Need to stop stressing..

Jmcmahon21 · December 2013

So DS has been in "speech therapy" with Early Childhood for 6 months and we still haven't had the "word explosion" he is saying more words weekly and saying a couple two word phrases but that's about it. The teacher we're working with said by 2 they should be saying 150-300 words which seems insane to me. My ped. at his 18 month appt acted like they wanted at least 50 by 2 so why is there such a wide range from different people?? Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of the teacher that comes out weekly and DS doesn't really play with her like he does other people he likes

The early childhood teacher comes twice a month for an hour each visit and same with the speech therapist, I just don't think we're getting enough attention. The speech therapist also mentioned she thinks DS has apraxia of speech which I did what you aren't supposed to do and looked it up and freaked out. Anyway, I just scheduled a hearing test the beginning of January so we can rule that out and got a name for a speech therapist that the Pediatrician recommends that will hopefully be covered by insurance. I'm just frustrated that we're not getting anywhere on what we've been doing and don't know what else to do. I read to him, talk to him through the day, everything! I know I'm not supposed to blame myself for him not talking more but it's hard when you're the one that's home with him all day. I hope everyone is having a good week, I'm going to take my 3:00 shower and breathe. Thanks for listening

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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moosebaby2011 · December 2013

I'm sorry. Please try not to stress out too much or to blame yourself. You're doing everything that you can for your DS! It's possible that the person that you and DS have been working with just isn't a good fit, and I hope that you are able to see the new speech therapist soon.

150-300 words seems really high to me, too. DS had his 2 year well visit today and my pedi was also looking for 50 words.

-T- · December 2013

I don't know what 2 year olds are supposed to do but I do know about Early Childhood. We definitely get better therapies through the hospital/clinic setting. Our home visits are pretty pointless sometimes, but it's better to keep them in case they have something helpful in the future. I would pursue a speech therapist through your pedi and cover your bases. I feel how you're feeling most days, keep talking to him, you're doing all the right things!

belle785 · December 2013

I have only really heard 50 words by 2.

Is it possible that he is just a shy guy? Try not to worry about this. He WILL talk eventually, on his own terms. I know it has to be super stressful but he will get there. In the meantime, I hope you get the new speech therapist and he/she is a good fit for your family.

lckcdc3 · December 2013

I'm sure it's very confusing and scary but it's not your fault. You can't beat yourself up. You are giving him the tools he needs to get to where he should be. That being said maybe you should try finding a new teacher. If she can't connect with him the. I'm sure it will hinder him. Good luck with everything!!!

Ricola · December 2013

Our checklist and pedi at his 2 year appointment said 50 words and a few 2 word phrases are considered normal that age.

How many words does he have now?

Alex is now up to 19 words and his new pedi was happy about it. She said he is not too far behind really and that we'll see where he is in 6 months and take it from there. She offered to contact her for evaluation if I do get worried in the meantime.

In our case, I think Alex is just a guy of few words (my DH doesn't say much either) and takes his own sweet time to start talking. He understands everything just fine and communicates with gestures and his eyes a lot, so I know he can understand everything we say.

Jmcmahon21 · December 2013

EAMartin1004 said:

At DD's 2 year visit our pedi was looking for 50 words. Because DD was 2 months premature she is also enrolled in an Early Intervention program where we have a case worker and have to fill out developmental questionnaires every 6 months to make sure that they catch any potential issues early on. Anyway, I've noticed that their standards are WAY higher than where our pedi thinks she should be for pretty much every category of development. We have a booklet of things a child should be doing at various age ranges from birth to age 5. Some of the things in there are insane. With EI she was considered "behind" at 20 months actual age (18 months based on being a preemie) because she wasn't saying 2-word phases. Our pedi said that 2-word phrases were a 2 year milestone and not to be concerned at that point

My point is, try not to stress too much. I know its hard...I find myself stressing every time I fill our a questionnaire. See if you can get another teach assigned to your DS. Or if it's financially possible, maybe an independent speech therapist might be a better option.

I'm glad that someone else thinks that their standards are higher than the Ped's and seeing from the other mom's that their doctor is saying 50 words too sounds better. I just know there's a wide range of normal between 2 and 3 so I don't know why they put so much pressure on kids. I know that the teachers we work with are always going to have more goals but it also seems like what he's doing is never good enough for them, I just want to hear "he's doing great and he's improving" but i rarely hear that which is frustrating. I don't know how to go about getting a new teacher I think I'm going to go ahead and do the hearing test on January 3rd to rule that out and maybe look into the private speech therapy. Right now all the teachers are really doing when they come to the house is play with him a little bit, just doesn't seem like it's doing anything.

Thank you for your note and the other moms, it makes me feel better

Jmcmahon21 · December 2013

Ricola said:

Our checklist and pedi at his 2 year appointment said 50 words and a few 2 word phrases are considered normal that age.

How many words does he have now?

Alex is now up to 19 words and his new pedi was happy about it. She said he is not too far behind really and that we'll see where he is in 6 months and take it from there. She offered to contact her for evaluation if I do get worried in the meantime.

In our case, I think Alex is just a guy of few words (my DH doesn't say much either) and takes his own sweet time to start talking. He understands everything just fine and communicates with gestures and his eyes a lot, so I know he can understand everything we say.

I'm not really sure how many words he has, he says a new one but then doesn't really say it again for a while so I don't know if you count those? I think Beckham and Alex are a lot alike, they understand everything they just don't feel like talking

My husband is a man of few words as well and I was shy as a kid so kind of makes sense.

MesmrEwe · December 2013

I know it's going to sound odd, but what about daycare 2-3x per week? I know both of my kiddos made leaps and bounds changes because of being around other kids their age (it's a double-bind I know, but for the most part it's totally positive!)... The hearing actually was my first thought on "have you checked..." so it'll be interesting to hear what they say on that end! OTOH, there are kids like my BIL/SIL's niece and even Einstein that didn't talk until they were around 3 and ended up also being SUPER intelligent! Kids sometimes work at their own pace, if the one therapist isn't the right one, time to switch to a different one!

Good luck!!!

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