Speech therapy follow up! Nothing has changed :-(

[mosschops30]

Ds2 was referred by hv last summer, he had one appointment in october where they told me i talk to him in sentences rather than just words which means he doesnt want to try (e.g 'go and get your shoes' as opposed to 'shoes' ).
He has just been sent a follow up in March.

But nothing has changed, hes no closer to talking and is now 2.2.
He only says da(dad), ta (thank you) and yeah/yes.

Im dreading going back. Hes fine in every other aspect, understands everything anyone says, eats well, no hearing probs, no behaviour probs.

Anyone got any experience of stillno speech at this age, without any other probems that has been ok?

Ds1 2nd birthday. No words, nothing.

2.3 months a handful of words, learning new one's every day.

Now at 2 1/2 speaking in full sentances.

He still has a referral to SALT which is in Feb as he is still very difficult to understand unless you're me or his dad but he's come such a long way in such a short space of time.

Hope our meeting with SALT goes better than yours though.

My Goddaughter didn't speak a word (apart from the odd name) until she was over 2. Then she'd do a few words and suddenly at 2.5 she started speaking in whole sentences and wouldn't shut up! She always managed to get her message across with hand signals and facial expressions. I don't think she felt the need to speak really. My niece was similar although she spoke all the time just not a recognisable language to anyone but herself. Seems very early to get a referral if he's only 2.2 now; was the HV worried for any other reasons?

has he had hearing tests mosschops?

i thought that ds2 could hear, but requested hearing tests due to lack of speech at 2.5
turns out that he had glue ear in both ears and moderate hearing loss.

he just coped with it well enough that you couldn't really tell that he wasn't hearing properly

She said at 18 month check up he should have six words, which was why she referred him in the summer.
Your stories are a great comfort, did you ever worry they would never speak? Ds2 tells me things all the time going 'mmm, mmmm, mm, mm' which obviously makes sense to him, he also talks nonsense.

Yes hes had a hearing test which was fine

thisisyesterday when did he start tlking?

Duh! Talking

We are doing verbal behaviour with our dx who doesn't say many words at nearly 2.5, it's working very well, he wasn't saying anything before started and in the last few weeks, he has a hand ful of words.

Our SALT hasn't helped much and told us the opposite... To only say one word and repeat it.

i'd buy the Hanen book It Takes Two to Talk as soon as you can. Buy it from ~Winslow publications, it's cheaper.

Then you'll understand why they wanted you to say "shoes".

PS my kids couldnt' talk then and are fine, one is super-talker, other has subtle problems but they won't hold him back.

Whats verbal behaviour? Yes thats what she told me same thing, just use one word rather than a sentence.
Ive benn recommended that book but its so expensive.
Its very hard to just use one word, and to get dh and ds1 and dd on board

Hi mosschops30, I am a speech and language therapist. Your Ds2 is still very little but very wise of you to seek advice and help. It could be just a language delay and with appropriate input catch up. It is very important that you go to your next appointment no matter how hard it is as if there are additional difficulties it's better to know now so that you can have early interventions as soon as possible. Does he copy any of the words you say? Playing and modelling language for him will support his speech/language development. Have a look at this article as it is very informative and follow the advice under the 'What Parents Can Do' section. Hope that helps!

Speech is the icing on the cake - but the cake is communication - how does he communicate to you what he wants - by pointing, gesturing, signing ? i don't agree that it is early for a referral. A referral does not mean that there is definitely a problem - but even when there are problems, delays are long and help very patchy so there is nothing to be gained by putting off even trying to get into the system.

Sorry forgot to give you the link to the article!
kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/not_talk.html#a_What_Parents_Can_Do

Thank you both, he communicates by pointing, gesturing or taking your hand and walking me to what it is he wants, i will look at that article thanks.
He wont repeat words, but can hum perfectly to twinkle twinkle and coldplays paradise . he can also repeat the peppa pig snort!!

There's some good books on amazon about verbal behaviour. It's about encouraging your child to ask for things that motivate him. Pointing is great, so I wouldn't worry too much but early intervention is key, keep the appointment.

The hanen books are also very good or they also do courses.

My DS2 is 2.4. He has very few words and doesn't seem to be progressing, he sounds very like your DS in that he is normal and friendly and happy in every other way. It breaks my heart taking him to nursery and toddler groups where he try's to join in but gets excluded by other toddlers because he does not talk. We bought It Takes Two to Talk and have recently started the Hanan course and it has really helped with our understanding of his communication (which is very extensive, if non verbal). We seem to have been very lucky in getting a quick referral. The Salt are selling It Takes Two To Talk for £30 which seems to be a bargain compared to Amazon
He has recently started to sing nursery rhymes with all of the words! its amazing as its the only time we hear him say more than one word at a time and suddenly he seems to know all the words...not always in the right order:)
Despite his speech problems I have no concerns over his development.

My DD2 didn't have a SINGLE word til she was over 2.5 . Now a thing. Then all of a sudden she started and never stopped again! She's now sitting A levels...:D

DS2 had no speech he was over 4 years old. He had speech therapy along with quite a lot of support as he had other communication issues (lack of eye contact no pointing etc) He took a lot longer but I can now saw he is the most verbose 14 year old on the planet He does have some problems but actually talking is no longer one of them!!

It sounds as though your son communicates well.. his speech may just take a bit more time, tho it doesn't hurt to be in the 'system' :)

sorry, only just came back to this

ds2 started talking gradually over the next year or so after the diagnosis of glue ear. so between 2.5 and 3.5. in that time he had moments when he regressed with language too (ie stopped saying S and F at the beginning of words and replaced them with H for some reason). at 3.5 he then suddenly had this massive explosion of language and has come on in leaps and bounds ever since (he is 4 now)