Still feel something is wrong

[lynnesg]

I had my 32 month old dd evaluated through EI 2 months ago and they said she is a normal 2.5 year old. They agreed her speech is somewhat delayed but not enough to qualify for ST. I felt the appt. was short and I didnt get enough time to explain my concerns. I felt relived the first few days, but 3 weeks ago she started a playschool for 2 year olds and her delays are so much more obvious now. I am also noticing things I didn;t before her appt with EI. She can talk in 4-5 words sentences, but it seems pretty unvariable. If she wants a bow in her hair she will likley say ''put bow in hair.'' Not ''Can you put this bow in my hair'' or anything close to that. Her pronouns are just now emerging but used incorrectly often. She cannot chose between 2 options, she will always answer ''yes'' instead of picking one. I took a lot of work on my end to get her to answer ''yes'' to questions instead of repeating the last word for a yes answer. Ex: Do you want water? ''water''. Her speech just seems limited to me. If she doesn't want her baby brother touching her toys, she will always say ''pick up Brent'' nothing different. It seems most of her speech are memorized phrases. She can come up with her own sentences, but a lot of what she says is memorized. She used to repeat the last word of a question she didn't understand, but now that seems to be going away. It seems not only is she behind her peers in speech, but she's not learning speech the same way. She is super super shy as well. She likes to sit next to kids, play near them, but she will not talk or interact with them. She can't tell me about her day at school or what she did. Yesterday when I picked her up, I asked her if she went outside and played. I knew she didn't because it was raining but she replied ''yes.'' It's like she doesn't understand what I am asking her. She is also super shy. She gets excited to see my brothers, but as soon as they pick her up, she says 'I want mama'' yet she loves all women, even strangers! On the flip side, she is loving, affectionate, says I love you to me, my DH, baby brother, her grandma. She has been able to say her first and last name and age since before 2 yesr old. Recongnizes even extended family in pictures. Loves to read, laugh, be tickled, read books, play dress up and pretend play. Makes eye contact and smiles and responds to name 100% of time for both me and even people she doesn't know. Knows all her colors, counts, says ABCs, likes to dance and sing songs.Excellent fine and gross motor skills. She seems like a regular little girl on the outside, but I just feel she is different. Everyone tells me I'm paranoid, but I can't help but feel it. She has an appt. next week for a developmental assesment and an appt. the weeks after with a private SLP. What do you ladies think?

[lynnesg]

Anyone?

[Linda on the move]

I think that if there is anything going on with her, it is very mild.

Has her hearing been checked? How clear is her speech?  Has she had problems with fluid in the ears? I'm thinking that the things you are noticing that seem a little off could be caused by a minor hearing problem, such as chronic fluid in the ears.

[KCMichigan]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

I think that if there is anything going on with her, it is very mild.

Has her hearing been checked? How clear is her speech?  Has she had problems with fluid in the ears? I'm thinking that the things you are noticing that seem a little off could be caused by a minor hearing problem, such as chronic fluid in the ears.

Ditto this.

Nothing in your post jumps out at me as a preschool teacher or a former Spec.Ed. teacher.

Developmentally she sounds withing normal ranges.

The speech patterns sound age appropriate. Most kids speech develop similar (short sentences, repeating phrases, etc) speech patterns and they can continue until age 3 or so. At that age she is communicating her needs "pick up__" shows that she has a request and is able to express it. At 2.5- she most likely would not say "Pick up___ he is playing with my toys!" that is more a mid to late 3 yr old level.  

2.5 do tend to speak in demands  "put bow in hair"  "Give milk now"  "open door" etc  instead of "Please put bow in my hair." or "Can I have more milk now?". That is actually normal development pattern. "Happiest Toddler on the Block" book calls it caveman speech--- and it is- words needed and no more. Gradually the length and variance in words should increase.

Shyness is also normal.

Parallel play is normal (playing along side instead of with other kiddos)

No relaying information is normal ( many kiddos have difficulty relaying what they did at preschool/etc back-- which is why childcare/preschools/etc send home notes of daily activities to springboard discussions)

I dont see much that would be a red  flag for a 2.5 yr old. Her speech may be a bit behind, but not glaringly so (a 2.5 yr old that had no words or few words would be delayed). She sounds on track socially, gross and fine motor, and cognitively--- she seems to be hitting all other skills for that age and may be a bit delayed in speech, but not way out of the norm. 

I hope you continue to see improvements. If the upcoming appointments go well and you still have concerns in a few months- get another evaluation after age 3 through the schools.

As PP said, check hearing/vision, etc.

I a big believer in 'parent' instinct if something is wrong...so if you still are worried, evaluate her again. Trust your gut.

Edited by KCMichigan - 5/20/11 at 3:12pm

[EarthRootsStarSoul]

She sounds OK to me too.  Cooperative play usually emerges around age three.  I say wait another six to twelve months before evaluating again if you still feel something is wrong.  Or to put your mind at ease spend a day at her preschool and see how similar she is to other 2 year olds. 

[Linda on the move]

But if you do compare her with her peers, don't compare her to the most advanced. There are a few 2 year old with extremely advanced speech. If you are around one of those, it can really mess with your head and confuse you as to what is "normal".

[Emmeline II]

I would continue with the private evaluations until you are satisfied; your instincts may be picking up on something that may become more obvious later. I agree with getting her ears checked as well.

[beenmum]

She sounds pretty typical to me honestly. But I had a 4 year old who didnt speak more then 1 to 2 word sentences. and never to anyone else but me. In preschool she stood in the cornor all day and never spoke.

Asking her to answer with yes or no instead of the one word she wanted really isnt developmentally appropriate.

Having senetnces that say "Put bow in hair" instead of "Can you put this bow in my hair" is 100% age appropriate.

Pronouns dont become well used until they are school aged.

[beenmum]

Oh I forgot. When you asked her if she went outside to play and she said yes....kids dont really understand the concpet of time. She may have gone out yesterday, so t her the answer was yes she played outside.

I think if you lower your expectations of her a bit you will find she is right on target.

Its perfectly fine to speak to her as if she is a child. She is a child.

[jtkkmom]

She sounds like she is doing pretty well to me too, but I think it is always best to trust our mommy's instincts.  If there are any areas that she needs to work on, then it is better to get started as soon as you can.

[Logan's Mom]

I am a big fan of trusting your gut, but I must agree with the PPs.  You will always asked if  your child has had a vision and hearing test.  Especially hearing for speech. If you haven't they will tell you to get one.  I agree that she sounds within normal range, but I'm not there and I'm not her mama.

I can tell you that I only wish my son had that many verbal skills and he is 5.  Good luck and have faith that all is well.  In the end, what you truly do want is for them to tell you that you are wrong and everything is fine. 

[lynnesg]

Originally Posted by KCMichigan 

Ditto this.

Nothing in your post jumps out at me as a preschool teacher or a former Spec.Ed. teacher.

Developmentally she sounds withing normal ranges.

The speech patterns sound age appropriate. Most kids speech develop similar (short sentences, repeating phrases, etc) speech patterns and they can continue until age 3 or so. At that age she is communicating her needs "pick up__" shows that she has a request and is able to express it. At 2.5- she most likely would not say "Pick up___ he is playing with my toys!" that is more a mid to late 3 yr old level.  

2.5 do tend to speak in demands  "put bow in hair"  "Give milk now"  "open door" etc  instead of "Please put bow in my hair." or "Can I have more milk now?". That is actually normal development pattern. "Happiest Toddler on the Block" book calls it caveman speech--- and it is- words needed and no more. Gradually the length and variance in words should increase.

Shyness is also normal.

Parallel play is normal (playing along side instead of with other kiddos)

No relaying information is normal ( many kiddos have difficulty relaying what they did at preschool/etc back-- which is why childcare/preschools/etc send home notes of daily activities to springboard discussions)

I dont see much that would be a red  flag for a 2.5 yr old. Her speech may be a bit behind, but not glaringly so (a 2.5 yr old that had no words or few words would be delayed). She sounds on track socially, gross and fine motor, and cognitively--- she seems to be hitting all other skills for that age and may be a bit delayed in speech, but not way out of the norm. 

I hope you continue to see improvements. If the upcoming appointments go well and you still have concerns in a few months- get another evaluation after age 3 through the schools.

As PP said, check hearing/vision, etc.

I a big believer in 'parent' instinct if something is wrong...so if you still are worried, evaluate her again. Trust your gut.

So had the eval done today by the psych. for a developmental assesment and this post above was right on the money. She is ''as far from the spectrum as one can get'' but she does have some expressive speech issues that are causing her shyness, or so gathered the psych. She did have a hearing test 3 weeks ago, which was normal and she has a SLP appt. next week, so hopefully she can't get the help she needs to be all caught up by kindy.