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Behaviour/development

2 years 7 months old and still not talking

8 replies

motheroftoddler · 16/02/2014 18:51

DS2 still babbles away and doesn't talk. He understands quite a bit, like "Give mummy kisses", "Go get mummy your beaker", "Go sit at the table, dinner is coming", "Give (whatever) to Daddy/Mummy/DS1", "Shut the door" and so on. He just doesn't say anything though apart from "Uh oh" when he drops something etc. He loves copying his brother and whenever DS1 says "Ready steady go" or "1 2 3" for example, he tries to copy but it is never clear. Sounds like "eddy eddy goo" or "uh do ee".

7 months ago I took him to see the health visitor. At that time he wasn't understanding anything and wasn't attempting to copy his brother at all so he has made an improvement since. They said at the time that they were going to refer him to the Audiologist but there was a 6 month wait. I mentioned it in passing to the Doctor last month saying I was concerned after she asked when he will be starting Nursery. She said she would get on to the health visitors and I should hear from them. I haven't.

I suppose what I am after posting this is some reassuring advice. I am just waiting and waiting, worrying, and nothing is being done. Am I worrying too much given he understands what he is told?

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Notonthisplanet · 16/02/2014 20:30

My dd is same age and not talking properly but understands everything, she babbles and does the baby way of talking. She goes to nursery and they tell us she's fine at her age to not be talking yet and hv is not concerned so we're not concerned. Hope that helps.

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confusedofengland · 16/02/2014 21:25

My DS2 is a few months on from yours - he is 2 years 10 months (3 in April). He also has very little speech - about 30 words, although he did add 3 new words this weekend, which I was very excited about!

I think it is great that you have been referred to an audiologist, but I would also try to see a SALT (speech & language therapist) if you can. They can assess whether your son will need further help to develop his speech and, something which I found very useful, in some cases can support an application for nursery funding from age 2 rather than age 3, for some cases of speech delay. My DS receives this funding, rather than having to wait until September, and I do believe that being at nursery for his 15 funded hours per week is helping his speech & other areas of development, too. You can ask your HV about referral to a SALT or possibly even find where there is one local to you & ring them up yourself. There is often a long waiting list, so it is better to apply & it not be needed than to not apply & find you have a wait of months iyswim. My DS had his first 'round' of individual speech therapy at 2 years 4 months, and group speech therapy even before he turned 2, so your DS is definitely not too young to start.

Apart from this, there are other things you could try to help develop his speech. Lots of singing & reading with him is very good, and lots of socialising with other children, say at toddler groups or similar. Also, if you get a Hanen book ('More than words' & 'It takes two to talk') out from your local library, they will give you strategies to help develop his speech.

I am also giving DS2 an Omega-3 supplement from Boots each day, as I have heard that it helps to improve concentration & speech (I am not too sure about this, but I figure it won't do any harm, anyway)

I hope this helps & that I haven't waffled too much, do feel free to ask me any questions about my experiences etc Smile

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stopgap · 17/02/2014 12:48

My friend's son is the same age. He understands a lot, but can only say one word, and he also does not point to indicate joint attention, nor did he ever really babble. He is a sociable toddler, however, and loves being around other children and adults. He was diagnosed with apraxia about six months ago.

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BabyMummy29 · 17/02/2014 12:52

I was very worried about my son as he barely spoke until he was 3. It would appear that he was waiting until he could form complete sentences, rather than babbling away in baby-talk.

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drivenfromdistraction · 17/02/2014 13:02

This was me. I had a moderate-to-severe hearing loss. A 6 month wait is absolutely unacceptable - this is crucial language-learning time and very important to find out if there is a problem asap. I would be pushing for an urgent referral and/or finding out about a private option. Check the NICE guidelines and what they say about waiting times in these circumstances. You could also ring RNID (or whatever it's called now) for advice on how to get seen sooner.

When he speaks, is it mainly the vowel sounds he says (sounds like it from your examples)? That is a classic symptom of a high-frequency hearing loss (consonants tend to be at higher frequencies than vowels so harder to hear and therefore to say).

He may understand your instructions because of a combination of lip-reading, contextual clues, visual signals (e.g. your face may look a certain way when you're asking for kisses) and intelligent guess-work. That's what I did (still do in circumstances when I don't have my hearing aids in). He may also hear loud sounds like doors banging etc. (they are at a lower frequency/he feels the vibrations). I 'passed' the rather inadequate hearing test of the health visitor clapping her hands behind my back, which delayed my diagnosis.

Good luck, please do try and get him seen by the audiologist asap. The earlier the intervention the better.

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atthestrokeoftwelve · 17/02/2014 13:08

My children had no language until 3, my DD was 3.5 before she talked. No support was offered to me except hearing tests. DD did go on to have a little speech therapy for certain sounds, DS had none.
DS was 36 months when he first spoke, and it came in sentences. he is now the chairman of his secondary school's debating society!

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motheroftoddler · 17/02/2014 13:45

Thank you everyone for your replies, it is good to hear what the causes could be (had never even heard of Apraxia!) and also to know it doesn't necessarily mean that there even is something wrong!

I have been trying to get hold of the health visitors today but forever getting a line busy. Are they the best people to go through for referrals? Or should I take him back to the GP?

Will search RNID now. I really am grateful for each post! Thank you so much.

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HollyMadison · 17/02/2014 13:57

Hi. I agree with Driven that a hearing test is important and urgent. My son has moderate hearing loss, diagnosed at 16 months. We didn't ever suspect hearing loss (he seemed different from other toddlers so we started looking into it with the professionals and the first thing we did was look to rule out hearing loss. It wasn't ruled out). He could follow instructions and had a few words.

Maybe you could contact a private audiologist, if the wait on the nhs is too long, to see what the costs of a basic hearing test to rule out hearing loss would be. Sorry am not in the uk so don't know costs or how to get help privately there.

I also second the Hanen It Takes Two to Talk book.

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