Speech delay and understanding level at 2.5 years

[2boysnamedR]

Hi, I haven?t been here much recently so forgive me if someone else has already had a similar issue.

My 2.5 year old is still not talking. He started to talk about one which I thought was normal at the time. He was slow to do most things and when he was 1.5 I had to take him to a podiatrist as he was late to walk and fell over a lot. At that appointment the doctor asked if I had seen a paediatrician. I said no ? it had never been suggested. She said that she strongly urged me to see one as he seemed to have some autistics flags at the time. I went to see my health visitor the next day who was unconcerned. She told me to go back at 18 months. A few months later he was taken sick and admitted to hospital. The doctors asked about his development and asked how many words he had. I remember at that point they said he should have about 15 words but he had 6. Again not a big deal but I remember that was a year ago. I went back to the HV at 18 months (he had picked up maybe two new words in two months). She said come back at 20 months, then it was 22 months, then 2 then 2 and a quarter. When he did turn two and quarter she had to admit he did seem slow. He could not tell her his body parts, farm animals etc and still had 20 words. She said she would refer to speech and language but it would nine months to be seen. She also put him in for a hearing test. I was advised to get him into a nursery so he could be assessed and a paediatrician could get involved. The hearing test showed he was mild / moderately deaf and to go back in three and half months to be tested again. I phoned my HV to tell her this and asked if she would go to the nursery to asses and get him seen by a paediatrician. She said she wasn?t concerned. He should be talking by three.

So my question is ? is it normal for a child to learn one new word a month? Is it normal to have 20 words at 2.5? To not know where your eyes and nose are? I think it is not. However I can not get anyone to help. My doctor says it?s the HV department. She keeps on telling me to go back in x months and the nursery can?t help either. No one will listen ? what can I do?

I think you should push for a referral to a paediatrician, whether he goes to a nursery or not. His speech delay could be down to his poor hearing and this needs to be properly assessed by a specialist.

If you get no where with the health visitor ask to see her superior.

I don't see what nursery has to do with it at all.
DD was referred to a specialist paediatric team at 18 months by the HV. It is policy here to refer them at 18 months ish if they are not walking or talking. They then refer them for the necessary treatment or the HV can refer them for speech therapy, hearing tests etc herself.
I would think it is definately the HV's responsibility to get him referred. It may well be that he is just a late developer but he should definately been seen to get the right sort of help if it's needed. Is there a central HV team or something like that you could speak to?

agree with belgo. has the HV done the speech therapy referral? you can phone up the speech therapy department yourself to find out more about when appointment is likely to be etc. in the meantime have you thought of trying out some signing with him - like baby signing or sing and sign dvds or makaton like in something special - as that may help him learn more words and help him express what he wants.

you may also like to post this on the special needs board as well, or repost this with mild/moderate hearing loss in the title as well to get input from those whose kids have had hearing problems.

DS2 is 2.25 and I took him to HV at 2 as was concerned at his lack of speech.

Immediately referred to SALT and we're seeing one at beginning of May.

However in that period of time his speech has improved immeasurably - now over 100 words although not terribly clear. But he has good understanding.

So - I would push for SALT referral and perhaps investigate a private assesment if thats at all feasible.

It is very stressful though - I cried the first time ds2 said 'mummy'.

hi my ds2 is 3.4 and he does mot speak at all he just babbles most of the time ,he can hear tho ,just choosers not to .he has gdd and did not walk til 2.5 he just bunny hopped ,but now hes all over ,hope you get some help etc

I would definitely press for more help: having said that, it is good news that the HV is not concerned.

1. I'm not quite clear if the HV has referred to speech and language therapy or not. If you are in England/Wales (not sure about Scotland, sorry) you can definitely self-refer to speech and language therapy, so google Speech and Language Therapy Department and your nearest town to find the number, or ring your GP receptionist and ask for contact details. Even if you have been referred and you are on the list, a lot of departments will give you a bit of advice anyway, or at least a leaflet or something.

1. Why not call the RNID helpline here?

1. I have recommended I Can a lot on here, have a good look and see if any of it is helpful.

1. Can you get the nursery to write a report on your ds's communication to your GP requesting a referral? Are they concerned? It sounds like you need to look for a route bypassing the HV if she really won't even come to look at him at nursery. I would keep plugging away at her to come and see him as well.

Thanks. I have begun to wonder if this is all in my mind, although I know its not as the hearing loss is real. I don't know if there is anyone above my HV apart from the doctors practice manager who hasn't been much help with past issues with my elder son. I have ben booked in speech and languge but I have to wait nine months. I know I am booked in but thats all I know - no paperwork to say with who - where etc. No more has been mentioned about autisium. My HV has said he may be on the autistic scale as he seems to have problems filling and retreiving information. However she said to me that he is too young to tell. He is very happy and smiley and loves hugs and kisses so I am not sure if he can be on the autistic range if he seems happy and affectionate?

A mild/moderate hearing loss can have a huge impact on speech & language development at this age. The good news is that the recovery is remarkable once appropriate hearing aids have been fitted/glue ear sorted out etc. Apart from his language, do you have any other concerns? s he sociable, pointing, does he seem to understand gestures, does he use any in addition to words?

can you change GPs - you might get a better GP and a new HV if you are lucky. I think it's terrible of the HV to throw in a comment like that about autism without doing anything more like arranging a paed referral to look into it. It's a bit of a myth about kids on the autistic spectrum not being affectionate; some are, some aren't - but hearing loss and/or problems understanding language can result in behaviour that looks like autism - which is why you have paediatricians and sometimes other professionals seeing your kid to try and figure it all out.

you will be able to find out more yourself about the speech therapy department if you a)get the HV to give you the contact details or b)google your PCT, it should have a contact name/number for paediatric community speech therapy.

are you anywhere near a surestart/children's centre, as often the staff there can be helpful about negotiating the local system.

One of my sister?s friends is a manager of a sure start centre and she has given me some good advice. Also there is a sure start centre at my eldest?s school and I have an appointment with them after Easter to advise me how to get the right people taking action. That has only come about by word of mouth ? not via my GP / HV. I am a bit worried that I am going to have to go back to the HV but I am beyond having faith in her. Getting in touch with a paediatrician or speech therapist direct would be great ? I didn?t know I could circumnavigate the HV / GP for referral. Thanks

OP don't feel bad, at least your child can say some words!! My BIL's wee one is nearly 3 and cannot talk yet. He cannot say ANY words. He is being assessed v soon though so hope they can find out if he is just naturally slow to progress or if there is a genuine condition there.

My HV said if he was in a nursery then the staff have to fill in assessments on his development and they would have a good grasp on if he was just a bit slow to pick things up or if it was something more worrying. As it turns out the nursery don't know what they can do to help until he turns 3 as they only worry after 3? I don't know why. I am sure when I enrolled him they said they can call in the community pead but maybe they though my HV would be doing that?

I have been to the GP twice in the last month but I think they want to wait on the results of the second hearing test. After the test will get referred to ENT then ENT will need to put him on a waiting list for grommets / hearing aid. Then what if its not just his hearing? He could be 3 before his hearing is corrected and he may still have another issue stopping his speech. His hearing test is on the 11th of May

Thanks, I am hoping he just needs grommets, they go in before he is three and gets verbal diarrhoea soon after. The lady at the sure start centre said children with hearing loss are falling behind every month that the problem persists so its nice to hear your DS has caught up. Did you think he had hearing loss? I never suspected it with my son. He had a hearing test at birth and I have been told that since they stopped the test at two years there has been a big increase in children arriveing at school with speech delay because they can not hear properly

You have been treated apallingly imo. Ask for a referral to a paed urgently. It is clear he has needs of some kind and he needs a proper checkover.

If you have to, find out about autism and lie about his traits to get the referral.

It is vital that your child gets early intervention, as outcomes are better the earlier this happens. Even if it isn't forthcoming fast enough from the LA and NHS, once YOU have information you can start researching what you can do as a parent to help.

It is NOT too young to assess for autism. My ds was verbally diagnosed earlier than that. Don't let it drop.

hth

Thanks ladies. My FIL said when DS2 was 12 months 'I think he is autisic' after babysitting him as he wouldnot turn around when his name was called. Sometimes he turns around when called, sometimes not but I am unsure if he can not hear me or is too engrossed in what he is doing. At the hearing test I intally though there was no way he would understand the test (putting dolls into slots when hearing a sound. I was amazed that he did get it and ver upset that what he could not hear was very audable to me.

AngryWasp - thats exactly how I feel - I don't know if anything is wrong as I am being to doubt what I know to be normal. If I don't know what is wrong I can't start to help put it right. I just want the first step - a pead to tell me if this is normal or not. My friends boy was in speech pre-school before 3. Children ARE deaf. Children DO have autisium but according to my dealings with the NHS these things are not a possibilty before 3. So where do these kids come from?