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abs05
member
Speech delay advice needed.
abs05
member
So here is some background on my daughter:
So far she has developed pretty typically, though she tends to master big skills a little late but perfectly. She babbled on time, crawled on the the late side of normal, and walked on the late side of normal at 16 months. She said her first words on time and had 10 words or so by 15 months. After that, she just kind of stopped. At her 18 month appointment I was slightly concerned, but she had enough words and was understanding so much that no one else was even slightly worried. By the time DD was 20 months she had maybe 15 words along with a few animal sounds and was no longer using words she once had. At this point our pedi had us contact EI. They were extremely unhelpful, told us there was nothing to worry about, and to call back if we had further concerns. Two months later we were making zero progress with speech so I called EI again. This time they agreed to come to do an evaluation. DD was right on track in every area except for expressive language. She had a 4 month delay. Unfortunately, in our state they have to combine expressive with receptive which meant DD didn't qualify for services.
Around this time, DD had an ear infection (first one) that would not die. Antibiotics were not working to keep her ear clear and she was also having recurrent sinus infections. Were referred to an ENT, At this point we found out DD had thick fluid in her ears and had also suffered some hearing loss. We immediately scheduled surgery for adenoid removal and tubes. This happened in mid-November, and her hearing was restored post surgery. Everyone assured us that her speech delay was simply due to the fact that she couldn't hear properly pre-tubes and that she would catch up almost immediately.
A month later we were still seeing almost no progress. She still has ony added 4-5 words in the past 8 months. I decided to seek out private speech therapy since EI wasn't an option for us. We have now been in therapy for 5 weeks, two times a week. We still aren't seeing much progress. DD loves it and is very receptive to it. She loves the therapist and wants to learn. She is just unable to pick up new words. When she does manage to mimic or say a new sound you can tell it is WORK for her. Everyone still seems very fixated on the tubes and assures me that since she is so social and receptive that she'll start talking any day now. This may be true, but I feel like something else could be going on, too.
I realized the other day when we were discussing picky eaters on my BMB that DD has some definite sensory issues. I had never considered them before, but I spent the weekend reading The Out of Sync Child and a lot of it resonates with me. DD has problems with loud noises, is still terrified of the hairdryer, drools like crazy, has issues with textures, and has always crammed things in her mouth like a chipmunk. Apparently this could be due to sensory issues which in turn could affect speech.
So, now after all that, I now have questions. Anyone with any experience with this? Am I being too impatient with speech therapy, or should I also seek out occupational therapy? I plan on asking our speech therapist and pedi for advice, but I was hoping there might be someone that has been through this that could shed some light for me, too. All I know is that my gut tells me it is more than just a speech delay and my gut hasn't steered me wrong yet. I just don't know where to go next since EI has been so not helpful for us.
ETA: Since the bump is broken and won't let me add a ticker back or change my pictures, my daughter is almost 26 months. She still says 25ish words with only one two word phrase.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Speech delay advice needed.
I have some experience with speech delays. Both of my boys were late to talk and both attended speech therapy; DS1 for 6ish months and DS2 for nearly 2 years. DS2 in particular had me very worried. Speech delays can often be a sign of ASD and I was on high anxiety alert for some time.
At the age of 2, DS2 had zero words. We were in speech therapy several months before we saw any real progress. I'd say he caught up, more or less, around the age of 3. We attended weekly speech therapy for 45 minutes each session. And we worked in exercises at home constantly. Making new sounds was a real effort for him.
I remember now that you mention it that he also drooled quite a bit between the ages of 18-24 months. I had forgotten about that. He too was sensitive to loud noises, would cram food in his mouth. He had other red-flag type behaviours (poor eye contact, not responding to his name come to mind). I felt certain at the time that we would eventually get a diagnosis of ASD. But over time and as his speech progressed, the worrisome behaviours that I was seeing diminished or disappeared.
Now, at the age of 4, his expressive language is typical (receptive language was never really in question). Anyway, childhood apraxia of speech is the most likely explanation for his speech delay. Still some work to do ("L" and "R" in particular) but he has been testing at or above his age for six months or so.
In my experience, speech therapy takes time, a lot of time. There is no magic wand, no quick fix.
I benefitted a great deal from attending speech therapy with my kids. Just the patience and the way to talk and tips on how to elicit new sounds. I also learned rudimentary sign language to use with the kids. I am certain that helped quite a bit.
I found that doing 'exercises' in the car was a perfect time to work on verbal skills. It gave the kids something to do, it passed the time, they were contained in their car seat.
Yeah. Google. Nasty. Stay off youtube as well.
As a suggestion, I'd contact EI again for a re-evaluation. It's always possible that your DD would qualify now. Not saying for certain, but definitely worth a shot.
And I say keep going with the speech therapy regardless. It will click eventually and it just may be taking longer because of the prior hearing loss. My DS, thankfully, started EI before they combined expressive/receptive language and did quite well within the program.
Bronx Zoo: Summer 2013
To read my blog, click on the giraffe pic below!
I know EI hasn't been helpful, but I would call again and ask about an OT eval since you have some sensory concerns. I think that's a good place to start.
both of my children have been speech delayed and neither made any sort of progress in the first five weeks. It took my son a good 4 months until he started improving. My daughter has been in speech for 7 months and just started improving in the last month. I would definitely give the speech therapy more time. I think you're on the right path of asking your SLP and your pedi what to do re: the sensory issues you're noticing but regardless I don't think you would have seen dramatic improvement in 5 weeks, sensory issues or not.
Can you ask your DD's speech therapist about some of your concerns? I know her focus is speech, but when I have a developmental issue come up I ask DD's speech therapist anyway. She works with a LOT of kids with sensory issues, so she can usually answer my question - or tap into to someone who can. Since EI has been so unhelpful for you, I would start there.
I'm also shocked that your DD wouldn't qualify for services. Although we have more out of pocket expenses, I'm thrilled that we live in a state where a 25% delay in speech alone qualifies DD for services.
I will say too that it can be slow going - but at the same time, trust your instinct. DD had about the same delay as your daughter at 15 mos when she started. At 28 mos she has 200+ words and is frequently speaking in sentences, but she's been getting therapy for over a year now. But there were many times I thought it would never happen. It seems to go in fits and spurts - nothing for a while and then a huge explosion, rinse and repeat.
Yes, and from what I understand this is a recent change in Texas. One that the therapists are not a fan of. DD tested way behind on expressive speech but way ahead on receptive. Once the two were combined she was where she should be according to the state of Texas. Also, the system is very busy so you have to have a significant delay to qualify. Zero words before the age of two, and less than 10 after the age of two. So, while I have nothing to lose by calling EI again I don't think we'll see much help from them.
I did ask our speech therapist about my sensory concerns yesterday. She is going to ask one of her OT's that works in the same practice for her thoughts and we will most likely schedule an evaluation for next week. Of course, after a weekend spent on edge DD did wake up yesterday saying "I bye bye", "hi dada", and "I want". It is all extremely unclear, but it is progress. Finally!
My son was just like your daughter as far as learning words and then stopping. I mentioned it to the pedi and he didn't seem to worried. At his 2 year check up I mentioned it again and he pedi referred me to EI. He was evaluated and had enough of a delay (30%) to qualify for services. They suggested I have his hearing tested. He had never had an ear infection before. When his hearing was tested it was so obvious that he just could not hear. The ear doc said he had giant adenoids and fluid in his ears. We did the surgery for tubes and adenoids at the beginning of October. When his hearing was tested a month later, he could hear everything.
We started ST and I thought he would just begin talking like a regular 22 month old. Well, it has been slow! There have been weeks of huge improvement, and then he levels off. I keep asking the ST if this is normal and she assures me that it is. They have to go through all of the stages of language development that they "missed" because they couldn't hear. She said that as long as he is picking up about 1 new word each week, he is on track.
He is 2.5 now and he says a lot of words and phrases and babbles a lot but I would say that only half of them are really clear so that a stranger would understand him. The ST told me that his muscles need to strengthen so that he can say the words clearly and the only way this will happen is through time and practice. They call it "mushy mouth" and that is exactly how it sounds.
Trust me, I know how hard it is to be patient with this! I also wanted to add that he did have some sensory problems, especially with loud noises. He still does sometimes but they are lessening as he is talking more and I only really notice it if he is tired. But again, the ST told me that kids who have had one sense that does not work, over-accomodate with other senses just out of necessity. Maybe once your DD starts to talk more, this will be less of a concern for you.
That all sounds very familiar. Your story does sound almost exactly like mine. At this point I am feeling like our sensory issues are due to the fact that DD is hearing noises she never has before. I'm hoping that once they no longer sound new she'll stop being so scared by everything. But, we'll see. I've also been told that one new word a week is something we should be happy with and that is what we are getting.
Thanks for the input everyone. It's very reassuring to hear from people that have been there.
In my son's case, the fear of sounds DID lessen--though he still doesn't like loud noises overall. But the first months after his tubes were the worst with noise-related fears. I think once he was better able to verbalize his worries and communicate, it was easier to soothe the fears.
Bronx Zoo: Summer 2013
To read my blog, click on the giraffe pic below!