[happy1nluv]

I'm not sure where this belongs, but would love a reaction from other toddler parents...

My 2 year old is in speech therapy. At 2 years, he was evaluated at a 10 month level.. Speech therapist suspects, but cannot say for sure yet, that he might have oral apraxia. She says he is a very bright boy and picks up quickly...

But, he keeps his tongue in the front of his mouth, which is interfering with making the back sounds...so today she wanted to watch him eat. I gave him an apple, and he tried to eat it by leaving it on the table and just using his mouth. He doesn't like to get his hands dirty. With anything. It's getting worse too... two weeks ago we had popsicles and he ate his normally. Yesterday we had them and he ate it by putting it on a table and using only his mouth. He'll eat pasta by hand, but insists that we wipe his hands in between each bite... stuff like that. He will play in sand or water just fine, but pretty much anything else needs to be wiped off his hands asap.

Anyway, the feeling i got from the speech therapist today (whom i really like and do trust) was that this was a BIG DEAL. She didnt say it in so many words... but she told us to work on it with him and to try to do more hand sensory activities, like playing with shaving cream, whipped cream, dry rice/beans, playdough, etc. and that we should force the issue foodwise (let him cry about having dirty hands and only wipe them at the end of the meal)

It doesn't feel natural to me to force the issue - after all, I use a napkin throughout my meal... but, its progressively getting worse and if keeping him from a napkin will make it go back the other way ... that might not be a bad thing...

does the hand thing sound normal to you? And, would it concern you? what would you do?

thanks!!

 

[a(TM)?Star]

Hi there....My son has a speech delay, and we've had him evaluated a few times, and he has been denied..long story, but I have learned a lot about these problems. My son also does not like his hands getting dirty. I am a self proclaimed neat freak, but I try not to let him know, so I'm not sure if it's being passed on by me, or a bigger issue. What I do know, is that many speech issues can be related to sensory disorders. It goes hand in hand with many, he may be super sensitive to feeling things on himself, which can also have an effect on him using the back of his throat to speak.......If you have already had him evaluated, and if you're even remotely concerned and want to pursue it, maybe try having an OT evaluate him. My son has some of these issues, but not enough that I feel that I want him in therapy for them. Not sure if this helps at all, but i just wanted to let youknow that sometimes these things are connected.

 

[Ravin]

I would ask for them to evaluate him for sensory issues, and preferably get an occupational therapist working with him, too.

 

[kewb]

I would definately have him evaluated for sensory issues.

I will say as a child I hated having dirty hands. I still hate the feeling of anything on my hands. My mother loves to tell how I would be filthy from head to toe but my hands would be spotless. I also used to ask my parents to order me Spare Ribs at the Chinese Restaurant and then I would refuse to eat them because I did not want to get my hands dirty.

 

[happy1nluv]

kewb - thats exactly it...

Quote:

be filthy from head to toe but my hands would be spotless

i was actually expecting to hear that i was overthinking and it was no big deal... so thank you all for your replies! im not sure we're gonna do any more therapy at this point, but we'll watch it and ill look into what sorts of stuff we can do at home to help.... (we also have a developmental specialist 2ce a month... )

 

[alegna]

Have him evaluated, but don't stress. Dd was like that at that age. Still is to a lesser extent.

-Angela

 

[a(TM)?Star]

If he's already receiving services, then you should have an OT eval. You'll probably see a big leap in his speech.

 

[mcs]

i was going to say that it doesn't seem like a big deal. at this age toddlers seem to pick up so many little quirks. i would think that making a big deal out of it would be..... making a big deal out of it. my dd is really into being "all clean" right now too. i kind of wipe her and let it go or say "oh yea, strawberries are messssssssssyyyy! we can wash you up when your all finished." or something like that.
but, i agree, it couldn't hurt to have him evaluated. especially if it would make you feel better.
mcs

 

[Lolafanana]

Since he is already getting services, i would get him evaluated BUT my dd is like that at 16 months and according to my mom, I was the same from about 2 years to 6 years. If my dd gets anything on her hands, she'll throw them up in the air and say, 'CLEAN!" She won't even go anywhere near sand. My mom tells me i was much the same. The ironic thing is for me is that I have turned out to be an artist and my medium of choice is clay and acrylic/oil paintting which all leave me very, very messy.

 

[limabean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy1nluv and that we should force the issue foodwise (let him cry about having dirty hands and only wipe them at the end of the meal)

I couldn't do that -- sounds like a good way to create food issues on top of his mess issues!

DS doesn't like to eat messy stuff with his hands, either, (neither do I actually -- I don't think most people do) but he's pretty adept at using utensils, so there's no reason that he has to get messy to eat. Does your DS use spoons and forks well?

 

[Carma]

I think it can also be normal. Our 21 month old also has a clean hands phase. She wants to copy everything I do including cleaning her hands. I also know of another almost 3 year old girl being the same way, she wants her hands cleaned several times during dinner. Both girls are normally developing (and both are learning to speak two languages).

Carma