Worried about speech delay

[WelshJoB]

My lovely DS is nearly 25 months and is still not talking. He's been saying Mama and Dada for over a year, makes animal noises, brrrmmm, choochoo etc, but nothing more. He babbles constantly, and is very assertive when he does so. I'm sure he's convinced he's chatting! He also says "mama oh", "dada oh" a lot, as if getting our attention. I keep being told not to worry, but it's breaking my heart at the moment. He has great understanding, but answers all questions by pointing! Waiting for a SALT referral. DH didn't speak until 2.5yrs. Starting nursery for 1 day a week in Sept. Just need to know whats going on really so I can deal with it, and stop crying myself to sleep ...

[DwellsUndertheSink]

sunny, has anyone ever explored the link between glue ear and dairy intolerance with you?

My DS1, now 13, had dreadful glue ear, had hearing problems, had grommets etc. Our audiologist suggested that we try him dairy free for 3-4 weeks - what a difference! Ears cleared, eczema cleared....he was able to tolerate goats milk, which is just as nutritious, and we went dairy free with everything else. It made such a difference.

Our ENT chappie was skeptical, but spoke to our pediatrician who waxed lyrical about this little known link, to the point where he called in his interns and banged away about how its always worth trying.

Our son's problems started as I started to wean him from boobie to bottle.

[Amiee]

SunnyIntervals
Typically developing children (this includes children who are delayed but not necessarily a disordered) tend to have 50-100 words when they start combining but you may need to ask a specialist hearing impaired SALT if this trajectory is the same for kids with hearing loss.
You probably do this any way but here is my unsolicited advice. I would suggest instead of always using full sentences all the time try and use a lot of simple slow clear two or three word sentences to provide a clear model. For example if he says 'dog!' say 'big dog' not 'oh yes ds there is a big wonderful fluffy white dog with brown spots'.
For a game you could have some objects that belong you him and some that belong to someone else and sort them out into 'mummy's keys' 'ds's car' 'mummy's purse' etc.
Let him play with them first though, or mummy's purse may be a bit of a distraction.

[WelshJoB]

Well, a lovely SALT rang me on Monday to have an informal chat about DS. Seems like the picture HV painted her was worse than reality (ie. "child says nothing"). Through talking to SALT she said he was doing a fair bit, and yes, while many children have more speech at his range, the scope of what is normal at this stage is vast. She talked about him potentially being "on the cusp" of language and all that. Time will tell. Then he went and stood in the window and shouted "gar" (CAR) everytime a car went by! So that made me smile a lot, every tiny step is progress as far as I can see. xx

[confusedofengland]

That sounds promising Welsh It could be that your DS had not performed for the HV & so she thought he said nothing (my DS tends to do this), and it least it means you got to talk to a SALT. Well done DS for pointing out cars to you, that sounds really positive

My DS had his second hearing test yesterday. He semi-cooperated with the tests, as opposed to not at all last time, so they said he'd made progress there (although they also called him a 'challenging child' ). Apparently he still has redness & fluid in one ear, but not both like last time (June). So they want to see him again in November. I am a little disappointed tbh, I would have liked some positive action to be taken, not just more wait & see DS has also been pretend playing like crazy since the SALT's observation that he did not do so - he just put first dolly then toy cars on the rocking horse

I have ordered the Oxbridge Baby Learn to Talk DVD from Amazon, it should arrive any day now.

Amiee I have a question. DS has started to mimic things I say, but using the tone, not the words. Eg if I say 'Where are you?' in a singsong voice, he will do the same back to me, copying the tone of my voice without words (so will say ah aaah ah). He also now says 'i-i-i' when dipping food into sauce, because I showed him how to dip by saying 'dip dip dip'. Are these positive developments? I really hope so!

[Amiee]

Confusedofengland
Yes these sound like positive signs to me. Keep doing what your doing, the dip dip dip thing is exactly the kind of stuff we tell parents to do. It develops auditory interest and is fun and relevant.

[confusedofengland]

Thanks Amiee, that is reassuring. There has actually been a further development as tonight, when we were eating dinner, the sauce was on the table. DS reached out his hand & made the 'i-i-i' noise & looked at me, as he wanted sauce! Not a huge stride, and not a word, I know, but I felt stupidly pleased that he was using his voice to ask for something

[sophj100]

Apologies if I am repeating anything already said but confess I didn't read all the threads.

My son was referred to SALT and yes, there is a long wait but be assured that they can be extremely helpful in diagnosing any issues. Also, can I recommend having a hearing test, if only to rule it out. Some speech delay can be caused by something as simple as Glue Ear, which is easily rectified. Also, getting a referral to a Developmental Paediatrician now, could also help with any concerns you may have. Don't wait for the SALT to take place as you will then have a further wait.

Best wishes and, as reminded by my son's Occupational Therapist - 'Normal' is just a cycle on a washing machine! x

[Mosschops30]

Haven't read whole thread but here's a bit of reassurance for you.

Ds2 was referred by HV to SALT at 18m as was saying nothing. At 3 he was still saying nothing, just making uh uh uh sounds with correct intonation but no words.

Now at 3.9 I find myself saying 'fgs will you please stop talking just for one minute'
He doesn't stop, he talks from the minute he opens his eyes to the second he falls asleep.
I know it's worrying, I thought about autism and cried a bit.
But if he's fine in all other developmental areas chances are it will come when it's ready

[riojabotherer]

WelshJoB I started a very similar discussion over on the SN boards - my son is 21 months and not talking. I've had some great advice over there :)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs/1820172-Anxious-about-toddler-speech-delay

[Amiee]

confusedofengland
That's great. I'm glad to hear he is continuing to move forward. Keep us updated its great to hear about your successes.
I also think the hanen program 'it takes two to talk' is fantastic. It can be helpful to any parent or professional working with children speech delayed or not.

[confusedofengland]

Thanks Amiee, I find your comments really helpful & reassuring. When I saw the SALT with DS she said he would be eligible for some 2-years nursery funding due to his speech, so I need to ring my HV to get that in place. I am hopeful that will help even more as since he started nursery in May his understanding has improved greatly, as has his pointing. He also joins in songs more (doing actions) than he did before.

[confusedofengland]

I know this is a bit of an old thread, but DS has come on a bit recently & I am so pleased that I wanted to share

He has started calling DH 'Dada/Daddy' loads. Also, at lunch today, I was telling his big brother that he must eat his tomato before he got a banana & DS2 was pointing at the bananas saying 'nana'. He also then ate a bit more toast than he was going to, so I don't know if maybe he understood what I was saying to DS1. Also, when he wants something to eat, he'll now reach/point & say 'mmm' (as in the sound for tasty). Finally, he has started making noises when he points eg he was pointing loads at aeroplanes in the sky today, saying 'uh-uh', looking at me. (I then made sure I said 'Wow, aeroplane' or 'Yes, aeroplane'). Plus he is babbling loads All small things on their own, but they feel like positive steps to me.

I hope others are seeing some positive developments, too.

[LeBFG]

I just checked 'I'm watching' threads and saw your update confused. Finally, some progress!! Excellent news.

My DS is showing some positive signs too. He is imitating sounds - something he has never actually done. He's adding words quite regularly now but pronounciation is still poor. He's coming up for 30 months in a few days and I phoned his paediatrician a couple of says ago. She says he's still young and we'll do a language assessment at 3yo. In the meantime, he's to do a hearing test. She also reassured us there would be no SALT wait (wayhey for the French health system) if the time comes for a referral.

I guess they'll come good in their own time!

[cakesonatrain]

Hope it's ok to hop on with a new worry!

DS is 2.1, and has quite a few words (over 50), and combines two words occasionally, but his pronounciation is poor. I am wondering if he might have a hearing problem?
I don't think I've ever heard him say an "s" sound. He says "monster" as "mont ner" and "pasta" more like "pad ta".
"shoe" is more like "joo"/"doo" and "sock" is "dock".

Does that sound like a hearing issue?

[cakesonatrain]

Oh, thanks, Sunny.
I think it's time we spoke to someone about it.

[thedreamersmother]

cakes, definitely ask for a hearing screen. My 2.4 year old DS speaks like this - he has a really extensive vocabulary and uses complex sentences, but there are lots of sounds he can't say ('s' unless at the end of a word - we get "mon-ter" and "dock" too, but he can say "house", can't say r or l and probably more, and overall his speech is a bit unclear. HV picked this up at his 2 year check and referred to audiology. His hearing screen was fine, so they a watching and will refer to SALT if not all sorted by 2.6 (he's far clearer than he was 4 months ago, so hopefully it will all sort itself). They did take the issue seriously though, and it's good to be in the system.

[cakesonatrain]

Oh yes, I think there is a SALT drop-in at the children's centre. Will try that.
Not sure when his 2-year check is going to happen - they're a bit behind with all the checks round here I think.

[confusedofengland]

LeBFG glad you are seeing some progress too

Welcome cakes some good advice to get your worries checked out. The worst thing that will happen is that you will get to the appointment & they will say he is fine, you didn't need to bring him. At least you will be reassured.

DS has been very poorly with severe gastroenteritis since Thursday, so he has not been talking or even communicating much since then. However, when watching a pirate programme with DS1 he did sit there saying 'aargh aargh' (like ah-har that pirates say) & this morning da-daa when somebody on TV said ta-da, so he is still mimicking noises (lots of TV atm as it stops him being quite so miserable from being poorly). Also, when he wants me to tickle him, he makes the singsong tone I make for 'here I come', whilst looking at me & waiting for me. It is great, but I am just itching for the words to come & hoping it's the next phase!

[AFishWithoutABicycle]

Hi
im so glad there has been some wonderful developments.

mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=754

Just in case you want to know more about what speech sounds take longer than others this website is a good brake down.
disclaimer Sites like these should never replace Assesment and if your worried about your childs speech you should always see a professional. And IMO any child with speech sound difficulties should have a hearing test.