1. Want to be a Positive Parent? : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

When To Worry About A Kid Not Being Able To Speak Properly?

Discussion in 'Toddlers' started by Benadryl, May 15, 2018.

  1. Benadryl

    Benadryl Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    70
    Likes Received:
    69
    Trophy Points:
    58
    Gender:
    Male
    All the threads about speech delay are making me worried.
    When should one start worrying about a toddler not being able to make a proper sentence ?

    My son is 3 years old and isn't able to construct sentences. Sometimes he just blabbers gibberish.
    He is unable to make a sentence as basic as I need water or I need to go to the loo. The car is broken.
    The way he says these are water or loo or car broken.

    I did consult a GP and the GP doesn't seem to think he is on an autistic spectrum. He is a happy kid otherwise and has no other issues. Although google says there is no scientific evidence of multi-lingual kids learning to speak at a slow rate, I have had, literally, every Indian tell me that there is delayed speech development in kids from bi-lingual age. we speak English and Hindi at home. But how delayed can it get? We are on a wait list to see a speech therapist - but I don't know what special the therapist will do that I can't do. And if its only adding new words to his vocabulary and making an effort to talk to him, we do that everyday. Should I wait another year before I panick ? There is nothing more we can do anyway as we are on the wait list - but I can go to India and see someone if other parents think that things are dramatic and need urgent attention ?
     
    Loading...

  2. HazelPup

    HazelPup Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    839
    Likes Received:
    2,245
    Trophy Points:
    263
    Gender:
    Female
    My nephew started speaking coherently only at 4. He was exposed to 3 different languages. At 4 when he statrted he was speaking in all 3 languages. Some Boys they say start speaking late. Not to worry. Consulting speech therapist and following your child’s doctors guidance would still be good.
     
  3. Sunshine04

    Sunshine04 Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    2,117
    Likes Received:
    2,686
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Female
    There seems to be a speech delay. I don't think multi lingual cause speech delays.
    Why r u in waiting list for speech therapy. Call ur insurance and get names of centers in network
     
  4. Vennella

    Vennella Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    375
    Likes Received:
    371
    Trophy Points:
    123
    Gender:
    Female
    My son was like this at around 3. There was a lot of gibberish. Slowly the speech has gotten clear. Now he speaks full sentences at 3 years 8 months.

    What we did to improve his speaking is reading and talking to him all the time.

    So if everything else is all right, some kids do speak a bit later. Just keep on watching and keep talking to improve speaking.

    Is the wait for a speech evaluation?
     
  5. chocolate

    chocolate Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    2,327
    Likes Received:
    1,508
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Female
    Op, Same here. My son is first boy in our family and hence we have no benchmarks. But now he goes to school for IEP ( Individualized Education Plan) and still speaks a little gibberish( he is 4 yr5 months old). But his teachers think he is making progress becoz he babbles a lot. One fine day he comes up amma look or amma hi. He is tested for Autism and was declared not Autistic. When he was 2 he hooked on to tablet and never let it go. For 1 straight yr he refused to talk and wud enjoy all videos of rhymes. His paediatrician suggested Speech Therapy and I got him enrolled . He got along with therapist but had trouble connecting with her in terms of her therapy method. That's when he became eligible for Public School IEP Pre K classes.

    If your son is 3 yrs old he is eligible for IEP classes from your county. You need to start looking for Elementary Public Schools in your area who offer Pre K and IEP clases.

    Look Online for IEP classes. Its an education plan to help kids with all the areas they lack in . It can be speech and behaviour or physical movements.Your residence county will have Govt aided Speech Therapists who come home and do therapy at home free of cost.Once your son is eligible for Public School, Govt funded speech therapy stops.If your son is 3 yr old he is eligible to go to Public School for Speech therapy.3 hrs a day for 4 days a week. They take them in school bus and bring them back. You can keep in contact with his teachers all along. They have speech therapists, occupational therapists who help you in all areas.Once your son turns 4 he can go full time like 7-2 p.m again 4 days a week until he actually goes to Kindergarten.

    Look online for Public schools in your county where they offer IEP classes. Call them up and schedule your son to take tests to determine if he is eligible for IEP classes . They will give you lots of forms to fill to know your family like how your son behaved from his birth. Fill them and then they schedule interviews with speech therapists, psychologist, occupational therapists. Once they all discuss about your son and decide he is eligible for IEP classes your son goes to Public School where he gets fantastic help. If you need any more info, do post here or PM me i can help.

    Dont be despaired. Its tuff to watch our kids not do normal things. They will get there. Maybe not today but soon enuf. We get good help here. We just need to ask. Good Luck.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2018
  6. DDream

    DDream Finest Post Winner

    Messages:
    1,917
    Likes Received:
    3,997
    Trophy Points:
    285
    Gender:
    Female
    OP, I think nothing to worry much as doctors confirmed he is Ok. Is he your first child ? My son was also like this . He started talking non-stop after 4 years. I have seen the same problem with my friends daughter. They have provided her speech therapy session. She has also started talking well after crossing 4 years. Anyway, you are the best one to judge. If you think a speech therapist can help, go for it. I feel that our multi-lingual background some how is contributing to this delay. May be you can talk to him in English all the time and see how it goes. This is what my friend did for her daughter and it worked. My second one didnt have this problem as his brother was there to talk to her.
     
    Benadryl likes this.
  7. Vedhavalli

    Vedhavalli Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    905
    Likes Received:
    1,364
    Trophy Points:
    263
    Gender:
    Female
    3 yes completeled means, he should construct simple sentences.
    Why don't you put in pre school , I have seen kids speech improve after they interact with other kids.
     
  8. Benadryl

    Benadryl Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    70
    Likes Received:
    69
    Trophy Points:
    58
    Gender:
    Male
    We don't live in the USA anymore, we are in Australia - that's why we are on the wait list. So not only speech therapy but all medical facilities are more or less free. The GP had him tested for hearing and the report said he seemed to have an extremely mild loss of hearing in one year (very low frequency ?) - could have been due to a previous ear infection as per GP.So he has no problem hearing stuff. He has met all developmental milestones other than speech. He has a developmental evaluation scheduled this month - so we will know for sure how he is faring. Though I personally feel, the nurses here will have no idea about kids with bi/multi/lingual backgrounds and can only tell you what google already does.My gut tells me to wait for another year before I go full on panicking - so I think will wait it out. I think he is just a late kid - was late in potty training - once trained at 2 years of age, he hasn't had a single accident. I am hoping this will be the case with speech as well.

    We do talk to him in English only and he goes to a day care full time. Surprisingly enough he is able to pick up limited Hindi more easily, I think. When my wife tries to put our daughter to sleep and says - 'So jaa meri maa' - he will just pick this up and keep parroting it coherently. And a few other hindi phrases. Although I dont want to project my abilities on to my kids, I myself can speak more than 5 Indian languages and would like to believe my progeny will love learning languages too, but the first one is not comfortable even with English, yet. :(
     
  9. SunPa

    SunPa Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,041
    Likes Received:
    2,413
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Female
    Does he know quite a lot of words, but it is just the stringing them together that is a problem? When he utters gibberish, is there modulation, like he is taking in a some totally unknown language? Does he understand well when you talk?
    If so I wouldnt worry. I dont know how a toddler learn a language, but there is a lot going on in those grey cells even when they dont seem to make progress. So persevere.

    DD was like that. First word "appa" was at 13 months, then used lots of single words but had not started speaking in sentences till 3. She would say one word ( noun) and pause, and you can see her brain working hard to convey the next verb. Sometimes it caused her so much frustration because she couldnt convey what she wanted to. She went from that to speaking in full sentences by 3yrs 8-9months or so. No intermediate 2 word sentences phase. By 4, omg , non-stop chatter.

    I would say, help him to construct . Like he says water , make him repeat "I", "want", "water" even as you are pouring out water in his cup. And express you happiness when he does repeat. But please be tuned to his mood, if he is not willing to repeat, dont force him to. Slowly move to the next step. If he says water, ask him - did water spill on the floor? do you want to drink water? do you want your blue water bottle?

    Although I dont want to project my abilities on to my kids,
    Yep, then dont. Period.
    Most parents I know have been guilty of this, including me, but I still preach because it can be insidious - it will come out in your actions, in your reactions and young children feel these emotions intuitively. And that is likely to affect their self-esteem.
    You have a bright beautiful kids who will excel in their own area. Expose them to different stuff, Australian schools have a pretty varied focus, they will find their niche.
     
    Benadryl likes this.
  10. viki123

    viki123 Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    361
    Likes Received:
    206
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Gender:
    Female
    @Benadryl

    It looks like ur son is more or less like mine, like frequent ear infections, late kid, daycare exposure but still late in speech. Please do go with any recommended therapy with out waiting, since he is picking up slowly, the push through therapy will help him.

    My son went to same daycare since 1, but did not speak much at home or daycare. Once we switched the daycare at 3 1/2 he pickup as lot, I think he was force to used words since everything was new where as old day care all teachers knew him and he knew his routine well. We are stating his Spl Ed Pre-K from Aug 2018.
     
    Benadryl likes this.

Share This Page