3.5 yo with speech delay and great motor skills

[jannaria]

Hi, my son is almost 3.5 yo. He was diagnosed with speech delay 6 moths ago, so far he finished 6 weeks Intervention program and 6 weeks of speech therapy. He's doing great, now he has around 100 words and likes to sing songs. He has troubles expressing his emotions and wishes, and does not play with kids in preschool. He's great with fine and gross motor skills, really good climber, knows all letters, counting till 100, likes to write numbers and letters, has good eye contact. He's on the  waiting list for occupational therapy (sometimes he throws toys and he runs, falls down on the floor, but not too hard) and psychological assessment for another 12 months. Should I wait for the assessment or there is signs to worry and it could be more than just speech delay? Should I encourage his interest in numbers and letters or try to remove all the toys with numbers and letters?
Thank you for any advise!              

[Iamayn]

The educators from the Child Development Center my son goes to (he's 3 years old), suggested I sign him up for Speech Therapy at the local elementary school because his speech is delayed.  Apparently, by law, the school has to enroll him for this problem.  I don't know if this law is state wide or national, but you may look into a Speech Therapy program at your local Elementary school as well.  

[SUBRAbNS]

My son is 4 years old. Till now he is not able talk properly. Recently with the help of a speech therapyst he has developed eye to eye contact, recognising colour, know all the alphabets, counts up to ten, recognises the family photo and name them. very fond of music and dance, loves to play with other children. utters words which one can not understand. can any one suggest what to do for his speech development.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

My advice to you is to encourage him to play and explore his world and stop attempts to push formal learning. Children this young learn about the world in spontaneous ways, not via structured learning. Enjoy him and his development. Of course you can permit toys with letters and numbers, just don't focus on them in any formal way.