speech

[julie549]

i have a 20 month old boy and he dont speak at all just wondering if anyone got any advice to get him to talk

Hello Julie - quick queston - does he babble?
Usually by 20 months babies are babbling and doing things like ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba.

yes he dont even say da da da or ma ma

Assuming that you talk to him (and I'm sure you do) there's very little you can do. And I say this as the mother of three non-talkers (DD 1 & 2 started talking properly at about three, DD3 is still not talking - 2.8).

You can raise the issue with your HV, but in our area a child can't get on the Speech Therapy waiting list until they're 2.6.

Okay - have you discussed this with your HV? usually part of the 9 month check is to see if babies are doing those things. If not then it might mean that he needs a hearing check to make sure he can hear a full range of sounds.

Do they do the 9 month check where you are?

It sounds as though they could do with checking that he can hear properly - I know they do the test at birth but if they develop ear infections and stuff then the hearing can decrease withpout anyone realising - thankfully it's easily sorted out.

he has had his 18 month check and they said he should be saying things by now so might speak to hv

go to your gp and explain and they can add you on to speech therapy waiting list i would do it now as its a long wait if speech within that time comes along with no worries then its easier to come off the list than get on it

some children are just late talkers and some children there's other reasons for it but do go to your gp and get referred as early intervention is always best in the mean time just keep sentences short to your ds and use pictures with words

you can also play games so hold onto train track and say more every time you put one down after few games of this my ds was saying more when i was placing the track

but do get your name on the list now you can always take it off if not needed any more

go get your self on the waiting list for a speech therapist your child may be fine by the time you get an app

my boy is 5 years old i have taken him back and forward from doctors ,speech therapist and no one can tell me why he has a speech delay i don t no what to do next any ideas?

mumgaga could you get referral to paediatrician who could look further in to things for you

Julie - The newborn hearing test does not test the whole ear, It sounds like your son would benefit from a referral to audilogy for a hearing test which can be made by your GP or your HV, or by you telephoning your local PCT and asking to see an audillogist.
www.nhs.uk/SERVICEDIRECTORIES/Pages/PrimaryCareTrustListing.aspx When through to reception tell them you want to telephone the audiology department to make an audiology referral (self-referral from a parent).

MumGaga - It is hard to determine the cause of a speech/ language delay unless there is a clear medical reason, e.g. hearing difficulties diagnosed by an audiologist. Your speech therapist should be actively involved, you should know who s/he is and how to contact them and you should have a clear idea of the types of games you should be playing at home to encourage speech/ language development. There should be ideas and recommendations at the end of your last SaLT report.
Fun places to look are in the 'Time to Talk' book, Hanen website, RCSLT.org can direct you to more information as can ASLTIP (helpwithtalking.com).
speech-language-therapy.com/ This website is helpful if you know what your therapist is working on.
This is not an exhaustive list, it is just a few ideas to get you going. If you reply on this thread and tell me more clearly what difficulties your son has, I can point you in the direction of more relevant websites or give you 2/3 ideas for activities you can do at home.