Childs speech

[Clarelou34]

Does anyone have any tips on how to help my 2 year old with his speech.
I have looked on the speech therapy pages online and I'm doing everything that says.
Any advice or tips would be great

What is it about their speech that is concerning you?

It's not really concerning me as I personally just think he is being a lazy bum.
Nursery have said they aren't concerned its just his health visitor saying she thinks he should be having a full blown conversation now. He was only 2 in June.

A full blown conversation? Like whole sentences and stuff? If yes, your HV is just stupid, ignore her.

What’s the speech therapy provision like in your area? Your HV should know.

When my speech delayed son was two he flunked his two year check. Then again six months later, but with some improvement. The HV advises that I took him to a local speech therapy drop in clinic at the children’s centre, which I did. He was referred to a playgroup for children with speech delays and, after that, saw an actual speech therapist. As his speech continued to be miles behind his peers he also was referred to a paed.

He’s now four and caught up massively but almost certainly autistic. I’ve given up on chasing up speech therapy because the NHS system is dire and we can’t really afford private, but I’m seeking out autism support instead.

Don’t mean to scare you with the autism thing, but it’s something to be mindful of with a speech delayed boy in particular. Everyone told me DS was lazy, boys are late to talk, his bossy older sister meant he couldn’t get a word in edgeways, etc. It stopped me from getting help sooner because I kept waiting for him to catch up by himself. He didn’t.

My son is turning 3 on Saturday and in the last 6-8 weeks has started talking properly and using sentences.

We were referred for a hearing test (fine) and speech therapy but having seen his progress I'm no longer concerned.

I have a daughter who is almost 4 yrs older who tended to talk for him which didn't help.

How is his communication? Does he point to what he wants? Engage with you and siblings? I tended not to worry too much as my Son was able to communicate what he wanted- he used to throw terrible tantrums when we couldn't understand him though.

He doesn't have any siblings. I've looked for groups in local area but there doesn't seem to be any.
He goes to nursery and they aren't concerned.
He does point to the stuff he wants and also says a few words. His concentration is fantastic and if I hold 3 cards up and say which is a car for example he will point to it.

If the HV is so concerned, why hasn’t she referred him to speech therapy? Given the ridiculous waiting times, if she is concerned she should do this ASAP.

As a pp said, if you have speech therapy drop in sessions or groups at your children’s centre, you can access these for free and they can be helpful.

Other than that, things like making him ask for stuff, eg putting only a little bit of dinner on his plate, so he has to ask for more, putting toys out of reach, so he has to ask for them,etc. It’s helpful to narrate what he’s doing, eg ‘pouring tea’, ‘rolling car’, etc, so he connects sounds/words to objects/actions. Repeat back what he says, but adding one extra word will help him learn to speak in longer sentences, eg ‘rolling red car’, ‘Thomas rolling red car’ etc.

Having said all that, at not long turned 2, he doesn’t sound wildly delayed to me. Is he communicating in other ways, making eye contact, pointing etc?

Both my children had delayed speech until they were 3 & I was told that as long as their understanding was ok they are more than likely to be fine. NHS speech therapy was poor (due to under funding) and we went private with my DD. She learned Makaton (sign language) before she could talk. Both DC are absolutely fine now & you would never know that they struggled for so long. I would get them referred via your GP or HV and then take their advice & work with them at home yourself. Keep talking to them (I was told to do a running commentary on everything you/he does) & read lots to them! Good luck.

Often you can self refer to your local speech therapy service. Some also have drop in sessions or an advice phoneline you can use for general advice without referral.

Is your child 27 months ? Did you do the ASQ questionnaire for the HV's assessment ? As that's where the 3/ 4 word sentences requirement come from that would sound like the basics of normal conversation.

To be honest if your HV is concerned then run with that. Any help offered take it and it doesn't hurt being on the waiting list if your DC ends up not needing it. Personally I have found it impossible to get speech therapy via the NHS and my HV just told me of course my DS was fine despite the questionnaire. Generally I think the NHS uses the let's wait and see policy for young children, some make improvement with no help, but some don't without extra input.

Some great advice on here. Simple speech, long gaps, encouragement and modelling how they should talk all help.

We have used a private speech therapist once a week since about 2.7 and it's been a fortune, but has helped me too, my DS is now 3 and probably a year behind still, but making amazing progress.

@sixtimes why did you go private if you truely believe that it's ok if their understanding is fine? Btw I'm just interested, as we have gone private pre- 3, as personally I felt the gap was widening and my DS was starting to socialise and play with others (rather than alongside) without being about to verbally communicate.

To be honest if your HV is concerned then run with that. Any help offered take it and it doesn't hurt being on the waiting list if your DC ends up not needing it.

Actually that’s a really good point @greenandyellowduck (also agree that NHS speech therapy is dire and they are way too quick to wave you off with a “wait and see” ).

Take the support. I see so many threads where parents are almost offended by the suggestion that their child has a delay or a problem, and are quick to disagree or say other people disagree so it must be nonsense.

Don’t panic - accept the support, swallow your fear of “a label” (if I had a pound for every person I’ve heard say “I don’t want my child to have a label” ) and see what happens. If your son doesn’t need help further down the line then he’ll be discharged - simple as that. Don’t be afraid that you’ll be on a path to a misdiagnosis.

He understands really well, he points to things and his concentration is absolutely fantastic.
This is why I think he is just being lazy he can say cetain words. I was gobsmacked 1 day he said giraffe that to me is a hard word for a child of his age. He says things once or twice then doesn't say it again for weeks haha.

Thank you so much for all your advice. I am doing everything correct according to the speech therapy website.

Smartplay Not sure why you are being so rude about the HV. Of course a child who is 2yrs 3 m should be using sentences, asking and answering questions and having a conversation.

Yes, of course there are children who have speech delay, or other difficulties (hearing, autism, learning difficulties and speech disorders) who don't, and there are sadly too many children with a poverty of experience, but a neuro-typically developing child would be expected to be taking part in age appropriate conversations at two, yes. The HV is right to suggest strategies and monitor progress.

ClareLou34 - has he had his hearing checked recently ? That would always be the first thing to check if a child is behind with their speech.
Do you want people to suggest websites and pages for you to look at? As you put you've looked at, and are doing the on-line things you've read.

Greenandyellowduck - we went private with my DD as after seeing how poorly funded the NHS sessions were for my DS two years previous. I decided to not rely on that solely and gave the private sessions a try. I was confident that the understanding was there for both children but felt I wanted to be more pro-active the second time around. My DS struggled settling at his school nursery and I think his lack of speech was a factor.

@BackforGood "Of course a child who is 2yrs 3 m should be using sentences, asking and answering questions and having a conversation."

That's simply not true. On average toddlers start combining two words around their second birthday. Many don't do it until much later and many only start speaking proper words at 2 or later. This is all within the normal range.
A child is certainly not delayed just because it doesn't speak in full sentences at 26-27 months old!

Random one, but how often does he use a pushchair rather than walking? Walking next to each other and chatting is a good way to develop conversation skills.