2 year old- moderate speech delay

[cheekymonk]

Hi have asked about this before but not many replies. DD aged 25 months has seen SALT and been assessed as having moderate speech delay in Jan 2013. she had a hearing test in Dec and had glue ear in both ears. SALT felt it was down to glue ear and agreed next apt was may 2013 after additional hearing test. Hearing test again showed glue ear in both ears but hearing was better and they said speech probs were unrelated to hearing issues. Further hearing test booked for July and if glue ear again will refer to ENT. meanwhile, dd's speech improved 1st week after speech apt after they told us to focus on one word, lots of books etc and using makaton but no real progress since. she can't put 2 words together and says about 10 words. I have chased NHS but they said short staffed etc and it will be May. Considering going private, anyone else done this? friends have advised me to push/hassle NHS but I am crap at this and don't know what to say...

I'm very surprised that that response doodle. My DS has many more words than that (about 50, I'm guessing, though not clearly spoken and hard for anyone to understand but me), and the audiologist who assessed him last week said that she thinks he's delayed because he's not starting to make sentences, which you would generally expect by age 2. I would definitely be looking for a second opinion, if I was you. This is a critical stage for communication acquisition.

As for many DC starting school without being able to speak properly - this may be the case, but it's hardly desirable and I'm shocked that you're not being encouraged to help your child acquire language now. Mind you, I have very little respect for HVs - the ones we've seen have been so unhelpful that I don't even bother any more.

a private slt will most likely accept to see you no problem. and if she pases the assessments with no problem, well so be it. bu if she does not then you can get help now. and i am sure you know yourself whether she seems delayed or not comapred to same age peers and versus the indications on the talking point website. four weeks prem is nothing really is it?

am hoping cestlavieme pops back on... Have been to docs who re-read hearing report and he emphasised that yes dd's hearing is ok but it is just that. ok to function but not at all perfect and he felt it was affecting her speech. he checked her ears and she has glue ear still. he didn't recommend private speech therapy, saying she is very young for that. I talked about frustration of waiting game for everything and worried about dd and he said ENT referral after hearing test in July will be testing point (presuming she still has glue ear then).
SALT was excellent today and said that dd has expressive speech delay and her level is that of an 18 month old (She is 26 months). She explained that she didn't think that dd would cope with formal testing right now but she was assessing her through play. She will refer us to parenting course to help with dd's speech and our names are down for makaton class but all very slow. Was given Mr tongue book and she advised me to get some FLASH CARDS ( have been goggling looked on ican, not sure which ones to get?) to play and post in letter box. What I did notice was how much dd flourished in that hour and a half. She intereacted, followed instruction and really enjoyed it. if only we could have that every week for a while. I guess that is what private therapy is/does. Lots to think about.

it is not too big a delay - the parent course will help. any flash cards will do go to your local cheap book store they usually have some .

lots of floor time sit at her level and play and giving her the chance to talk/express her wishes - eg dont give her things unless she asks for them, always offer choices - milk or juice ? sing this nursery rhyme or this? (use pictures to show)

Thanks cestlavielife x

Salam alaikum, I would like a private post please. Thanks.

Has anyone experience with receptive and expressive language delay in a 2 year old? Were they able to catch up and what helped them to improve the receptive language? Toddler is super active, not very good attention, which seems to make it harder to process and learn new words.

Also how can these toddlers be helped to have less meltdowns/tantrums due to lack of understanding?

Thanks for any advice and tips.

Sama, if and how far children catch up very much depends on the child, the severity of the DLD, how well they respond to therapy. It's really too early to tell. As a general rule, the earlier the intervention starts, the higher the chance of the child catching up.

Are you seeing a SALT yet? If not, try and see one asap, although waitlists can be long. If you are seeing a SALT already, they should have tips for you on how to help the child communicate.

As for helping your child. Makaton signs can really help children who aren't verbal enough to express themselves. Other than that, keep your language simple, short sentences, get to the eye level of the child so they can see your face, mouth and expression, it might help.