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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Does my son really need speech therapy? (14 months)

51 replies

WillowF · 29/09/2004 19:13

Saw HV yesterday and she said to put my son down for speech therapy. I am alarmed. Is she right to be concerned? My son started babbling at just over 10 months. He has no words yet. He just points at everything and say "da!" He occasionally says mamamam and bababa but not much else.
Has anyone else's HV says anything less alarmist about a child with no words at 14 months?
I am starting to worry.

OP posts:

coppertop · 29/09/2004 19:27

Tbh he sounds fine to me. He's babbling and pointing at things which is pretty normal. 14 months is very early for a referral IME. To give you a comparison, I had spoken to my HV about my ds1 over and over again because he wasn't talking and I knew there was something not quite right. Unlike your son there was no babbling and no pointing. He was finally referred at 2yrs. My ds2 is now 20mths and isn't talking yet either. He has been put on the waiting list only because he is showing the same signs as his (autistic) elder brother and isn't pointing in a way that means anything.

The waiting list for SALT (speech therapy) tends to be incredibly long though. You may have to wait 6 months just for an assessment and possibly another 6 months for actual therapy. It might be worth keeping ds on the waiting list just in case and then cancelling it when he does start to talk. If for any reason he hasn't started to speak by then (and from what you say this sounds unlikely) then you will be able to take advantage of the assessment to put your mind at rest.

pollyanna · 29/09/2004 19:30

my dd isn't really speaking yet - she is 18 months. I spoke to a speech therapist at the beginning of the summer (who is treating my ds) and she said not to worry yet. So I would say, leave it a while. I didn't get my ds referred until he was 21 months. On the other hand if you instinctively feel that there might be something wrong, go with your instincts.

Angeliz · 29/09/2004 19:33

That sounds incredibly young to be worrying about speech!!
My dd was VERY articulate at 2.6 (think it was that one or 3 year check-can't remember i've tried to block it out so hard).
HOWEVER, she said 'cool' instead of 'school' and the H.V said that that worried her and she'd call again in 6 months. I told her if i was worried i'd call, otherwise not to!

BooMama · 29/09/2004 19:36

It does seem a bit early to worry.
My son was referred to speech therapy at 22 months and even then they said they were refering him then because it was a long waiting list and at least he would have an appointment should he need it in a couple of months time.
As comparison my dd has only just started talking about a month or two ago and she is 19 months. She can now say about 10-15 words but no-one seems very worried about her. I even mentioned it to the speech therapist when I saw her 3 weeks ago (with my ds) and she said wait another couple of months to see how she's getting on but the amount of words she was saying was fine for her age.
Much as I love my hv's I have met a few who have been a bit over-alarmist in these development areas. I'm sure he's fine.

Jimjams · 29/09/2004 19:41

If he's pointing (and in fact even if he wasn't) 14 months is early. What is the waiting list like in your area though ds2 was referred at 2 and we've been told he'll be waiting over a year- and that's with a brother who's 5 and non-verbal. Maybe your HV is trying to jump the waiting list (although to be honest she'll be cluttering it up with people who don't need to be seen!)

prettycandles · 29/09/2004 20:35

Alarmist.

My dd only started babbling at about 10m too, and didn't really have any words until a month or two after she started walking at 12m, though like your ds she pointed and verbalised. As far as my (extremely good) HV was concerned, she was fine. The important issue was that she was communicating appropriately and responding appropriately - the actual vocabulary was unimportant.

Is your ds walking yet? I don't know whether it is related, but both of my children showed a sudden leap in their communication, including spoken language, within a few weeks of starting walking.

hercules · 29/09/2004 20:36

My hv refered dd at 8 months!!!!

At nearly a year she still doesnt have any words but has been avidly pointing for some time.

We arent concerned.

Angeliz · 29/09/2004 20:38

8 MONTHS??

hercules · 29/09/2004 20:38

Barmy!

Angeliz · 29/09/2004 20:39

Confirms my thoughts!
Though i'm sure there are 'some' good ones, mine was a waste of space!

Original poster

WillowF · 29/09/2004 20:59

prettycandles - no the little lad is not walking yet either although he has gone from not pulling up at all at 13 months to pulling up all the time and cruising around 14 months. He is not far off walking unaided - I reckon another month or so.
Reassured by your messages... thanks

OP posts:

marbeth · 29/09/2004 21:06

hi willow

If you are concerned about speech check out www.talkingpoint.org.uk
Senior speech therapist gave me the address.Site excellant for both parents and professionals

zebra · 29/09/2004 21:19

DD didn't say any words until 16 months, DS only said one word before 19 months. I'm a bit worried about DD because she doesn't say 's' or 'z' sounds in middle/ends of words, but she's 3 now. I think any earlier intervention would have just worried me more than helped...

MeanBean · 29/09/2004 21:48

Do you mean to say that he's not doing algebra yet? And he can't conjugate Latin verbs? Get him on the special needs register immediately!

I think your HV is probably hedging her bets. There's a very long waiting list for anyone who genuinely needs speech therapy, so she's probably having a bit of an enthusiastic day where she's referring everyone on the offchance! By the time the appointment comes round, your DS will probably be about three and a half, and you'll be much better able to judge whether he needs it or not.

PennyMojo · 29/09/2004 21:51

Your HV, like a lot of HVs, is talking out of an orifice that isn't in her head

Please please don't worry

Tommy · 29/09/2004 21:56

Willowf - my DS2 is 13m and says mostly "dis" which I assume is "this" so yours may just be saying "that". I'm not in the slightest worried about DS2. My nephew said mostly "dis" for quite a long time, never had any speech therapy and is now 16 and the head boy at his school who recently had to addresss the board of governors (I'm very proud )
I think sometimes HVs say things because they think they have to and can't think of anything sensible to say

toddlerbob · 30/09/2004 03:28

Ds has a little friend who only says da and bob, no one seems too worried about him. He's 18 months and has devised his own sign language, which is incredibly easy to understand. I can see why he hasn't bothered to talk yet.

throckenholt · 30/09/2004 07:44

that sounds pretty normal for many kids of that age (mine included) - I think your HV is being a bit overzealous - maybe ask her to wait for a few months - say til after 18 months.

LIZS · 30/09/2004 08:22

willowF

I had a friend whose son was born a few weeks early, had poor muscle tone and was slow to develop motor skills. He saw a physio and speech therapist for approximately his first year/18 months. Obviously this was not so much specifically for speech but to improve his tongue reflexes and oral muscle control so that he could develop more normally. Your ds doesn't sound that unusual but I just wonder if he is dribbler or an unusually messy feeder, for example (as if you can really tell at that age !) which may indicate a potential problem if nothing was done in anticipation.

Original poster

WillowF · 30/09/2004 08:45

LIZS - no he does not dribble much (sporadically when he is teething). As for a messy feeder - well errr yes, he is, but at 14 months (as you say) who can tell 'messy, messy' from 'messy, problem'.... !

OP posts:

Socci · 30/09/2004 09:42

Message withdrawn

Original poster

WillowF · 30/09/2004 10:01

Socci - two reasons ONE: the waiting lists TWO: she does think that nothing resembling a word at 14 months is a little behind the norm.

My other son was walking and talking (a few words) at 10/11 months so there's another reason for me to worry. This little boy is doing neither at 14 months. (a 4 month difference in development does seem a lot what they are so young)

OP posts:

yurtgirl · 30/09/2004 11:00

Message withdrawn

Jimjams · 30/09/2004 11:11

WillowF- ds1 was talking away quite clearly at 10 months- now at 5 is non-verbal and doesn't say anything! ds2 wasn't even babbling at 10 months (which is behind) so the HV assessed him again a month later by which time he had started- he had some speech problems and was diagnosed at 2 and a half as having a speech disorder, and then promptly a few weeks later decided to talk properly!

At 14 months speech itself isn't important - unless there are feeding problems etc as well- the most important things to look for are the non-verbal communication- such as pointing and a developing understanding. Unfortunately most HV couldn't recognise a communication disorder if it danced in front of them so they refer on unecessarily and don't refer on cases which do need referring (which is more damaging!)

waterbug · 30/09/2004 11:15

willow - Einstein didn't start talking until he was 3 years old
hope that makes you feel better

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