? Re: almost 2.5 year old and speech

meljas05 · May 2009

Here's the scenario:

DH took DD1 to the Dr. the other day because she had hives (didn't know what it was at the time) anyway, the Dr. mentioned that at her speech seems to be a bit behind (she was having a hard time understanding her) and that at her 2.5 year check up she'll recommend some sort of speech ___ (I don't know if this was therapist or what her exact words were).

I have worked with 2 year olds for a while and I guess I kind of "speak kid" where I understand a lot of what kids say when others don't. ?So, maybe I am not looking at this from a neutral perspective but... I guess I'm surprised. ?DD knows lots of words, her vocabulary is good, and can talk in upwards of 7ish word sentences sometimes. ?But the way she says words... a lot of times she doesn't finish a word (like she says the first half of the word, or doesn't pronounce a word 100% correct.). ?

Would you call the pedi and talk to her, to see if they can make this recommendation sooner than later if its a problem? ?I know only 2 or so months til she's 2.5, so wait it out or try to pursue this sooner? ?

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Moms of 2-2.5 year olds---How does your child talk? ?Can you understand them? ?Do they sometimes use sentences? ?Do they have what you would consider a substantial vocabulary? ?

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Thanks a lot. ?

august0605bride · May 2009

I'd call.

This isn't something that the doc should just mention casually-- it's obviously something that's a big deal to you, so you should try to get more answers. ?I'd be annoyed if my doctor slid something like that into another conversation.?

AnnapolisLari · May 2009

I think it's pretty normal to not understand everything a 2 year old says.

I am going to get DS checked out, for the simple reason that I think he needs to be. He was pretty badly tongue tied at birth, and still holds his tongue really far back in his mouth, which garbles his words.

But I knew way back when that there might be speech therapy in his future.

Jen2124 · May 2009

My boys are a bit older...they were 2.5 in March....but they speak and spoke very well...or at least "normal". They definitely do not correctly pronounce every word, but they speak in full sentences and can "say" whatever it is they need to say. I have heard other kids speak and I literally could not understand a word that he/she said. I think both Ryan and Dillon are typical....you can understand most of what they say, but it's still not 100% correct. You should ask an outsider how "clear" they think your dd speaks.....maybe it is just clear to you since you are her mom. If it is very unclear, maybe that is the cause for the dr's concern. I know speech varies greatly from child to child, though.

Starr_Mom · May 2009

I understand alot of what DS says, but I know most 'outsiders' don't. He does say alot of words and uses most of them in sentences, but I sometimes have to ask MH if he can translate. I guess go further with your dr at her next appt and see the speech therapist or whatever if that's what she recommends. It couldn't hurt!

Temp86398625009737 · May 2009

I understand her, Dh does not. She talks in sentences, but F's are b sounds, and quite a few invented words I guess you would call them. Like they they are is "Dare a are" if you can get my point..does that help?

AZ_Erica · May 2009

I would call back. If we went by what DS actually said in front of the Dr. she would assume he didn't speak at all. He never did any of his milestone type things in front of her either. I guess he's just not a good "trick pony." anyways, my point is, what you see on a day to day basis is not likely what the dr. saw in that one visit.

Andrewsgal · May 2009

I would say DD's speech is 90% understandable by strangers. 100% by us. I would also call, it won't hurt to have a Speech path do an intake to see if she qualifies. Doctors are becoming more and more concerned as far as speech goes which is actually a good thing. Better to be safe than sorry.

Heidisean · May 2009

Jen2124:
My boys are a bit older...they were 2.5 in March....but they speak and spoke very well...or at least "normal". They definitely do not correctly pronounce every word, but they speak in full sentences and can "say" whatever it is they need to say. I have heard other kids speak and I literally could not understand a word that he/she said. I think both Ryan and Dillon are typical....you can understand most of what they say, but it's still not 100% correct. You should ask an outsider how "clear" they think your dd speaks.....maybe it is just clear to you since you are her mom. If it is very unclear, maybe that is the cause for the dr's concern. I know speech varies greatly from child to child, though.

I would call and get your child evaluated. Or call EI yourself. You do not need a doctor's referral for early intervention. At 2 1/2 a child should be speaking in sentences and be clear most of the time. My dd does speak in full sentences and carries on conversations with me. I understand her 99.9% of the time. She speaks in typical 2 year old sentences though and will sometimes say me instead of I or use the wrong tense. (add ed to present tense). GL

MichelleWP · May 2009

So it's more of an articulation concern, if I'm reading that right? I know where I live they really don't to artic evals until age 3, a lot can happen in 9 months! I would go with your gut - are you concerned, or just concerned about what the dr said? If you're concerned, I would call and get an EI eval now, it won't hurt - if not, wait a few months.

ak071401 · May 2009

My ds is 2.5 and he speaks very clearly and has since about 18 months -- people don't usually have trouble understanding what he says unless he is trying to use a bigger word that he is unsure if he is using correctly (like the time he tried to use "actually" in a sentence he kind of mumbled it the first time until we acknowledged that he was correct).

I know our neighbor's ds turned 2 in January and it is very hard for anyone other than his parents to understand what he says. He and my ds play a lot, so we are starting to know some of his words, but it has taken us some time because they are so unclear. So maybe with your dd it is like that ... you understand her clearly, but others don't?

Chrisy-Wyobride · May 2009

My almost 2.5yr old speaks almost as clearly as my 4.5yr old. Totally understandable, in sentences, etc. But my older DD was way behind this at her age. If you are concerned, I'd have her evaluated--I have had my DD#1, she turned out to be in the normal range but it was a good piece of mind.

Littlejen22 · May 2009

Call your state's early intervention and get an eval started...they can take a while to get an eval and they are impartial. My DS just got out of EI speech therapy so I am pretty aware of what they look at. Sounds like the only issue might be sentences...I doubt that she would quallify but try. At 2.5 prounouncing the first half of a word does not count as a word. But when you say not prounounced 100% correct do you mean age appropriate? There are tons of sounds that are age appropriate to not pronounce.

lizlemon77 · May 2009

I worked for the Milwaukee EI program. I'm sending you a pm.

meljas05 · May 2009

After reading these responses, I just called DH bawling. ?The pedi isn't in today, but will be tomorrow. ?I'll be calling her first thing. ?I don't know the first thing about who to call or talk to or what. ?

Here are some examples of things she says:

"papie towie" for paper towel

"pa ya" for potty

"coi" for coin

"papie" (pay pee) ?for paper?

"chee" for cheese

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I'm just really upset that I have overlooked this for so long. ?But I can understand everything she says, and she understands what we are saying to her.

Thanks for all of the responses. ?

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meljas05 · May 2009

lizlemon77:
I worked for the Milwaukee EI program.? I'm sending you a pm.

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Thank you--I'll have to wait til a little later to look at some of those websites, because I want to take the time to LOOK and not just skim them, ya know? ?I appreciate your help. ?

TheNextWest · May 2009

Apparently, I am in the same boat as you. I really feel like I need to call and probably will on Monday (won't be available tom). The difference is, my ped, keeps telling me that I don't need to worry so much because it's more "normal" for twins to be delayed in speech. But I feel like this is more than that. DS says more than DD. Strangers can understand some of what he is saying and he speaks in sentences, but even DH and I can barely understand DD. We catch a word every once in a while, but mostly it's just jibberish still.

lizlemon77 · May 2009

(((hugs)))

Please try not to get too upset! It honestly doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about. I think EI is an awsome program and I always recommend it because I would rather evalute a kid and be able to tell the parent they are doing fine than have a kid fall through the cracks because they didn't get evaluated.

Please email me if you need anything else or if you just want to ask questions. I know the feeling of worry (I've got concerns about my own DD) but please don't worry too much!

AnnapolisLari · May 2009

Great, now I am worried about ds.

Shanz813 · May 2009

I'm worried now too....I am often repeating what my DD says to others because they can't understand her.

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