English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

My 3 yr old cousin does'nt talk at all. All he says is aaaaaaa. He had his ears and eyes checked and that came out good. They also checked his brain and thats fine. He understands when you speak to him and does what hes told. Hes in Early intervention school where he gets special help and speach. All he does is point at what he wants or goes and gets it. We are at a loss if you could help we would really apprecate it.

2007-03-01 01:22:44 · 20 answers · asked by tifmears 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting Toddler & Preschooler

20 answers

My brother didn't talk until he was 7 1/2. He graduated college at age 22 with honors. If he's "normal" in every other way, put him in kindergarten when the law says he's old enough to go, and let him learn. He'll talk when he has something to say.

2007-03-01 01:28:18 · answer #1 · answered by Gabby_Gabby_Purrsalot 7 · 2 1

Could have mild autism, apraxia or dyspraxia. There are probably other things, someone mentioned environment, if people are talking for him or if he can access things himself then what's the point in talking?

I really would seek a second opinion, because even if it's okay now that he doesn't talk, if it does turn out to be one of the things I mentioned, he needs early intervention before starting school. Without those things, he will be very much delayed and face trouble in the classroom.

Despite what people say, children with autism don't necessarily show all the signs mentioned. My daughter with severe autism was very friendly to me and her father, the people who cared for her most. She ignored other people unless they had a trait that intrigued her, and then she was all over them (appearing to be quite social, albeit nonverbal) She did not line things up for very long, in fact, usually has her stuff spread out in a rather disorganized fashion.

He should see a speech therapist regardless.

2007-03-01 12:03:22 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 0 0

i wouldn't be worried about autism. if he points at stuff, and is in early intervention i would say he's fine. my daughter has been in EI for a year and a half, its helped a lot. she's 3 now, and in a special preschool, that keeps going with all the EI goals and help. she's finally calling my husband and i mommy and daddy, and we have fairly good conversation with her. sometimes kids just talk late, my SIL's neice was 6 before you could understand what she was saying more than 40% of the time. right now EI services are the best you can do for him, and also make him try to say what it is he wants before you hand it to him, even if he gets a little upset. kids who don't talk tend to have worse tantrums because they get very frustrated that they can't get across to you what it is they want. my daughter used to be real bad with that. but now that she can tell us she wants juice, it really helps.

2007-03-01 11:58:39 · answer #3 · answered by whosaidthat? 5 · 0 0

Wow your cousin sounds just like my son at that age. He had no forseen reason why he couldn't talk just that he chose not to. I also started him in early intervintion and it took a while but when he started to talk he really just exploded. I think one of the problems was that he was teaching us how to understand his language instead of the other way around. He even had certain signs (like sign language that he would use for certain things) while me and my husband knew what these signs and signals meant, no one else did and my son would get very frustrated. I think that this also caused a huge dependance on us so when he first started early intervintion, he would not try to talk at all. The turning point happened when I told my son who really liked and was really good friends with another boy in early intervention that this other boy could come over. That day I recieved a call from his teacher asking what I had done. She was absolutely amazed that he was trying so hard and was acting totally different then previously. I thought and thought about it and I came to the conclusion that it could not have been a coincidence. I think when he realised that this other boy could come over to his house, he realised that he could tie school and home together and just because he was not home with me does not mean that he can't have fun at school.
For his mom, you can tell her that I recommend the following:

The first thing I would do is tell him that you wont respond to his gestures anymore.

Next, and trust me this is realy hard.....don't respond to him unless he at least tries to say what he wants. He and you will get very frustrated at first and for you it will be really hard to remember, but try your hardest. This is prob. the most important thing you can do to help him.

I know from experiance that it's really hard to know exactly what your kid wants and hold off on giving it to him. But he is teaching you his language and it is a language that no one else knows and he will be stranded in life. Also, later in life there will be so much more that he will want to and have to communicate that signs just wont cut it anymore. Severe frustration will set in and so will outcasting from other kids.
I wish you well.

2007-03-01 09:45:10 · answer #4 · answered by Dale d 3 · 2 0

he probably lives in an abusive home.

Does your nephew live in a household where older siblings speak for him, or do things before he really asks, so that he may not really need to use language? These would be normal and more healthy interpretations of the language delays you describe.

However, delays in communication (either the ability to understand or use spoken language) can signal more serious problems. Since I don't know this child, I can't make a diagnosis, of course, but I can offer some possibilities to consider. This problem with communication could be a manifestation of severe early language-based learning disabilities. It could also signal a significant developmental (intellectual) delay. Does your nephew interact with people and objects in his world in a meaningful, way? Does he use appropriate gestures to get people to do what he wants or to make his needs known? Does he use objects in ways that are appropriate (given his young age)? Does he accurately copy or imitate the actions of other people? If not, he may be intellectually limited and delayed speech is just one aspect of a general developmental delay or retardation.

Children with autism often have a history that includes delays in speech or a deterioration of communication skills after they appeared to be developing normally. If your nephew exhibits odd mannerisms (repetitive movements or self-stimulatory behavior such as repeatedly playing with wheels on toy trucks, rocking, spinning, or hand-flapping), then it's important to consider this diagnosis.

Hearing loss would certainly cause the problems you describe, but it sounds as if this has been ruled out. (Is this little boy aware of environmental noises? Does he look up when people enter the room or when a fire engine goes by? If not, then look again at hearing as the cause). Make sure to ask his pediatrician what he or she thinks, and have your nephew evaluated by a speech and language pathologist who specializes in young children. Getting to the bottom of this now is very important, since the earlier any necessary therapies are begun, the more effective they will be.

2007-03-01 09:31:18 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 2

He might just be a very late bloomer, but here's another guess. Since he's been checked for physical abnormalities and pronounced healthy, he might be doing this BECAUSE he gets what he wants without having to speak. I haven't heard of a child this old doing that but I have met children who've fallen into that pattern at an earlier age. There's never been a reason for them to HAVE to speak because they're having all their needs and wants met.

Another possibility is to consider the medical profession a work in progress. Everything is subject to human fallibility. And there are TONS of rare conditions that doctors almost never check for either because they haven't heard of them or because the likelihood of their patient having the condition is so low, they don't bother. If the family tries meeting all this basic needs but refuse to give him his wants unless he makes an effort at voicing them (and try it consistently for at least a week), and still meet with no success, perhaps they should consider this possibility. Best of luck, and hopefully the references below will also be of assistance.

One last thing: have they considered sign language as a transitional form of communication? Sometimes it's used that way with great success.

2007-03-01 09:38:11 · answer #6 · answered by SandyTmpa 3 · 1 1

did he ever have his tongue checked? sometimes the tongue is attached to the bottom of the mouth and doesnt move like it should. i have worked with kids for over 18 years and i have seen this just a few times. some of the kids that i have seen did not speak and they were about 3 or 4. they just kind of made moaning noises and pointed to things or acted out what they were trying to tell you. their parents said that they had to have their tongue clipped. i dont know the medical term for it. but after the kids had this done they started to speak. they were still behind in speech alittle but over time with speech therapy you would never know that there was something wrong before. hope this helped

2007-03-01 09:36:08 · answer #7 · answered by missaboo 5 · 0 0

My nephew isn't as old as him, he's 20 months, and he doesn't talk, and my friend's daughter doesn't talk also, she is 3 too. Did your cousin have a pacifier growing up? If he did that stopped some of his skills. My doctor said a pacifier was to shut the baby up and nothing else. My son is two and sings songs, uses 6 to 8 word sentences. I was so worried he couldn't talk so I bought a book, and it was help your baby talk. I learned skills myself to help him pronounce better and talk also. He does great. My niece is 4 about to turn 5 and she doesn't even talk well. It's because my sister the horrible mother she is doesn't talk or teach to her children, and my mom has a spanish accent so it's hard to understand her when you are little. The mother of this child needs to interact with her child more often, because he can only learn from his primary caregiver, her.

2007-03-01 09:34:13 · answer #8 · answered by fourcheeks4 5 · 0 1

Don't worry about it unless his doctor is worried about it. Does he have an older sibling that talks for him? Einstein didn't speak a word until he was four and look how he turned out!!

These days people are worried about autisim, but that is usually indicated by more things than just delayed speech. For instance, how does he interact with other people? Is is abusive? Can he socially interact? Autism is about behaviors as well and usually they lack social "nicities". And, often there is advanced speech with aspergers syndrome. It's very complicated and most doctors are willing to wait it it out and see what happens.

I wouldn't worry about autism unless he does not interact with other kids. Or, has behavior problems. I cared for an autistic child and know the mannerisms. While every child is different and every case of autism is a little different there are norms. And, self abuse, behavior issues, and lack of social skills, and lack of speech or loss of speech are the top ones. NOT just one of them but usually more.

Another thing to look at is how does he play with his toys? Does he stack blocks or line them up? Does he get fascinated with one part of a toy and seem to zone in on it and not be able to pull himself away from spinning wheels or a toy that sings a song. With autism usually as a mother you'll "know" there is something else going on. It just doesn't add up. And, early intervention is essential in helping find if there is an underlying problem like autism. Your cousin's definately on the right track.

Google delayed speech and you'll find a TON of movers and shakers like Newton who also had delayed speech.

2007-03-01 09:36:19 · answer #9 · answered by Baby #3 due 10/13/09 6 · 2 2

Talk with the speech therapist for ideas about how you can help at home by reinforcing what he learns in the early intervention program.
When he points at something he wants, model the question for him, "Do you want your bear?" "Here's your bear". "Joey's bear is so soft!" "Do you like cuddling your bear?" "Who do you like to cuddle?"
Modeling good speech and language goes a long way in helping a child develop communication skills. Please don't correct him; any attempt at communication should be rewarded.

2007-03-01 18:50:20 · answer #10 · answered by ? 6 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers