My 18 month old son was diagnosed with inabilty to speak,?

Question

We saw 2 speach patholigests today & my son was diagnosed w/ inabilty to speak. He says 2 words & says vowel noises alot. I am looking for info online or books to purchase on this subject but can not come up w/ anything. All I can find is adult disorders that can cause inabilty or child selective inabilty. I need help, I am going nuts! He will be starting special needs classes in 5 weeks but I need info now so I can prepare myself. Links & books would be wonderfull as well as any info you may know on the subject.
Thank you,

My son hearing was tested at this appt. all was well. And I did speak w/ the pathologists & his soon to be techer. All they told me was I would get info in mail as he was put into system. But I am a worry wart and would like some info prior. I don't need sarcastic answers I am stressed enough.

Answer 1

My 4 yr old son also was diagnosed with a speech disorder at about 24 mo. He also only had a few sounds. We went through the early intervention program with the school district. After receiving speech therapy for about 6 months, his therapist diagnosed him as having Verbal Apraxia. Basically, it is a motor planning problem in which the signal from his brain to his mouth gets a bit mixed up and he doesn't have the ability or know-how to say the words. The treatment for this problem is lots of speech therapy for a lot of years. Your son may have a similar disorder, and if so, it is not hopeless! Explore all of his options and do the best you can for him. A great website to check out is http://www.apraxia-kids.org/. My son is now in pre-school and can speak lots of words and even sentences. He has made huge progress! Stay strong! Do what you think is right for him. Continue to ask for help and information!

Answer 2

I am sorry to hear this - you must be having a very hard time right now. Firstly, write down any questions you think of before this person phones tomorrow as you may not be able to think of them off the top of your head. Ask for written material so you can absorb the relevant information in your own time and share it with family and friends so they all know the situation. I cannot give you much advice about hearing impairment as it is not clear what treatment options are available to you. However, there are many things that can be done for people to help them gain some hearing such a cochlear implants & hearing aids - it all depends on the reasons and the mechanics of his deafness. What I will advise you look into right now is using some sign language if you aren't doing it already. Toddlers can pick up signs so easily and it is very important that you & your son are able to communicate with each other to maintain a strng bond and ease his frustration at not being able to make his needs known. Your health visitor may be able to help or contact Deaf Action. Alternatively/also look up 'signalong' and 'brightsparks' on the web and they may point you towards some good classes in your area to learn signs. You seem to have a great attitude and I have no doubt you & your son will manage well with whatever life is throwing you.

Answer 3

Speech delays may be called "apraxia of speech" or "dyspraxia of speech" Here is an excellent website:

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/

There is a section specifically for those new to the diagnosis. There is also a very nice online support list which I found very helpful as well. My daughter was diagnosed at age 2 years old, and I'm happy to say that now at age 11 with a lot of Speech Therapy, she is doing great! There is lots of hope. Someone else mentioned PDD as a starting point. PDD is a possibility since speech delays are common with this diagnosis, but I wouldn't worry about that yet. Good luck to you both!

Answer 4

My 5-year old was born 3 months early, weighed 2 pounds, and the doctors said she wouldn't live, and that if she did, she would be a vegetable. She's 5 now, walking, and in kindergarden. She has alot of difficulty with her speech, but it's improving every day.

What I am trying to say is that you can't rely completely on the diagnosis of doctors. Your child may reach a certain age and then start improving all at once, much to the surprise of the doctors. That is what happened to us.

Answer 5

You really need to know why they arrived at that conclusion: is it something to do with the way his mouth or vocal chords are made, or is it something to do with his brain's interpretation of the messages which are being received? There are lots of different reasons as to why a child might not speak, and once you are armed with this information you can do some research for yourself. I would go back and talk to them, or as someone else suggested get a second opinion. This time write a list of questions to ask. I appreciate that asking questions the first time round might have been the last thing on your mind due to shock, but you really need to know as much as you can.

Answer 6

18 months?!?!? Please, sit back and relax. My eldest son didn't say ONE WORD until he was over 2 years old. Now he doesn't keep quiet. I find that many moms overreact when it comes to milestones. It doesn't hurt to have him checked out. His hearing should be checked at this age, but please do not jump to conclusions. There are so many specialists nowadays just inventing diagnosis for business purposes. Talk to your son and read to him often. Chances are greater that he is developing normally than this being a matter for speech pathologists. Also, keep in mind that boys' language skills are much less prominent at this age than girls. Do not compare him to others as every child is different. You are a good mom for being concerned, but I think you are overreacting.

Answer 7

My oldest nephew was older than that before he started really talking- but afterwards, he was a chatterbox. If you're really worried, though, try getting tapes or CDs with little songs on it that he can learn to sing to. Sometimes a rhythm is what it takes to help a youngster organize his sounds and use them.

Have you tried locating any old episodes of Sesame Street? That show had a bunch of little songs in it that showed how various sounds and letters made words.

Good luck!

Answer 8

Don't know who you saw ... but I would say they were quacks ... I know plenty of children that don't even say a word until they are past 2, myself, I didn't say a word until I was past 3 and then started talking in full sentences. I would look at getting another opinion before going out and spending the money on 'special need classes'.

Answer 9

Call the doctors and ask them if they can recommend anything or have any support groups that they can refer you to. A support group may be able to refer more books to you as they have probably read as many as they could get their hands on.

Touch base with his "special needs" teacher to see if s/he knows of any as well.

Answer 10

Call the Special needs teacher and ask. They would have the most current and up to date information.