no speech

[Sassyfrassy]

I posted this over on the behaviour/development board and it was suggested that I post over here as well =)

My dd2 doesn't really talk at all. She is 2years, 6 months and the only thing close to a word is gack (quack). She makes a few sounds, mam, ba, da but not many. We get a lot of pointing, holding hands and taking us to what she wants, putting things in our hands and she is now getting really frustrated.

She never really babbled as a baby and we found out that she had tongue tie which was snipped about a year ago.After it was snipped she did start to make some different sounds. To add complications we're a bilingual family, I speak Swedish and DH speaks English. I know she can hear and understand. If I ask her to get her shoes, she goes off and gets them and then finds her coat, scarf and hat as well. If you whisper the word icecream she runs to the freezer.

I've persuaded DH that we need to get the ball rolling and have a doctor's appointment next week. I feel really unsure about what might happen and what help we can get, at the same time I worry about her not speaking at all and that she is starting nursery school in september and still seems like such a baby to me.

Does anyone else have experience of this kind of speech delay or know what is likely to happen with the doctor and after?

My DH is a bit of an ostrich with his head in the sand and doesn't want to admit that we need some help. I work full time and he is a stay at home dad, so he really needs to be on board with anything we would do to help her.

[negligentmummy]

i suggest that you get assessed by speech and language therapist. you can usually self refer via a drop in clinic or similar- if nothing else it will get her in the system...

[Sassyfrassy]

Do you think it would be quicker to self refer than having my gp do it? I've got a doctors appointment next week to discuss her lack of speech?

[tabulahrasa]

if the doctor thinks there's an issue he'll refer her to a speech and language therapist

they'll assess her (chat to her a bit and get her to name things)

if they think there's a problem then they'll give her therapy, how often depends on what the provision is in your area

speech therapy will be slightly different depending on what needs to be worked on - but it's fun, they do games and what have you, give you things to carry on at home

[janx]

my ds is 3 and has severe speech delay. I thought something wasn't right when he was 18 months - never babbled and had no words. I went to a drop-in session run at my local children's centre and from there went to chatter matter groups with him. He has a link therapist and she has done some 1.1 sessions with him and has helped nursery do games with him that encourages him to try new words. He has come on alot since then, but his speech is miles behind his peers. He can't pronounce constants - so big train would sound like ig ain. I recommend makaton as a way to help with frustration and to support language. I am waiting to get a referal to a specialist as we have not had a diagnosis, but dp has severe dyslexia and had a lot of problems with his speech

[farming4]

Hi ds is 3.8 and has severe speech delay. He didn't babble either - everything was "ugg". Biggest problem we had was the tantrums and the meltdowns cos he kept getting so frustrated. Between pre-school, salt, his dad and me and Mr Tumble we have taught him enough Makaton to get his point of view across. Has about 6 words now after 18mths salt every 2 wks. Very good pre-school which backs up salts recommendations and practices his sounds with him. (Have also taught other kids in his class signs so they can understand ds) Can pronounce constanants and vowels but unable to link them e.g. cat is c.....a.....t with big pauses between sounds. No formal dx as yet but leaning towards verbal dyspraxia which means a long slog in the future. Hearing and understanding all normal.Not wanting to depress you but just let you know you aren't on your own - pm me if you want a chat.Good luck x

[Toppy]

Just quickly my DS (just 3) has spent the last year in SALT but turns out he has other issues too (just been diagnosed with ASD). You could end up waiting quite a while to actually get any SALT so in the meantime a really EXCELLENT book to buy is It Takes Two To Talk (ITTTT) - it is the course book for the SALT course developed by the Hanen Centre (Canadian) and is widely run by health authorities in the UK. It will give you (or your husband) so much to work with.
It is an expensive book - no getting away from that but the cheapest place to get it is www.winslow-cat.com.
Lots of people on here will also reccomend this book to you and if you can get on a course even better

PS DS had no words at 2 years and 6 months other than 'uh-oh'. 6 months on and he has loads - they come out a bit funny and often only I can decipher them but yesterday I got a full blown 'mummy' instead of mama. I was trawling the archives for posts like this half a year ago looking for hope. She will talk.

[Sassyfrassy]

Thanks everyone, I will look into getting the book when I get paid next.

In the meantime, I was wondering how useful signing is? I thought that if she learnt some signs it would help ease the frustration of not being able to speak but DH is sceptical.

[ButterflySally]

Signing would be a useful place to start whilst waiting for an SLT assessment. It would help her communicate her needs and wants therefore easing frustration. Some people worry the child will become reliant on signing and therefore not develop speech, however research shows the inverse is true: signing helps promote speech and language development as, through signing, your child would have access to a greater range of communicative opportunities than she would with no method of communication. Good luck and I hope you get an SLT appointment soon!

[Agnesdipesto]

Definitely try signing. Some libraries have Makaton DVDs and materials. Most areas will have a sing and sign group

If she does not catch on to that you could try using pictures to make choices etc.

My son didn't speak for different reasons (ASD) and we stuck pictures on the fridge or did a choice board and so could still make own choices. That can take away some of frustration - of course you can't have a picture on hand for everything but start with favourite things.

Look at ICAN and AFASIC websites for more info and resources

If you have a speech group at a local childrens centre you can go whilst waiting for a referral - we did this as well as GP and it helped us move up the queue - they also referred for hearing test - they always do this just to rule out glue ear etc

[janx]

Yes defo sign - ds has taken to it really well - he does the sign for milk and 8 months ago - he would say ah ah for milk and now he says ilk which is a big step forward and still does the sign. Makaton supports language and isn't replaces it - honestly tell your hubby it is worth it.

[signandsmile]

Big yes to signing here too, ds now 4, (ASD and Mod Learning Dis) has 6 spoken words, and a few noises, (babbles all the time, always has, just complete nonsense) however has 270 signs and can make sentences, answer questions, comment on what is happening around him, even tease us.

Has made life so much easier, and as others have said promotes not retards speech.

[Sassyfrassy]

Thanks everyone, DH has agreed to give it a go. Our local surestart centre runs a signing group, possibly more for babies, but I will investigate.

[lisad123isasnuttyasaboxoffrogs]

you may be able to get referal via HV too :)