Speech Developement

[jimb76]

Sir, I have a 2 yr old grandson who does not speak any words, he just "grunts".  He obviously hears well, because he does respond , by action, when spoken to.  He is quite clever, does have good speech recognition, and will correctly complete multiple task correctly when instructed.  Physically, he is very active,& well co-ordinated.  He has an older brother & sister who love him, and play with  him (they do not abuse or bully him).
Am I expecting too much, or do we have a problem?

[CECEGIRL]

HI, MY SON IS NOW 6 YRS BUT WHEN HE WAS 2YRS OLD I NOTICE HE WOULDNT TALK, AND IF HE DID HE WOULD ONLY SAY ONE WORD SENTENCES AND I HAD TO MAKE HIM SAY THAT.  I BLAME MYSELF CAUSE I TALKED FOR HIM A LONG TIME NOT THINKING WHAT EFFECT IF WOULD HAVE, I ALSO HAVE A 11YR OLD AND I TALKED FOR HER WHEN SHE WAS LITTE AND HAD NO PROBLEMS SO I DIDNT THINK TWICE.  I THOUGHT HE WOULD GROW OUT OF IT, CAUSE AT THAT TIME HE WAS MIS PRONOUNCING COMMON LETTER AND HE WASNT GIVING ME THAT MUCH TO WORK WITH SINCE HIS VOCABULARY WAS LIMITED.  HE WOULD SAY "OOOH LOOK AT THE BISHES" INSTEAD OF "OOOH LOOK AT THE FISHES". I HAD HIS HEARING CHECKED AT AGE 4YRS AND 11MONTHS THAT TUURNED OUT OK, I ALSO HAD A SPEECH AND LANGUAGE EVALUATION AND IT WAS SAID THAT HIS AUDITORY COMPREHENSION WAS THE AGE OF 2YR 3MONTHS AND EXPRESSIVE COMMUNICATION 1YR 11MONTHS GIVE HIS TOTAL LANGUAGE SCORE 2YRS 1MONTH. THE SPEECH AND LANGUAGE SPECIALIST ALSO SAID THAT SHE OBSERVED MY SON USING SIMPLE/TELEGRAPHIC SENTENCES TO GET HIS NEEDS MET.  THEY USED THE (GFTA-2) AND THE STANDARD SCORE = 93; PERCENTILE RANK = 29; TEST AGE EQUIVALENT = 3YRS 9MONTHS, THIS TESTING WAS DONE WHEN HE WAS 4YRS 11MONTHS.  OVERALL THEY SAID  HES A VERY SHY BOY AND HE EXHIBITS A SIGNIFICANT EXPRESSIVE AND RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE DELAY, AND HAS PROBLEMS WITH WHAT, WHERE, HOW AND WHO QUESTIONS.  BUT NOW HE TALKS BETTER, HE USES COMPLETE SENTENCES LIKE "MOMMY, CAN I GO IN THE REFRIGERATOR AND GET THE CRACKERS." BUT HE STILL MISPRONOUNCES CERTAIN LETTER SOUNDS.

WHAT CONFUSES ME IS WHEN HE SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY, MY DAUGHTER MADE HIM A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH AND SHE HAD JELLY AND PEANUT BUTTER HANGING ALL OVER THE BREAD SO HE SAYS "MOMMY , LOOK, CHIQUANNA NOR MAKE THE SANDWICH NICE AND NEAT" AND I HAVE TO CORRECT HIM AND SAY "SHE DIDNT" AND ALSO I HAVE TO TELL HIM TO SAY MESSY OR SLOPPY. HES VERY SMART, BUT THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT HE DOESNT LET YOU KNOW WHAT HE CAN DO ON SHOW YOU WHAT HE WANTS YOU TO KNOW UNTIL HE FEELS LIKE.

WHAT WOULD CAUSE SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN?

[kjv1966]

I have a daughter who is now 7. At 3years she still was not speaking. I had suspected problem ( I have two older boys who started speaking at normal age) I took her to pediatrician - Dr tried to tell me she was " autistic". I knew this was not the case - I did ALOT of research. The problem was with her ears. The reason the Dr did not suspect hearing was because she could hear @ the time (when we were investigating the problem) it was earlier in her life when she was unable to hear - the time when speech (particular sounds) are imprinted in the brain - they are learning speech long before they use it! The Dr also checked her ears - said they were clear - no infection. Well there was actually clear fluid causing almost 100% blockage. This we did not find out until I insisted she have tubes put in her ears! There is also a certain type of test they do to check for fluid in the ears ( I can't remember the name)they blow air on the eardrum - if the eardrum moves there is no fluid - if it does not move there is fluid and child most likely is not hearing. Drs.can not tell if ear is clear simply by looking with light - must do blowing test! After my daughter @ 31/2 yrs had tubes she within 1 week was speaking full sentences! Now is completely at grade level/development level and then some! Drs. don't always know everything - if I had listened to the pedi. that said she was autistic she would probably be in special classes or something right now! I just know that sometimes mothers really do know best!

[momof3boys]

Hello, I also have a two year old son whose expressive language is quite delayed (like a 14-16 mth old), his receptive language what he understands) is quite good for his age and like your grandson, follows simple directions very well.  I have enrolled him in Speech-Language therapy through our local intermediate school district.  They help children ages birth to three.  

I am concerned for my son being that most children his age are speaking in sentences, but I believe he will catch up with alot of extra help (therapy and alot of work at home)  Also, his speech therapist and I have been teaching him sign language to lessen the frustration. Signs like, "help", "more", "all done",
"eat", "drink" and "play" are very helpful for him.  

He has also just began occupational therapy to work on oral-motor exercises (for the mouth/tongue).  There are many, many muscles in our mouths and sometimes these little guys need extra sensory stimulation in that area to get things moving.  

I recommend that you have your grandson evaluation by a speech-language therapist and go from there.  Hang in there!

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Well, he is clearly behind where you'd expect him to be re: speech/language at his age. The most sensible thing is for his parents to arrange a Speech/Language evaluation. His pediatrician can guide them how to go about this. The Early Intervention program in your area would also be a useful resource/service.

[B_Johnson]

Speech development is somewhat relative.  Although most children utter their first words around 12months of age, some do a short time later.

Your grandson should undergo formal developmental testing using a common clinical exam such as the Denver Developmental scale. This test takes about a 1/2 hour and can be performed at any family or pediatric physician's office.

It is important to realize that normal development is based not on a single skill but an overall pattern of development.  As long as the child is perfoming well on other aspects such as neurologic, psychosocial and cognitive development there is less worry.

Some children who were premature may develop at a slower rate up to 3 months behind their peers.

Although autism is a concern, there are usually other typical behaviors that would suggest such a diagnosis.  And most are diagnosed after failure to speak in their 3rd or 4th year of life.

I recommend formal testing with your physician before coming to any conclusions.

-Dr. J