3 And Not Talking Also How to Potty Train

One thing at a time. Address his lack of speech first. . Do you not have a pediatrician? They should have been worried about his speech issues long ago. If you don't have a pediatrician, you really do NEED one. If your pediatrician is not worried about this, you need a new one immediately. Yes, you need to contact your school system. He needs professional help. The professional will then teach you ways to help him at home.

Once you have addressed his speech issues and he is doing better with that, you can work on potty training. He can't tell you when he has to go, because he can't speak. The speech comes first. Wait on potty training. You will overwhelm him with all this at once.

You need an evaluation ASAP and get him into speech therapy. Please call in the morning. A team approach would be great, but even if it's a solo practioner, that's fine too.

Please don't delay. Talk to your ped about who to go to. Boys usually potty train around 3 and this is normal. Don't push him about the pottying.

2-3 words at 3 years old is NOT normal and you need help now.

Good luck!
Dawn

You definitely should get in touch with the school system. My son was speech delayed and I'll be honest , I didn't see a big change in his speech with therapy alone. Preschool ,while receiving therapy, made a HUGE difference.

As for potty training, most kids are not potty trained at 3. I wouldn't even worry about that, right now.

i would focus on speech therapy (and yes, get him evaluated asap) and not stress over the potty training right now. my son developed normal or early on everything, and we didn't pt until age 3. no sweat on that one. talk to someone and get him some help on the speech mama. good luck.

Um, you need to call the school system, like IMMEDIATELY.

Start with speech. Call your local school district. You could go through your pediatrician, but many insurance companies will no longer pay for speech one the child reaches the age of 3.

My youngest has a speech delay. I took him to speech bi-weekly for about a year. It definitely helped. He is 3 1/2 now and in PreK and going to speech through school, and I agree with CAE990210 that going to speech and to school (interacting with peers and teachers) has made a HUGE difference. Some evenings my husband and I look at each other in awe at the words he will use or how clear he speaks.

Last I said, "Oh, oh, skettios!" To which he replied, "Not skettios, sphaghetti-ohs!" Shock and awe!!! I was so proud of him, I almost cried!

I would also agree that there's no reason to worry about the potty training. Many boys will be trained around the age of 3, and that's great. My oldest trained when he was just a couple of months shy of his 4th birthday. It was due, in part, to when we had a nice, long break from preschool and were able to take advantage of down time and just stay home and figure this thing out.

I swear my youngest was potty trained this summer (around 3 1/2). But then he went back to daycare and started PreK, so we're back in pull-ups. I'm hoping to address this again over Christmas break. He had a tough time adjusting to the new schedule, but he's doing great now, so I'm optimistic.

My point in telling you the last two stories about potty training is just that speech and potty training are big, emotional adjustments for kids. It really might be easiest on him (and have a better chance of success) if you tackle them one at a time. Start with speech and go from there.

Good luck!

You should look into speech therapy for sure. But for now, you have to make him tell you what he wants. If he points or grunts at a glass, ask him to say, water. I want water, please. Even if he can't say all, he should be made to try. he needs to get used to saying what he wants and not have you read him mind or hand signals. make a big deal out of his efforts. The praise will encourage him to keep it up.