Speech/langauge development in children - questions/advice

dear slv,
you r doing here a wonderful job.i really appreciate u since u r helping a number of moms to get over their worries regarding a great issue. in this area even a peadiatrician may mislead us .they will say "its fine ,she will speak ,we can wait" . I got stuck there,actually that was happened to me.

my dd is 21 months old.she calls me UMMI(amma),
whenever she is going out she will say TATA,
when i touch her eyes and say EYES she will repeat eyes ,some times she wont repeat.
once i showed her my sister's kids pic and said his name "NAAPPU" she got a new word "AAPPU",since then she started saying "AAPPU" continuously.
but she cant recognize him.she just got a word.thats all
here her vocabulary list ends.she babbles a lot,yes very lot,like usual communication in her own language.she is having her own vocabulry .regularly she says those meaningless words.
whenever i ask her to clap sometimes she will clap.
whenever i ask her to dance ,she will show hands up movements

on regular basis i try to learn her number of simple words like ball ,doll,teddy,dora,fan,soap,dress,shoes etc etc...i dont know what is happening in her brain and mind.she wont listen.she can hear well i beleive.her listening ability is very poor.most of the time she is not listening .i am giving her this constant practise for months.
whenever i call her by name ,sometimes she will look at me or she wont even listen and she will continue her activity.
whenever i ask her to come ,very rarely she will obey me or she wont mind me.
whenever i ask her to go ,take, give etc she wont do .
whenever she is exposed to other children at childrens park or shopping place,she wont interact with them.she is always on her own world.she always plays alone even there.
i regularly repeat same words and word combinations based on daily routine,but no use :drowningi dont know why she is not listening,and what prohibiting her to listen me.pls help me slv


now coming to her food habit ,she can chew ,if she like the stuff otherwise she spilt it.
she will have food only if she needs.but that 'need' is very rare.

her social bonding is very less.we(me,dh and dd) r staying far away from hometown and relatives.we used to go ther once in six months .currently we are in chennai ,and will soon migrate to australia.before the migration i want to make her more talking otherwise i will be in more trouble.

pls answer me "is she in the right path ?"
"do i need to consult a speech therapist?"
now i decided to goback to hometown and to stay with my parents siblings and their kids for 2 and a half months
will this do any good?
pls help me asap

 

Hi Shebu,

Apart from what i have alreday told here many times about active stimulation and things, i would quickly like to tell you a couple of things:
1. I would suggest you see a Speech Pathologist- this would clear a lot of your doubts and give you an idea/ plan to take it ahead with your DD.
This is important in your context because- Your DD may pick up language skills on her own (with time), but then to help her pick it up on her own, you need a structured way of practicing things with her and this only a therapist can work out for you.

Yes, your trip to your hometown will surely expose her to more active communication and lots of new words, but then what after that?? So, for that i suggest you see a Speech therapist before you leave to Australia. If the therapist also feels that your DD will catch up on her own, then you are relieved- you can go ahead and have a great time in Australia without any worries about your DD's development.

In the meantime if you wish to practice with her, Please go through some of my replies here on how to stimulate your child, how to introduce new words and on how to initiate communication and keep trying them with her.

Am sure she will pick up with a planned efforts and practice from you and DH.
Good Luck.

 

thank you so much for your prompt and quick reply.will follow your advice at the earliest.thanx

 

thanks SLV.

 

Your both are most welcome....Wish you all the Very best always!!

 

HELLO SLV,
FIRST OF ALL HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.....YOU ARE DOING GREAT JOB......I NEED YOUR HELP FOR MY SON HE IS 21/2 YEAR OLD AND GOING TO PLAY SCHOOL SINCE JULY.....HE SPEAKS A LOT WITH ME , HUSBAND AND MY IN-LAWS BUT HE DOES NOT SPEAK AT HIS SCHOOL..........HIS TEACHER TOLD ME SHE TRIED A LOT WITH HIM.......SHE ADVISED ME TO VISIT A PSYCHOLOGIST!!!!! SINCE HE START GOING TO SCHOOL I NOTICE HE FEELS SHY TO TALK TO OTHERS EXCEPT FAMILY MEMBERS HE JUST HIDE BEHIND ME WHENEVER ANYONE COMES AT HOME......BUT WITH ME HE SPEAKS LIKE - TANU MUMMI PANI PINA HAI, HE RECITE ABC.., 1-20, MUMMI SEE-SAW, MUMMI CHAIR SIT DOWN etc.........................is he doing well or i need to consult someone?

 

Hello Tanu,

Firstly i apologize for replying so late. I did read your request earlier, took a night to format my reply and before i could reply my laptop screen crashed and it took us a couple of days to get things fixed....had no access to anything for the last couple of weeks.....am really very very sorry. Hope you don't mind.
Thanks for the Independence Day wishes and for complimenting my work here, it makes me happy that my knowledge is of some use to my friends here.

Now coming to your question.
My take on your concern would be- We could try a lot of activities to help him socialize with non family members. I do know of some children who are good at home but find it difficult to open up with outsiders. As of now, its not an issue, but yes, some teachers find it as a concern. In a way i would also appreciate the teacher for bringing it up to your attention, but i hope they don't pressurize him to open up. He just seems to be needing more time.
I would like to give him 3months time with lot of practice and help from all of you at home. Then let's re-assess (as in no formal tests, just look at it afresh yourselves after 3months of practice).

We can start by giving him chances to express himself. Initiate descriptive talks. I appreciate he can narrate ABCs and numbers, but am sure you understand that its not creative speech. Its natural that children begin with rote learning, but then they need to expand from here. May be your son needs help expanding.
Do simple narrations with him. They need not be stories from a book. Narrate day-to-day activities like a cricket commentary. He needs to hear more from you all before you can expect him to talk more.

When i say more.....i really mean M-O-R-E.......lots and lots more. You all need to talk to him till your jaws drop dead....but then that doesn't mean, you don't give him a chance to participate. Involve him and make conversations. If he is unable to contribute, support him, but remember not to speak for him. Help him express himself.

I can give you an example to start- You can strike a dinner table conversation something like this: let's see what's Mommy cooking for dinner.....aha...we have chapathis...who likes it?? who's eating more/fast/first...how many for daddy, how many for (his name)...and also add on and help him narrate to his dad what all he did during the day. You can start off sentences and help him complete. We got brushed teeth, had milk....got ready to school......we had this for lunch....what did daddy eat....what did mommy eat and so on.
make this coversation and pattern a routine, do it with him over and over again and in many contexts, once you feel he is getting familiarized with this context ask him to narrate this to somebody outside the family, may be over the phone to some other family member (since this conversation would be rehearsed, he may do this at ease). Now you slowly have to try to get him to participate in more such narrations and descriptions. It need not always be with books......keep it natural and with here and now situations so that's its easy for him to connect.
I would love to try all this for 3months and then take a look at it.

However, you IF have NO apprehensions about meeting a Psychologist, you can feel free to go ahead and have a consultation....it may help shape up your thoughts and ease out your anxieties. So if you don't mind a visit, please go ahead and see a specialist. However if you wish to wait, that's harmless too. But let's not make it more than 3months or at-least not way after he is 3yrs old.
In case you feel there isn't much progress at all.....then a visit to a specialist may be inevitable. So you as parents are to make the choice- if you want to see a specialist now or after some practice with your son.

I hope I could give you some information in this reply. If you need clarifications, please feel free to write back and i did love to help you in whatever little way i can.
All the very best!!

 

hi slv
Hope you are remebering me , i have got your advice some five months back on my Kid speach issue.
I have followed your advice now my kid is improved a lot.Many thanks for your advice.
Still i have some doubts to clarify ...could you please advice me.
As per your advice , I consulted a speach therapist 5 months back , she said my daughter does not have any problem
and will be ok if we try hard and practice her.We have done the same for past 5 months, now she is improving.
Now she is 27 months old .
Pls help me to clarify the below
* Five months back even she was not expressive and will not listen/repond to others but now she is able to listen/respond and
successfully expressing her needs non verbaly.
* For example , if she needs food ..she used to pull me towards kitchen and points food item what she want
if she wants water or milk...she used to pick the water/milk bottle and give to me to feed.
if she needs to go out...she used to open the almara and take my dresses and her dresses and express me to have it on & and she pull me to the main door
in such a way she used to express her all needs.

Note : She is able to say up to 40 words , but she said all those words only 2 or three times in her lifetime, or if we ask her to repeat the words she never, very rarely she repeats
example : for milk..she says "pappa" and for food "mamam" and "tata" for outing ...but very rarely and not been used to express those needs verbally.

could you please advice me how i can pracice to improve her verbal communication.

 

HI Shebu,
First of all i appreciate your efforts and commitment so far. Well done.
I also appreciate the progress you ahve been able to note in your DD's development. Good!

Did you attend any sessions of therapy?

1. She is defenitely progressing and seems to be responding to the kind of stimulation and practice you are doing.
2. You need to continue to spend quality time narrating things for her so that she is listening to a lot of words and is registering their meanings in meaningful contexts.
3. You could try a routine where both parents and DD discuss the day's events before sleep Each of you narrate what all went through the day as a story with animation and actions and initially one of you could narrate for DD and slowly help her add onto the discussion through actions and words. Do make a daily routine and see how she participates.
4. She does seem to be respsonding to your stimulation but also seems to be needing more time and support. So keep it going for some more time. I would love if you could attend some theraoy session with her. Also its time you see the therapist for a follow up and review her progress and make plans for next level of stimulation. She needs some more help and beyond this point it would be difficlut for me to advice through mails (I hope you understand). So please follow up with the therapist and take you efforts to the next level.

Good Luck!!

 

thank u so much for the valuable advice.i will practice my daughter and will undergo a therapy as u adviced.