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Special Needs
1st post here - Speech Therapy?
I usually post on the multiples board and the preemie board. ?DD and DS were born at 26w1d...?DD hits every milestone before DS. ?Cassidy does things on average 2 weeks prior to Dylan, sometimes it's longer though. ?I try not to compare them to each other, but it's so hard not to. ?In the past 2 weeks Cassidy's verbal approximations of "words" have taken off and I don't see much from Dylan and I'm getting worried. ?She says: more, quack, woof, moo, mom, dad, daddy, hi, ba, baby, light, juice. He says: mama, dada, na, ba, he used to say light and juice but not anymore. ?Should I be worried? ?Also, are there any games, books, toys, ideas that your therapist has suggested to work at home? ?I emailed a SLT who met through a friend and she said that Dylan is on target for his adjusted age and if i don't see much growth to schedule an eval in june. ?TIA
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Re: 1st post here - Speech Therapy?
Even if we tell you not to worry you will anyways right? After everything you have been through I am sure it's hard to not compare and wonder if things are "normal". I think he's probably right on track but hopefully there is someone on here that is more qualified to help you! GL!
Welcome - please don't think your concerns aren't 'special enough' to be here for support/advice. It's so hard not to worry,but it sounds like you're paying real close attention to what Dylan is doing.
(For reference, DS has Williams Syndrome, Dx at 18 months, and didn't walk/talk/chew food until about 2 yrs.) One book I read which was kind of interesting is "The Late Talker" and while it got kind of scary at times I had to remember that not everything I read will ever all apply to DS. The biggest thing I got out of the book is the benefits of Omega 3's. We started giving DS the Coromega Orange Omega 3's (it's a pudding consistency and tastes like a creamcicle) and started to see improvements within a few weeks.)
As far as helping DS begin to use words, we used the Hanen approach of using a lot of routines, using small sentences (like saying Eat? instead of "DS, do you want to eat oatmeal/grapes/etc." or Dog! instead of "See the dog?") and giving DS a lot of wait time meaning after we said "Eat" waiting 30-60 seconds for him to give some response (a grunt/gesture is a good response)
As far as play, when you're playing, get right in his face so he sees your mouth moving when you say words. Another way to get good face time is sitting him on the couch/high chair when you're reading to him - it also helps keep his attention on you.
I could go on and on (I have a year of this under my belt) page me if you have any specific questions. BTW - he has a ton of words now and is begining to put 2 and 3 word sentences together
(He also has a hundred, no exaggeration, signs he's picked up from the Signing Time videos. A lot of people discouraged us from teaching him sign, but it really REALLY helped him communicate.
It is never productive for people to tell you 'not to worry' & you won't see that much around this board, because of just what the mom above said - you're going to worry anyway.... especially because of all you've been through.
This website seems to have a good amount of info for the RANGE of time that children typically hit goals - plus it has red flags to look for.
https://www.earlyinterventionsupport.com/development_speech.aspx
Also, just from some of our speech sessions, simple stuff you can implement whether there is a delay or not:
Parallel talk. Watch what your child is doing and describe it while they play. "Sally stacking blocks. pretty blocks. stack, stack, stack." Or something like that.
Self talk. If DC is watching you do something, use words to describe your actions. "Mommy is brushing her hair. See the brush go all the way down, down, down. brush. brush. Yaaaay"
Stretch talk: Help DS learn more by repeating what he says and adding something to it. "Da. That's right! Daddy's home." or "Ju. You want juice in your cup."
And last - just remember that what you're looking for is a progression of communication (someone told me this and it stuck). If DS is pointing for you to get something, it's communication. If DS points and grunts, it is a step forward. If DS points and says something resembling a word - its even closer. So, maybe instead of the actual words themselves, look for that communication building and growing.
I'm not in any way a SLP or anything, just a mom who knows how frustrating it is when all you really have to go on is COMPARISON!!
Good luck! Let us know how things go.