Worried after 2 year development review

[Sazla83]

This week my 2 year old DD had her developmental review with HV. She scored low on language and communication which I don’t understand. The HV says it’s because she can’t put a sentence together and didn’t follow what was being asked of her in the session. She literally turned 2 this week! I said she does say sentences at home but she ignored this and said she’s going to do a referral for special needs.
she asked if she ignores commands and does her own thing I said yes but she’s a toddler, she follows most commands. She also asked how often she points which is not very often as she usually shouts ‘dink’, ‘dummy’ etc instead of pointing which apparently isn’t normal.
i think this HV is being completely over the top or am I in denial here. I have now received an email with a lot of links including how to cope being a parent to a special needs child!! Has anyone else had this when they thought there toddler was doing really well only to be told they’re not? Sorry for the rant I just can’t get my head round this

I think that some of what you’ve said does warrant further investigation but equally could also maybe fall into the realms of normal, it’s so hard to tell from an internet forum and obviously I’m not a trained professional

The HV is right to refer her although perhaps hasn’t been very sensitive on how she’s dealt with it. I do feel for HVs though as there are far fewer HVs than they used to be and their caseloads arenow huge.

I would also say that you’re lucky to get a referral so young. Assessment does not automatically mean diagnosis but, if it does turn out that your DD does need additional support then it’s good to get this in place when they’re young.

Did the HV say where she was referring DD to? Has she done a referral for a hearing test, which is standard practice with speech delay, and for some SaLT?

You can check of her speech and language is on track yourself with this simple progress checker.

Did the HV also ask you to fill in these two assessments before seeing your DD:

2 year Ages & Stages

and the 2 year Social & Emotional Ages & Stages?

And how did your DD score when she had her 12 month check?

Thank you so much for your reply.

she has been referred for hearing and sight as well as the CDC check (which is a 14 month waiting list!) the HV is also arranging for portage to visit in our home for another assessment.

I filled out the 2 year ages and stages form but not the second form. The HV didn’t talk about progress in the 1 year test as she said she thought the form was too harsh for 1 year and in her opinion she was on track.

she seems like a very bright girl who copies dance actions she sees on CBeebies programmes and can understand us. She is also nearly fully potty trained which to me seems like would be impossible if she didn’t understand me but that’s just my opinion.

I should just accept I’m lucky she’s getting the extra attention and as you say she will probably pass it not a diagnosis yet.

Thank you for your support :)

Even if your daughter does need a bit of extra help, I think the HV has been really clumsy in how she's handled this – they should definitely be aware of how this sort of information can impact parents, and be sensitive in how they communicate it. (But if it turns out DD does need support, then the early referral will be worth its weight in gold.)

That said, does DD sound behind? I'm always a bit skeptical of HV assessments that rely very heavily on what the child does in the session, especially if it's in an unfamiliar place. That's not going to go well with many, many toddlers. I do understand that they want to see the child's development for themselves, but it needs to be a mix of parental report and direct HV observation. If you score DD's ASQ, where does she fall for each section, white, grey, or black? All white is obviously brilliant, but a section or two in the grey is very common and not usually a concern. (The questionnaire is designed that way.)

I don’t think she’s behind at all. She’s a very happy playful little girl. She tries to talk but it’s not very clear what she’s saying always which unfortunately came across in the session.

The chart came back all white in the physical areas and grey and white for communication. She had one black which I think was my fault I said she can’t point to certain things in books because she refused on the day I went through the ASQ test with her but to prove me wrong she has done it since 🤦‍♀️.

I have now contacted the HV to say I want to talk about the referral as I think a follow up would be better in a few months as a lot of the questions are aimed towards 2 1/2 and she’s just not there yet

Sorry, I do think the HV is right to refer her.

Either she'll suddenly have a spurt and catch up, and you can refuse the extra help when you get to the top of the waiting list, or she won't, in which case you'll be very glad you got on the waiting list sooner rather than later.

You can help. I'm sure you talk to her, but did the HV explain to you how to help increase her words along the lines of:
Car
Yes, that's a blue car
Blue car
Yes the blue car is going fast... etc.

Pointing, try reading to her and asking her to find things in the pictures. "Can you point to the flowers?"

Thing is to remember that you only have your dc to look at. The HV will see lots, so it is easier for her to be able to see if things are a bit unexpected. But some children gain quickly at times, and slower at others, so you may find in a year's time she's more than caught up.

Edited after seeing your last post.
Being referred won't harm her; if the waiting list is 6 months, for example, if she's caught up at 2.5yo then you can remove her from the waiting list. But if she's fallen further behind at 2.5yo, then you're now waiting until 3yo for intervention when really the sooner the better.
I really wouldn't ask to come off the list at this point.

I agree with going along with the referral for now. I think the average wait time is currently 2 years so obviously some areas will be a lot longer than the average.

If the appointment comes and you’re sure tgat she’s on track you can always call them up and ask to have her removed from the process.

Thank you for your messages. The waiting list is approx 14 months according to the HV so I’ll just have to see what happens over the next year