Expressive Speech Language Delayed/articulation Disorder

My son had an expressive delay (diagnosed around 27 months) and then had some slight articulation issues (fronting). We had our son evaluated at Our Children's House at Baylor around 27 months and was diagnosed with the skills of an 18 month old. He was in therapy there and got 3 45 minute sessions a week for about a year. It was slow going at first. One thing that they suggested and really helped was teaching our son signing. It alleviated a lot of his frustration and helped him to better communicate. I think that was one of the biggest helpers. Not sure if your child is in therapy and, if so, how long you've been going. Feel free to message me. I did a ton of research on this and I understand how frustrating this can be.

my son has a speech delay with sticulation. He is now 5 and has been in speech for almost 2 years. It is really slow going at first but he is now at about a 4 year old speech comprehensive level for understanding. I would recommend to start asap, i wish we would have started as soon as i notuced a delay.

My son is 4 and a half and has a speech delay also. He is in speech therapy twice a week at the UNT Speech and Hearing Center. He has been in speech therapy since Dec. of last year. He has not fit into any particular diagnosis, possibly low end of the autism spectrum. He most likely has some kind of learning disability which the speech is a symptom. Once he starts learning to read and write, a diagnosis might be determined. He is doing well enough now that the school district who also tested him said he fit into the average range for his age so he wouldn't qualify for any therapy through them.

My son Kyle has been in speech therapy since he was about 20 months old. His speech was delayed, and then when he did talk he was very hard to understand (his muscles were low tone). Our local Rehab center did speech in our home until he turned 3. It was WONDERFUL and was at no cost to us. Once he turned 3, they could no longer serve him, but helped us qualify for early intervention through the public school, where I took him twice a week. He's now had the same therapist from age 3 to 8, and has made huge progress. I highly recommend early intervention. The therapist will give you suggestions. Our biggest thing was getting him to talk, and keeping his older sister from talking for him. Kyle loves his therapist, and will probably be upset once he no longer qualifies. He thinks it's fun to go to her room twice a week, and enjoys getting special attention from her, since she only has 2-3 students at a time.

Good luck!

Hi!!!! You can call Early Childhood in your area and they should be able to place your child in rehab to help with their language and any other things you might be worried about regarding their development. Typically Early Childhood catches these developmental delays under age 3. If they are older they might be eligible for like a Pre K type class that is similar to Early Childhood. Good luck!

When my daughter was 3 and started head start she had such a bad stutter your could hardly understand what she was saying. we put her into speech for 2 years and it worked wonderfully. she is now 7 years old and you could NEVER tell she even had a speech problem it worked wonders for her. my son also had a speech problem ( i think from learning to talk from his sister) and he put him in speech he was in speech for a year then we transfered school there they said he did not need it. we knew he did and insisted they put him back in but they refused. this year we moved back to the DISD from RISD and got him back in speech he is doing better but fell behind with missing a whole year. it is something you have to be consistent with untill it is no longer needed. at home we make sure he pronounces words correctly and go over them until he does. you can show you child flash cards and have the practice saying the word of the picture and if they do it incorrectly just work with them have them look at your mouth and see how you are pronouncing the sounds. my son has a hard time with the "CH" sound like chair sounds like share when he says it. even if you child is not in school you can contact the elementary school in your area and get them enrolled. I had to take mine to the school for there speech therapy until they started attending the school. best of luck to you and your little one.

M.

Hi C.,

Does your child have any other stuggles in addition to the language delay?

S.

C.,

I don't think my son had a particular disorder but he had speech therapy in the school system from Kindergarten into the 3rd grade. It helped him a lot. He didn't necessarily like it. In the beginning the speech therapist let me know what they were working on and how to correct him and that is what we did. After a bit all he needed was work with the therapist. Hope this helps.
C.

Hi C.,

I am so thrilled to read your post, and those of the Mamas who replied to you. How refreshing that the "wait and see" attitude seems to have finally been excluded from the suggestion box! Early intervention has been recommended strongly by research for some time. Studies have repeatedly proven the benefits.

A speech-language pathologist can assess your child's communication abilities. Then, if necessary, provide a therapeutic program to help your child remediate his speech. I was particularly encouraged by your interest to help your child at home. A strong therapeutic program must involve the parents, and include a home practice system. Parents need to be shown how to best help their children at home, and understand why those steps are taken. After all, parents are their young child's best teachers!

If you should have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Good luck!
S.

My son had that, he's 17 now. That was the first diagnosis they gave him at age 3. Later they changed it to Asperger's autism.

The speech therapy is absolutely essential. It will do wonders for your child. Of course, you need a good therapist.

ECI in Carrolton might be able to help you. It depends on the age of your child. And I think it's free.

If your child turns out to be on the autism spectrum Easter Seals has an excellent program for 3 to 8 year olds.