Upcoming audiology appointment for toddler with delayed speech

[stabiIo]

I am taking my nearly 2 year old for an audiologist appointment soon. The reason is delayed speech. Her understanding is great and she gestures and points like she is supposed to. She also has some signs. But spoken language is not where it should be at this point.

I am feeling a bit anxious about it because I don’t really know what to expect, or what result I’m hoping for. On the one hand, I don’t want her to have hearing loss or need a grommets procedure but at least then we would have an answer. On the other hand, if her hearing is fine that’s obviously brilliant but then there’s still the concern of not knowing why her speech is delayed.

I just wondered if anyone else had ever been in this position?

Is there any reason you do not want grommets. My DD didn't have them until 5 but the results were instant. I mean as soon as she woke up from the operation she could hear so much better.

We had this. No grommets just a speech delay and a speech sound disorder. All came right by around 7. We did speech therapy (SALT) from 3 till we got signed off. We used signs a lot. But at two I had no real words and knew something wasn’t right. But he caught up and you would never know. So don’t panic. Oh and I have no idea what caused the speech delay etc. his comprehension was always excellent.

I can't help you much with the result - either way this might be anxiety provoking (whether there is impaired hearing or not).

The process itself will be various sounds coming from various locations, to see if she reacts. They might try to get her to wear earbuds or headphones but she may not tolerate it. They sometimes use puppets and games to attract attention or distract.

Well it’s a procedure that comes with risk, in an ideal world I’d want her to be healthy and have good hearing of course but on the other hand if there is glue ear then I’d have an explanation for the delayed speech. It’s very hard and I have such anxiety about it all.

Thank you everyone for posting.

Hearing test at that age is fun and they will be able to tell quickly if it is a hearing issue. Having had 2 dc needing grommets plus tonsils it is a quick operation and it can be life changing. I cannot tell you the difference in dc when they had it done both aged 3. So although no operation is great, one that enables better hearing and communication is well worth it.

In terms of what to expect at the appointment, she will feel like she’s playing a game … e.g. they might give her some wooden blocks and ask her to put one in a bowl every time she hears a beep. They might ask her to point at some pictures, things like that, and they will tell you at the end of the appointment what the results are.

Hope it goes well and you feel a bit better when you know what’s going on.