Cube mk2 and WIR

[Paola]

DS who was 3 on the 31st August is s little behind in the speech department. I can only compare him to DD1 and DD2 who as soon as they started, never stopped He has been at nursery now 4 mornings a week for the past 7 weeks and I have noticed an improvement. Now the question is, when do I panic that he might need speech therapy? What age do they start speech therapy? I have booked an appointment with my doctor on Monday to see what he thinks.

[The Dogmother]

Awww, I'm no expert, but I wouldn't worry yet Paola - boys are usually behind girls in the speech department, but excel in more physical things. Ask your health visitor if you're worried, but try speaking to his teahcer to see if they have any concerns - they will be more able to compare him with other boys of the same age.

 

He'll be chattering away soon and you will wonder why you worried.

[Karen & co.]

I wouldn't worry even if he does need speech therapy My ES was delayed in his speech as he had hearing problems and this improved after having grommets fitted, sometimes they have few words and are easily understood, othertimes they can't pronounce the words or hear how they should sound.

 

YS had to have speech therapy as he had so many problems pronouncing words and saying certain letters. Now a very (accurately) vocal child

 

If strangers can understand him them it will probably come with time, and your Health Visitor should be able to reassure you

 

Karen x

[clootie]

I'm with Claret, there's time yet. No need to worry. He's just taking everything in, watching and listening and once he's got something important to contribute, out it will come !! He probably can't get a word in with those sisters of his !!

[jlo]

I'm with Claret, there's time yet. No need to worry. He's just taking everything in, watching and listening and once he's got something important to contribute, out it will come !! He probably can't get a word in with those sisters of his !!

 

 

That point did occur to me too!

[Egluntyne]

My middle child didn't utter a word till he was three and when he started....he spoke in sentences. I agree...it is a boy thing....particularly a left handed boy thing.

[Paola]

I was not worried until the nursery "commented" It is hard not to worry

Thank you guys

[The Dogmother]

You wouldn't be a good mum if you didn't worry just a little bit Paola. Try doing a simple hearing test at home to see if he can hear various sounds made behind his back.

 

Give it a bit of time and see how it goes.

 

My mother was worried about my nephew's speech when he was little; he started to talk really late and had his own language which consisted of truncated or mispronounced words. He tested fine; it turned out to be a combination of things (not suggesting that this is the case with your lad)... he was using his own 'language' because his parents understood what he wanted/meant and didn't bother to correct him or make him say the proper word. He was just plain lazy - he's still like that and only speaks when he can be bothered.

[Paola]

he was using his own 'language' because his parents understood what he wanted/meant and didn't bother to correct him or make him say the proper word.

 

We do that and sometimes use "his" words OH is trying not to

[The Dogmother]

It's easy, and comfortable, to fall into baby words and I love it too - Rosie still uses a couple of words from when she was little.

 

I bet that after another couple of months at nursery, he'll be chattering away. If your're still concerned, why not work on a plan with the nursery staff and ask them to get him to join in with the group chatter and check that he makes himself understood.

 

Bless him, he's still tiny and probably a tad overwhelmed with all the newness of nursery.

[clootie]

Do you use flash cards with him? Just a special time for the two of you. My son loved cards with pictures and letters. There are so many things you can do with them as the kids grow. Memory games etc. You're a great mum. You worry because that's your job !! Hugs to you !!

[Cinnamon]

Cleo was behind with her speech. She never did the 'babbling' thing, but once she started talking,she didn't stop.

She can talk the hind legs off a donkey now, & is known as a real chatterbox

 

We asked a helth visitor & she told us a great story.

Einstein (I think) didn't speak until he was 5, & then told his mother that supper was cold in a very eloquent manner.

His mother asked him why he had never spoken before & he repilied 'Everything has been in order up until now'

 

I love that

 

Try not to worry.

[Paola]

Do you use flash cards with him? Just a special time for the two of you. My son loved cards with pictures and letters. There are so many things you can do with them as the kids grow. Memory games etc. You're a great mum. You worry because that's your job !! Hugs to you !!

 

I never thought of flash cards Am sure it would be something that he would enjoy. I think ELC do them.

 

I feel loads better having spoken to you guys I was feeling very low about it all

[ubereglu]

TBH you shouldn't start to worry yet, both my sister and Mum's dad never started to talk until they were 4 years old. However Mum knew that Sarah wasn't deaf, like they were suspecting, because she understood what was going on around her by communicating with her hands and things to Vikki-my older sister!

[poachedegg]

DS2 (now 14) had speech therapy - he was a small baby and all his physical development was delayed (still is a little).

 

I was concerned as he was talking but not making sense (mummy was heehee) so spoke to health visitor and they got an appointment with a Speech Therapist who assessed him. He went onto have a few courses of therapy on his own (he was about 3 or 4 at the time) and then again when he started school but this was in a group.

 

He has grown up into a chatty and intelligent boy, and don't regret getting him checked out.

 

Mothers intuition is a great thing and sometimes getting your concerns checked out can alleviate any worries by either dismissing them or receiving the correct treatment.

 

If it were me I would let him settle in nursery for a couple of months and if you still have concerns then ask for an assessment.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide

[Guest]

I'd like to disagree with everyone else!

 

Get him seen now and keep making a fuss until he is seen. You need him in the system and you need to keep pushing to get him there.

 

Speech therapists are SOOO thin on the ground it's very hard to get seen even when you keep pushing - goodness knows how hard it is when you don't push.

 

My James has speech problems, he never babbled, didn't say a word until he was 3 and continues (at 6) to have MULTIPLE issues with his speech and last year developed a stammer on top of everything else. It's been a constant battle to get him help and keep him in the system, they assess him in school and the the TA's strategies but school age kids don't get therapy which is MADNESS as one session with the speech therapist saw him nail the f sound. Since then he has had a short block of therapy but we've agreed to put the sounds on the back burner and consentrate on the stammering issue as it concerns him and everyone else a lot more. He just started a block of fortnightly sessions last week for the stammering and continues to get help in school for everything else.

 

Any problems like this are best dealt with whilst they are young. James is taken out of his class to have individual sessions and group sessions every afternoon and at his age none of the other kids see him as being different.

[bronze]

Ds2 had just been officially referred for speech therapy after seeing someone and being assessed. We've been watching the problem for a while but they say they don't worry until the year before they start school and even then there is no rush.

Forgot to say hes 4 in december.

[Guest]

they say they don't worry until the year before they start school and even then there is no rush.

 

They say that here too, then they have started school and they say "the school will deal with it".

 

I think it keeps their numbers down!

[BERTIE MCSQUIRTY]

i too would worry about the speech aspect. and in particular if the nursery has commented.

 

 

speech can impair social development, affect behaviour, influence eating etc etc, it can be caused by a number of problems including hearing, teeth development, tongue size just to name a few. speech delay can have impact on education too.

 

at 3 a child should be fairly competent in speech - should be easily understood, have a vocabulary of about 200 words, join these words in sentences and have the abilty to question.

 

ring your health visitor and ask her to refer you.....speech therapists are hard to get access too, and i know i would rather be in the system at 3 (and possibly never need the appointment) than not.

[TheGirlsMum]

Speech therapy is a good idea but...... insist on a hearing test. My eldest had a speech problem and once she had grommets fitted it disappeared.

Good luck, you will need to push and push and push some more to be heard.

[Hen Watch]

I would also say push for a hearing test too just to rule it out (as well as speach therapy).

 

I have 3 children. My first 2 girls, both spoke very,very early and were chanting nursery rhymes from one year old. My son is number 3. He didn't need to speak as his older sisters did everything for him whilst playing games, the house was noisy with 3 kids and I didn't notice anything wrong at all.

 

But then aged 2 he had around 20 words (whereas the girls had hundreds). A hearing test established he had glue ear. And do you know I didn't even realise he couldn't hear Even though my eldest daughter had had glue ear too. I think being my third child he just quietly fitted in with family life and I hadn't noticed.

 

Anyway, gromit operation (on his second birthday) and from then on the speech took off.

 

He's 8 now and has no probs whatsoever.

[BERTIE MCSQUIRTY]

if i refer to speech therapy at my work - they wont even contemplate an appointment until the hearing is checked (which is quite quick for an appointment).

[BeckyBoo]

at 3 a child should be fairly competent in speech - should be easily understood, have a vocabulary of about 200 words, join these words in sentences and have the abilty to question.

 

You see I disagree with that although from the rest of what you say it sounds like you're in the know as it were. I've had no problems with my three, but my son goes through phases of being easily understood, then he seems to concentrate more on "new words" and gets so carried away adding them to his vocab he forgets to pronounce them clearly. I do think push for an appointment as you might have a wait anyway, if you decide not to bother you can always cancel it and if he does need a bit of a help it would be nice to get him started before school. That said the neighbours twins started school at just four and could barely be understood (one was the loudest, screechiest awfullest (?) child with an ultra sonic voice at 100 decibels!) but by the time they hit the Christmas break they were SO improved. Good luck anyway, as I said on another thread, standards are made up of people who do things at different rates, some early, some late and some in the middle.

Don't feel low, big hugs, children are here to turn us all grey with worry for all SORTS of reasons that they never mentioned in ante-natal classes!!

 

Mrs B

[Guest]

Don't feel low, big hugs, children are here to turn us all grey with worry for all SORTS of reasons that they never mentioned in ante-natal classes!!

 

Aaah a top tip there - I didn't go to any anti-natal classes so I always think I've missed all of this good information!

[Paola]

Thank you guys