Any one have a 3 year old who still speaks in single words ?

[cavapoobags]

My DS has just turned 3. He still only speaks in single words. He knows quite a lot of single words, so in theory should be able to put them together but doesn't. Knows his colours etc, but his speech is generally unclear to other people.

I just rang the speech dept NHS as he had previously been discharged despite being diagnosed with a speech delay and problems with certain sounds. I'm waiting on them calling back as they basically said they only want to see him if he's made no progress since his first and last assessment (3 months ago.)

Am I deluded in thinking he's very behind for 3 ? Is it just that the NHS don't want to help me because they are say as he can understand he is fine. I had thought 3 years was the turning point for getting some
help. I've been asking for help since he was 18months old and we have only been sent a speech playgroup course.

Hearing all tested ok and no other health issues.

The average 2 year will start saying two word sentences (things like; go green, red stop, milk cup, etc) so by that definition your DS would be about 12 months behind. Going from single words (even if they have hundreds) to their first two word sentence is a monumental task for a toddler, as it shows a new level of understanding not seen before, he is aware that there is a relationship between certain words and that when connected they form much more complex ideas - this might sound easy for us but for them it's an enormous task. However speech delays are very common in toddlers this age, and I a surprised that the NHS is not taking you seriously. Have you tried the chatterbox sessions offered by your local play group? Is your DS able to communicate with you to meet his needs and share interests despite his speech delay?

What help did he need at 18M? as when it comes to speech, at 18M only 5-8 words are expected, and this includes approximations and animal sounds (so unlikely for speech therapy to be offered at 18M)

@AladdinMum yes we have done a 10 week course like chatterbox different name, play based, lots of
advice on how to interact better. Which we follow.

I meant at 18 months he said wasn't speaking at all. So I meant it has been an ongoing problem that I have reported many times to HV, but the help has been very limited. They basically laughed at me to start with. I have had to push for everything even to go on the course, due to it being over subscribed. I had been doing similar with him anyway, I'm always trying to research.

DS has been very slow to learn words. I am just finding it tough now he's turned 3. A lot of the things you read say they will catch up by 3 years, but no sign of a speech explosion here. And yes he points or just uses one word if he wants something. I can get him to say please, but it doesn't happen organically. He wouldn't say I want apple please, he would say apple. I can add please and he will repeat please, but not apple please.

Speech delays do tend to resolve themselves eventually - did the 10 week course help at all? I assume there is no other development delays, he is meeting the usual milestones (I imagine you did a few ASQ tests at 12M, 24M, 36M, etc)? do you remember at what age he started pointing to request and pointing to share interests (like a plane in the sky)? - there is a strong correlation between pointing and development of speech (on average, late pointers tend to be late speakers).

@AladdinMum no other developmental issues. Was quick to sit, crawl & walk. If I look back on the checklists for his checks it is just the speech aspects of communication. He never really babbled as a baby.

I can't exactly remember when he pointed first, but I know it was not delayed. If you are considering ASD? I don't think this is the case, I could be wrong. He does a lot of imagination type play.

I think my main issue is how can I send him to school next September (2020) if he can't talk? I know there is just over a year until then, but the speed of progress has been very slow.

I wouldn't say the course helped massively, but i am glad we did it. Have you actually attended one yourself ? They are very basic, just really a playgroup with a set structure. I suppose if you've never been to a toddler group or you literally let your child watch TV all day then it might be more helpful.

Hello song, read a book with interaction, they repeat the same few books. Then they teach the adults one thing each week, which you put in to practice at home. You then go and play with your child until snacks and singing. End with goodbye song.
One week the homework was to turn off background noise. So don't have the tv on in the background or the radio. We never do this anyway. DS watches some tv, but he watched it and then I turn it off, he doesn't watch and wander off. I limit tv. Another week might be advice to add one word ie they say cat, you brown cat etc.

My DS is a little different as at 3yo he could put two words together, but they tended to be the same combination every time, ie 'wait me'. He is now almost 3.5 and it is really surprising the language explosion that can happen in that time, even if nothing was seining to be happening before. Initially when he wasn't talking at all (20 words only) at 2.5, we were told to simplify speech for him, but now he knows some words I just speak slowly to him in proper sentences so he can learn adjoining words rather than just sticking a noun and a verb together. Obviously get whatever help you can from NHS, but don't lose hope as it can suddenly improve so he may well be ready for school next year. Does he go to public nursery at the moment? How does he communicate there?

I'm not sure DH was saying much more than single words when he just turned two - he was only just about getting to sentences when he started school (August baby). It seemed a long time until he really spoke comprehensibly and stopped just repeating the same thing over and over, but he's now getting quite eloquent a few months from his 8th birthday. We're having things looked into by an educational psychologist but I suspect he's just a later developer in general.

*just turned 3, I meant

Your DH is only 7? :-p

@Echobelly @TigerQuoll @BeeMyBaby thanks for your replies too. I am trying to keep the faith it will improve enough by school time.

Yes DS has started preschool and is pretty quiet there. He generally points to communicate. He does speak very quietly when there ( shyness) and I think they often miss what he is saying and then that doesn't help. I will raise the listening to him and bending down to speak to him with them at parents evening soon. I think they don't want to pressure him, but he needs to use what words he has.

My 3yr old ds is the same. He has v few words and they are unclear. He too is quite quiet and I think preschool is hard for him in terms of getting his needs/wants across. Consequently, he is quite reluctant to go, preferring to be at home. He has had a block of six sessions with the speech therapist and now has another referral for his next six sessions, so we’re waiting on those. Lots of his speech sounds (particularly long vowel sounds) are way off and I suspect that his isn’t going to be a quick-fix. I’m also thinking ahead to when he starts school in 2020 and hoping there is significant progress before then. It’s so hard when speech is delayed as it has a huge knock on effect on their social skills and enjoyment of preschool

In my area he would be under the SALT now and be having 1:1 input. I would push for an assessment and a plan moving forward.

@Turbototty best of luck. I totally agree on preschool it's tough. I feel we do everything we can to encourage him, he understand, I think it all goes in, but nothing comes back out. I can get him to say individual words to make up a short sentence, but he can't copy the block so really it's just individual words.

@jollyohh I called back my SALT dept, but they said they would need the therapist that reviewed him before to make a decision, and she would call me back within 2 weeks.
...So I guess I have to wait the 2 weeks and call them again. Let's just say I'm not holding my breath on getting a call, but I have been carrying my mobile phone about for nearly 2 weeks now. I know they are busy, but my DS is still important. It really gets me down to be constantly told to wait. I know many children do improve without therapy, but how long do I wait to find out?

Did he have his 2.5 year review with the health visitors? Our refer if not joining words together by then. Have you spoken to them?

@jollyohh yes he had a review at 28 months ( they do 27 months group review here) The reviewer wasn't concerned, although she was a total twat who chewed gum and twiddled her scarf the whole way through the session wasn't actually a HV she was a nursery nurse, which isn't a nurse at all, but a person I believe that has a childcare qualification. Anyway she was more concerned, he didn't still nap. I got quite annoyed as when I said he doesn't have 50 words at that point, she said of course he does. They did score the forms I filled in - ASQ things and he did come out low in comms, but she said ring in 3 months to update them. I rang the number which they gave. It was a duty line for a massive area, not just mine. I spoke to someone on that line, who said it wasn't a HV issue, but I could self refer to speech, so I did a massive form and a few months later he had a Speech therapy assessment. I told the person on the phone the initials of the reviewer and they said they would try to locate them. One month later the lady who did his review did actually phone me to ask what I was doing about things .

I find the whole HV thing baffling. The doctor seems to push to them to lessen their work load for referrals ( I previously wanted DS' hearing checked just in case) But they don't seem to want to do anything. They told me to go to the doctors about hearing for them to refer. Maybe there are great HVs out there, but I can't say I've experienced anything helpful. Maybe my area is underfunded, it seems really poor for HV and commute maternity services.

Hi how is your son now? My son is almost 3 and exactly like your son was, just says single words and only says 2 together if I tell him to say them.

@cavapoobags I’d love to hear an update on how your son’s doing if you don’t mind. My sons 2.5 and speaks very few single words and I don’t see it taking off any time soon. We’ve also done a speech and language class, and sure that was “nice to know”-stuff but definitely not groundbreaking. So would love to know from parents with fellow challenges in their children how things have developed.

@dkinlondon Hello, some update?

@Dadofboy842 turns out my son had autism. Not all children with speech and language difficulties have autism (some have developmental language disorders, DLD), but if you or any future parents seeing this have concerns about your child’s language development, it’s a good idea to talk to your health visitor and possibly get them through an autism diagnosis, even if you don’t think it will be relevant. (I didn’t think my son had autism since he had good eye contact, liked other peoples attention, etc., but he still did).

from my understanding now of speech and language: if your child has any language (single words etc) by the time they’re five, chances are very good that they will grow up and speak normally. They will just develop slower than other kids. So any language is a really good sign. Slow speakers, especially children with autism, tend to be gestalt language processors, which is really helpful to know when getting speech and language therapy. Therapy focusing on gestalt language processing really helped my son (check out bohospeechie on instagram). Still of course they learn at their own pace and no magic pill or therapy will make magic happen overnight.

hope this was helpful. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions.

My son also has autism and adhd but he speaks non stop now. He still isn’t articulate but he talks all the time. X

It's always reassuring reading parents' progress on this journey. I have a 3 year 7 0month old who we now know is autistic, a gestalt language processor and highly intelligent for her age but delayed with her speech. She speaks clearly, has lots of phrases, but can't have back and forth conversations. She uses single words to make her requests and it's usually in response to when you ask rather than spontaneous. Interestingly, she self-taught herself to spell and would do it with phonics. Counts to 100 since was 3, fascinated with books and letters and reads 3/4 letter words in books. I get worried about her starting school without being able to communicate properly, but knowing she has lots of words already, I'm assured it will come.

If you don’t mind sharing, I would be interested to hear how your kids are getting on with their communication and understanding in school. DS (3) speaks mostly in single words, though he has used a few short sentences, and is on the waitlist for an ASD assessment. We will start the EHCP process in January. We will start working with a speech therapist who specialises in GLP and I’m hopeful his language will really come on. I’m a bit nervous about the transition to reception in a couple years. I know that every autistic child is different and will have their own strengths and challenges, but it would be helpful to hear any stories, as our kids seem to be developing language similarly.

@mayflowers9 every kid has different needs.

My son started reception and it didn’t work out for him. 1) because he wasn’t ready for formal learning where you have to sit still and listen, 2) due to a high need for 1-1 attention.

So he’s currently in a special needs school but the plan is to get him back into mainstream when he’s older and more mature.

However, we also know a kid with autism who’s thriving at school. Loves to learn, great student.

You know your kids strengths and challenges best.

if you have a child who you suspect has autism, I would definitely suggest pushing for a diagnosis and then push for an EHCP. Not all kids with autism need an EHCP but my impression is that most benefit from one.

@dkinlondon thanks so much for responding. DS is similar with not being ready to sit still and listen! He’s in preschool, in a smaller class for kids with ASD, and we are starting the EHCP process soon. I hope we can find the best setting for him, though I think he’ll need to start reception in mainstream anyway due to waiting lists for specialist schools.