My Son Is Two and Half Years Old and Doesn't Say Much.

Hi G.,

I do not want to alarm you, however early intervention is key. My son was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2 1/2, one of the signs was the speech issue. Let me know if you want any more info.

S.

Dear G.,
I have a daughter who has a speech delay and I got help through my school district with speech therapy for free. She had to go through 3 different test cycles and i had to answer a 300 question questionaire. She also had to wait to take speech until she was three but since all this stuff took so long (3 months total) i got her in two weeks after her third birthday. She was going 2X per week and i saw results in about a month. The therapist gave me summer "homework" that my daughter loves.
I was doing speech with her but the therapist did games with her that worked well.

Hope that helps. I know you asked for boys but i know what i went through and i thought any response would be helpful.

B.

SAHM with 2 beautiful girls and a husband of 13 years!

Hi G. ~ I have been exactly where you are. You are not alone. I have two boys. Seven and a half and four. Studying early childhood myself, I always knew that my younger son was delayed in his language and speech, but that his cognitive skills were very high. I would use baby signs to help communicate with him and stopped around six months because he would look at me as if to say, "You know what I want. Just give it to me." After almost of year of no sign language, he started using them with me! He also never babbled which is the first sign of speech. Because he didn't speak, he was a biter. He would not be able to express himself when he was frustrated, so he would bite. I was always told that because he had an older sibling, because he was a boy and because we understood him and did all his talking for him that he was just a late bloomer. It wasn't until he turned two and still had a very little vocabulary of only twenty words that it was brought to my attention that he could be speech delayed. Even though his pediatrician said that he was fine, I was not convinced. I had him evaluated and I was right. He had the comprehension of a three year old, but the speech of a child only a year and a half. They worked with him for two months. I just wanted him to be ready for school. Now, I can't get him to be quiet. What was I thinking? (smile) Your son will be fine. Be patient and please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

My cousin had the same issue with her son. She had him evaluated by speech therapists and had his hearing checked regularly. I suggested putting him in a daycare setting a few days a week where he would have to use words to communicate. Within a couple months he was right where he should be as far as speech development. As parents we know what are children want before they say it. I would try a reputable teaching daycare a few days (even half days) to see if that works. As long as you keep encouraging him, reading to him, and modeling communication he'll be fine. My cousin's son was close to 4 before he said more than 3 words and you would never know it now (he's 8).

My son is behind too! I think the best place to start is to make sure everything is okay as far as the big picture. After that, you can deal with the specificis. Therefore, I took him to a developmental pediatrician to assess his overall development. The best place in town is the Melmed center (located at 50th Street and Shea Blvd). They referred me to a private speech therapist. He has attended 3 sessions and is already showing a lot of progress. If you can afford to pay out of pocket or get your insurance company to pay, you'll be a lot better off than going through public services. While public services are great, they are very difficult to penetrate (as you are finding). Hang in there, as you can see there are a lot of us in the same boat. It is just so hard when so many kids around seem to be so far advanced in their langauge skills. Both my daughters were early...early with everything!

Oh, the therapist recommended a book called, "It takes two to talk" written by Jan Pepper and Elaine Weitzman.

Good Luck!

Usually after EI comes out and he has more than just speech delay like PDD or Autism, then best bet is to get second opinion from a child psych (faster than meeting with a developmental ped). If they diagnose him with Autism, he might get better service. DDD and AHCCCS is contacted and they come out to assess your son for EIP and a medical review with a qualified Nurse. After that, then EI contacts ARISE, Inc. which a Developmental Specialist may come out. So between that time, then you contact a Speech Therapist, OT, PT, MT, etc if he qualifies for that only based on the DDD list. Contact them, and then contact DDD to get it authorized.

My son has autism and we've been dealing with this since he was 2 but he didn't get services until he was 2.5.

By the time, your son gets services, he could start priority preschool at Chandler School District (that is if you live in Chandler). But you have to get the AHCCCS Insurance first so that it pays itself. Mind you that Speech Therapy is at least $100/per session and OT can be $140/per session (and only if they or your son is not sick or not available). Our previous insurance covered it but now my son is on AHCCCS it's 100% covered by DDD/ALTC.

If you have any questions, msg me.
LisaM

My son is about the same age as yours, 34 months. He talks quite a bit, but it did come on pretty suddenly. I don't know about speech, but I had a similar situation with him when it came to him walking. He didn't start walking until he was almost 20 months old! Everyone told me he needed to be evaluated and just as we started the process he got up and walked across the room! I don't think it'll hurt to keep up with the therapy, but don't stress yourself out about it. Kids all develop at different rates and it doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with them. Sometimes they just need a little help. :)

My son was in AZEIP for speech therapy too. I contacted them shortly after he was two because he wasn't talking much either, but he seemed to understand me. AZEIP Evaluated him but didn't do the hearing test (because my son wouldn't let them and I didn't think he had a problem!) Thankfully, I also took him to an ENT Specialist because I believed he had a short tongue (when he was born, the lactation consultant told me this too, but not what it meant) They did a hearing test (the one in the room and the ear probe) and found out he was hearing Way Below Normal! I was shocked. He ended up having tubes in his ears due to fluid (not infection) that was just sitting in his ear preventing him from hearing. He also had his frenulum (little piece of skin under the tongue) cut to loosen his tongue. He's three and a half now and talking, still language delayed but certainly not cognitively delayed. My advice is just to make sure his delay is not just because he's a boy (which I so believe is responsible for a lot of late bloomers) and not a physiological problem. And if he seems to understand and take direction (when he's not being stubborn, like my boy) then be patient. He'll get there! Good Luck!

I hesitate to suggest this, because I don't want to alarm you, but I would push and push the intervention specialists and docs to hopefully rule out autism. They say that tends to show up after 18 months, and one 'possible' sign is lack of speech. Others might be not making eye contact, an above-normal amount of rocking/spinning/or similar movement, etc. Like I said, I don't want to scare you--it certainly might not be anything to worry about, but I would pressure the docs to screen for it so you could research support and activities to work on early.

G.,
I know you want to hear from mothers of boys, but one of my daughters was diagnosed as being "developmentally delayed" at about 3. (She's mostly fine now, btw.)

I'd urge you to contact Childfind through the Albuquerque Public Schools system. This free service will evaluate your son and provide free therapy sessions -- if they're necessary. The therapists there -- physical, speech and occupational -- can help you develop at-home exercises and techniques to encourage speech.

my best wishes to you and your family

Hi,
My son had the same problems. The first issue was he had a lot of ear infections, and I had to put pressure on my Dr to do something. Finally he had tubes. After that I was able to get him (when he was 4yrs) into a program run by the Scottsdale school system, called the Panda Program. This wonderful program provided him with a speech thereapist as well as working on other issues he had with development. I have a friend who didn't really care about her sons speech problems until he started school and then the school put him in speech therapy, but now at seven my son does very well, and you can not understand her son at all. So my suggestion is keep on it.Also keep in mind that at certain ages they are not supposed to say certain syllables, it is natural. My son is still in speech therapy, so if there are real issues it is a long road.

I just wanted to tell you that you are not alone. My son is in speech thearpy two days a week through the school district. I had him tested at two and a half years old. My son some hearing loss due to ear infections before the ENT put tubes in. His last hearing test was normal. I saw that it was suggested for you to check his hearing with an ENT, I advise the same. I also recomend "Childfind" if you live in tucson. I can give you there number if you need it. just write me. Good luck

I have a 2 and half year old boy and his speech development is slow. I have not done anything but take him to the doctor and she states that at this point he doesn't need therapy. My six year old boy was speaking clearly at 18 months so I was a little concerned, but my younger son shows signs that he understands a lot just does not vocalize much. Good luck and let me know the outcome. Thanks V.

My son and daughter are 19 months apart. My son being the oldest. Before my daughter was born my son said a lot of words. I wouldn't say he was a speech genius, but he did say, "I love you," when he was only a year old. When my son was about two and a half, I started noticing that his peers were talking better than him. Most of them knew their alphabet and were talking in sentences. My son wasn't. By the time my son was three and three months I finally spoke to the Dr. about it. He recommended him for speech. It took a lot of convincing, but finally I talked my husband into getting him help. He didn't want to admit that there might be a problem. Five months after calling our school district, he finally got accepted into their speech program. He went to school three days a week for about two months. Just this alone helped my son. Of course it is summer now, so my son's speech is lagging once again, but he will start school in August. My son is just now learning his alphabet, can count to 15, and is finally learning his colors. My son also can not be asked to say something. He is fairly shy and gets very self-conscious when put on the spot. When I work with him I never focus on what I want him to say, I just say the words over and over and he finally repeats the words after me. He has a huge vocabulary, but we just have a hard time understanding everything.

I was always a preschool teacher, so all of this was really hard for me to accept as well. I thought maybe I had done something wrong, didn't pay enough attention to him, and also blamed myself for not getting help sooner. I really knew something was wrong when my daughter was 18 months and could speak over 100 words-CLEARLY! My only advice to you is to stick to the early intervention. I really do regret not getting him help when I first noticed the problem. If you need to talk to anyone, you can always call me. Just email me and I will give you my phone number. Best wishes!

Well when my son turned two I was very concerned he had a speech probelm adn the doctor asked if he could say 20 word and I was like yeah and she is all he is fine. I am like ok because he really didn't say sentences at all and all my friends kids did. So with my son he was slow to talk because by 2 1/2 he was saying sentences. It was kinda like once he hit 2 everyday his vocabulary advanced. I know it takes them a while to help you if he does indeed have a speech problem but stay on them because if he does that helps kids tremendously my son ended up being fine.

Hi G.,
Also, try contacting Easter Seals. They may also be able to help you in evaluating your son and helping in therapy. I believe the evaluation is free and if your son qualifies, he will get help for little or no cost.
Best of Luck to you and your precious boy!
Easter Seals Southwest Human Development
2850 North 24th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85008
Phone: ###-###-####
Web Site: www.swhd.org
For services offered and additional information
[About: 22 miles]

It sounds as though things are getting better already.

Ask for a referral to a pediatric neurologist just to be safe.