2 yr old & slow speech

[roundabout1]

Dd2 is 2.5 & while is speaking lots its mostly not understandable to others (apart from us!) She is trying lots new words recently but struggling with the sounds. We saw HV 6 mths ago who said just to encourage her & help with enunciation & not speak for her etc which we ahve been doing. I can't get to baby clinic anymore so haven't seen them again. Should I contact them & ask about a referral for speech therapy? I'm not worried as am sure she will get there eventually & am very aware that our hv's are very busy & have huge caseloads so feel a bit pfb about contacting them. Am I being ridiculous?

Contact them and ask them to visit again out do a straight referral. You have as much right to services as anyone else and if there is an issue it is better to deal with it early. If its not an issue you will be reassured :-)

You could also see the GP. We are in a similar position ds 2.6 understands everything we say and can follow instruction but doesn't talk a lot. It's very worrying.

Thank you, will ring them tomorrow.

Have you had her hearing checked? If it's glue ear that has come on gradually, then she may be mostly lip reading you - so appears to be hearing but her deafness is blunting her speech. DD2 was barely speaking til June (2.4) though she could follow basic instructions & make herself understood to family. She then had grommets put in & she began almost immediately speaking in sentences & has become ever clearer over last six months. She also has fewer tantrums as can make herself understood & isn't exhausted from having to lip read / actively listen.

If it's her hearing & they catch it soon (either with grommets or temporary hearing aids) then she may not require speech therapy.

No she hasn't had her hearing checked. I do seem to be endlessly asking her the same questions & repeating myself to her but not sure how much is as she is distracted & I'm not as interesting as what she is doing. Actually she often mishears what we say thinking about it so I will mention it to the hv. Thank you

You may need to nag - DD1 is a winter baby & her hearing went down hill at 3.5 but the HV was all ready to let her wait til she had a her school entry hearing test at 5! Said no way - glue ear runs in my family so I knew what I was looking for so.

On the other hand, DD2 was referred immediately on request to the children's hearing unit here for tests. One needed grommets, the other grew out of it.

Does sound like it might be her hearing - it will definitely 'blunt' her pronouciation. Good luck.

If you google Speech and Language Therapy, and your area, there may be an advice line number, where you can speak to a SALT about your concerns. It is possible to self refer for speech and language therapy - the waiting lists are normally very long.

Push for hearing test - no point in having speech and language therapy without having hearing tested aswell.

Been there done that with DS.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Well not even managed to get hold of a HV yet but will most defintely persevere

I'd go to the gp and get them to refer her for SALT and a hearing test.

Early SLT is about listening and comprehension skills. You speaking clearly & slowly & helping her understand. Try to speak to her full face, so she can see how your mouth makes the sounds. You can work on that now, but pro will tell you more specifics about what she needs to work on.