Will He Ever Fully Talk?

D.,

All these mothers that have spoken before me are correct. Contact ECI. Get that program started ASAP. It will help tremendously. It is so hard to catch kids up in school now so don't let'em start behind to begin with. You have the power to do something about it now. Go for it.

S.

My youngest had problems talking as well. When he turned 3, I was able to use the speech therapist at my local elementary school. The state provides this service. You'll need to go to the office of the school district you're in and request testing or and ARD to get him in. It did help a lot and later I found he had ADHD and treatment has helped even more. The day he started meds is the day he said 3 sounds he had not been able to say before, G, TH, and S. Hope this helps,
A.

All kids are different but sometimes early signs of speech can lead to different types of learning disabilities. Now, don't worry because many children turn out to be fine. If you have the resources, it wouldn't hurt to take him to a good speech therapist and have him tested.

Start him in a ECI program, they will come to your house for all visits, they will come out and evaluate him, and if he qualifies he will get started on it, it goes by your income, we make almost 5000 a month and dont have to pay anything. Both of my boy are/were in it for speech and my baby was in it also for his physical development. But get him started asap bc they stop at on their 3rd bday. Also you dont need a referal from your dr for the speech!! So you can do it all on your own, and if after he turns 3 if he still needs help then they will help you get him started with your local school system, so he can still get the help before he goes to school!! Good Luck, if you need any more info just email me, and ill be glad to help you!!

The key to developmental delays is getting help early! Kids are resilient but there are so many ways for us to give them the little boost they need, in my not so humble opinion, it doesn't make sense to wait.

At 2 years old my son had only vowel sounds... "AY", "UH-OH" and "MMMMMMMM" I had him evaluated privately and found that he probably had a motor planning problem... meaning he knew what he wanted to say but getting it out was difficult. I got him into private speech sessions immediately and also contacted ECI. The Texas ECI program is great!!! We received services 1x/wk from a Speech Pathologist and 1x/wk from a Teacher and both taught me some great techniques for working with him 24/7. At 3 years old he aged out of the ECI program and they helped me transition him into the school system's Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities. In the evaluation process for this program he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Development Delay - Not Otherwise Specified). PDD-NOS is on the Autism Spectrum and explains a lot of other issues we had with his behavior.

All this is to say that getting help was the best thing I have ever done for my son! He just turned 4 years old and is talking up a storm and has a vocabulary that cracks us up all the time.

Good Luck with your son... but do contact ECI as soon as possible! You'll be glad that you did!
S.

I just went through this with my 3 YO nephew. I was so worried he was behind when he was like a couple months from turning three. He would do the single word phrases but would not speak more than a couple words a sentence. I took him to be tested for any abnormalties in his cognitive skills. They told me he actually tested higher than the average child his age. They told me multi-word phrases and sentences are to be more likely to appear after he turned three. Sure enough, you can't get him to be quiet now. :). The best thing for you to do it to help him your self, instead of giving in when he says let's say: "Crackers!" Ask him back, what is that you want? Stimulate him to use more words and not to get away using just the one word and pointing to get what he/she wants. That is what the doctors told me to do. Hope that helps!

Of course he will fully talk. He is an only child and he is developementally delayed due to prematurity. Relax! Things will come in their own time. If your intuition is telling you there is a problem, contact the ECI (Early Childhood Prevention Program through your local school district and they will send someone to your home to evaluate your son. If he meets the criteria for speech delay, etc. They will put him in a Head Start program and get him right back on track.

I had a set of twins born at 24 weeks and they responded beautifully in this program.

If he does not meet the criteria, then you know that you just have a little guy with not a lot to say right now.

Good luck
C.

D. i have an almost two yr old who doesnt talk much, but he has two older brothers too. i would get books and videos that say words and get him around more kids like mothers day out, if he has a pacifier that is one reason. be patient, keep talking to him and encourage him to say words to you when you hand him things like "spoon", "thank you", just keep talking to him like a big boy,not baby talk and he will pick up what he hears. now, i would check his hearing, just to make sure. hope this helps. L.

just to be on the safe side, you should contact your local early childhood intervention and have them come out and evaluate him just to make sure there isnt an underlying issue. good luck

D., does he have a reason to talk? What I mean is do you automatically just do things for him when he cries or fusses? I know my last son (of four) wouldn't talk forever. Then suddenly tadahhh..he wouldn't shut up. After reflecting on the issue, he didn't have to talk. He could just look at the refrigerator or the tv and someone would jump up and ask him what he wanted... or just assume he was thirsty or hungry and get it for him.

If you are just doing because your a loving mother, let him cry for a minute or fuss and see what happens. Be patient though, if he can say spongebob and fish..he can say other things also. You might check his hearing to make sure he understands also. Snap your fingers behind his ears when he isn't paying attention and see if he turns in the direction of the noise.

There are numerous reasons for not talking, but don't fret too bad, it sounds like he's pretty active.

Hi, my name is K. and my son was the same way, but he wasn't preemie. So don't worry about that part. It is totally natural for boys not to talk full sentences and/or clearly. He had a slow start, but he started speaking clear by the time he was 5 and now he is 7 and I can not get him to be quiet. Now, take this into concideration. I have a daughter who is 2 1/2 years younger than him. He would not talk until she was born, he grunted and said small words like moma, daddy, and papa. She on the other hand, has been talking since she was 9 months and has not shut up since. So sweetie you have nothing to worry about.

Oh a little about me I am a 26 year old Teachers Aid, mother of two.

Hi D.. I had a similar issue with my now 4yr old. They say that they should be putting several words together by the age of 2 and making simple small sentences. Not a complete sentence but enough words for you to understand them. My son at 2 was trying to speak but we didn't understand him half of the time. The daycare providers kept telling me that it was normal and he would start talking clearly soon just to be patient. But he turned 3 and we still couldn't understand him. By December of that yr he was accepted in a headstart program and once he was there they said that there was a problem and set it up for him to be evaluated and he has been having speech therapy for a little over almost a yr now and has improved so much and can be understood and "doesn't" stop talking! Just to be on the safe side like another post said I would seek a specialist and have him evaluated. Every child is different and he may start on his own but if there is a problem and you can begin working on it now then it will only benefit him. I'm glad I expressed my concerns to the headstart program because the therapist told me that they can be helped since we caught it on time. If I had wait it out like most people do it would have been harder on him to learn. If caught between age 3 and 4 their mind is ready to learn the correct sounds. He will be 5 in April but has learned so much and knows how to correct himself and use his sounds so that we understand him better. I absolutely love his speech therapist!! She works wonders with him. I don't know where you are but he is working through a company called MedCare and it is all going through insurance so if you are not sure how to get started call your insurance company and they can find someone locally and that accepts your insurance plan so that it doesn't blow a hole in your pocket ;). Good luck and I hope he starts talking soon!