Speech Therapy at 15 months?

periwinkleblue · October 2013

My son just turned 15 months and he had his dr's visit this morning.

The doctor recommends we put him on speech therapy since he still can't say words -- he does only one syllables right now. I was pretty surprised because he can recognize and make the sounds for more than 15 letters at this time. He points when we asks him where's the apple, where's the cow, etc and he responds when we say "what does the cow say?" (moo) , "what does the sheep say" (baa), etc. He loves reading books and also follows commands like "please give mommy the ball", etc.

The doctor says they should have 2 words by now.. and 4 words by 18 months. Should I be concerned and start him on speech therapy?

What's your experience?

wedsept · October 2013

I would follow the recommendation of your pedi. Only 1 syllable at 15 months is considered delayed. If you do a wait and see approach and he doesn't improve, he will be even more delayed. We took our first LO for physical therapy for a few months because of delayed motor skills, and it did wonders. She is now a normal 3 1/2 year old. They told me at the time it is good you were proactive and brought her now, instead of waiting a little longer because it will take less time to improve.

Torani · October 2013

Last time I checked, animal sounds ARE words. You listed two in your post, so there are your two words he can say right there. our pedi counted that for words when DS1 was that age.

DiveFrog · October 2013

DD's doctor asked at 15months if she was saying 4-5 words that "We" understood.(i.e. they didn't have to be the correct word or complete word). And she is, but just barely. Still our Dr. wasn't concerned yet. we will discuss again at 18months.

Tough spot to be in for sure, but based on what you have written I would say better safe then sorry and have your DS more formally evaluated

I have a friend with a son who sounds similar to yours his verbal comprehension was amazing, and he could follow directions very well, but was not really speaking any words. She took a wait and see approach and he ended up having to have intense speech therapy from 3-5years. He even had to do a young 5's and kindergarten year instead of going from young 5's to first grade like the majority of his class just because of the speech issues.

Plus, he was so discouraged and frustrated that people couldn't understand him and that he had such a hard time communicating with anyone other than his parents. It wasn't good for his self esteem at all. Who knows how much easier things would have been for him and his parents had they had him evaluated when he was 15-18months and gotten therapy then?!

ashiscute · October 2013

At 15 months my daughter had great receptive language skills but no words. My pedi wasn't super concerned but recommended EI and we got her evaluated. She qualified for services starting at 17 months. I would definitely start the process now because it takes awhile to really get the ball rolling and you can always change your mind. And early intervention is key. Our speech therapist was great at showing me alternative ways to work with DD and get her to communicate with me (and not only the other way around). I am so glad we went ahead with it because she is still delayed and is being evaluated for apraxia of speech. Who knows how much more delayed she'd be if we waited.

mommymegan831 · October 2013

I wouldn't be concerned but I don't know why you'd turn down services for your LO. It can't hurt him

smileybabyboy · October 2013

It might be discouraging to find out LO MIGHT be behind. But early intervention is great for any child and it will only help him.

crystaleyes39 · October 2013

Your pedi doesn't really have the final say. You can go through Early intervention where they come out and evaluate your child then they decide if your child even qualifies. My daughter is 21 months old and I had her evaluated at 18 months for not saying and words besides babbling at that point and they decided she needed the therapy. For me I view it only as helping her, even if she does or does not need it it can't hurt, but I would look into E.I. then go from there. 15 months does seem a little young to worry though.

mamatotwins0812 · October 2013

I just had a speech eval for my 15 month old the other day. She mentioned the things she's looking for him to do (all of what you mentioned yours does). She wasn't AS concerned about the lack of words as she was the other things (pointing, responding to questions etc). Based on what you mention, personally I don't think there's a delay but there's also no harm in a speech eval. Even if he does qualify, it won't do anything but help him.

Socialworkgirl · October 2013

We saw a different pediatrician for DD's 12 month appointment who referred us to EI, but EI in our state doesn't provide speech services until 18 months. We considered pursuing private speech therapy but after doing some reading and talking to some friends who are speech and language professionals, we have decided to wait until 18 months or so to see if she progresses on her own between now and then. Most things I read say that speech develops anywhere between 9 and 18 months and that is normal. Some people say that it is not a problem even if it develops later in some kids.

DD currently only says bye bye but has good receptive language. She doesn't know which sounds are associated with any letters yet and doesn't make animal sounds. She also doesn't call us mama of dada.

myschlove · October 2013

MY son is about to start speech therapy, but he is 23 months... my ped said she doesnt even worry about it until at least 18 months... boys like to take their time talking sometimes!

myschlove · October 2013

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JustcallmeGG2 · October 2013

OuR son is 15 months as well and NO words not even mama or dada. pediatrician recommended an early intervention referral as I suspected. He didnt qualify for EI bc his receptive language is good and he is communicating in other ways (Sign, pointing, etc). they said they think he will just need more time.

calibroncosfan5968 · October 2013

I have the same concern about my sweet pea.. she'll be 16 months on the 12th. At her 15 month appt Dr. said to give her 6 more weeks and than if nothing, we could get a recommendation for speech therapy. To be honest, I'm chomping at the bit because everyday that passes, I get more concerned about it. She can wave, point, tell us no, and says Mamama but I don't think it's in direct correlation to me. I'd rather start early and find out there's no problem or I was worried over nothing, then wait and it be a bigger issue. I wish you the best!

ashiscute · October 2013

theresat858 said:

I would say that your pedi is not quite sure what a word is.... There are many words that are one syllable... so I don't really understand that as a criteria, unless there is more that you are not telling us. At 16.5 mo my DD says "hi", "shoes", and "agua" (her daycare is in Spanish). Our pedi was not worried at all at her 15mo and she didn't even say shoes at that point, though she's also said "ba" meaning ball a few times.

No, I wouldn't subject a 15mo old to speech therapy. Not all kids are early talkers, and the "language explosion" is supposed to happen from 18-24 months, not before that.

I'm sorry but this is kind of offensive. Speech therapy is not a negative or something to be ashamed of. We started the process at 15 months (therapy began at 17 months) and it helped me immensely to communicate with DD and have her try to communicate with me. I am so grateful that we started the process when we did and didn't wait till the "language explosion" is supposed to happen. Because it would not have.

lucylove619 · October 2013

I am working on my masters in speech therapy and I actually don't think he sounds delayed. Animal sounds are definitely words, and especially with his receptive skills being so good and being able to produce a variety of sounds, I probably wouldn't be very worried. If he wasn't making very many sounds, wasn't pointing or using gestures then I would be worried. That said, an EI eval certainly won't do any harm and if he does get therapy, that won't hurt a thing! Speech therapy for a 15 month old is all fun and games, nothing to worry about 'subjecting' your child to. DD gets it about every day because I always practice on her

If your pedi is concerned definitely get the eval, but I wouldn't stress about it. Good luck!

kcisthebombdotcom · October 2013

ashiscute said:

theresat858 said:

I would say that your pedi is not quite sure what a word is.... There are many words that are one syllable... so I don't really understand that as a criteria, unless there is more that you are not telling us. At 16.5 mo my DD says "hi", "shoes", and "agua" (her daycare is in Spanish). Our pedi was not worried at all at her 15mo and she didn't even say shoes at that point, though she's also said "ba" meaning ball a few times.

No, I wouldn't subject a 15mo old to speech therapy. Not all kids are early talkers, and the "language explosion" is supposed to happen from 18-24 months, not before that.

I'm sorry but this is kind of offensive. Speech therapy is not a negative or something to be ashamed of. We started the process at 15 months (therapy began at 17 months) and it helped me immensely to communicate with DD and have her try to communicate with me. I am so grateful that we started the process when we did and didn't wait till the "language explosion" is supposed to happen. Because it would not have.

I never said it was something to be ashamed of. But it does suck, having been there as a child and it is one of the few early memories I have- how much I hated it. Give the kid a chance. DD had three words two weeks ago, now she has 10 or so.

I had speech therapy as a kid and I agree it wasn't a positive experience at all. That's why I wanted to be proactive with my kids speech because stuff like that can run in families. The earlier you intervene the quicker a child can catch up since the brain is a lot more open to change at one vs three. Every single parent that I know who waited it out regrets it. I've never met a parent that felt that therapy was a waste of time.

ashiscute · October 2013

theresat858 said:

ashiscute said:

theresat858 said:

I would say that your pedi is not quite sure what a word is.... There are many words that are one syllable... so I don't really understand that as a criteria, unless there is more that you are not telling us. At 16.5 mo my DD says "hi", "shoes", and "agua" (her daycare is in Spanish). Our pedi was not worried at all at her 15mo and she didn't even say shoes at that point, though she's also said "ba" meaning ball a few times.

No, I wouldn't subject a 15mo old to speech therapy. Not all kids are early talkers, and the "language explosion" is supposed to happen from 18-24 months, not before that.

I'm sorry but this is kind of offensive. Speech therapy is not a negative or something to be ashamed of. We started the process at 15 months (therapy began at 17 months) and it helped me immensely to communicate with DD and have her try to communicate with me. I am so grateful that we started the process when we did and didn't wait till the "language explosion" is supposed to happen. Because it would not have.

I never said it was something to be ashamed of. But it does suck, having been there as a child and it is one of the few early memories I have- how much I hated it. Give the kid a chance. DD had three words two weeks ago, now she has 10 or so.

Your experience was probably a bit different than what is being done now. We are talking about a 15 month old who will definitely not remember it. Anyway, EI is play based and takes place at your home. So literally once per week a speech therapist comes and we play for an hour and my daughter loves it. The therapist is more support for me on how to help DD to communicate. To DD she is just another playdate. Every parent knows their child best so OP might not think therapy is necessary for her but I'd feel much worse waiting only to find my child didn't catch up versus starting the process and then finding it my child didn't need it.

ktpaladino · October 2013

My pedi said animal sound effects count as words. My 18 month old can only say mama, dada, ugh-oh, snort like a pig, blow bubbles like a fish, tweet like a bird, and roar for a variety of animals that roar (crocodile is his fave though!) Then there are the days when he can repetitively say a word like dog or book a few times, and then he never says it again! I have considered calling early intervention, but our pedi is not concerned. He said if there is not much addition to his vocabulary by the 22-24 month mark, then I can consider making the call for a speech therapist.

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