foster mom here of a 2 yr old extremely delayed in speech talking period~~~?

Question

how would u suggest to get him to talk hes very stubborn but understans about EVERYTHING YOU TELL HIM>>>help ty

Answer 1

You might try working on sign language with him. It will give him a way to communicate until he begins to speak, reducing frustration for both of you, and signing can sometimes help speed up verbal communication.

Check your library for books or videos.

http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/concepts.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gSZfW4gVhI

Answer 2

A child who is 24 months should be putting two words together (more milk or daddy work) that mean two different ideas (ie bye bye doesn't count) and have at the least a 50 word vocabulary.

If not, this child should be evaluated by your local infant-toddler services. A speech therapist will come to you home to do the eval at no cost to you or the child.

You can call your local school district (ask to talk to the head start or preschool) and they should know who the people are that you can call.

You cannot force him to talk. I assume that b/c he is in foster care that he has had a very emotional and stressful life so far. The last thing he needs is to be forced to talk.

I think he would be more likely to talk if he feels safe and secure. It is the nature of a 2 year old to try and control the situation. And this little guy is probably really trying to get control in a world where he has none (can't even be with his family).

Read and talk to him, A LOT. If he makes any attempt (a grunt or jabber) reinforce it with modeling the words. For instance, he points and jabbers "da la." and You say, "Yes, I do see that dog. Hi dog." Repeating words and phrases over and over is what he needs.

You can pair some words with gestures (sign language) so he can feel less frustrated. But I would not recommend forcing him to talk (like say "milk" or you're not getting it).

Answer 3

At this point I wouldn't really stress about it. This child has been through an awful lot if he is in foster care at his age and lord only knows what kind of abuse he may have suffered. The most important thing is to make him feel stable, loved, wanted and secure that his needs will be met. At his next doctor's appointment by all means have the doctor check that there is no physical reason why he can't talk. Other than that, let him develop at his own pace, he will talk when he feels he needs to.

My brother was normal in every way and even a bit ahead of schedule for motor skills but when it came to talking he was 2 and a half before he said his first words and they came out as a complete grammatically correct sentence. (He had dropped something he was eating and wanted it back, my Mom couldn't see it and told him he was out of luck as there were no more (I think it was a cookie) and he spoke up and said "It's right down there Mommy!").

If he hits 3 and still hasn't started speaking then personally that's when I would turn to speech pathologists and possibly even therapy to help him deal with the trauma that caused his speech delay. When I worked in the daycares we never counseled parents to seek out a speech pathologist until the age of 3 and after a doctor had determined there was no physical reason for the delay.

Answer 4

Have patience with him. My child was a late bloomer in speech as well. He could hear everything I was saying as well. Read to him often for vocabulary and him learning new words. Use flash cards with words and pictures, play memory or matching games, to educate his mind. Don't get mad at him. If you are really concerned the see a speech pathologist. Maybe he has a slight hearing problem, however like I said my son didn't really start speaking a lot until a little later and All of the sudden many words came out. Give it patience and try to empathize. Don't get all worked up, that is just going to discourage him even more.

My son really started his speech when he was put in preschool/daycare setting. When he was socializing with other kids his age. Everything started to flourish then. I was reading to him up to several books of his a day. EVERY child learns at their own pace. Give him a little bit more time...

Answer 5

If you are a foster Mom, I am surprised you do not have services provided for you through the county to get this child speech therapy. This is a service open to all parents of children under school age, so why wouldn't it be available to you?? Get a hold of your county public health nursing services and have this child evaluated. This is a no-cost service and invaluable as far as getting children up-to-speed with their speech.

Answer 6

Have you had his ears checked? Even if you think he is hearing you, it might not be "clear". Our son had delayed speech and we found out that it was due to a constant fluid in his ears - imagine hearing everything as if you are under water. They put in ear tubes, and his speech improved.

Another suggestion might be to contact the state to see if there are any programs that can come in and evaluate him for speech. Our son was adopted, and we have access to that programs because it was a special needs adoption. You may just want to check on it.

Good luck to you.

Answer 7

Signing is great!!
If you talk to him that will help.
I think the best is reading to him. Anything that he will listen to evan the cereal box. The most important thing is not to push words on him. The last thing you want is a power struggle with a 2 year old. Good-luck and God bless people like you.