Are we doing enough?

[SamuiT]

Our little boy has just turned 3 and is barely talking.

He is a twin who was born at 32 weeks. His development has always seemed delayed, for instance walked late. He had glue ear which was addressed with gromits in late May which do not seem to have had the miraculous effect we perhaps hoped for.

He has bi-montly peadetric appts but they just say see what happens next time.

His twin sister has an amazing vocab and seems light years ahead

What do people think?

If you care enough to come on here and ask it is very likley you are doing enough xxxxxxx

Ok, normally people say "don't compare" - so on one hand you could say don't compare him to his twin sister. Girls usually develop language earlier. Girls usually are more sociable. And they often do seem light years ahead in many ways. Etc etc etc.

But that isn't really the point. At 3yo a child who is barely talking definitely needs action. Regardless of what his twin sister is doing, a 3yo barely talking has speech/language delay, and should be referred at the very least to a speech & language therapist.

When is your next appt? Don't be fobbed off with another 'wait and see'. Push for a referral to social development clinic/speech & language/developmental paed.

What is the rest of his behaviour like? Do you have concerns about anything other than speech? You say he walked late, but other than that (and assuming there was nothing more to it than just a late walker) is there anything else? Make sure you list all your concerns to the paed.

Good luck.

does he have any therapy at the moment such as speech and language?

I would ask the paed what specifically they are looking for? What is their expected timetable that they are working within?

I would think they should be able to outline "if we are not seeing X behaviour start developing by a certain time, we should begin this or that" so you know what to look for and what to expect.