Speech delay

Yep we have. DS1 was completely deaf til he was one then severely partially deaf til he was 18mo so our assessment was at 2yo to see how he was doing and they didn't think his development was good enough. IMO he was doing just fine as he understood everything but couldn't pronounce very clearly. It wasn't so much a 'development issue' as practice that he needed - thats what we decided anyway. Because of his personality we didn't believe the intensive speech therapy that was suggested would be appropriate as he really takes things to heart, so we decided to work on it ourselves.

We helped him by speaking a little slower and sounding out the words with him as he attempted them. If he asked for a drink using his noise we would say oh a drrriiiinnnnkkkk?? Can I please have a driiinnnkkk?? (clearly shaping our mouths and letting him see) He'd give it another go (this was while we were making his drink - we didn't make him wait) and we'd say great try - drriiiinnnkkk and give him his drink, get a thannkyou and move on. His vocab had more than tripled in 6months and by 3 he was doing well. At 4 hes still not great on pronouncing some sounds but we don't push it we just encourage him to sound the word thats pronounced wrong out once then move on with lots of encouragement and he's getting clearer all the time. HTH

ETA clarity

Edited by Babe

At age 2 DS had no words at all. Not even 'no'!

We talked to Plunket, and had a referral to SLT when he was two and a half, which went well. Then about a month after that he started parroting everything he heard, like most children seem to do a year earlier.

So as long as you are happy that there is no physical reason (eg hearing) don't stress, keep talking with him, and it will come.

My DS probably only said a handful of words at 18 months. That said, he did have huge ear issues until we got grommets and that set him behind. At 25 months he has lots of words, but probably is still behind and doesn't really join lots together. However he just seems to be a kid who doesn't say things unless he knows they're right, and plunket and paft suspect that he knows his sentences are quite teh same as ours yet, so is holding off.

I think the understanding is the main thing.

My 18mo doesn't even say that much! He's very vocal but has no real words. I think as long as his understanding and hearing seems to be ok then he will get there eventually.
I kind of think that when it comes to toddlers, nothing is 'normal' they all do it when they can.

Here's a link to the American Speech - Language Hearing Associations developmental milestone charts. These give a really nice indication of where kids should be at at certain ages - though obviously a rough guide rather than a strict timetable.

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm

Plenty of children are slow to talk but if you're still worried or you don't think his vocabulary is increasing I'd have another check in with a Speech - Language Therapist when he's two. Better to check it out and discover he's doing well than ignore it and run into problems later.

We have the same issue (well I'm not thinking it's an issue just yet!) Ds only says a couple of words and is clearly behind his buddies at his age. But he understands everything we say - and listens to instructions (ie, please go and get a book from your room - he'll come back laden with books!) etc so we are not concerned just yet. We'll look at going to a speech therapist next year for a checkup if he still hasn't picked up a few more words but I imagine he'll just do it when he's ready

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, as I have seen this same question asked over and over (no offence to the OP) with the same answers given... but given Leelee's post I felt the need to defend my career (I am a paediatric speech and language therapist(SLT)). Yes, it is true there are a group of children who are delayed in their talking who go on to catch up without any need for intervention, however, a small group of children DO require help to talk. Without an assessment it is impossible to tell which children will have ongoing problems and which will catch up on their own. Further, an assessment by an SLT will help identify if there are any underlying issues, the type of delay/disorder the child is presenting with, and it is useful to monitor the child's progress until intervention is recommended.
There are a number of reasons why intervention is not started immediately with all children, and these are not always waitlist related. For example, speech therapy (which is purely working on the sounds) has been shown to be most effective for children aged over 3;6, so it is not something you want to start too early.
I also wanted to add that language therapy for young children (which generally focuses on increasing vocab) usually involves training the parents to use language facilitation techniques, as the SLT only sees the child for an hour or so every week or two, so it is the parents implement the techniques at home. I would expect the parents to be able to get more out of the child, as Leelee found with her son, as they know there parents best, and they spend much more time with them.
Sharlene, I do hope your wee one makes some good progress and intervention is not required, and that fact that he has good comprehension is a positive indicator. It's sounds like you're doing the right thing by talking to him lots and reading books etc, so just keep doing what you're doing My biggest tip with little ones, is to keep it short and simple, in context and repeat, repeat, repeat!!

Sorry if I offended you freckle, it was not my intentions. We had a great SLT with good techniques but as I said we were mainly working with the student(5/6 sessions) and I just think my son didn't respond or relate to her to well iykwim. I probably just worded it wrong, sorry again if I offended you. I am sorry you felt the need to defend your career.

Leelee wrote: Sorry if I offended you freckle, it was not my intentions. We had a great SLT with good techniques but as I said we were mainly working with the student(5/6 sessions) and I just think my son didn't respond or relate to her to well iykwim. I probably just worded it wrong, sorry again if I offended you. I am sorry you felt the need to defend your career.

Nah no worries at all and really I wasn't offended ... and I totally agree you really do need a therapist that your child relates to!

blockages are when there is a complete blockage of the sounds, like they open their mouth to say something and no sound comes out... what you're describing sounds like repetitions which is typical of normal dysfluency.