When to get concerned with a speech delay...

[liberal_chick]

My ds, who is almost 2.5, doesn't talk much.  In fact, I can list for you the things he says:

Mama

Dada

Nana (Finnegan, our youngest ds)

Bye Bye

Mom

Rye Rye (Sunshine, my grandmother's horse)

All Done

No

Gah (yeah)

Wow (meow)

Mmmm zzzzz (Buzz (as in Buzz Lightyear))

hee hoo (like yodel-a-hee-hoo or however you yodel, lol, and by this he means Jesse from Toy Story)

P-P-P (pig)

mmmmmmmm (moo)

Raaaaaa (dinosaur)

He is very obviously speech delayed.  Dh wants to wait until September to take him in to the pediatrician, but I'm getting more and more worried about it.  I assume the earlier you start with speech therapy (if you qualify), the more successful, but I don't have any first-hand experience.

He understands everything you say to him.  He follows directions.  He's a lot less frustrated that I'd be if that's all I said.  We didn't do a ton of signing with him, but he does a lot of hand gestures to let you know what he wants/needs.  His needs get met, for sure.

What do you think?

[Peony]

Why does your DH want to wait? Early Intervention goes until their 3rd birthday and then the school district takes over after that. EI is free  and you are correct not all children qualify. My DS1 is not quite 2 months younger then your DS, says only a couple words less and has been receiving weekly speech therapy in our home since he was 20 months old through EI. And yes it has made a big difference. I would call sooner then later. to get things started.

[NZJMama]

I agree with the PP. I work in EI and as you said the earlier the better. Plus, it usually takes a couple of months between the referral and the start of services.

[sewaneecook]

My DS1 was evaluated about that age when he only said about 15 words, but yet he knew colors, all the letters, numbers, shapes, etc.  He was borderline, but not enough to start therapy because he was advanced in other areas.  Some advice that really helped him to speak more clearly and to communicate with more words was to stop predicting what he wanted and make him ask for it.  If you knew that a point and a grunt meant he wanted water, tell him to use his words.  At first this caused a lot of frustration on both DS and on me, but soon he started talking more too.  He didn't say his first 2 word combination until 33 months!  Now, at 5, he's very verbal and uses fairly complex sentenses with a rather large vocabulary.  Reading to him also helps with vocabulary and with speech, so fit in as much as you and he both enjoy. 

[nia82]

I agree with the PP, we started to not give DS things when he signed for them, he had to use the word. IMprovement followed within days. I still make him say a word again that isn't pronounced right so he says it right. It works wonders. Also, hold the object you are talking about close to your mouth so he sees how you pronounce the word. DS never looked at our mouths until after we made him and it helps a lot. We have seen consistent growth and speech explosion employing those simple techniques.

[pbjmama]

If you are concerned, get him evaluated. Then you can see where he falls and if you want to take action. I wouldn't bother with a ped, call your school district after the school year starts and get an early intervention evaluation. By the time you actually have the appointment it will likely be September anyway.

[MeredithA]

I agree with PPs - get him evaluated as soon as you can. There is really no reason to wait. Good luck! 

[fizgig]

Hi, I'm in the exact same situation with our DS and I've done more research than any one person ever should.  I've spoken with experts, read every medical journal article I can find, etc and I'm happy to share my thoughts based on that work.

1.  You should get an evaluation asap.  There are a million reasons someone can talk late.  Some will dramatically improve with intervention, some won't.  I realized with our DS that I couldn't tell what is really going on with him.  My mommy gut told me there is nothing wrong and that he will just talk when he is ready.  However, I realized that there is no harm in going to the Dr to find out.  You don't have to agree with their assessment but getting an expert opinion has been a great place to start for us.  Part of the reason I put it off was fear of labeling DS and a fear of finding out something was really wrong. 

To be honest there are just some things that need intervention and the sooner you get it, the less likely it will impact your son in the long term.

2. That said, there is also a chance everything is totally fine and your son will grow out of this on his own.  There really are kids that just naturally talk late.   However, for me I decided I would rather look back and laugh at myself for over reacting rather than look back and kick myself for not getting him help when he needed it.

From what you said it sounds to me like you son just hasn't needed to talk yet and will be fine but why risk it?  I hope that helps!

[fizgig]

Oh, and I forgot, the process to get evaluated by early intervention can take months and they stop at 3 years old so if you want that service you should start today.  It varies by state but you might need a referral from a pediatrician.  If not just skip the ped and go right to the EI folks.  Or, if you have good insurance, a private therapist who can do a full eval. 

[Cavy]

What does Speech therapy consist of with a 20 month old?  Locally they won't try to do much for any child under 4yo, except some home exercises & general advice for how to communicate at home.

fwiw, I would probably get him assessed, OP.  I took the laid back approach  (wait & see) with 2 DC, and then with last child was quite pro-active (got referral about age of your DS).  Two of my children improved by themselves (no intervention), but DC3 needed some SALT to get many sounds right (or maybe, it's a case of me needing to learn better comms, too).  My youngest was probably saying about as much at that age, he's not had any speech therapy and he's got a great vocab now (not yet 3.5yo), although still below average  wrt some specific sounds of speech.

[Cavy]

I forgot to say, at 2.5yo my youngest DC definitely didn't understand a lot of what we were saying... in fact, I'd say that was true all the way up until past his 3rd birthday.  The lack of understanding was one of my big concerns.  I think it's a very good sign that OP's child understands so much.  DC3 also has a degree of APD (as do I), so he was having the most trouble just understanding what people said.

Actually the other day DC3 insisted (to the point of angry tears) that it was "mote control" not "remote control" that people use to control boats/planes (etc.)  He's 7yo and obviously never picked up on the "re" sounds in those words.

[Vikkile]

My now 14 year old son had the same issues.  I waited (and worried) and he did finally come around and then I could not get him to stop talking... hee hee.  I now am a childcare provider o 18 years and have seen many of my little ones go through the same.  I love Early Intervention that comes to my house.  It provides a good sounding board for my parents struggling with what to do.  I also use an at home program called Speechtails (.com) and have been having great success with it.  The kids love it and their vocab is increasing.  You might give it a shot!  Good Luck, Vikki B, Indiana