Language delay

[AbstractMouse]

Hi at what point is it usual to get help for language delay? Who would I go to Gp or Hv?

Ds is almost 2 and still not really talking, he has a couple of words (hiya there, uh-oh, out, milk, mammy).

I have done a search, but it confused me further tbh, people who had sought help much earlier, contrasted with people who were more they will do it eventually, my dc suddenly talked at 2.5.

Any advice?

[TotalChaos]

In my area, a kid would get a referral at 2.5 if they had around 7 or 8 words and seemed to understand everything OK. It's often hard to get taken seriously about speech problems until your kid is 3. If you can get a speech therapy referral, I think it is very worthwhile, as you can always cancel if your DS's speech suddenly takes off while on the waiting list. Some areas let you refer directly to speech therapy and/or have a drop in clinic with a speech therapist. So if you can bypass GP and HV, then it's best to do so. Otherwise I would go to whichever of GP or HV you feel most comfortable with.

If your kid is communicating well non-verbally (pointing etc) and seems to understand simple requests then there's every chance the speech will take off all on it's own. But IME it's best to get on the waiting list in case it doesn't - as you don't want to end up with a 3 year old who is very behind, and then have a further 9 months to wait for a first appointment.

[Shells]

Hi Abstractmouse. Completely agree with TotalChaos. Go for it anyway. I think the reason that my DS got SALT attention quite early (wasn't saying anything at 2nd birthday) was that his understanding was so poor.
He has gone on to have problems so I'm really pleased we started the ball rolling early. As TC says, you can always opt out if things come right.

[BriocheDoree]

I left it until a bit later (DD not saying pronouns by 3) and was shocked to discover that she has a fairly severe language disorder. Now making good progress with (private) SALT, but in retrospect I think it would have made my life easier if we'd picked things up earlier. Would go with TC, you lose nothing by getting it checked now!

[lingle]

AbstractMouse,

Discuss it with your hv and gp but if they reassure you, accept it.

[TotalChaos]

Lingle - HVs and GPS can get it wrong. I took DS to GP and HV at 2.3 and 2.6, to be told all was well. Then at 3 DS was diagnosed as having severe language delay.

[silverfrog]

Agree with TC - hvs and gp can be useless at this type of thing.

i had hvs telling me for over a year that dd1 was ok (she is autistic, and quite definitely so) because she ate ok, slept ok, and was a happy baby.

when dd1 was eventually diagnosed, I went to my gp about something else, andhe mentioned the report he'd had, and was astonished - "I wouldn't have said she was autisitc" were his very words. good job i hadn't asked him, then really...

I never know whether this overlooking is a result of incompetence or general overstretched resources, but it happens far too often.

[Aefondkiss]

I agree that getting the ball rolling is a good thing, my ds started seeing SALT by 2.6 months but I think the initial, very few and far between, appointments were assessment only, so it took until he was 3+ for any real therapy to occur...

and it might be worth looking into some activities that help in the mean time (can't think of anything sorry, I need to drink some coffee and wake up).

[Marne]

We got a referal after her 2 year check, but only saw the salt a few weeks ago, dd is now 2.7.

[TotalChaos]

There's plenty of things you can do at home tow work on in the meantime.

This US website is very good:- teachmetotalk.com/

I would also recommend some books

The Parents' Guide to Speech and Language Problems by Debbie Feit

It takes Two to Talk or You Make the Difference (first one is dearer but more detailed), by Ayola Manolson

If you are anywhere near a Surestart centre they often run brief courses to help you help your child to communicate

Might also be worth doing some signing too - sing and sign dvds are nice, or you can pick some up from the Something Special programme on cbeebies

General Advice:-

Try not to ask many questions - try and comment lots instread. Keep language simple, and repeat ad nauseam

eg.

Here's your JUICE. Mummy pours JUICE. JUICE in cup! Hmmmm JUICE is yummy.

[lingle]

To the OP - Well I definitely agree with Total's practical tips in the message above, especially re "It takes two to talk", even if I respectfully disagree with about accepting reassurance from the HV and GP.

Some of us had a gut feeling that there's something wrong and were let down by professionals who ignored us.

But Abstract Mouse doesn't indicate anything of that kind.

If AM talks to her GP and HV and feels dubious, then that's different.

[cyberseraphim]

I don't think a GP or HV would ever say 'the kid's got autism'. They would offer interim reassurance but refer on for assessment. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news - esp. if the symptoms are mixed as they often are at a young age.

[cyberseraphim]

ps - not saying that AM should be worried about autism.

[SaintPeachy]

'kid's got autism'. They would offer interim reassurance but refer on for assessment. '

thats what happened to us- at the time I was furious as she was telling me everything was oK when clearly not but fund out no long ago that she was furiously letter writing behind the scenes

[AbstractMouse]

Thanks for all your messages, not sure we have a 2 year check here, no harm in giving the HV a ring though. We do have a childrens centre but he just missed the last speech and language class as they had to be over 2, I shall keep my eye out for another one.

He does point and follow some requests lol is there anything else I should be looking out for in regard to autism?

Thanks for the links and book recommendations I shall check them out.

[Marne]

My dd2 (2.7) has suspected autism, she has no speech, poor eye contact, does'nt respond when i talk to her, flaps her hands and has no fear of anything.

I think its hard to say with a child of 2, some children don't speek until they are 3 years old. Dd2 was refered early because dd1 has high functioning autism (aspergers).

I was told not to sign with dd2 as if she is being lazzy and not talking she might start to rely on the signing and not bother to talk at all.

I would'nt wory about autism, theres alot more to Autism than speech.