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Child Behavior (Expert Forum)
2 1/2 year old development
Answered by
Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Crisis Intervention
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
This forum is for questions and support regarding child behavior issues such: Child Discipline (behavior management), Normal Child Development, Parent-Child Communications, Social Development
2 1/2 year old development
by gmom, Oct 03, 2006 12:00AM
My grandson has limited speech. He knows and reacts to his name. He gestures, points, has good eye contact. Has a good sense of humor. Is very good physically - jumping, plays till he drops, will jump on you, etc. My daughter got a speech therapist for him. He will say things, i.e., go outside, want cookie, grandmommy's house. He knows how to count, his numbers, animals. He has a good memory - knows where things are, where to go, etc. He went through a stage of pointing out triangles and shapes while we were shopping. He went through a stage of singing his abc's. He then seemed to not want to do that anymore. He'll still says his abc's occassionally, but won't sing the song, even though I know he knows it. He still knows his shapes but isn't that interested in that. Our concern is that he doesn't answer questions or have conversation with you or talk in phrases. If you ask how his day was, he just looks at you like he doesn't understand. He doesn't converse like others in his class or neighbor that is younger. The other note that his therapist made is that he is attached to his animal toys and he likes to lay down and play with them out of the corner of his eye. The therapist suggested that he might have PDD. Also, my daughter lets him watch movies, videos. I've read that is bad for children's development. True? Does it sound like he has PDD? Thank you!
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., Oct 03, 2006 12:00AM
, Oct 03, 2006 12:00AM
While PDD can't be ruled out at this point, it is more likely that he displays a language-based developmental disorder. Twice-weekly sessions with the Speech/Language therapist would be useful. The S/L therapist can also offer guidance to parents about their interactions with your grandson so they can enhance his grasp and use of language. As long as the viewing of movies or videos is not excessive it is really not a problem, provided the content of the movies and videos is appropriate.
It takes at least two years to learn a language. I love it when I hear a parent say, "he knows what I am saying"
well know they don't. If you think of as older people, your experience learning a foreign language and not retaining a bit of it, and we expect these brand new people to have the logic and wherewithal to master the (world's most difficult) language...
2 and a half is way normal to still be sporadic in speech. Think of brains like bodies. Some people grow tall sooner than others, just as soon people's brains take off sooner than others, and when we are all finished growing, we end up about the same.
The best way to get a kid to talk is to talk to them. Don't give him sessions of speech or trying to address a problem that probably isn't there--and the other thing is,
butt out. I mean it, butt out. Leave the kid alone. If you or your daughter is the type to micromanage development, that kid might as well start drinking now. I can't imagine the frustration he must feel. Maybe being silent is the only control he has, and he's exercising it.
In my mother in law's day, they thought that kids who couldn't read missed the crawling stage. Dumb, right? Well do you know they made the second graders who weren't reading crawl around on the floor of the class room? I tell you, if I was a kid who had to crawl in front of my peers, I would read as fast I could.
Don't make a pathology out the natural course of things.
I started my son with speech therapy when he was 20 months old. If you meet enough parents whose kids are delayed alot of them will tell you they saw improvement after their kid had speech therapy. Yes, MABYE that child would have been ok without it, but why take a chance and there are no "lab rats" to experiment on.
The speech therpapist (although she may have experience with other children) probably isnt the best person to determine that diagnosis.
It sounds like to me he says alot. Just the fact that he is putting 2 and 3 words together is pretty good.
How was his dev. before he turned 1 yr. old?
If the child is able to string 2 words together (want cookie) learn shapes and the alphabet song, he's not terribly behind. He may be a little behind his peers, but I don't find this terribly worrisome yet (unless I missed some other symptoms in your post).
Always a good idea to have things checked of course.
Our son (now 3) has been a "slow talker". He can talk in rough sentences now, knows his letters, shapes and colors, counts to 10 but does not have the "fluidity" of speech that many of his peers have. But he's getting there. He only really began speaking around 2 and a half.
I know how you feel, I was totally freaking by that point, but mostly the doctors and speech therapists (yes we did take him to one, and it didn't help a bit) didn't seem too alarmed.
A lot of development is purely biological and we just have to wait for the brain to "click on"...too much delay of course can be worrisome, as it was for our son initially. But in about 6-8 months, he has gone from perhaps saying 5 words to using sentences. He's got a way to go still before he catches up completely, but his trajectory is good.
Does your (grandson I think you said) seem to be slowing down in his progress. Small slowing periods may be normal, but if progress seems to stop altogether or even reverse itself, that can be worrisome.
Bottom line, definitely keep seeking out expert opinions, but I don't think this level of development for a 2.5 year old is awfully worrisome.