Speech Delay?

[mama2be11]

I have an EI appointment scheduled for Tuesday for my son and I just am a nervous wreck about this whole situation. I'm suspecting a speech delay and looking back I'm surprised I didn't notice earlier but his 2nd birthday is coming up and I read somewhere that they should know approx. 50 words and be putting together two words by this age. Well, dh and I couldn't even think of 10 words that he uses and the words that he does use don't have an ending. Ex. ma for mom, da for dad, wa for water. I kind of chalked up his lack of speech to having his pacifier in his mouth all the time which we just recently went cold turkey with and he hasn't had it for a month now. I do notice he babbles a lot more so maybe that helped. He hit his motor skill milestones late but still within the "normal" range. (He crawled at 8.5 mo, walked at 13 mo.) I was just thinking that maybe he was going to be a late talker because he was a later crawler and walker but just recently I really started to get worried about it. His social skills are very good and he seems on track for that. He really likes being with other kids and interacts a lot with me. It just seems to be his speech that he's had a hard time with. I'm not sure what to think though. I know they'll be watching for autism red flags as well which is fine. I guess I was just looking for some insight or anybody who is or has been in a similar situation. I'd like to go into the meeting well informed even though I know they'll be mostly observing him.

[APToddlerMama]

I have experienced EI from both sides...working in EI right out of college, and now my son who is two receives services.

Don't worry! The evaluation is really like play for the kids, and typically the speech therapists have a lot of experience making therapy and evaluation a good time for kids. Your son will almost undoubtedly qualify for services, which is great because the earlier someone starts working with him, the better the outcome. Some kids really are just "late-talkers" and with other kids there are other issues. After a few sessions your speech therapist may be able to give you a better idea of what they think is going on. With my son, they said almost right away that they thought he had apraxia (which I agree with entirely though he is too young for a diagnosis). The speech therapist will probably have suggestions for you weekly of what you can be working on with your son as well. Good luck with everything!

[SpottedFoxx]

Good luck! Just remember, if you don't agree with what they say, get a second opinion! We took what the EI people said as the gospel because we didn't know any better (they said our son didn't have a speech problem - he had an issue sitting still in order to learn so they gave us a special ed teacher who did art projects with him )

After he aged out of EI (and got no better) we had a private evaluation done that showed he was more than a year behind in speech. Turns out he has a severe articulation disorder and dyspraxia.

Trust your gut and good luck!

[mama2be11]

Thanks so much! I am really trying to pace myself and not get too worked up about this. I am really nervous but I am also looking forward to what they have to say. SpottedFoxx, I totally agree with what you have to say about trusting your gut. Thanks for the reassurance!

[PinkinPA]

I agree with spottedfoxx. As a matter of fact, our story is pretty much the same as hers.

My son who is now 8 has "apraxia". I believe that he is on the specturm somewhere and I'm not sure he even has apraxia. I think it was a generic lable for "we don't know".

I would suggest until you get a diagnosis for him and until he finds his words, teach him some simple sign language. It will ease his and your frustration.

[sapphire_chan]

And the sign language will help his verbal words too.

(btw, his motor milestones weren't late, even within the normal range. Late, but normal, walking is like 15 months.)

[alexsam]

Really- If you can, try not to get worked up. We are in exactly the same boat with my 20 month old and we just called today for an appointment for a speech evaluation. But my "mama senses" are not saying autism, but something speech related. Or, he may just not have "clicked" yet with it. You know, though? Toddlers change SO MUCH in speech SO QUICKLY. This absolutly does not "have to be anything big". We both might just benefit from some tips .

BTW, my older son had speech therapy at 2 for a very severe stutter. Turns out it was related to giftedness . By 3, he was chatting away happily with no more stutter. He's 5 now and we never had language issues again. The therapists were nice (though I was also vocal when I didn't think they "got" something) and DS1 actually really enjoyed the sessions. So, try not to worry!

[mama2be11]

Thanks so much for all the support! I will keep everyone informed after the appointment too as I know there are probably other mamas reading that are in the same boat.

[alexsam]

Update?