through the state, and I bet there is something similar for your state, too. Your pediatrician will definitely know and start you in the right direction w/ contacts & evaluations. His 2yo check-up is coming up in 4 months---if you don't want to call now for a special appointment (though sooner is definitely better on these things!!), let the office/dr know that at his 2yo appt you want to discuss this because you're very concerned.

do it even if he is kinda hard of hearing or has issues with his ears eci will pick it up and tell you. 20m and 6 words isnt normal but also isnt unusual and it wouldnt hurt to do eci. i do it with mine.and your statement he hears well from what i can tell makes me wonder if your wondering. both of my boys did speech and i would suggest it but both of mine had ear problems the baby being the worst case scenerio. no offense meant by this statement something i did with my oldest his speech was behind and as far as i knew it was normal he was my first kid. my dad is who got me to realize it wasnt normal. and hearing issues if there are any could be minor temporary or long term and severe. doesnt sound to me like if he has a hearing issue it would be severe though. better safe than sorry when it comes to speech and ears in my opnion. it effects so much of their development thier equalibrium if its their ears and the amount of temper tantrums if its just a speech issue. it would make your life easier to do it just in case.

I would do it sooner rather than later. In PA, EI is free until age 3.

I have 2 in early intervention for speech. I have noticed some great improvements with the extra help. My 6 year old really needs it. I don't think my 4 year old does but I figure more help can't hurt right? In my area preschool is free if they are in early intervention. Maybe you'll need to pay for early intervention but not preschool and it will be a wash.
Good luck.
:)

Yes I started to use thenm at 14 months,they will evaluate him for many things other than speech referr you to get his hearing tested at your local school district then follow up with an ENT if there is a history or not of ear inferctions they may suggest ear tubes when you have built up fluid (like my gal did)you can't hear the world around you, making a childs life difficult to learn,speak,hear,putting 2 & 2 together.Good Luck & BTW this is a free service in most areas that offer Early Intervention services they will ask if they can bill your Health Insurance or Medicaid but never a bill to you it is only to help with the grants they apply for year after year that are much needed to keep these services going.

I highly recommend it, if needed. At my son's second birthday he only had about 20 words (i think the "expected norm" is 50), so my son qualified for speech services. The therapist came to our house 1x a week and within 6 months he was a chatterbox- all caught up with kids his age. We stopped speech, actually the therapist de-certified him at that time.
i am not sure about NJ, but in CT it is a pay scale based on your household income - CT was very reasonable and we didn't try to go through insurance (doubt it would be covered anyway)

Go for it. The most important thing to do in those sessions is to get the therapist to train you in how to work with him at home; 2, 30 minute sessions per week are nice - but really, you need the training. It doesn't mean you have to sit with him with expensive toys and gadgets and a mirror for 30 minutes at a time. What is helpful and makes a difference is getting from the therapist ideas which you can meld in to your already daily routine. Every time you change his diaper, every time it's time to eat, when he wants something what does he have to say in order to get it. We found using sign language helped with speech development - it definitely does not delay language acquisition or expression. It gives them an ability to communicate themselves - which definitely diffuses tension and frustation on both sides.

I have found that therapists rarely actually get it that I really want the training myself - I had to ask the physical therapist for concrete ideas for 6 months until she understood that I was serious!

You can go thru your school district. They usually have an early intervention
program that is free. Usually I say at 24 months I would have him evaluated,
but it cannot hurt doing it at 20 months. It will take some time to get the
paperwork going.

My son received EI starting at 23 months. He, too, said few words, but understood simple and complex directions. He also had his hearing evaluated and it was fine. EI was a great experience for us; he got speech once a week and development intervention once a week. By the time he aged out, he was speaking in short sentences and voluntarily asking questions, etc. School was helpful as well. He started preschool twice a week a few months before his third bday and it made a huge difference.

The only downside--EI is expensive! And my insurance didn't cover it either.