Severe speech and language impairment???!!!!

[samira837]

Hi really need som help her!!
My son is going to be 3 on the 17th. He was refered for a developmental assessment because of concerns regarding speech delay, poor attention ect. Have just got a letter from the consultant saying "I felt that X had either sever speech and language impairment, secondary social impairment or social communication disorder plz can someone tell me what this is?! and what is going to happen?!

not sure what it means. I have DD wit speech problems and have an appointment with dev paed coming up.

have you posted in the SN section? there are probably far more people who are in the same boat...

I don't know what any of this - sorry I can't help - but wanted to say that a friends DS had a simialr diagnosis and it turned out that he had had glue ear and as a a result his hearing wasn't quite right and that is why his speech was late developing and he struggled to concentrate. It might be worth looking into. Hope someone else with more info comes along soon

A child with S&L impairment my have difficulty communicating normally because of their understanding of language or ability to express themselves verbally. A child with social communication disorder is not communicating normally for some reason other than their understanding of language. Although in reality these two things often go together.

I think your DS will probably be refered for further assessment to get a better pinpoint on the cause of any problems you are seeing and then support will be given to you as a family. For example he might see a Speech and Language therapist at nursery and then you be given games to play with him at home to help (just an example as I have no idea what the set up is like in your area!). Three is young to be picked up and the earlier communication difficulties are picked up the better they respond to intervention. Chances are DS will catch up with any delays highlighted and be absolutely fine.

Samira post this on the Special Needs:Children section .. there's lots of experience over there. Good luck.

Ooops ... see you already had ... sorry!

Good luck.

I don't know if this helps but my DS1 went to school aged 5 as a "non-talker"

His speech was unintelligble.

He had great difficulty concentrating.

Much hard work and many years later he is at University and is going Very Well Indeed.

So don't panic

You should ask for an appointment for the letter to be explained to you and what treatment/referal are proposed. There are two types of speech delays - receptive and expressive. Receptive is when a child doesn't understand instructions, cannot process incoming language - and expressive is when they understand when is said to them but cannot express themselves through language. I have never heard of the term impairment before.

my son is 2 next month and also has speach problems! he has been diagnosed with global development delay. he has seen a development specialist twice now, he has had 2 ruth griffiths assesments, which is probably what your son will have.
they look at all areas of development and give you an overall point score which then translates to an age. oliver is 10 months overall even though he is almost 2!!!!
does your son see a speach therapist?
oliver has seen one now for about 18 months. they are now starting some simple sign language just so he can communicate!

gingegirl: Yes ds dose see a speech therapist 1 a week at home but we have a app 2mrw to see a combine clinic (speech therapist nursery teacher ect)

The thing with my ds is the "onley" thing he is behaind with is speach!! his gross motor skills, selfcare skills, symbolic play and social skills are ok for his age!!! its just soooo confusing!!!!

I don't know if you this would help, but I post my questions on a speech website called speechtails (.com) it has been very helpful. I use the program with two of my daycare children and have been feeling really great with their success'. I like being able to ask a SLP questions, and I am seeing great results!
You might give it a shot!
Good Luck, Vikki B, Indiana

My ds2 had NO words or babble at 2.5yo. At his 3rd birthday he was only just beginning to babble. He said his first word (mama) at 3yrs6months. He had speech therapy until he was 5.5yo. He now talks the hind legs off a donkey can speak understandably, although for a dc of 7yrs4months, his syntax is still a little...off. We used to say that he sounded like Yoda, saying stuff like "Cold outside it is" instead of "It's cold outside", and he does still talk like that a bit but it's getting better with every passing month.

We still get 'ed' added onto the end of past tense words, like getted and doned (as in 'I doned it' instead of I did it), but again, he is starting to get out of that bt by bit now. I would say his speech is like most 4 year olds, which I suppose it is if you think that an average 4yo says their first word around age 1yo, so would have been speaking for 3 yrs, so if ds2 spoke at 3.6yo, he has only been speaking for 3/4yrs.

Most dc with speech delay do eventually catch up. DS2's difficulties were caused by the muscle problems he suffers from, whereas my eldest dc's speech problems were caused by the fact that she (dd) is partially deaf.

hi my son is 4.3 hes never spoke

Hi Samira, I am an independent Speech and Language Therapist and a mother of a child with hearing impairment. I know how scary these letters with 'labels' are with no explanations of what they mean. I will try to give you a brief explanation of each term, but if you would like to contact me separately by email then please feel free:

Severe speech and language impairment = a general term meaning a severe difficulty with speech and language (doesn't give you much information about the specific difficulties). 'Severe' meaning that it is having a severe affect on their communication.

Secondary social impairment or social communication disorder = In addition to the severe difficulty with speech and language your son has, the paediatrician thinks he has disordered social skills, that is he may not interact well with other adults/children, he may have difficulty starting conversations, maintaining conversations, using appropriate eye contact and body language, reading emotions and expressing emotions etc. Some children with social communication disorders do not talk at all because they do not see the reason for talking, they lack the motivation to interact with others. Other children with social communication disorders may take part in conversations, but there is something unusual in the way they interact.

I hope this helps and hasn't confused you further, as I said if you would like to message me privately then that is fine, my email is [email protected].

Good luck!

Eleanor Harris

Social Communication Disorder is generally associated with people on the autistic spectrum.

My son is autistic and as such didn't really start speaking until around 3.5 years of age.

Gobble, this thread is a year old. This Rachel person has been resurrecting loads of old threads all over the place.

Apologies I didn't realize, should have looked at the dates I suppose!!

from this Rachel person :)

I think you have to go through the proper MN channels, Rachel. You would also be better starting your own thread than resurrecting ancient ones. People trawl through them, thinking they're new, so they can add their advice, then find your post at the end. A bit annoying and time wasting, I'm afraid.