how do i figure out if my older daughter is both hearing and listening to me? when i speak to her i use words that i know she understands. sometimes she acts as though she cant hear me or doesnt want to listen. i have a problem figuring out when she is doing both. also her speech vocabulary is very limited. she only says a handful of words and that is even sporatic. any advice?
I agree with those who suggest getting her hearing tested. Even a small hearing loss can significantly impact speech development. She's still young enough for therapy to make a significant difference. No harm in having her tested. If her hearing is fine, then the other suggestions here are worth trying.
Warmly,
L.
A.,
Are the words she says understandable to anyone, or just you? Does she have ear infections? Fluid behind her ears? There are many reasons she could be doing this aside from just "not paying attention". I would take her to your family doctor right away. It's never worth worrying and wondering if a trip to the doctor could help. My second son seldom had ear infections, but always had fluid behind his ears. The best thing I ever did for him was to take him to an ear, nose and throat doctor, the advise from the pediatrition was to just wait - after a year I'd had it, after putting tubes in his ears, the SAME DAY, he started to learn new words and said them understandably! It took him about 6 months to relearn the vocabulary that we couldn't understand, but was what he was hearing. Doctors are not perfect - you know more about what's going on with your child than anyone else!
[chuckle] Sounds like it's probably selective hearing - especially if she passed her infant hearing screen. (It amazes me how well my 14 month and 4 year old sons can do this.) When you say something she wants to hear, does she prick up. (Stuff like: Would you like a cookie? Here is some juice, etc.) If not, maybe you should make an appointment with the pediatrician to have her ears checked. It could just be that she's got too much wax in her ear canal and it's preventing the ear drum from vibrating properly.
The other day, my 4 year old was watching a movie in the other room while my hubby and I were in the kitchen making out a grocery list. I asked my hubby to put chocolate milk on the list, and my darn kid came RUNNING in all excited saying he "likes" chocolate milk. Now, this is the same child who will act as though he's hard of hearing when I am in the same room as him and ask him to go and brush his teeth!
My oldest was also pretty slow to start talking. He went from speaking a handful of words to speaking in sentences by about 2 1/2.
I would definitely take your daughter to her pediatrician to test her hearing and also talk with him/her about your daughter's lack of speech. This could all end up being nothing at all but it is better to be safe and find out for sure. I'm pretty sure that by 21 months she should be able to at least put basic sentences together and to follow simple diretions so if she isn't able to do these things you need to follow up with your doctor.
Your daughter sounds just like my son! He can DEFINITLY hear me expecially when I say "Cookie", "juice" or "Wiggles". However, there are definitly other moments ("Bring me your socks") when I feel like I am talking to a wall. When kids are 2 they start to push limits and experiment with their independence. When they pretend not to hear they actually think maybe if I pretend not to hear her she didn't really say it. If you give your child an instruction that she ignores, get down on her level, make eye contact the best you can and repeat yourself. If she still ignores you take her hand and "help" her complete the instruction. When she does follow your instruction the first time give her lots of praise. This of course is assuming she passed her hearing test. As far as speech, you may want to have her evaluated by a speech therapst or your pediatrician. We are going through the same thing with my son (22 months) and we will probably get him into speech therapy within the next few months. It can't ever hurt. A lot of toddlers need or receive speech therapy so don't worry about a stigma being attached to it. Tons of kids go.
my son did the same thing. as it turns out, he is in the autism spectrum. i recommend that you call a child psychologist to have her evaluated. if there is something going on, the sooner you know, the better, so you can help her. you might also check out handle.org
