Could DS's speech delay be partly down to fussy eating?

[ODearMe]

Hello all

I have posted on here on two occasions about DS (23 months). First of all, regarding his speech delay, and the second - his obsession with fish fingers.

I had a bit of a eureka moment when discussing it with friends last night that the two could possibly be linked.

I was telling my friends what he will eat, and they suggested that he is perhaps not developing the muscles in his mouth with which to speak with because the foods he does eat are not challenging him to chew hard enough.

Also, he still has a bottle of milk morning and evening and they mentioned there are associations with speech delay and bottles.

FYI - I have tried to offer DS what we eat but he will not put this in his mouth and would go to bed hungry if it wasn't for fishfingers.

Do you think there might be some truth in the association? If so, please can you give me suggestions on how to:

1. wean from the bottle (I tried this morning to give him a beaker of milk and he refused it).

1. Get him to eat something to get him chewing and exercising those jaw muscles more!

Thanks for your help

Ds1 now 6 had both delayed speech and is a fussy eater.
The 2 were linked in that they had the same cause but one didn't cause the other.
It turns out the speech delay was caused by loss of hearing from glue ear which in turn was linked to enlarged adenoids which came with large tonsils.
Ds1 had become accustomed to eating foods he knew he could swallow without discomfort as the enlarged tonsils caused gagging.
I'm of course not saying that it's likely to be that but just that a trip to the gp might not be a bad idea.

Actually sometimes there is a link. Has he sensory issues? What is he like with people generally?

Smellysocks - he is ok with family and friends but can be very timid around strangers and other children. Why do you ask? What do you think the link could be? He sometimes stands there and covers his eyes when overwhelmed by a situation.

Lljkk-his comprehension has always been very good, he follows instructions and likes learning. He knows his numbers and alphabet.

I'm not sure that 10 words at 23 months is much of a delay, does he make other, 'meaningful' sounds - animal/vehicle noises etc.

Also the list of foods that he eats don't sound too limited - he is covering most textures there, so can't imagine it is affecting muscle development. I think that it is usually the other way round, IYSWIM, the child doesn't explore the different textures because of sensory/muscle tone issues, which also affects their speech developments (I think!)

DS2 only had five words at his two-year check-up. The HV referred him for a hearing test and SALT assessment but both came back fine. Now at nearly 4 there is no shutting him up

Dd has a speech delay. Six months older than your ds and very very few words.

She will eat anything and everything if she eats it for breakfast, snacks or lunch. But dinner has got to be her very favourite foods. She is getting tired and grumpy and wants fish fingers, sausages, pasta, beans and potato smiles.

Worth getting checked as the same issue may be behind the vocab and food. However can I just ask if he was an early walker and how physical he is?

He took off walking properly at 16 months. In terms of activity, he is probably average. He also likes to paint, do playdoh, read books etc .

If he knows numbers and alphabet then those are words too. That get him up to 36 words, without things like "ball" or "juice" or his own name being added to the tally.

"Words" are also meaningful gestures, like waving bye bye.

Try the progress checker on speech development at www.ican.org.uk

There are lots of things that flag concerns rather than just lack of words and this checker-developed by experts and available free-is a good way of helping you to identify concerns. It will help you give specifics to doctor.

He sounds as though he is doing great, OdearMe. It doesn't sound as though there are any other concerns, development wise. Adding in alphabet and numbers, he sounds like he is doing ok speechwise and the food thing may well just be a fussy phase.

Lljkk he can pronounce some letters so if they count as words, great.

Thanks for the kind reassuring advice. I know you are not supposed to do it but it is hard not to notice when other children DS's age are speaking in sentences! It is really worrying being a parent, guess the worry will never end!

dont worry about what your child eats. Years ago a very eminent pediatrician told me that no child will starve it self (unless some inherent health problem) my niece ate only cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches for years. She is now a very good cook and eats across the board, including her favourite sarnies.

I really don't think the food is relevant.

My friend's daughter was fed directly into her stomach, so didn't use any mouth muscles for eating, and it didn't cause speach delay, and my own daughter ate only purees and fluids between 18 months and 2 1/2 (medical reasons) and she was an early talker.

If you are worried talk to your gp, but I don't think it is the food