22 month old with no speech & using a throaty growl sound.

[WorriedMumz]

I was wondering if anyone had any experience or advice to give regarding language development. I have a smart 22 month old son who has lots of positive development areas however, in regards to his speech he has none really. He quite often makes a throaty growl sound when playing & I think it is a form of communication. I have a speech therapist who has been working with us for 4 weeks & some improvements are there however, no words yet. I’m so worried to a point where I cannot sleep. My worst fear is autism & because I think that I pick up on everything he does and compare it to that. The speech therapist agrees that I should have concerns. I Would really appreciate some feedback on this!
Many thanks x

Have you asked for a referral to a Paediatrician yet Worried? If not, I'd ask for that.

I was going to wait until the speech therapy is complete. However, I am so worried!! I know it can take a long time to get to see a paediatrician through the nhs x

Like you say, the waiting lists are long and it's probably in his best interests to be seen before he starts school. If you and the SLT have concerns, I'd push fir a referral now. Can't see much point in waiting.

SALT doesn't work overnight. But there's no reason not to ask for further referrals in the meantime.

I will do. Has anyone had any experience of anything similar before?

Not the noises he makes. But DD was going through SALT at just after that age, and also being assessed by paediatricians.

Was everything okay after assessments. Don’t worry if you don’t want to share. I completely understand.

No worries. DD had an assessment with various professionals, but was signed off.

She had had SALT since she was two, with delayed development diagnosed, then disordered development. All is fine now.

Don't wait to get help for your DS - and don't be worried about asking for it.

In fact, it was me who pushed for a two year assessment for her, when she was diagnosed. Because I knew something was wrong, that she wasn't speaking enough.

Ahh, thank you for letting me know! I know that there is something not right too. Definitely going to push to see paediatrician x

Yes, do that. Ask for a referral. Trust your instincts!

I'd go with what has been suggested. I've read into autism a wee bit, we have some concerns over possible autism but like you there are some positives. Our wee one growls, but he does so in order that we growl back and he finds that hilarious.

Our wee one has not been to nursery or a childminder yet, although we have a nanny who comes in and helps. Lots of parents have said to me that when they go to nursery/childminder, they noticed a big difference with speech & language.

Our respective babies have lives most of their lives under lockdown and so won't have experienced the benefit of groups, meeting other children etc etc.

It's totally understandable to be worried, however my experience is that these things often seem worse than they turn-out to be.

It's totally understandable to be worried, however my experience is that these things often seem worse than they turn-out to be

You have extensive experience of childhood development, do you?

Yes, I'm a qualified social worker.

Sorry, for the avoidance of doubt, I meant I'd go with what Kaptain has suggested in terms of pushing for referrals.

@PatrickMJ

Yes, I'm a qualified social worker.

Well that told me!

However, so often I see people saying "these things often aren't as bad as you think" when, actually, some things are as bad as you think, and imo a mother should trust their instincts.

I trusted mine, pushed for a referral, and was proved right. So, again, I support the OP in pushing for more attention for her DS.

Sorry, what I meant by that is that sometimes (not always) these things do right themselves eventually, but of course sometimes they don't. But I absolutely agree that it's important to pursue referrals (and get whatever concerns you have checked out) and not be fobbed off with the "wait & see" approach.

What I do know from my own line of work is that unfortunately early intervention is not great in the UK. As I'm sure most people would agree, getting in there early can make things easier down the line.

Thank you for your comments & understanding through this really difficult time. I agree with all your comments & know that early intervention is not great in the uk and also you can get so caught up in emotions that you think the very worse outcome. Also I believe you should go with you gut feeling as a mum; you just know when things are not quite right x

Our wee one has not been to nursery or a childminder yet, although we have a nanny who comes in and helps. Lots of parents have said to me that when they go to nursery/childminder, they noticed a big difference with speech & language.

This was it our experience at all, although it had been said to me many, many times. In fact our DD started to talk a couple of months before starting pre-school in the end.