Lack of Speech at 23mths

[Claire2009]

DS is 23mths, 2 on 18th April.

He very very occassionally says : Hiya, Yeah, No, Mine, Mama.

The phn came round this morning and he will be forwarded on for hearing tests, the last one he had he was 2 days old & passed fine.

I sing (Nursery Rhymes/Songs at Mother & Toddler group ) he gets read to, chatted to etc.

I also have a 3yo DD, she talks lots - also goes to Playschool & thats when I have the 1-2-1 time with DS.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips? Or been through the same? Kinda thinking he's gonna be babbling like a 10mth old when he's 3/4yo...

My ds said very little until he was almost 3 .... had assessment with speech and language therapist who said it was a moderate delay and that he would 'find his own way" (in other words it was not a disorder, just a delay). He is now 6.8 and you can't stop him chatting. He had an audiology test etc etc too.

I know just how you feel my DS is 29 months and his speech is very limited he is going for an assessment next month. I have found some useful books printed by egmont which have helped. We look at those together and I think it has really built his vocablary. We got the board book, the pages are hard card as he quite keen on tearing pages. I've put a link in for them I'm not sure if they are card pages or normal paper.

www.egmont.co.uk/search.asp?strSearchString=word+book&intCharacterId=&intCategoryId=&intTargetAgeRan geId=&action=SearchBooks&strOrder=&pageid=3&Test=Go

DS2 didn't say much before he turned 2 and started at nursery for 2 days a week.From that point, where he had to communicate and make himself understood, his speech exploded.

It's not uncommon for a LO to talk later, however its also good that you're in the system now. The newborn hearing check only really (IIRC) checks for any hearing at all- so well worth a check over I think.
I wouldn't about babbling like a 10 mth old either, FWIW- you might upset a few potentially knowledgeable posters whose children do have severely delayed speech.

hiya - I also have a 23 month old..... you should come and join us on the post natal april 07 thread - there are loads of us!

(and we are very friendly)

ime boys are very different from girls when it comes to talking... girls tend to chat, while boys only say what needs saying iykwim. If he is geting all he needs / wants i.e toys/drinks/ food/ cuddles from his perspective why does he need to do more

also do you think your dd talks for him? I know mine did for ds 2

I think you will find he talks more when he needs to!

I've had a child with severe language delay. 2 years on he has made lots of progress but still has language problems.

Hopefully your DS is just at the late end of normal. but wise to get in the system as early as possible, so that if you do start to get more concerned he will already be on waiting lists etc.

useful sites:
www.ican.org.uk
www.teachmetotalk.com
www.hanen.org

useful books:
baby talk by sally ward
you make the difference or it takes two to talk by Ayola Manolson
parent's guide to speech and language problems by debbie feit

if you are near a surestart/children's centre they often run courses to help you help your child to communicate, I did one called "you make the difference" which I found very helpful.

remember to give your ds bags of time to make a response (whether verbal or gesture) and keep your language simple and consistent when going through daily routines.

Thanks for the replies.

Apologies if I've upset anyone wasn't intended!

TotalChaos - I am near a Surestart, I go to the M&T group held by Surestart and that area twice a week! Will ask about courses,
Thanks!

CazBoldy, Thanks! I may find the April 07 thread and join up ;-)
I actually don't think DD talks for him much at all, there was a point when she did loads and she's kinda been taught to now say to DS 'DS say ' etc so I dunno if thats 'helping' or not

Again thanks for replies!! :-)

I second www.hanen.org.
"It Takes two to talk" has been my bible.
The third year is very frustrating if you just wait for a language explosion to happen.

If it's any consolation I have a 22 month old who has a 3 year old brother too, and she has a very limited range of speech too. I mentioned it to our Doctor and she said that babbling is a good sign as it shows a willingness to interact and is a key development for speech. She also said that it's hugely common in children with older siblings close in age, especially boys.

Thanks Blottedcopybook, Thats interesting!
I've heard boys are later to talk, it's only in the last 3-4 mths he's started to babble though.

Lingle, Thanks will take a look at the site!

It is more common in boysafak but I think that and thesibling factorcan delay proper help starting if problemsareassined to itwithout investigation.

Certainly theywere all reasons we were given when ds3's language became a concern. I wish someone had saidto us 'He has a problem, get him seen' but people tiptoed. hhe started to talk lastyear aged 4, still has arange o variousspeech issues and probably always will, partly due to asd but also as he now has mouth scarringafter an accident at school .

TC haslots of goodadvice; our boys have always been similar but mine now has an asd dx.

If it makes you feel better my little boy only had around 20 words at 2. But about three months later he was beginning to put words together and now he speaks in sentences and has a large vocabulary and ask why? all the time! He does however still have prounounciation issues which I am getting some help with help with both on the NHS and privately so although at 2 he probably would have been classified as having problems with speech and language, now (he's just turned 3) it's just speech which everyone has said will slowly come with time.

I did ask for a hearing test for him not long after his second birthday which came back borderline though a repeat in the summer was clear (when he didn't have a cold!)

DD's speech was slow to start. It was discovered when she was 2.5-3 that she had glue ear.

Examine the hearing route first, and take it from there. It's remarkably common and easily fixed

It's such a fine art. There is a considerable subset of boys this age with these language delays. Many will simply outgrow them. Some will need more help. A few have quite serious problems.

What's dangerous is to "have faith" that the child will outgrow them all by himself. Because it's not about your faith in them, it's about their hearing and/or neurology and/or oral-motor skills.

But to me it seems equally dangerous to refer them to professionals, sit on a waiting list, have them assessed, and become increasingly distressed as you observe that month after month all the professionals have done is assess assess assess and refer to other professionals rather than actually help. And this seems to be a distressingly common experience in many parts of the UK on the NHS if the mumsnet special needs board is anything to go by.

And then it is also dangerous to become obsessed with wondering about autism and there is a danger that you can fail to enjoy your child and let the stress affect your relationship with him which you would regret later (whether or not he grows out of the problems easily!).

So I feel (after a year of thinking bloody hard about this) that the art is to (i)refer and work through the "system" but don't assume anyone except you will actually do any work and don't take anything they say as gospel (ii)start self-help techniques like basic Hanen stuff and find a way to make them enjoyable for both of you(iii) every time you catch yourself worrying, do something positive and enjoyable - like play a game with him - instead.

just my meanderings....

Thank you lingle - those are very very wise words

but lingle only thing woud say quite often salt appontmnets take long time to come through too us almost a year of waiting so sitting on list is no bad thing least its there if you need it and if your dc takes of with talking then you can always cancel it.

and thereare some good salts out there we have one now