Almost 3Yr Old Who Won't Talk!

Are there any other signs that he is delayed? Can he follow simple commands? Does he communicate in other ways?

My niece did not talk fully until 3 either. I think it is a good sign he can say anything at all, means he CAN speak.....maybe just doesn't want to yet. It will come soon I bet then it will be like he invented it. Just keep talking to him and asking him questions. He will probably start when he is ready!

Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) covers from birth to 3 in most states. From 3 to 5 local public schools are responsible for testing for any type of developmental delays (not just speech).

Call your local elementary school.

I completely understand how you feel. Although my son is a little younger (29 months), he has a vocabulary of less than 25 words. He was actually talking more when he was 1 than he is now. He grunts and points to what he wants and I can usually anticipate his needs. All the kids we know that are his age & younger are practually talking in complete sentences. It's very frustrating & worries me to death. We had his hearing checked (which was fine) and he has just qualified for BabyNet. If you don't know about BabyNet it is a program for infants & toddlers under age 3 with developmental delays through SC DHEC. They file your insurance for you and pick up the tab on anything that your insurance doesn't cover. According to my coordinator, 70% of her caseload are 2 yr old little boys with speech delays. So, you are not alone.
My son had his first session with his speech therapist this week. I can already tell it is going to help loads. She is giving me all kinds of tips & advice. For instance, if you've never heard your son say 'cup' for instance you can't realisticlly expect him to say it for you at your request.

Sounds like you are doing everything right. I read to my son all the time and have just started teaching him some basic sign language. I'm also in the process of taking photos of basic things (like his cup, apple juice, milk, and some snacks)and I'm going to laminate the cards so he can get me the one that he wants.

My best friend's daughter was that way, but they found a great speech therapist and her vocabulary is coming along now in leaps and bounds. But there could be a lot of things...hearing problems maybe. My daughter didn't talk much until I put her in daycare and her vocabulary tripled in no time because she saw and heard other kids talking and picked it up. She's now very talkative. My daughter also has a mild version of cleft palate which most of the time doesn't require surgery, but she does have difficulty saying words. You might want to get your pediatrician to check him for anything that could cause speech difficulties. He might just enjoy looking around and pondering on everything. One day he'll shock you and start jabbering away.

Have you checked with a speech therapist? I also have a son who does not talk like a 3 year old should. He has what you call apraxia. You may want to check with your Dr and get a referral. There are a lot of programs out there that can help.

My son who will be 3 in November. He just started saying more than two words at a time. My son has tubes in his ears, he's had these since about 1 year of age. I took him to a speech therapist at the end of July and the test they did concluded that he was delayed in his speech. They said that I could bring him in for speech therapy but since doing the eval, he just started to pick it up and talk more. My son does not go to daycare so he is not around other kids to learn from. I hope this is of some help to you. If you would like to email feel free to do so ____@____.com

My son will be 3 years old Monday.
I have had this same problem. He has just now started talking a lil. If no one is around but me then he may say a word or two that I didn't know he could say. I have been so worried about him and thought it was just my son. In the last week I have got him to try and say his abc's after I say each letter.. Its a start I guess.
M.

Locate your Infant Toddler program of GA. I noticed you were in GA. NC offeres services for children up to 3. Your doctor should be able to refer. I work for the agency in NC that is under the INfant toddler program of NC. Any person can refer to our program even parents. Every state offers these program, they are mandated by the Federal Gov under the IDEA Act. Here i looked up your program in your state that you can access yourself if you are interested. I had my son referred myself to have him evaluated.
http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/familyhealth/csncoordinato...

don't worry he will talk one day

Everything is going his way and he has nothing to say. My nephew was that way, but he was the youngest of 4. The other kids knew what he wanted before he knew, so he had nothing to say. When they stopped waiting on him, he never stopped talking.

I would see your pediatrician and have him give an opinion. If he's you first, he might just not feel the need. could be he's shy around other kids. so many possibilities. Don't worry until you know what you're worrying about. Which is why I'd see your doctor to see if there's any concern at all.

Hi
my name is T. and im dealing with this same thing and my son has done alot better since introducing him to a speech therpist. They are trained to figure out why he is not talking . My son noah has some sensory issues but they are very mild and i didnt notice any thing untill they brought it to my attention. but he is only 2 and he is now forming small sentences. so talk to your doctor and see if speech therpy is for you and your son . I am a mother of 2 boys . 4 and 2

Good Luck to you A.

My son was the same way, he turned 3 in April and now i can't get him to shut up! Talk to his Dr and they can refer you to help with the state.

Have you talked to his pedi about your concerns? That would be my first jumping off point. If needed your pedi could refer you for a speech therapy evaluation which could help you put your mind at ease. I think some kids just do things slower than other kids and I think girls usually talk more then boys.

My child had a speech evaluation before he turned two because he was already doing Physical therapy and they just did it anyway because he was there. He ended up not needing ST after all but the therapist gave me a copy of the chart they use to see if kids are where they are "supposed to be" it was very similar to this http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/language_...

It's good that you are trying to get him to say things before you give them to him. However, the majority of the time, do you talk to him like a child or an adult? I'm not positive where I read this but there was an article in one of my baby/parenting magazines that I recieved about the way parents should talk to their children. If you talk "baby talk" it may be harder for him to understand you when you say things normal. It will also teach him to say things more clearly, if and when he is ready to speak. Kepp sentences simple, and reallivent(sp?) to him of course. I'm sure you can go to parents.com and other sites and search their online archives if you wish. Or if you want, I can go through my magazines and look it up for you. I stay at home all day so just let me know.

all children developed at different pace don't worry he will be talking soon. my son is six yrs old it took him sometime to learn how to talk. i had his hearing check everything was fine. then i took him to a speech therpist he did good for the most part the best thing to do is keep him around other children his age. eventually he will be doing the same thing they are doing. that's what happen to my son. he's an only child and stay to himself but when i put him school and he started being around other kids i saw a total change.

I'm definitely not claiming to be an expert on these kinds of matters, but I thought I'd respond because I have worked with some kids in the past who had similar behavior. I used to teach Deaf Children, in a school for Deaf children. But we also had some students who were hearing, but for a variety of reasons, they didn't talk. So, they ended up in our school becuase they were learning to use sign language as a way to help them learn to talk. Some of the children had problems with the neuro pathways which help with speech, some had serious language delays that had no particular diagnosis. But, I do know that many of those children really benefitted from learning sign language and they later went on to mainstream into their regular public schools. So, my thought was, you may want to ask your doctor if there is a speech and language specialist that might be able to find out if your son is having problems similar to the students I worked with. Good luck! M.

Hey A.! I would ask your Ped. what they think. My son is 3 1/2 and for the last three visits, a different doctor has told me that my son needs speech theropy. I can understand him, so I was surprised. They recommended Speech Path in Perry and set up a referral, and he had an evaluation. It was decided that he just needs "articulation theropy", and insurance won't cover it. However, while I was there, many of the kids in the waiting room were the same age, and only said a few words. The staff there is very friendly, and inviting! Bryce, my son, loved it there, and asked to go back! At one point a theropist came out with no shoes on! The kids loved it! They talk to you like their friend, and not like someone that is ignorant. They will also do the eval, for just your copay, and told me that the only way it is covered is if they have a hard time expressing themselves, and they could get it covered. (This was for my particular insurance, some insurance will cover all of Speech.)I wish you luck, and if you would like their information, please let me know! Thanks.

A.,

Obviously I do not know you or your child...so this is completing from just a have you considered basis. Have you had your son checked for Autism? There are many conditions on the Autism spectrum, and several associate with difficulty speaking. My son was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome at the age of 12 he is now 14. If I had known the characteristics of Aspergers, I would have had my answers when he was 3 of why he was behaving differently than my other two children did. I recommend for you to do some research online and talk to your Pediatrician. If the Pediatrician does not seem to be concerned, then I would have him tested by other doctors. My son saw a neuro Psychologist who evaluated him and did different test. When she asked use questions about when he was young and told me of the characteristics of AS, they matched his behaviours without question. Whatever is keeping him from speaking is always best to find when they are young so there are more opportunities for therapy. My son could have benefited from various behaviour and therapy interventions if I had only known about his AS when he was younger. Good Luck!

Well I would suggest getting him around other kids his age. People who talk alot or children who do - someone like my 3yr old who never seems to hush, lol. Be a bit grateful for the silence (just kidding). It just seems once they start they never quit. That would be my sugestion - get him around to socialize with other children close to his age who talk alot and mybe he will pick it up (hey it works on potty training- why not on talking, lol.) good luck

well I have a 3 1/2 yr old that had speech problems when he was younger and still has some now. He is currently attending speech class once a week for an hour. He has been doing this for about a year now and it has helped him so much. I knew when he was younger that her was going to have problems when he was 2 1/2 I took him for a speech eval at university speech and hearing. He has been attending class regularly since then. He loves to go and not only his speech has improved, but he is more outgoing. He isnt scared to talk in front on people he doesnt know and things like that. If you need any more info just let me know. Hope this helps

Sorry this is so late, I don't check this stuff very often. First things first I would contact your pediatrician. They should help you discern if he is really behind or just seems like it. If they are not helpful, contact your school district and request that he be tested. Don't let them tell you no! If you are a big enough pain, they will test him just to get rid of you, or you can ask to be referred somewhere for testing. Starting at the age of 3, public schools are the ones who administer speech and other "special needs" services and it should be at little or no cost to you and your insurance.
Good Luck!

C.-Former Special Needs preschool teacher

PS If you can't get help and you live in the West A. area a know a great speech therapist working privately out of her home. Contact me at ____@____.com for more info.

Sorry this is so late but my husband and I are going through the same thing with our 2 year old. His dr. has referred him to an ENT to do a hearing test and also to Babynet throught SCDHEC. They have speech therapy and other programs for kids with needs. They evaluate the child and help the family as well as the child develop from that point on. I would definetly talk to your doctor and check through your local health department for the babynet programs, they are free and they will come to your home. Hope everything works out!

My nephew was the same way, and my mom says that my brother didn't want to talk either. Making him ask for what he wants before giving it to him is a good idea. He just doesn't want to talk yet. My pastor's little boy is now 4 and he just started carrying on a conversation with people. Before, he would just say one word or a phrase, and wouldn't talk in sentences. Don't stress out about your son not talking. He will surprise you when he does get ready to talk. And don't compare your child to other children. You are setting your son up for failure if you are always comparing him to other children and seeing that he doesn't do the things they are doing.

Have you tried having him tested for austism? That could be a problem. Some children in that age group say very few words, and they can be diagnosed at three years old being the earlist age. Try taking him to a specialist and get him tested. It's worth a try. At least you'll know. My son is austistic, and he's eleven. He talks though, there are many different forms of austism.

T. M

I had a child who was a preemie and was not even trying to talk at 2. He never babbled as a baby. The peditrician was not concerned.
I got him into the state early childhood program.
The speech therapist came to our home five days a week. She had lots of small toys that moved, squeaked, and wiggled. My son had to make any noise to touch them. Once he made a noise, she upped the antie and he had to say the name of the toys. We did the same with food. Anything he wanted he had to make an attempt to talk.

I do not know what your public school may offer. I have heard that some have early childhood programs that have different therapists according to the child's need.
Good luck.
P.