Delayed speech...or something else?????

[rubberduckie]

DD is 3.1yrs old, was late at doing everything - last to smile, sit up, crawl - etc etc never too late to worry but always "the last one" IFYKWIM. Speech just a non starter until 2yrs and then very limited. 2.6 yrs old she was reffered for speech therapy as only 10 single words. Still only says limited single words and most of it only understandable to those who spend alot of time with her. SALT doesn't seem much use but seem concerned about other characteristic she has - she can't blow candles out or bubbles, she rarely sticks her tongue out and still really dribbles quite alot (constantly in fact), also not very good at doing pretend play - something which keeps being commented on. No problems detected with her hearing. To me she seems to understand everything but just doesn't talk - am i missing something here? - just what is the SALT thinking about - we pushed her on this and her less than helpful response was we should push to have her seen by an ear, nose and throat specialist. Any clues/advice thoughts etc would be appreciated??? Please refrain from replies along the lines of "well xxx didn't talk until they were 27 and now you can't shut her up" as that is really starting to drive me mad sorry!

Can she actually poke her tongue out?

She may have some issues with the muscles in her mouth, but you probably realise that already.
How are her eating habits, i.e. does she chew her food properly? Does she have a preference for soft or crunchy food?
Does she immitate adults or other children?
Did you have to teach her to drink out of a cup, or did she learn by immitation?
Sorry I am not an expert or anything (I am sure you can tell), but these were the things we were asked about with my ds to start with, apart from the other stuff like hearing,etc.
We did have his hearing checked first, before any other test, if that helps.

Could she be thinking of verbal dyspraxia? That can cause problems not just with co-ordinating speech sounds but also with dribbling, chewing, swallowing, working out how to stick your tongue out, sucking and blowing. Was she at all delayed in eating solid food, or did she gag a lot on her milk as a baby? Can she drink from a straw?

Low muscle tone (hypotonia) in the mouth can also delay smiling, cause dribbling, cause chewing and swallowing problems and delay speech.

Pure physical problems could also be a factor, from something as simple as a tongue tie when it comes to being able to stick your tongue out.

Loads of possible factors, really, that could be contributing to your daughter's delays, hence presumably them wanting to rule out physical reasons before thinking of ones like dyspraxia (which can also affect imaginative play and social skills, although not as severely as ASD).

My son found blowing bubbles and blowing out candles very difficult until recently (he's nearly 4) - he has slightly low muscle tone in his mouth and maintaining the O shape whilst blowing was hard work for him. He doesn't have verbal dyspraxia, though - his speech is exceptionally clear, albeit his low tone delayed his speaking a bit (and his gross motor skills).

Sounds like you need to look at/consider verbal dyspraxia. A great rescource is the apraxia kids website (apraxia = american for verbal dyspraxia) and nancy kaufman's website. If it is verbal dyspraxia the NHS is utterly utterly useless at dealing with it (because children with verbal dyspraxia need a lot of hands on therapy and the NHS doesn't provide hands on SALT ) and you might need to start gearing up to do a lot yourself or sort out your own arrangements.

Good luck- do look at apraxia kids- they have some sound files there of children with verbal dyspraxia talking so you can compare and loads of links and advice and ideas.

agree with the others - sounds like it could be verbal dyspraxia. This book is very useful about speech problems and when to worry/what to do next-

The Parents Guide to Speech and Language Problems by Debbie Feit

(the lady who wrote it had 2 kids with verbal dyspraxia).

Have you considered signing as an interim measure - something special on cbeebies and/or the sing and sign dvds are a very good starting point.

I know what you mean about these 'oh so and so did not talk until bla bla Einstein, bla bla , I once knew a little boy, bla bla!. No use at all when you are worried about your own child.

If the understanding of language is there, then that's huge plus sign. Can she follow simple instructions? Does she wave hello and bye bye even if her language is delayed?

Moira

has SALT actually confirmed that her understanding of language is fine btw, sometimes kids with problems with receptive language can be amazingly good at camoflauging this!

Hi there,

My DS is 3yrs and also has delayed speech, he communicates using makaton which he has taught himself from 'Something special' with Justin Fletcher. He is under the care of salt and she has said he has no problems at all with understanding, he just has immature speech!!! (Not really sure what this is meant to mean tbh, but apparently it's a good thing!!) He starts formal therapy sessions at the end of the months, so will see what happens then! Is your DD delayed in anything else now, or has she caught up? DS didn't walk till 2yrs 2mths and still cant jump, run, hop, climb stairs etc He apparently has hypotonia (low muscle tone) caused by contractin MRSA at birth, which affects all his muscles including his mouth, he also has mild hypermobility.
Could this be a problem with your DD?? Is she still under the care of the paediatrician, as we have found ours to be really helpful and very supportive!! ALso is she dry during the day as apparently this is all linked with their understanding etc!!!??

Oh lots to mulll over! Thank you - she can drink through a straw and I think she can stick her tongue out - she just chooses not to (how nice! - sure it won't last!)She seems to have caught up on most thangs - can jump, climb stairs etc - to be honest theres nothing really that causes me concern about her physically other than the issues the SALT raises. She does In my humble opinion understand things very well - will follow commands (well if she wants to!) and follows them well when she does and actualy very keen to please you by doing as she's told (again not sure how lucky we will be there!)she was late to smile but now is always smiling, can wave hello and bye (again was late doing this - but now fine. She had bad reflux as a baby and still now will tend to prefer softer consistency foods rather than the chewier stuff. Thanks for all the thoughts - it does help to know what sort of things we might be dealing with

Hi, Do any of you have any recommendations for speech therapists in London that are good with problems due to hypotonia - my little boy is 19 months and I think we need to now go see a speech therapist. The physio sessions have been amazing, and he is improving rapidly, finally pulling himself up this week though pretty far from walking still.

Thanks very much for any recommendations!