Global Developmental Delay

[FinnsMammy]

Any other mums out there with a kid with GDD. My little guy is three next month and still not talking not a single word. Really need some positive stories…… Thanks x

@FinnsMammy a paediatrician hasn’t officially said our son has GDD, but the school autism specialist believes this is what he has. Our son is a month shy of 4. There were few words at 3, but lots more words since then, and now he is starting to string short sentences together. Lots of stories, flash cards, book reading (and playing with children at pre school and cousins at a similar age). It’s hard not to compare him to other kids his age, we just try and focus on his individual progress, and think of how we can best support.

@OPop thank you for your response. Can I ask if your little guy babbled or pointed with his index finger before he started to say words. My little guy will point at pictures in books and if he sees birds for example he will chase them and watch where they fly to and look in that direction example on a roof top get all excited but hasn’t pointed yet. He has only recently started doing these things so perhaps pointing may follow but may times I’ve read that pointing comes before words so I’m curious. Thank you.

@OPop its also so comforting to hear your little guy is doing so well. My little lad rarely babbles either.

@FinnsMammy i remember our son babbling a bit, don’t really remember him doing much pointing much before words.

Hi all, My son has GDD and i'm also searching for some more info/good news stories. My boy was diagnosed with a 4-5 month delay when he was 14 months old but the gap has definitely widened as he's aged. He's currently a few weeks off his 2nd birthday and I'd estimate his delay is around 8-10 months now.

Hi @FinnsMammy just wondering if you have any updates on your son's speech or if you ever got a diagnosis of anything? My daughter is 2.8 and not yet talking (she has recently started pointing and she does babble a lot!) Your story reminds me a lot of my daughters although I don't think she has GDD....
I hope things are working out for you :)

@CK1988 hi I hope you are well. Finn still doesn’t point but he has got so much more vocal and is babbling now and is well
able to communicate his needs. GDD is still his diagnosis as he is delayed in more than one area. He is delayed with communication, social and he has some fine motor delays. At this point of he was ti be diagnosed with autism I would say he would be high functioning. His speech therapist seems to think he will talk it’s more a matter of when but we are still waiting eagerly !! Great she is pointing. Finn points in books but prefers to take us to or bring us what he wants. Best of luck it’s such a worry. How is your daughter socially? I always thought Finn was social but he’s only really now starting to internet with other kids and his baby sister. X

@FinnsMammy Thanks for the update, it sounds like he is on track and getting there in in his own time. I do think there is way to much emphasis put on pointing by the way, especially with older kids who figure out their own ways of getting what they want! It's lovely to hear he is interacting with his baby sister - how cute!
Our SLT is also optimistic my daughter will talk but I don't think it will be too soon....I've been trying a lot of other things to help - reiki, omega 3/DHA, replacing cows milk with oat milk and I have an appointment with a cranial osteopath in January. While I know SLT and time are the main things, I do feel these other small things have helped with her development.
My daughter has no issue with other people but she isn't what I would call 'social' especially when you compare to kids the same age. She is in creche and happily parallel plays but she is also happy just doing her own thing and very independent, I'm trying not to be too concerned and let time take its course but the worry is very real. The lack of speech is very hard, likewise if she has ASD I would say it's high functioning, but she won't get seen by any experts for a long time due to waitlists.....X

my boy has GDD he's non verbal and he's 16 years old.

@mumof31968 Sorry to hear this. Does he communicate in other ways ? Through an AAC device for example? Also why was he diagnosed with GDD? We had a developmental paediatric appointment last week the paediatrician doesn’t believe it’s GDD we got told it was in Ireland we are in UAE now we need to get bloods run and an MRI first . It’s so hard and my guy is only 3 I can’t imagine being 16 years into this. I hope you are doing ok. X

we use pec cards and a bit of signing.

@FinnsMammy I replied earlier on in the thread. My daughter is 3 in April and Pre verbal (I hate the term non verbal!) She has no diagnosis but I don't think it's autism and its definitely not GDD....
Have you heard of something called the Nemechek protocol? I started NP 6 weeks ago and my daughter has been babbling away loads, saying mamamamama and nananana for no! Still not saying words but I do feel its getting closer. Her attention span has also increased and she is imitating better, basically all the non verbal skills that need to come before actual words. Anyway I would recommend NP, buy the book, check out the fb pages and youtube
Best of luck!

@ck1988 thanks for responding I’ll try anything . Could you give me some more information on this ? Could you pm me. Thanks x

i'm used to it now but thanks hope your ok too x

My little boy is 5 with ASD and GDD. He started talking at 12m and had 8-10 words that he would have used daily until he regressed overnight at 16m. It was devasting, he became a different child over night. As I said he is 5 now and he is an absolute sweetheart. No words at all, very severely disabled with a severe learning delay and we are coming to terms with the fact that he most likely will not talk and he will always be very much dependant on us. It's been a process (to say the least) but I think realising that worrying about what he can and can't do has definitely helped me feel more peace and find more joy in our journey. It's definitely a journey and a huge emotional rollercoaster!

Sorry....realising that worrying doesn't change his outcome has brought more peace...

@Organisebrood sorry to hear this. It must have been so hard to hear those words and then have them
disappear! He’s still only 5 so he might talk some day. Thinking of you xx

Hi,
Has anyone with a 3 year old with non verbal global development delay tried giving them omega 3 fish oil supplements and seen any changes.
Thanks 😊