17 month old not talking (day care, teaching, toy, parent)
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Thanks for the advice guys. I forgot to mention he was born with Ankyloglossia, as in the webbing (frenulum) reaches the tip of his tongue, and he can't stick it out. If he tries he looks like he's making an upside down heart, and it only reaches the middle of his lower lip. It hasn't kept him from eating or even making clicking sounds, but we have visited an oral surgeon and are going to get it clipped in a couple months. That could very well be impeding his speech.
Ya think?!?!
That was too important to just forget to mention....
Well what you "forgot to tell us" is a very important element of his "problem". Once that gets taken care of it should make a big difference. I'm surprised our doctor is waiting so long to do this surgery. I know every case is different but my friend's child was born with this and they did the surgery at 6 months. No speech delays at all and recovery was a breeze.
I just remembered that a coworker's baby also had this. They also had the surgery when the baby was about 6 months old. My coworker said that it was done at that age so that it did not effect his speech development.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScarletG
That is a big thing to forget. Why have they waited so long to do this? It's not a 'could very well be' but 'most certainly is' impeding his speech.
I forget about it some times because he just acts like a normal kid, which makes me not think about it until he tries to stick his tongue out.
I pointed it out to the pediatrician when he was six months old, and she referred me to an oral surgeon. He said if it's not impeding his ability to eat then he would not do anything yet, however he wanted to see how he was doing at a year old. We saw him in January and he said he would do the surgery, but only if we wanted to. It was no pressing matter and our son would live life normally. My husband was tongue tied until he was 18, and spoke normally so he didn't think it would be anything, but now that our son is almost a year and a half old he thinks getting the surgery wouldn't be a bad idea.
CraigCreek, I'll start acting out conversations with his stuffed animals. I just did that, and he just smiled the whole time, then commandeered the stuffed Kangaroo, ran around hugging him going "Aww!" I guess that's a step in the right direction? Also, I do ask him "What is that?" with things, and he'll just answer with "Gah", should I just stay vigilant in not answering for him? Should I not give up in asking him? I mean, he's not dumb, I assume he knows what I'm asking for him to do. As someone said earlier, he could be assuming this is something adults do, not kids.
Nana, my son knows many hand movements in place of words. He'll bring his hands and shoulders up when meaning "All done" and "No more." He shakes his head when he means no, waves for "Bye-bye". It's weird, he has his own language. I've tried not giving him what he wants, telling him "If you want this, say 'please.'" but it only turns him into a crying puddle on the ground.
surely you've heard that Albert Einstein didn't talk till he was 3?
I took my 15 month old son to be tested cause he wasn't walking yet or talking. He understood every word but didn't even vocalize.
I was told to leave him alone..give him every opportunity to explore on his own and not to hoover and not to project fear. and most of all not to act anxious around him because i perceived he was "late"
He is now published physics phd, teaches at university and we can't get a word in edgewise. he is also into extreme fitness and is extremely hunky--even if I do say so myself.
The bolded is untrue. Einstein was talking at 2 when his sister was born.
although his family had initial apprehensions that he might be backward because of the unusually long time before he began to talk, Einstein was speaking in whole sentences by some point between age two and three years.
Quote:
Einstein entered school at the age of six, and against popular belief did very well. When he was seven his mother wrote, “Yesterday Albert received his grades, he was again number one, his report card was brilliant.” At the age of twelve Einstein was reading physics books. At thirteen, after reading the Critique of Pure Reason and the work of other philosophers, Einstein adopted Kant as his favorite author. About this time he also read Darwin. Pais states, “the widespread belief that he was a poor student is unfounded.”
Einstein was a reluctant talker, but he could talk.
I forget about it some times because he just acts like a normal kid, which makes me not think about it until he tries to stick his tongue out.
I pointed it out to the pediatrician when he was six months old, and she referred me to an oral surgeon. He said if it's not impeding his ability to eat then he would not do anything yet, however he wanted to see how he was doing at a year old. We saw him in January and he said he would do the surgery, but only if we wanted to. It was no pressing matter and our son would live life normally. My husband was tongue tied until he was 18, and spoke normally so he didn't think it would be anything, but now that our son is almost a year and a half old he thinks getting the surgery wouldn't be a bad idea.
CraigCreek, I'll start acting out conversations with his stuffed animals. I just did that, and he just smiled the whole time, then commandeered the stuffed Kangaroo, ran around hugging him going "Aww!" I guess that's a step in the right direction? Also, I do ask him "What is that?" with things, and he'll just answer with "Gah", should I just stay vigilant in not answering for him? Should I not give up in asking him? I mean, he's not dumb, I assume he knows what I'm asking for him to do. As someone said earlier, he could be assuming this is something adults do, not kids.
Nana, my son knows many hand movements in place of words. He'll bring his hands and shoulders up when meaning "All done" and "No more." He shakes his head when he means no, waves for "Bye-bye". It's weird, he has his own language. I've tried not giving him what he wants, telling him "If you want this, say 'please.'" but it only turns him into a crying puddle on the ground.
Quote:
Originally Posted by germaine2626
I just remembered that a coworker's baby also had this. They also had the surgery when the baby was about 6 months old. My coworker said that it was done at that age so that it did not effect his speech development.
It is possible that your son's condition was much milder than with my coworker's baby otherwise they probably wouldn't have waited to do the surgery.
Many states do have free educational services for children with special needs starting at birth. You can call your local school and ask them where you should check for a speech evaluation for a toddler. They should be able to refer to the right agency.
As other have said perhaps his speech development will catch up after the surgery but perhaps he will need some extra help. At his age there is a wide variation of "typical skills" but a speech evaluation could put your mind at ease.
Most public school districts have early diagnostic and intervention services for both the OP's situation and the 4 year old. However, an anonymous referral for the 4 year old is not going to result in anything. School districts are not going to offer evaluations based on an anonymous referral. The parents need to request the evaluation.
Both the OP and the other person should contact their school district and ask for the early childhood education program phone number. Screenings are usually done by regular ed early childhood programs first, and then a referral is made to the early childhood special ed program. Often they are in the same building. However, with school being close to done for spring, YMMV. The good thing is that many early childhood programs run through the summer.
I would be especially concerned about the 4 year old; the 18 month old-not so much. However, the 18 month old could benefit from speech services just to catch up after the surgery.
Well, my grandson is 4 already and not talking and I worry about him all the time. But his parents don't show any sort of urgency in the matter and I'm tired of arguing with my son about it. I was on them about this every since he was almost 2 years old and my personal view is that they are much to blame. He is a smart kid but mostly speak gibberish but I have picked up on just a few things like bye bye, daddy, and I have notice him repeating things from watching cartoon. When you try to work with to get him to say things, he wants no part of it and just run away. His parents just never took the time to really try to teach him when he was 2 but the get an attitude when I question them about him. I just feel so bad for him.
This child definitely needs an evaluation, but his parents need to request it or get a referral from the boy's pediatrician.
There is no way a normal 4 year old would be talking gibberish. I am not sure what you can do if his parents will not do anything. Is he in preschool? Will he go to kindergarten next year? The school will want an evaluation once he gets into kindergarten and I am sure they would notice that something is wrong.
I've tried not giving him what he wants, telling him "If you want this, say 'please.'" but it only turns him into a crying puddle on the ground.
That may be because he's physically unable to pronounce the word "please". His frustration levels must be through the roof. I'd guess he has his own language (using body movements) because he can't say the words. If you couldn't say the words and had Mommy saying "Now Junior. Say please!" I'd bet you'd be a crying puddle on the ground too.
Were I You I'd have it done ASAP. It's odd to me that you wouldn't mention he had a physical problem in the initial post. It's correctable. He's not speaking. Why would you wait? You "forgot" to mention it in the OP. You "forget" he has it while he's trying to speak? Chop, chop. Write a note to yourself that says, "Make appointment to help Junior!"
Last edited by DewDropInn; 05-25-2014 at 05:36 PM..
Hmm Sunflower. My daughter was tongue tied and they also waited until she was 4yrs old to do the frenectomy. She could speak and eat, although she definitely was harder to understand than most kids. What concerns me about your grandson is that he does have some words and is "repeating things from tv." Even when my daughter wasn't totally clear she approximated regular speech so well that we didn't think much of it. If your grandson is communicating that way then I guess it could be the tongue, but im surprised that if it's that severe there aren't eating issues as well. Personally I would revisit the oral surgeon and maybe get a separate developmental evaluation just in case. You wouldn't want to assume it's the tongue and then find out later there's something else going on.
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Also, I do ask him "What is that?" with things, and he'll just answer with "Gah", should I just stay vigilant in not answering for him? Should I not give up in asking him? I mean, he's not dumb, I assume he knows what I'm asking for him to do. As someone said earlier, he could be assuming this is something adults do, not kids.
