Possible Causes for Delayed Speech

A lot of factors play a role, not just medical stuff. My youngest son did not talk until 3. Not a thing wrong with him except his older siblings spoiled him by not making him ask for things with words. Or they would just answer for him. My boy is the type to sit back and take it all in. If there is nothing developmentally wrong, then you have to be patient.

My daughter tended not to have her tongue where it should be.. A speech therapist... solved the problem wonderfully. We began before she started school... she was probably around 3...

J.

Actually, I think you have it backward. There are many speech delayed children who do not have an ASD, and some are just speech delays without a cause. You do not need a cause to get therapy. Go to a speech therapist, and if the issue is an expressive delay, receptive delay, or articulation disorder it does not really matter why, they treat what they see according to the evaluation data.

As for other diagnostic lables, there is apraxia, Central Audio Processing disorder, mental retardation, cleft palate...many others. You would probably know that more was wrong than a simple delay if your child had one of these. Sometimes, a speech delay may be remediated when the child is young, and other issues will come forward later, like a learning disablity, ADHD (usually without the "H") or Tourette syndrome.

All in all, it really does not matter why, the therapy is usually the same no mater the cause of the delay, and the earlier, the beter.

M.

I have said it before, and I will keep saying it, and I do not mean to step on anyones toes, but kids who will do just fine without therapy look just the same as kids who desperately need it, and the cost to a kid who needed it and did not get it is huge. Don't ever wait on development, the one who pays if you are wrong is your child. Early is best, and sometimes, it is essential. Why gamble? MR

One more edit...ECI and the school do offer free interventions, and if all you are looking for is for your son to be "functional" than this is fine, but if you want to maximize your child's potential, also get a private evaluation and seek private therapy in addition to public services. You do get what you pay for, and the only thing you really have that is free here, is time...you can't get one second of it back once it it gone. MR

Have you had his hearing checked, if he cant hear the words he cant say the words. There are a lot of reasons for delayed speech not all are as traumatic as ASD sometimes they just dont speak. There are speech therapists that you can call they will do an evaluation and let you know what you can do. I would check them out just for peace of mind.

I agree about the ear infections! we're pretty sure that's why my oldest didn't talk much until she was 2. Could also have been because I was the one who spent most of the time with her and I understood her "baby" talk, so she didn't really need to talk, you know?
But I completely disagree about the pacifier comment. My youngest used a paci until she was 2 1/2 and I haven't been able to get her to shut up since she was about 9 mo. old LOL and yes, she was one of those kids who ALWAYS had her paci in her mouth! once she started talking a lot, we just would tell her to take the paci out when she talked so we could understand her =)

My son, was delayed in speech.
However, in his overall developmental assessment, he was ALSO advanced in several areas.
Nothing was 'wrong' with him. Just delayed in speech. He understood everything very well and advanced for his age.
He was just delayed in speech. No Dysphagia or Apraxia or any other things.

Many boys are this way.
My son's Speech Therapist, said 80% of her clients were boys.

My son is now the most talkative one in our family.
He is now 4 years old.
At a certain age, his talking just took off.

Einstein, didn't 'talk' until 3 years old. And he was a Genius.

Bear in mind, that 'enunciation' of words, is age related. At certain ages, they can or cannot pronounce certain sounds. It is developmental... per their age junctures.

Have you ever just had your son, assessed? Per his speech delay?
That is the best way.

all the best,
Susan

My youngest has speech delayed because of blocked ears. I'd see an ENT and have him checked out there.

Did your son have a lot of ear infections? The reason I'm asking is because if he did, that could be a reason. My daughter had tons of ear infections the first two years of her life. Causing for her to have two sets of tubes put in and her adnoids removed. Due to the ear infections, she didn't have the balance nor was she able to hear clearly which in turn affected her speech. But I also understand that some kids just speak at their own schedule. Some quicker than others. If you want to in order to clear you mind is have him evaluated by a speech therapist or by the pediatrician. Good luck.

Have you not spoken to your sons pediatrician about his speech delay??You can't rule out ASD for now because we are on a public messaging board giving you advice & other possible causes of speech delay not a diagnoses.First & foremost you need to bring this up with his Dr.
I didn't wait for my daughter to turn "an age approiate time"I knew something was wrong when she was 1 yr old & yes I did bring this up with her pediatrician at her well child appt. she agreed to keep a watchful eye on her & see what happens till her 14 month well visit still some progress but not enough for me or the Dr. to be satisfied so I was then referred on to our local TARC services she was then evaluated immediatley they knew it wasn't ASD but just speech delayed there were several reasons why so the ball began to roll I was making appts for her now after all is said & done she had fluid built up in both ears only 2 ear infections in her life time she had tubes put in a few weeks ago & is speaking gaining new words daily & very greatful she is responding to her name (she would never respond to her name being called)
I don't understand why wait time is very crutial for early intervention.I hope you get some answers your looking for but until your childs DR. is involved you don't know exactly what to deal with or where to go.

get him into occupational therapy pronto. my 2.5 year old was saying ten words at his 2 yr well check. got him into ot and speech shortly after....now i cant get him to be quiet. there is something in their brains that sometimes just need that little push....i have heard several success stories with ot in young kids! they will even provide great help to kids whit all sorts of delay disorders and handicaps. Dont let them try to give him a bunch of meds. they may go that route. you ask them to let you try the therpay first. thats my best advice. I hope you find something that works well for you and your little one.

-Libby
0

Actually I have met many children like your little one even my own son. He started to speak (and never ended.....lol) late after three, and he never had therapy. I just started to talk more often to him and interact with him a lot, describe things to him and have him interact with more children and adults. Your kid will be OK, do not rush him into therapy yet, take it easy and encourage him to speak by playing and name things around himself, read to him a lot and...have fun together. It is a good idea, though, like other moms suggested H. to have your little one checked related to a hearing problem or too much wax in his ears.

We are having our 2.5 year old evaluated for pretty much the same thing.

The kid is stinkin' smart and wonderfully social...he just has issues with speech. He is getting more complex now. He tries to sing the theme from Thomas...with no tune and very few understandable words (probably NONE if I didn't all ready know the words:).

Anyway, our first step was a hearing check. Then we had to get his ears cleaned. He passed the hearing check but his ears were apparently PACKED with wax.

Next week, we have the 2 hour behavioral bit.

Most counties have some sort of FREE early intervention through the public school system. I suggest you start there.

Good luck!

My son had many ear infections as an infant and toddler, at 2 and 3 he was not talking much. We took him to an audiologist(sp?) after a visit to our Pedi. He was placed in private speech therapy and at 3 1/2 he was evaluated by the school district and started receiving speech at the elem. by our home. He continued sppech therapy until 6th grade when they released him from the program. I do want you to know though, when you go through the schools they consider it special ed. His speech delay was his only issue. He speaks clearly now and the only thing I would do differently if I could was having him evaluated earlier. Good Luck to you and your son!

It could be anything that effects his hearing from ear wax, fluid/swelling/ ear infections to problems with the hearing structures in the ears. Call early intervention before he turns 3 for a free assessment. If you wait you will have to go through the school system and it is a bigger headache. My son was talking a lot from just before turning 2 but it took him a long while for his pronounciation to improve. Even at 3.5 and 4 he was hard to understand and was not saying some sounds correctly but he improved a lot on his own (he is 5 in 2 weeks).

fluid on ears ear infections laziness not wanting to talk, hard of hearing, could be anything. if your worried take him to an ent and he can tell you which of the above it is. my oldest had fluid due to ear infections and tubes fixed it. my youngest is hard of hearing permanant or temporary I dont know yet. he has a major double ear infection and his tube has fallen out. so you need to get with an ent if he has fluid in his ears he cant hear the words right. and if he is just being lazy some kids do that. call eci before he is 3 they will evaluate him and let you know if he is being lazy or has other problems but that ends at 3 call your school system and tell them you need him assessed.

Ear infections, processing disorders, and sometimes there isn't necessarily a discernible reason. Does you child still use a pacifier, or did he use only until recently. I knew many people who's children used pacifiers late and it really affected their speech.
P.S.
I'm not saying every kid who uses a pacifier has a speech delay. I have known people who'd kids didn't talk much until they took it away, though. Our pediatrician even said pacifiers in toddler years discourage proper verbal communication in many kids.