Tubes and Speech therapy

Jmollo28

hello guys.. my DS is about to be 2 in June. He has NOT been talking at all.. he jabbers.. so our State offers a free program (to everyone, not just low income which is awesome) called Birth to 3. So, DS has been doing speech therapy as well as developmental therapy. My question here is this.. he doesnt have any developmental delays "other than" speech. He throws overhand, runs, jumps, climbs.. in fact, his coordination is ridiculous for a little guy (he's not even 2 and can hit a t-ball off of a tball stand) that'll give you an idea. So, we also found out he needs tubes. He's had 9 ear infections since he was 8 months old. So, Im wondering this.. Has anyone else gone through this with their kiddos and do the tubes immediately help? I'm really scared that he will get tubes, and still not talk. He doesnt say anything.. not mom, dad nothing.. nothing consistent at least.. although he does sign.. which he is doing awesome at. ?

jonesie2010

You must have posted this while I was typing mine! My problem is a little different but I can tell you that after DD got tubes at 10 months, her babbling went through the roof. It has now slowed back down (hence my post) but we did see a difference quickly.

MaggieF516

My situation is a little similar.  My son will be starting the Early Intervention program for speech delays (he says about 25-30 words but is not putting two words together yet) and apparently he did not do well with the cognitive tasks like paying attention, following directions, etc., but he is VERY active, has great coordination and is extremely social. I think maybe some toddlers just are more active/physical than others and they aren't focused on "talking" but "doing."  I see other toddlers in public and my son is literally running circles around them and he has WAY more energy LOL. It's crazy. Since my son is happy, healthy and fine in other areas, I'm not getting too concerned yet.  I'm guessing the ear issue might also be the cause of your son's difficulties if he is completely fine in other areas.  If he's signing, he obviously understands much more than he is saying.  My brother apparently completely stopped talking when he was that age and started up right away after he got the tubes.  Good luck!

minervacullen

My DH had that when he was little, but he was also clumsy because his equilibrium was off. As soon as he got tubes he improved. He still needed speech in elementary school, but he never had any long term issues. He played sports, military, graduated top of his class, he's an engineer...
I know parents worry so much at this age, but with the proper medical care, things usually turn out well.

rakle99

I would recommend getting his hearing tested. A pediatric audiologist would be able to answer these questions and make suggestions about his services.

chimneygrl

We had tubs put in because of ear infections. The very next day he was making more sounds..babbling. He is now 14 months and is saying more words. He said owl the other day! I do think that tubs helped.

Irishsapphire

My daughter got tubes on April 17th.  She is going to private speech therapist every week (since she did not qualify for services through the local school district).  She knows the words but cannot say the words.  There was fluid in her ears, and the pressure was off in one ear.  They said it can take a couple of weeks after the tubes procedure, so it is not immediate.  She can clearly say "Mine" and "No." 

Jmollo28

Hey guys.. thats exactly DS too!  He climbs, kicks, throws overhand and basically the developmental therapist said the same thing, he's more of a doing vs talking.  I did however, have a consultation yesterday.. we found out that he's basically deaf in one ear and going there on the right.  Good news, its just fluid build up.  He is set to get his tubes on May 15th.. and the dr says that he should be perfectly fine after that.  He babbles a ton, I'm almost scared to see what he's going to say! LOL

michelle615

DS got tubes at 17 months and we noticed some fairly quick improvements.  He had better balance, began talking more.  I wouldn't say immediate, but fast.  And during his procedure, they drained the fluid in his ears which can contribute to speech delays.  They evaluated his hearing as well.  It sounds like tubes could help his ear infections.  It should help his hearing too, but if you don't notice improvements, check with the ENT on what the next steps would be.  GL!