Hi
My almost 27 month old has absolutely no words. I have been told by a private speech therapist that he has a speech and language disorder (not delay) also I thought he was doing well with his receptive language but she reckons he isn't understanding much so I just feel hopeless. He definitely understands a lot of phrases we say but you can't really say just anything to him and he doesn't follow two step instructions.
He does go 'mmm hmm' if you ask him if he wants something or he will walk up to you with a book and go 'mmm hmm' to let you know he wants you to read it to him but that us the only sound he will make deliberately. He babbles lots and has varied sounds with vowels and consonants but nothing with real intent.
He has been seen by the dev paed since he was 14 months because he was late to crawl/walk and has low muscle tone. He struggles with fine motor skills but is getting there. His eye contact is great and he is very social, very interested in people. Up until now he hasn't mimicked much or had much in the way of non verbal gesturing. However these last two days he has started clapping his hands when I ask him to and he even started what we think is dancing yesterday. He loves books. He does have some self stimulatory behaviours such as spinning wheels and rocking against a wall. He also rotates his arm a lot whilst staring into space.
He gets an EEG tomorrow. The paed is reluctant to diagnose ASD or anything at the moment.
He sleeps through the night touch wood and doesn't get upset easily. However recently I can feel him getting frustrated when I don't understand automatically what he wants. He eats most things he is given.
He struggles with self feeding with a spoon and won't drink out of a sippy cup.
If you say to him 'where is Grandad?' He will look right at Grandad and such is the case with other words he recognises.
I just want to know if anyone was in the same boat and their dc did go on to acquire speech. It's the lack of speech I am struggling most with.
I guess I just want some hope, I'm so scared and appalled at the lack of support.
Sorry I can't breathe for crying right now. Sorry to sound negative - I just feel utterly alone and lost and sick to my stomach with fear.
????
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Feeling low and wondering if there is any hope
auntynan · 19/05/2015 20:27
He has receptive language, which is good. Even if he doesn't master spoken words, he understands enough to learn other ways to communicate.
We never thought 9yo DS2 would speak. He cottoned onto it at the start of this year and, while it's only single words and short phrases, he never shuts up, now.
His thing this week is what appear to be rude verses to The Wheels on the Bus. 
I suspect some older boy mischief at work with that one.
Just want to say I know exactly how I feel.
Two things that might give you some comfort:
- My son's ABA consultant said that toddlers who babble generally go on to talk. It is the toddlers who are completely silent (or just making "stimming" noises) that often end up being non-verbal.
- There is a study where they took 4 year old pre-schoolers who were non-verbal (or who had very few words) and then assessed them at 8. 56% went on to talk fluently, 19% had phrase speech and the remainder were non-verbal. So even if your DS isn't speaking at 4, the chances are in you favour that he will go on to speak fluently.
This time last year I was at the same point you were and I cried every day for months. Now - even though DS has now been diagnosed with definite ASD - I am happy again. (And so is he - he's a very happy little boy, which I think is the main thing.) You'll be OK
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