Question about my son.....?

Question

My 22 month old has been refered to a speech therapist because he hardly talks at all. He will say maybe 5-6 words only when he wants to. My question is has anyone had a child go to one due to not talking? I am wondering what I should expect to happen. How do they help children at this age. I have not had a call back with the appointment yet. If anyone has gone through this could you let me know what to expect! My older kids have talked very early and never had this happen... I am nervous! Thanks~!

Answer 1

I am so glad that he has had a referral. I work at a preschool for children with disabilities, and most of our children have some sort of speech delay. A speech/language pathologist can do wonderful things! At this age, most of the "therapy" is done during play. The therapist will ask questions, read stories, talk a LOT to model language and speech, and try to engage your son using his interests. If he is into Thomas the Train or Superman or whatever, let the therapist know this. It can really help to build a connection. They should give you lots of ideas of what you can do at home to help too. The best thing is just talking to him. Talk about everything... the clouds in the sky, the colors on his shoes, changing his diaper, etc. Reading stories can be one of the best ways also. Point to what you see in the books, label everything. And one thing I tell my parents... if they want something, make them ASK for it. Too often, children receive the things they want without making the effort... especially if they have older siblings who will get them what they want. Older siblings want to be good helpers, so enlist them in his therapy as well. Tell them that they can help the most by requiring their brother to approximate anything close to what it is he wants. Another great way to ease frustration of your son as he tries to communicate with words is to give him some simple signs he can use. Sign language can be highly effective for children with no language. Don't worry that he won't learn how to talk if he uses signs... they will fade them as they no longer need them. I taught signs to my daughter when she was an infant, and by 11 months, she was signing them back to ask for drinks, cookies, crackers, etc. As soon as she was physically able to say the words, the signing faded. Now she is 2 1/2 and speaks in 10-14 word sentences. I have also used pictures to approximate words. Take a digital photo of the things your child likes to eat and play with, print them out in 2x3 inch sizes, and put them into magnet photo holders. I put them on the refridgerator for my daughter. When she was still too young to talk, she could go to the fridge, point to what she wanted, and then I would know. Same as the signing, as soon as she could ask for it, she would stop going to the fridge. The most important part of all of this is requiring some kind of communication in order for him to get what he wants. He is motivated by his needs and desires, so use that to your advantage to develop his speech. Least of all, don't be afraid of the therapist or the idea of therapy... it is all to help your son be a more effective communicator. Good luck!

Answer 2

My son is seeing a speech therapist at the moment, he is 27 months. I had his hearing tested, it was fine. But you should check your child's just to be on the safe side.
The therapist basically comes in and plays, as they play they name everything. You can do the same when they are not there. I also am teaching my son some basic sign language, it seems to have helped him associate words with meanings. He's still not talking much, but he's only seen the therapist twice. There has been an improvement...he's at least trying to say other things now. His favorite at the moment....sh*t., runs around the house chanting it, but at least he's talking.

Answer 3

at age 2 my son was saying mama and dada. i was concerned so i took him to the doctors who then referred me to a speech therapist. i thought that was a little extreme so i waited a few months he is now 26 months and i wish for the days where all he said was mama and dada. as long as he is saying a few words and understand simple commands like come here or lets go i think he will be just fine. i just read him books and spoke a little slower when talking to him. i think a lot of doctors and therapists like to diagnose a problem that only worries the parents and makes them think something is wrong when they are perfectly fine

Answer 4

i don't understand the push by some professionals to insert speech therapy into a child that young but most children talk when their ready and NOT a moment before.. usually if their are older children involved its because the younger one doesn't have to make his needs known ...someone else is always saying you want this or this ? use logic read and repeat things often and relax he sounds within normal range to me

Answer 5

I work with children under the age three with speech delays. Since he is so young it will be play based. I read books, play games, do puzzles, all while labeling everything and encouraging imitation. It really depends on the where they child is at developmentally and what they can handle. I give parents ideas of what to do with their child to enhance their language development.

Answer 6

My daughters in speech therepy now its fine she really likes going they come to her daycare and they bring books and stuff and they try to read together and stuff shes talking so much now before i never understood anyth ing she was saying and she was almost 3!! i was so scared she was never going to talk but her talking has improved so much its amazing im really glad i signed her up for cause i didnt want her to be behind for the rest of her life somedays she wants to even go just so she can go to that class you really will like it once you get involved with it goodluck before you know it hell be talking just like your other children

Answer 7

Do people not comprehend that Christ is termed and refers to Himself as "the Son of guy" 40 3 cases contained in the KJV New testomony. of direction there is not a difficulty between the words.

Answer 8

unfortunantly i cant offer any advise on this, as my kids never shut up. but hang in there hon, its always possible that your son is just a quiet boy and that nothing is really wrong with him. some friends of mine had a daughter like that, and put her thru test after test, then all of a sudden she just up and started talking..... take care

Answer 9

My brother didn't talk until he was three...I as the older sibling did all the talking for him. Maybe that's your problem.

Answer 10

I HAVE NEVER GONE THROUGH THAT TYPE OF THING BEFORE,BUT MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.