Speech and Language Delays

Hey Alison- you can always have her re-evaluated through EI, or you could see a developmental pediatrician. You can also switch speech therapists if you feel the one you have is not a good fit. Good luck!

hi, my son is in ei for speech -- he turned 2 in june. they are working with him on saying 2 and 3 word phrases -- so, it seems strange that they are happy with 4-6 words and not more concerned. i know though that there is a huge range of waht is appropriate at this age, so maybe that is what they are focusing on. trust your gut, if you feel something more is going on, ask the doctors, talk to the therapist supervisor, your ei coordinator and tell them you think your child needs more services or further evaluations. good luck!!

One thing I learned through my experience with EI is you have to fight fight fight for your child. Be the biggest pain in the butt you can to get them to give your child the help that she needs. Read up on what your child has a right to from the state etc. My daughter is now in the preschool run by the state in wanaque, she was in EI & attended their classes in ringwood. They have a moms group that takes place while your child is in the play group, these moms taught me sooooo much !

The schools speech therapist has helped my daughters speech so much.

Just remember mothers instinct is almost always right. If you feel there is something wrong you are probably right. Talk to your caseworker and be a pain insist they reevaluate your child. Perhaps you can request another speech therapist.

Good luck

I had a good experience with EI for speech...my son was so into all the toys they used that he had fun and looked forward to the sessions.

When you initiated EI did they run a complete test or jus the speech test? Ask them for a complete battery of tests and maybe try a new therapist...maybe you can find a better match for your daughter.

Good luck!

Hi Alison,

I think it is great that you have your daughter in EI and do not ignore the problem like so many other parents. First of all, congratulations on that step! You also realized that it is not only important to work on her speech but also on her shyness. I would start in encouraging her to speak as much as possible with you and especially around other people. Start with very small things like "say hi" and if she can't say the word then encourage her and help her to wave at the person. I would also try to socialize her as much as possible, like going to the playground. Then you would have to see if there is really a problem with the speech therapist or with people in general.
To coax her into talking more, you have to make sure that you don't do all the talking for her, but instead start asking her questions and make her respond, i.e. "do you want chocolate?" and then make her say "yes" or at least nod.
Also, there are great DVDs out there that have helped a lot of kids like baby bumblebee. Have her watch them multiple times together with you and after a number of days encourage her to say the words, not only while watching but also during your daily life when the word comes up.

Good Luck!
A.

My experience was frustrating as well. I think EI is ALWAYS understaffed etc. I went through this a couple of years ago.
Perhaps the EI speech therapist is not very good. After 3-4 months I would think your daughter should have progressed a bit more. The therpist if she is good--should know how to handle a shy child. I used EI for both of my daughters. For the first one the therapist was not very good-- but I did not realize this until my daughter was 3 and was evaluated by the school district for the pre-school disabled program. The therapist at the program was disappointed that certain techniques, sounds etc were not used. MAYBE the therapist is just not that good. Perhaps talk to the administrators at EI and see if you can try someone else. Also, tell them you want her reevaluated for everything else (physical, occupational etc) If you can afford a private therapist, maybe have her evaluated by someone else, just to get a second opinion. Also, many university graduate programs for speech give evaluations and speech therapy. There is a cost, but it is lower than a private therapist. With my second daughter i also got an EI speech therapist who was wonderful-- however, I was very assertive in telling them that I was disappointed with the therapist my 1st daughter had. They made sure to get me someone really good.
I too, thought there were other things going on with my daughter. My pediatrician suggested that I have her evaluated by a "developmental pediatrician". It was great advice. The devel. pediatrician was able to give advice, recommendations, diagnosis etc that a regular doctor might not. I recommend doing this.
Usually speech, physical and occupational therapy evaluations are covered by insurance. If you have not had a private evaluation done-- if you can I would do it anyway just to get a second opinion and advice on how to help your daughter.
My 2nd daughter was very difficult. When the therapist would come over she would hide or cry and not cooperate. However, the speech therapist this time was an older woman with a lot of experience and had raised 3 kids. She knew how to handle my daughter and by the end of the year we had made great progress and my daughter loved her.
Anyway I got private therapy (speech & pt) for both my kids. then when they were 3 I put them into the school district's pre school for "developmentally disabled" students. It was basically regular pre-school, but they received speech therapy as well. Both are in grade school now and are doing REALLY well. Be persistant, it is so hard, but you know your child best and it pays off!!!

Alison, I would fight. My oldest was talking at a year old and then went backwards and I noticed by the time he was two, his speech was bad. I requested speech therapy and the phone number I was given, I called and it was summer, but no one called me back. So, I called and called and called and finally they called me back and I know I was a pain in the butt. Someone had to be working in the school district where the superintendent was working at some point throughout the summer. Finally, I got him evaluated and he needed and was receiving speech. No, 4-6 words is not enough and because they are not concerned. You will need to fight and change therapists and schools if you have to. She should be saying a whole lot more and because she's having speech delay, she knows she does and that may be part of the shyness. My oldest was frustrated but didn't show until close to 3 years of age. Because I was and am a SAHM, I was able to watch how they worked with him and then I and my husband reinforced what he learned that day. If you're not a SAHM, don't fret, just have a notebook and send it in with your child and have them write down what they worked on with her that day and you can reinforce what she learned and also, if you have questions, write it in the book and make sure they answer it directly and promptly. If you're having trouble with them already because they aren't concerned, you may haveto make some changes, in the school, the therapist or something because that is not enough and don't let them trick you and make you think it is because it's not. You are your child's advocate and voice for her and fight. My mom had to because I am hearing impaired the school wanted me out of the school or held back just because I had an hearing impairment. My mom fought and kept me going forward and I excelled and was on honor rolls, went to college and got my bachelor's and ended up taking care of my mom because she had alzheimer's. I paid her back for caring for me and the roles were reversed and took care of her...so fight for her! :) You are a great mother because you are questioning and pursuing and wanting the best for your daughter! I'll pray for you, that's for sure.

i'd suggest you don't stay in the room when the speech therapy is taking place. see if that makes a difference. you may also request changing the speech therapist if you don't feel like progress is happening. my daughter showed improvement with speech therapy within a month. she started at 18 months and had words by 19 months. her total therapy was for 9 months. i had to leave the room after a few sessions because my daughter was concentrating on me and the therapist was 'teaching' me how to work with my daughter instead of working with her, and later talking to me. we never did end up changing therapist a me not being present helped a lot. good luck

I am in the same boat. My boys were 2 yesterday and they have NO full words. They know SOOOO.. much as we do so much reading and flash cards, etc. They babble to eachother all day, but no real words. It is very fustrating. I do the same and more than the therapist and I get more out of them than she does (sounds that animals make, etc..). I am sorry that I don't have any advice, but you are not alone.

Keep up the good work!!

oh my goodness. For a second there I thought I typed it. lol. I have an 18 months old and same issues. she has her own language and says maybe a few words. EI says the same thing that it is great b/c at this age it is normal for 3 to 50 words. Well at her 18m app. for the pediatrician she told that EI is boggling down on speech therapy. That they aren't really into doing it so much as in people wise. She said that came from the coordinator for EI. She was going to talk to him again about it due to she thinks my daughter needs speech therapy. So maybe talk to your pediatrician and tell them about your concern and see what they say.

I don't have the exact situation but when I took my daughter to her 15 months check-up the dr. asked how many words is she saying. It was only mom. Then he said ok - we will see at her 18 month check-up. It was the same so he advised me to have her evaluated. Went to Children's Specialized and then they advised me to EI. She had services until she was 3. In the meantime, she had a hearing test and she had a lose from old fluid in her ears. I took her to an ENT and had tubes put in and we saw the difference immediately and with EI. She is still having outside speech since she didn't qualify for pre-school. You have to be 33% delayed in one area or 25% in two. Keep asking for evaluations and get an advocate if they don't listen.

i am not trying to scare you but it could be autism. i suggest you ask her pedi to have her evaluated by a neurologist at your local hospital. my daughter is 11yrs. old now and has autism. but all the things you have mentioned and you feeling like there are other problems could be a sign. please do yourself a favor and especially your daughter a favor and don't wait to get her tested, the sooner you know it may be autism the faster you can get her all the help she needs. i' wish u luck, if you want to ask any more questions to me you can send me an email through mampedia okay