Squealing Toddler

I know my 2 girls squeal ALOT. and Very loudly. And very high pitched. It seesm like you are doing the right thing. Have you asked the speech therapist about it. It could just be normal.

I watch a boy the screams a lot and I talked to a friend of mine who is a child development therapist and she said that there are many muscles in the mouth and if a child is delayed they aren't able to use all these muscles so they scream, screech, squeal, etc because it doesn't take as much muscle use. Not to say all kids that scream have a delay but something that makes sense....doesn't make the screaming anymore tolerable though!! I would continue to do what you are doing, ask her to gesture for items, see if it is for attention, whisper when she screams, praise her when she communicates in other ways besides squealing, and hopefully it will go away soon. I feel your pain...in your ears!

I think you're approach is correct and it's probably something you could ask your child's speech therapist, but in general, your daughter would probably benefit from being around other children on a regular basis (Daycare, playdates, etc). Social activities are always beneficial to young children and very important in their social development.

I was worried about my daughter - before she turned two she didn't say many words. The difference with her though was that she seemed to understand everything we said and didn't screech to communicate. Then, when she turned two she started talking and said everthing. It was as if she was interested in just absorbing everything. I think I would have been much more concerned if she didn't seem to understand some of my words by 22 months. Has your daughter been checked for a hearing problem? I would definately bring these things up to her pediatritian. At that age, she should start understanding simple comands. My daughter is now three and speaks pretty well. My son, our second child is now 23 months old an is quite loud but he definately says more words then my daughter at the same age - think it's because he's the second child. He loves to hollar when we're in the grocery store. He's not angry, just being totally goofy. It's emarrassing and when I ask him to quiet down, he giggles and just gets louder. So, I just try to hurry and finish my shopping trip. Some little ones get a kick out of being loud. As far as your daughter getting upset when you laugh...are you laughing at cute things she does and she's getting embarrased? If so, maybe she's upset that she can't communicate and feels like she is being made fun of a little. Maybe not, just a thought.

When my son was about 20 mos he went through a screaming phase. He learned it from his cousin, who has always been a screamer. I tried "use your indoor voice" and other types of explanations, but it didn't stop him from screaming. So, I decided to use something he could see -- when he would scream, I would wince and cover my ears and say "Oh no! Too loud!" in a very exaggerated way. If he kept it up, I would back away from him and continue to act in an exaggerated way like it was really hurting my ears and like I was confused -- I kept a confused expression on my face. It's kind of hard to explain in type. I would basically just overact to try to show him how I felt. At first he thought it was a game, but after a few times he stopped the screaming. He does start screaming anytime he's been around his screamer cousin. but now that he's older I can just say "No screaming" and he'll stop.

Also, we do sign language. No one in my family is hearing impaired, we just chose to teach sign language to our son so he could communicate before he could talk. I would sometimes say "show me with your hands" if he seemed to be frustrated trying to communicate something. His screaming wasn't from frustrated communication, though, it was just a game or an attention getting device. Sign language was a great tool for my family. If you haven't looked into it, I would highly recommend that you do.

Hi. I don't actually have advice. I just wanted to comment that my son does the same. He is almost 21 months and only says a few words. He squeals and screeches all the time. I guess this is his way of communicating. I speak calmly and ask him to use his inside voice and his words, but he doesn't comprehend my words. It's very frustrating. You say she is speech delayed..was that your assessment or did the pediatrician tell you that? I am curious because I am debating on whether I should consult his doctor re: speech therapy or wait until he is two. Thanks!!

M.

Speaking from the experience of having two children who needed speech at an early age please talk to her doctor. My youngest received services through Early Intervention with the state that is for therapies(speech,physical,occupational,& developmental) for children under the age of 3. You only pay fees based on your family income for the month which is very reasonable. At the age of 3 you then can receive services through the state Early Childhood program in your area which is also through the state and we only had to pay standard school fees($35 fot the whole school year!!) Go to the state of illinois website for more details.

One thing that worked(most but not all the time) was to get down to their level and say " I can't understand you when you talk like that. IF you want my help please speak slowly and clearly" Obviously the younger they are the harder it is for them to understand what we mean so it may take a while for them to get it but keep going and be consistent whatever you do. If you want more info please let me know. Rainbow Center in North Aurora has great therapists.

Good Luck
Y.