how to help my toddler talk?

Question

my son will be 3 in november of this year. the only things he says is mommy, daddy, ball, hi and bye. thats it. he has a friend who just turned 2 and says a ton of words. what do i do? does he need proffessional help? i dont want this to put him behind in school.

Answer 1

You describe him as only having a few words, so he is definitely behind. Here's a list of milestones: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/child_hear_talk.htm

Some kids, boys especially, do wait to speak. This happens quite often when there is an older sibling, especially a sister, in the home who talks for the younger child. In these cases, putting the child in playgroups with his own age where he has to communicate without the sibling around will help motivate him to speak. Also, encourage the sibling to allow the younger one the chance to say something. Try to keep it relaxed, but still be consistent in providing him the opportunity to be heard and even to repeat what you're saying. Here's some activities you might try: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/develo...

You don't mention if he has other risk factors for speech/language delays, such as premature birth, chronic ear infections or other medical or developmental issues. Even if none are obvious, I recommend getting his hearing tested to ensure that he is able to hear all the parts of speech needed in order to repeat what he hears accurately. A speech/language evaluation should then be done to determine where he is developmentally, and what you can do to help him. It won't hurt to have the testing done. If they find that he needs extra help, then the sooner you get started, the better. If they find he's progressing pretty well, then you've got peace of mind. Either way, you won't regret it.

If your insurance pays, find a Speech/Language Pathologist that's in their network; if they don't, contact your local Early Intervention Program, which is a government-funded service for kids from birth-3 years of age that need therapy services. They'll evaluate your son for free and determine if his deficit is significant enough to warrant enrollment in their program or if he is truly a "late-bloomer".

FYI- once a child with special needs turns 3 years old, the local school district becomes responsible for providing therapy services in their Preschool Child Study Team programs.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

You really need to get him so help they should be saying more words than that. My son will be 3 in dec and we have him in a program called BACH they have here in texas and he is in speech therapy. Things they suggest are drinking from a straw and blowing things like small balls off of tables or your hand. These things help with the mucsels in there mouth also u may want to check his hearing because if they cant hear very well they may not understand what is being said. I know because this was the problem with my son we had tubes put in and he hears pretty good and he talks much much more now. Try those things and look around for your state for a program that offers speech therapy he may need it you dont want him to get behind. Good luck i hope this helps some.

Answer 3

My son talked late too, but now he talks really well. When he turned two he would rarely talk, even if I tried to get him to. He will be 4 soon, and now he talks all the time. Start reading books to your son every day. Also, talk to him about everything. Tell him, now we are putting on your right sock, now we are putting on your left sock, would you like to wear your red shirt or your blue shirt today? Let him tell you. Sing to him. After a while he will repeat the last word in every line, and it will get better from there. Sing him a song about the days of the week, numbers, the alphabet, anything. Like my son, there will probably be a major improvement by the end of the year.

Answer 4

Ok, I have 2 daughters, 1 at 3 y/o, & 1 at 18months. My oldest didn't really start talking much till she needed to ask for help with things. (she was VERY independent untill she fractured her arm playing & then shortly after had open-heart surgury due to a birth defect.) After that her words came very quickly, like she knew them all along but just didn't use them. Our younger one is catching on even more quickly, & I'm sure it has to due with being around another toddler (her sister) daily. Also, my wife's niece is older than our oldest but just really started vocalizing alot since we've had time to bring our girls around her. We never really spoke to either of our girls in any way but as if we were speaking to an adult. Children seem to pick up words better from adults when you're not speaking "baby talk" to them & sometimes it's easier for toddlers to learn words from their peers. Just give it some time & be paitent, & if there are some toddlers in your family or friends that are talking quite a bit more then try to have them together as often as possible. As for TV, I think NO tv is allmost impossible these days, just know what your son is watching & try to make sure it's as educational as possible. I'm sure a good chunk of the words my oldest has learned she got from Dora & Diago. Just please don't use tv as a babysitter, sit with your son & ask him questions about the show, you might be pleasantly suprized.

Answer 5

He's not behind, don't worry! Some kids learn faster than others....no two children are the same!

Basically, do the things you were always told to do....read childrens books or even magazines to him, go around the house telling him what everything is....but remember they are only going to say the words that are fun for them! You can try teaching him sign-language....it is actually a fact that children who learn sign-language talk faster than other kids. You're not alone, trust me....I work in a day-care!

Just be patient! He'll talk when he wants to!

Answer 6

I have a identical revel in with this sort of behaviour. I discover what works nice is being calm always, even if you are mad, if it does come all the way down to yelling then the baby is aware of you imply industry. I located time outs were not operating both, so I made them extra "strict" you might say. The day trip could be so long as the baby's age (ie, three mins for three y.o, four mins for four y.o). I located it labored nice whilst the baby could not see you and it could have them considering when you have been having a laugh with out them, chiefly if there's different kids. If the baby received up off of day trip throughout the center of it, they could return to the day trip spot and the time could begin over, till they sat there for the preferred quantity of mins. However, make certain that is most effective you probably have instructed them greater than as soon as or given a caution of a few style, or it's anything they KNOW to not do (ie. hitting). Also handy if the day trip spot is regularly the identical Another procedure I discover handy is counting to three. It offers them a short lived ample caution to give up what they're doing. If you come to be attending to 3, you might both positioned them on day trip, get rid of a favorite toy for the day, or when you had plans to visit park, grandmas, and so on, you might inform them they may not be going. I discover whilst I yell at him, he ignores it given that yelling is frightening to him and he does not realize it, additionally teaches him to yell whilst mad. Talking to him frivolously approximately the hindrance most often works for me. Ask why he is disappointed, inform him it makes you unhappy whilst he acts that approach, and that you do not like punishing him however oftentimes you must. Finish it off with an I love you and a kiss. I wish this is helping, handling dangerous behaviour isn't the funniest factor in the market :(

Answer 7

does he understand when you ask him questions? if he does, then thats the main thing, if not he needs help asap

Has he had his hearing checked?

one way to encourage him to speek is to say daft things 'ie that sheep goes moooooo' and putting household objects in the wrong places etc to get him to tell you that you are wrong. Deliberate mistakes are good

Oh yes another thing, don't bombard him with open questions, and don;t try to force him to speak in any way. Keep it casual

If its just a speech delay, then it shouldn't affect his schooling at all, some of the most intelligent people on the planet simply had speech delay. Hes still young, but I would speak to his health visitor anyway just to check. Good luck!!

Answer 8

What type of videos and television does he normally watch? 80% of them should be educational at his age.. How old are the people in your household? The more adults the better a child's speech will be. How often to you talk to your son and not yell at him? The more you and his father talks to him the more he will learn. My niece is 2 years old and at 1 she could keep a decent conversation with you.

Answer 9

My first concern would be whether or not your child is hearing words clearly...the reason I say this is because my first child had numerous ear infections when he was small, and had a lot of fluid in his ears. This delayed his speech a bit. He got tubes in his ears when he was 2 1/2 years old and I saw a HUGE improvement in his speech almost immediately. With that said, if your child hasn't had any problems with his ears, I'd say to keep talking to him and trying to teach him new words...like pointing to body parts and getting him to repeat them. (Ears, nose, hands, eyes, ect.) If he is having trouble with that, I would speak with his pediatrician just in case there is a problem. It could just be that he doesn't WANT to talk, but it's best to check it out anyway. Good luck!

Answer 10

My 7 year old son always had a speech delay.I was kind of in denial about it until he was 4--then I did seek help through our county's early intervention program,which helped me find speech therapy for him.Now he is in special needs kindergarten,and is mainstreamed 4 days a week--and doing great.(He has some sensory issues as well.)My 11 year old son didn't start speaking WELL until 4 years of age--sometimes it is a simple delay like that,esp. in boys.Now he is a straight-A 5th grader.I suggest you talk to a pediatrician first,then call your county's dep't of job and family services.Best wishes.