DS1 doesn't talk much. He has between 25 and 30 words. The pedi said he should have 50. He also doesn't speak clearly. Except for the people who see him every day, most don't know what he says. We met with the school early education people today. I don't think we will qualify for services since he does speak and doesn't have any other delays. Any advice to help him speak more clearly or learn more words?
Re: speech problems
Speak in 1 and 2 word phrases and repeat, repeat, repeat. Start singing songs and nursery rhymes. The same ones over and over again. Look at books, instead of actually reading, point at objects and say what it is or what it is doing. Puzzles are good for learning nouns too. Make it fun with lots of silly sounds. 'Car, vroom, vroom. Beep beep.'
I would do an EI eval. Even if he doesn't qualify, you can ask those questions of a trained professional and they can recommend resources or tactics.
You may or may not be able to get private speech therapy, if you wanted to go that route for a few sessions to get tips and advice and a professional's opinion outside of EI -- check your insurance. Some plans cover it, but many do not cover speech based on developmental delays; they only cover therapies if skills have been lost due to an injury.
DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
When DD had a speech delay, I read a lot about developing speech and language in young children. I found this book to be the most helpful:
https://www.amazon.com/It-Takes-Two-Talk-Practical/dp/0921145195/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368155496&sr=8-1&keywords=it+takes+two+to+talk
It's pricey but has lots of good information.
Call EI. You may not qualify, but you'll still get good information. It's amazing to me how different EI s from state to state.
We pursued private speech therapy. At 2 she was saying 15-20 words. Now it is 60ish. Not a great improvement, but we are getting there. DD loves going.
Freshie Girl 9.29.12
Same here. DS1 qualified through EI also, and he definitely has more than 50 words.
My daughter had maybe 35 word at 2 years. She is coming out with new ones every day now --its actually surprising. She is now naming things in books, and I am taken aback every day with some new word she suddenly knows.
She did start with 2-word phrases right on schedule, though. Is your child doing that yet? I mean unique combos, not like "upside down," which go together as one "word."