Foster child is 2 and has severe language delay.

[newfoster123]

Hoping that someone is able to help me on this. I have recently taken on my late brothers 2 year old boy. He was removed from his mother after suffering abuse and neglect. Thing is, the only word he can say is "car" and he makes no real attempts to speak even though he is constantly prompted and encouraged. He can understand what you say as he generally does as he's told but I am very concerned about this delay in speech as he could be playing catch up for the rest of his life! He has been referred to a language therapist through the official channels but I just wondered if there is anything else that I can try in the meantime. Has anyone else dealt with a similar issue?
Thanks

My son has gdd and doesn't speak . He is 2.2 , I have speech therapy and I'm trying to teach him sign language . Can you try this? I expect if there is a reason for delay ( neglect or whatever ) in a thriving environment he will start to talk very soon . Are you sure he can hear? My son has glue ear which doesn't help. Good luck.

Yes he can definitely hear as he responds to things like 'Pick it up, put it back etc...' Sign language is a good idea, I will try it and see if it helps. Thank You.

Signing will definitely help. try googling for makaton signs as will be more appropriate for his age then BSL.

Also check out www.talkingpoint.org.uk for some top tips.

I use flash cards too , understanding is very important if there is no speech so If he understands well work with that. I speak to my son all the time and when he babbles back at me we have a convo in babble . The speech therapist says this a good thing .

If he's been subjected to abuse and neglect, he may not necessarily have the language. Don't ask lots of questions but do provide a running commentary of things you and he are doing eg oh look, the red car is going up the ramp and into the car park. If you do use questions, make them open ended to allow him time to think about his answer eg I wonder how the red car is going to get out of the car park etc.

The Hanen book "it takes two to talk" is very good. Lots of practical advice on ways to help with language delay.

Saying "car" at two is by no means a severe language delay, especially as he does as he is told and therefore clearly understands you. It is, at worst, a moderate speech delay.

But I do totally understand your concern, as ds1 has the same amount of delay.

Switch the tv off, and speak to him, give him a running commentary on everything you are doing, he is doing, the cat is doing. Fill his little head with real experiences, give him something to want to talk ABOUT. Take him to feed ducks, petting zoos, etc. make sure he plays with messy things a lot, give him plenty of opportunity to touch, feel and taste everything safe.

If he's been so neglected that he's been removed, I'm guessing he's spent a Lot of his life without interactions. Try and squeeze a lot of interactions in, while respecting his need to sleep and process all the changes.

Good luck.

How much older than 2 is he? Does he babble? I went to HV with my D's at 2 as he only said car too. She said to come back in a couple of months if still nothing. With a few months he was coming out with whole sentences, its like he missed out the "me want toy" stage.

Give him lots of choices that require a verbal response. Rather than do you want a drink? Ask do you want orange juice or apple juice. Do you want cheese sandwich or ham sandwich etc etc

Yes I always give a running commentary on what's going on in the vicinity. We take him out a lot and point out the things of interest and you can see him take in the information. He does babble and I know he's perfectly capable of talking, it's just finding the best way to encourage him to use words. He turned 2 in June, i'm sure he will pick it up soon enough but it does make you feel like he's missing out on certain experiences as he can't say what he wants. Thank you all for your advice, I will be trying everything that you have suggested :)

My two year old says very little as well, but as my four year old actually does have a severe language delay, I don't worry about it too much as he also follows instructions well (and she couldn't at that age at all). I found the frustration more difficult than anything, and having a set of pictures she could point to to say what she wanted (we used PECS but it doesn't have to be that formal) really helped with the frustration. Not so much with the talking. I've just spent twenty minutes trying to get her to tell me what she actually wants and failing. Time out before I scream with frustration, never mind her.

Have been looking after children who have been subject too abuse for many years , think you do need help suggest you ask your GP too refer your son too CHAMHS., There may be underlying problems as attachment disorder, Post traumatic stress, etc. which may contribute too his problems.

My son is 26 months and said his first word just after he was 2. He has since been making many attempts at others but still no more than a handful. His nonverbal communication is also delayed and he has only recently started doing things like shaking/nodding his head. Fortunately he is showing more of an interest in communicating now.

We are waiting for SALT but it could be a while as there are wait lists.

Hv arranged for a community nursery nurse to visit and she gave us lots of ideas on what to do to help. Maybe you could speak to your hv about arranging a visit?

We also started to send him to nursery 2 days a week and this seems to be helping as well and his key worker has a particular interest in language and communication and is very keen on using signs.

The children's tv show 'something special' is fab for picking up basic makaton signs. It's on cbeebies or DVDs are available too. My nearly 2 year old loves it and I've learnt from it too!

My DS is 4. He came to us/was adopted by us at 18 months old. He had very few words and didn't start 'speaking' until he was 2.5.

I was told by a SALT that some kids have silent periods, but especially when they have suffered some trauma such as abuse, neglect or a change of carer. They take everything in but don't say anything.
I think also if there has been neglect, could it be likely that his birth Mum hasn't talked to him very much and has therefore not given him the language? My DSs foster carers were absolutely brilliant but I am starting to wonder whether they didn't speak to him very much as his foster brothers speech was exactly the same. I think it's too much of a coincidence.

My DS was referred to a speech therapist by the HV at 2.5 and he had 6 sessions of speech therapy just after he was 3. They thought he may be a bit young for formal speech therapy but gave it a whirl but I can honestly say that it made no difference.
My opinion is that although my DSs speech seems behind, he has actually made better progress that his peers given that he only started talking at 2 1/2.

Now his speech is about level with his peers (except maybe his pronunciation is still a little behind) but his vocabulary is amazing.

Just talk to him constantly like I did with my DS and see how he goes. If he does need anything you should be able to get help pretty easily as he is a looked after child.

Good luck!!!