[Missymuh]

My 2.5 year old (he will be three in April) has a severe speech delay. He has had several hearing test which show that he has a mild loss due to fluid (will need grommets) but its not enough to explain his lack of speech. We saw a speech therapist for an assessment today and she said that he does have a very significant delay but that it is more likely to be cause by something physical rather than a problem with language development (he understands everything perfectly)
He will only pronounce vowel sounds (like ee I ooh ah) and the only consonant sounds he makes are mmmmm and nnnnnn (such as mummy and Nanna )
She has referred me onto a ENT to have an assessment done.
He does have a bifid uvula, which could be the cause. Does anyone else have a child with one and did it also cause speech delays? I have googled it but the information is very conflicting ( it always is when google doctoring lol).
Any info anyone can give me on similar situations would be great, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of and I'm too impatient to wait until the ENT appointment lol.

[misslaurel]

I am afraid I can't help you, but wanted to say I understand your frustration. My son is nearly two and is still not saying any words. He had grommets put in, in November but is still not talking. We have a hearing test this week to find out just how much he can hear. He doesn't understand a lot and was born with tongue tie so whether that is causing problems too, I don't know. We've been waiting almost a year to see a paediatrician and really hope that he can help us. Both our son and us are becoming so frustrated not being able to communicate. So although I can't help you, I just wanted to say I understand where you're at and I hope you get some answers soon :-)

[adl]

Same here except fluid dried up, no need for grommets but he just refuses to talk beyond a few basic words and his weird vowels..hearing test was fine

However we are slowly getting more words but 6 mths of weekly private speech and they say maybe group will help as he just doesn't progress as he should if there was a specific issue... he has no other developmental issues... No SN... We finally got mumma.... After dadda for a while....

It is frustrating but some tell us it will be in his own time, he has started at a childcare that has speech therapists there, and we are just going to watch for a few months because there are no other issues , he is very social and seems to be ale to mix well with other kids and adults ?

So all I can say is do the therapy as ours went from non communication to communicating with us, so he gets it, and responds now...and the language is coming although its a very slow progress at this age, we are told it may all come in a rush one day!!!

[Missymuh]

Thank you, it is so frustrating for them isn't it. I feel bad for him sometimes. I have made an appointment with an ENT specialist but couldn't get in until April. So we are back to waiting for an answer.
I also recently found out that both his grandfather and great grandfather on his dads side had a tongue tied so maybe that's the cause, but he doesn't seem to have any problems poking his younger out (cheeky bugger lol) so who knows.
I just worry that if I don't get an answer or if he doesn't improve soon it will effect his schooling. And I'd hate for him to be teased at school for not talking properly because he is the sweetest little thing.

[lsolaBella]

With hearing loss (DS2 was mild to moderate) the speechie gave us a diagram with the hearing Banana and showed a whole sequence of sounds DS2 would not be able to hear due to his hearing.

http://web1.newpaltz.k12.ny.us/local/high_...eech_banana.htm

Even with Grommits in at just before three, we did not get a normal hearing test until after 4yrs.

This post has been edited by lsolaBella: 05/02/2013, 12:03 PM

[adl]

I was worried too as DS just started at a childcare (as opposed to a private family day care arrangement) that no one would play with him cos he doesnt speak but you know kids, they have their own language! He also plays with our neighbours whose youngest is 4 and they have no issues either!

they make themselves understood...

Yes its important to keep trying as I have been told it can affect reading skills too, but I guess we have 2 years to sort this out before hitting a panic buttim. His father apparently didnt talk till he was 3 so thinking its just a thing?

Is he social? Yes DS gets frustrated with us sometimes but with therapy we did some basic hand signals and we can communicate although we dont get NO??? funny as its supposed to be one of the first.. but he makes himself understood and he follows us perfectly like if I ask him to go find his shoes so we know he comrehends its just vocalising...

try not to worry and keep going with the small words and repeating... hopefully if his ears are sorted it will sort itself out too..

[Missymuh]

Adl. He is social but only to a point. He is very comfortable at home (obviously) and babbles constantly around family but at mothers group he spends the whole time playing on his own or sitting with me while the other kids run around playing together.
The only clear words he says that others can understand are mummy more and Nanna. He says no but it's more like "oh". He has just recently started nodding his head when he means yes but not always.
Isolabella: thanks for that link, it is really interesting because a lot of the letters and sounds he doesn't make fall into that banana.

[icekool]

Perhaps continue with speech therapy while waiting for the Paed and ENT.

[mayahlb]

My now 4 year old has a speech delay/issue. It was only at 3.5 that they diagnosed him with Childhood apraxia of speech. It's a motor planning disorder and it means basically that there is nothing physically wrong but the he has issue making certain sounds and sequencing sounds to form words. The speechie started treating him for this and the jump he has made is massive. It can still be very hard to understand him as he adds or takes sounds out of the words. E.g. When he says "one" and similar n sounds he adds a d or t sounds to the words. Other he will sequence backwards. His hearing test was fine too. Just something that you could look into. Normal speech therapy doesn't work for this condition (He has been going since he was 2).

[Fossy]

Can't help with the uvula issues, but my daughter who's 3 in march has a speech delay, she failed several hearing tests, she had grommets in September last year and the change has been remarkable. We previously had no concerns about her hearing, she never had any ear infections etc, but the ent said her glue ear was close to the worst he's seen. She's having speech therapy now to help with babbling and mispronunciation issues.

Can you ring around to find another ent? Waiting until April seems like a very, very long time! We waited 3 days, but that is in Melbourne. Ring and ring, voice your concerns, ask about cancellations etc, hopefully something comes up.

Good luck, hope you find some answers soon.