Speech therapy for toddlers?

Question

My son is 2 1/2. I signed him up at 18 mos. for speech therapy through Early childhood Intervention . I've had his hearing tested, taken him to a neurologist, taken him to a speech pathologist etc..
He says some 2 word sentences, like ...daddy fix...its mine..my puppy...
He says around 75 or more words, but not all are understandable.
My question is about speech therapy. He will start at the school this year when he turns 3. Right now he has someone come to my home once a week.
Personally I don't see that he had benefited from it. I assumed he would be taught to make certain sounds or say certain words etc... She reads him a story ...and tells me things like "When you take him to the store you can point to things and name them"....Duh? really? I have 2 grown kids as well as a 14 yr old. My husband has a Masters degree in Education, so I believe we have the intelligence to point to the apple and say "Apple".
It seems more parenting advice... than speech. What is your experience?

Well my grown kids are out of the house so they don't speak for him...
I live in the DFW area and I've taken him to the best (as far as I know) places to have him tested. If he were my first child and I didn't know any better...but it makes it worse that my other kids all talked early. I guess my biggest fear is if it takes him this long to learn to talk then how is he going to do in school... I have a grown son with dyslexia (who talked early) and I pray I don't have to deal with all that a learning disability entails again.
This woman is from the school district and has a Masters in Speech, or so her card says...but I feel like its more parenting skills the hour she is here. Frankly she's starting to get on my nerves. For those of you with kids this age that are seeing a speech therapist...what types of things do they do with your child?

To answer the questions...he doesn't have autism, apraxia.. and his receptive language is great. His only delay is verbal. I have taken him to a neurologist. He did have his frenulum clipped about a month and a half ago. I took him to Callier here in Dallas and had his hearing and speech tested. The speech therapist that evaluated him from Callier 2 mths. ago noticed his frenulum was long and attached to his tounge quite far down. The ENT clipped it in a simple procedure. The frenulum didn't affect his eating or drinking. I'd love to hear from anyone from the Dallas area. I have United Healthcare and have had a hard time finding a provider.
He does say some 2 word sentences. But for example today he was trying to tell me to move my toe, and he says moo toe, or he says daddy picks...which means daddy fix...he use to not even try to attempt to make sounds. Now he will which is good. He says moon to mean moon, but he also says moon to mean more..he has a hard time withe the ore sound.

I would love to speak with
Just_a_thought, feel free to contact me via my email address.

Answer 1

my first child spoke in sentences at 6 months. by 18 mos.you could have a meaningful conversation with her.5years later i had a son who at 3yrs old could say only mama,dada an wah wah.by 4 he couldn't shut up.my granddaughter rpoke but no one could under stand her evev though she was repeating the same things and obviously speaking a "language" After much testing etc it was decided that she had created her own language which is common in twins but not in only children.She started speech therapy about 3 yrs old 2 days a week and her mother reads to her constantly. At 4and a half we can understand her most of the time unless she is speaking rapidly. Her 2 and a half year old sister speaks as well as her sister.Keep with the speech therapy but change therapists.we thought my son was retarded then but his iq is"superior genius".It is just that there so many variables that you should not worry. many children are not verbal at 2 or3.BUT your son needs to like his therapist.Get a new one and don't worry. you don't know all the issues we had with my grandchild as far as health and it all worked out so don't worry. he'll be using the computer soon

Answer 2

Granted, some speech pathologists have more experience than others and the suggestions that some provide may, indeed, be based on limited knowledge. Though your child demonstrates a speech and language delay per your report, what other behaviors are observed? Is there intent in his communication when he's not wanting something highly motivating? Does he make eye contact when you call his name or when you speak to him or vice versa? Does he follow most simple 1-step directions when spoken and not given any visual cues or prompts (e.g. "Clean up."; "Give me the bear."; "Come here.")? Did he or does he currently have any feeding or swallowing problems? Does he drool or cough often? Is he a frequent mouth-breather?

Teaching a child to speak clearly is not always as uncomplicated as one might believe. It's not always just a matter of learning where to put your tongue, lips, teeth, and how to use your breath to make speech sounds. Some children may experience a condition called apraxia (either oral or verbal) that may make voluntarily producing nonspeech and/or speech movements quite difficult. Processing problems (language & auditory) may also be present but cannot be adequately diagnosed until all other problems are ruled out and that usually occurs when the child becomes school-aged. For a child who isn't consistently producing age-expected spontaneous language (e.g., vocabulary and composing sentences of 2 or more words), it is necessary to increase the language production before deficits in speech sounds can be adequately addressed. Without consistent language output, how can one know what sounds the child has and does not have in his repertoire? A child who imitates what he hears (accurately or inaccurately) may not have any problems with articulation at all, but may instead possess other learning difficulties or differences.

There's definitely more to your situation than you're able to present in this medium. To better understand what your speech therapist is doing and why he/she is doing it, it is best to ask questions to help you understand the reason for the task and, please, let him/her know that you have concerns. If your therapist understands your needs and concerns then he/she will take the time to explain. If the therapist does not take the time, THEN you might want to think about getting a new therapist. (Also, you did not mention in your question, but did you also have your child evaluated by a pediatric neuropsychologist or a psychologist who specializes in educational psychology? If your child was evaluated in the school system, often their approach is very different from someone who is in private practice that has broader experience treating a variety of cases). Teaching a child through natural settings and activities that are relevant to his daily living is important to encourage carry-over of behaviors that are learned in the structured therapeutic setting. That is why your therapist suggested to you to use your daily activities to teach your child. Consistency is key to changing behavior which is exactly what you do when teaching a child to communicate appropriately.

Good luck with all!

www.asha.org

Answer 3

I think in some cases speech therapy is helpful.. However the 2 1/2 year old girl I look after is the same as your son. She dosen't even say 75 words. The mother stopped taking her to the pathologist because she felt she was learning more here with me and other children then she was at speech therapy. The other thing we did is start to teach the girl sign language. It was very frustrating for her not to be able to get out what she wanted to say. now she is using less and less of the signing and more trying to speak.. You see what the pathologist is doing.. I would just keep working on those things with him. Also though, have you seen a large improvement with him since you started taking him to the S.P?? It's a tough decision, but do what you think is best!

Answer 4

You should get another speech therapist. If she is getting on your nerves, then whatever advice she gives, isn't going to work. You and your son need to enjoy her and have a positive experience out of this. Some people can't feel free to learn or absorb new things if they don't feel comfortable with the person. Maybe your son is sensing the tension. If you see no progress, it is time to get another person and replace her. My son was in piano and he did poorly because he didn't like the teacher or thought she was too pushy. We did get another and it made such a difference. Just like every profession, there will be some good and some not so great even if they have degrees. Sounds like you are doing the right thing by preparing him early on. She doesn't sound very inspiring or motivating.

Answer 5

My first piece of advice, if at all possible, is to find someone not connected with the school district. I'm sure there's good ones out there, but they're spread pretty thin. Do you have a resource center near you that tests for developmental delays? Has he been tested for anything like Sensory Integration Disorder, or Autism? Those are two of the biggest factors in speech delays. I've heard some real horror stories about speech therapists, and you're right, most of them are useless. Would you be interested in some ideas for doing speech with him yourself? I homeschool my 4 yr old, with autism and speech issues, and do my own therapy with him for all his issues, including speech. It's not hard, just takes patience. Contact me and I'll throw some ideas at you, but here's a link for a speech program that you can purchase to do yourself, and it's fairly reasonable. Someone just gave this to me a few days ago, I'm going to order it for my son.
www.nathhan.com
Also, it helps tremendously to teach some basic signs to go along with the spoken words, not in place of. So, if he wants his cup show him the sign for cup( you can find that online), show him two or three times, take his hands and form 'cup' and each time you sign it, say the word and ask him to try it. After he learns the sign, don't give him his cup unless he signs it,and get him to attempt to say it each time. After he CAN say cup, no matter if it's clear or not, praise him, and then give it to him. Using sign language is important, because it gives them a visual cue to go along with the spoken word, so that if there's any kind of a processing issue going on, it helps him to make that connection. Hope this helps, and make sure to contact me, I have a lot of ideas for you that work for me.

Answer 6

I have a day care in my home and a little boy that I keep requires physical therapy. The therapist, who comes to my home, is also a speech therapist. He told me a couple of things they may help you, and this may be parenting advice but it sounded good to me. Never pretend to understand what your child is saying. Tell your child, "I don't understand what you are saying, but I'm glad you are talking to me." He also said not to encourage baby talk, grunting and pointing, and made up sounds. Never repeat the sounds to your child. Also, simple sign language helps a great deal. I had been using sign language with all the kids I worked with, but one child I watched was showing signs of speech delays. When I didn't nod along and agree with everything he said, I started to see drastic changes in his speech. I hope that helps some, good luck.

Answer 7

OK first off if she's not showing your child how to make basic sounds and trying to get him to repeat things back she's a quack....This is actually very common for children with older siblings believe it or not. They have everyone talking for them that they haven't had the need to develop. As frustrating as is may be don't give your child something he's asking for unless he tries to say the word correctly and take the time to show him how to say the words by over exaggerating when you say it. He may not respond quickly but in the long run it will pay off. Also get another doctor, someone who is willing to do this and will give you guys homework in order to keep everyone on track with trying to help the child develop.

Answer 8

I have a son who just turned 2. He has been seing a speech therapist for a couple months now. She usually brings a big box of toys and has a name for each animal such as..... harry hippo, dennis dinosaur, doug the dog... not sure exactly why the names have to start with the same letter but she said to keep up with the phrases such as these and try to get him to repeat them. so far i have seen quite a bit of improvement. also try different mouth and tongue excercises, like blowing raspberries, motorboat sounds.... anything you can get him to mimic after you.... this also has helped him make sounds better..... good luck and hope some of this helps.....

Answer 9

wow. Just had this conversation! One mom counldn't understand her kid and only heard gibberish when he spoke. But an older child understood him perfectly! Likewise, while watching a videotape of her child from a few years ago, another mom understood phrases that she had written off as gibberish at the time of filming! Your kid is probebly normal, just developing at his own pace, learning as he goes. The older children communicate effectively, so he's probebly taking it all in. Sometimes the youngest takes a "backseat" rather than compete for attention. It's funny, how we grown ups know so much, little realizing we need to expand our listening skills! School will definately help, but I thought kids started that at four. Hope it works itself out for you!

Answer 10

well, I have about the same problem, had to take my now 4 year old to speechtherapy. I could not understand him most of the time. 3 Session with the Lady there and my talking to him the way She showed me and he is starting to talk a whole lot better.