Speech Delayed - Sacramento,CA

Work on his vocabulary WITH him. Dont be afraid to speak to him constantly and dont be afraid to learn with him. If you hesitate to speak, so will he. If you avoid verbal situations, so will he. build your vocabulary and your confidence together. set your sights high and work every day. Read a lot of books aloud, use flash cards, watch childrens movies with a lot of speech, baby Einstein or whatever stimulates him, but do it with him for support. Reading aloud really helps improve your vocabulary and English. You need to show him the way by doing. Do what you want him to do. Speak up, speak properly, and speak often. Use words for ALL your communication. Nothing expected or accomplished without a verbal part. If you are fixing lunch, narrate it for him. Talk him through it. Tell him you are going to turn on the water so it will get warm, etc. Live by example. If you want him to talk a lot, talk a lot !

contact your local school first. From the time a child is 3 years old the school district can begin to provide things like speech therapy and specialized preschool for children who are speech delayed. do not wait. Call the school district and then send them a letter asking for your child to be evaluated. Here is a sample letter if you need one http://www.php.com/specialed/story2

take him to an audioligist make sure there aren't any hearing problems like fluid and put him in speech the sooner the better

call ECI, Early child Intervention. They will test him and they can tell you what to do next.

C., Most school districts have an early bird screening program. It catches delays in speech, motor skills etc. If your child has a delay in any of those types of things he/she should be elgible for services. Call your local school district and ask what and when you should go for the screening. they try to do it so that if there is a problem they can get it addressed before the child starts kindergarten

Contact your local school district and ask to have him evaluated. I found that the education professionals are more insightful than medical doctors in getting your child what he needs.
There is a group in the Sacramento area, FEAT (Families for Early Autism Treament) that is very good. Not to say that your son is autistic (you'd probably have noticed other symptoms), but they would be very helpful in giving you advice on how to deal with your school district and other early intervention programs that might be available.
Good Luck!

Greetings C.:
We have a son that did this and was nearly 5 when he spoke his first words. We made the effort to teach him ASL- Sign Language. He was able to sign the things he needed and get his message across, and it only helped and made his verbal language easier for him. When he couldn't get a word out verbally he could sign it. Our son unfortunetly was in a classroom where the teacher didn't know signa nd was threatened by it and we unwisely stoped for a period of time. I would never advise you to do that to your child. If you are at all interested in learning this I can put you incontact with a deaf teacher at Castro Valley High School who knows people in all areas that you can work with. It will enrich your families lives and is now accepted as a foriegn language at many Colleges. Contact me at ____@____.com My son also asked me to tell you that we made a special activity of letter of the day,color of theday and animl of the day. We did work cars--like police cars,firetrucks,loaders,tow trucks. This was great for word time.
One thing we did learn was that our child was dyslexic, and that his ADD made his brain think of words as whole and not parts. Example CAT not C_A_T he couldn't sound it out but he learned to say it.
I am more than willing to help in any way you need so feel free to contact me.
____@____.com

Updated

Greetings C.:
We have a son that did this and was nearly 5 when he spoke his first words. We made the effort to teach him ASL- Sign Language. He was able to sign the things he needed and get his message across, and it only helped and made his verbal language easier for him. When he couldn't get a word out verbally he could sign it. Our son unfortunetly was in a classroom where the teacher didn't know signa nd was threatened by it and we unwisely stoped for a period of time. I would never advise you to do that to your child. If you are at all interested in learning this I can put you incontact with a deaf teacher at Castro Valley High School who knows people in all areas that you can work with. It will enrich your families lives and is now accepted as a foriegn language at many Colleges. Contact me at ____@____.com My son also asked me to tell you that we made a special activity of letter of the day,color of theday and animl of the day. We did work cars--like police cars,firetrucks,loaders,tow trucks. This was great for word time.
One thing we did learn was that our child was dyslexic, and that his ADD made his brain think of words as whole and not parts. Example CAT not C_A_T he couldn't sound it out but he learned to say it.
I am more than willing to help in any way you need so feel free to contact me.
____@____.com

Hi,
Call your local public school. They have the obligation to screen your child and provide services to your child if he/she is verbally delayed. Call today. Then sooner he/she receives services the better.
Good luck!

Contact the Early Start Program through the San Andreas Regional Center and request they do an evaluation. It is free and if as a result of the evaluation, they find that your son requires services such as speech therapy, they will provide it. If you live in Santa Clara County, request an evaluation by calling 1- 800-404-5900. Good luck.

C.