[noveaqua]

Hi I have a son who turned 3 in December and thought by now he would start to talk. It is still alot of babbling and vowel sounds. He had grommets put in, in May 2011 and just had a hearing test at the R.C.H. in Melbourne and is 100% clear. Saw a speech therapist last year, that was no good, my son cried the whole 1 hour I was there. Going back to R.C.H. to see a specialist about his speech and probably to be assessed for autism (not sure yet).

Is there anyone out there who has had a child just be LATE at talking but loved playing with other kids, understanding what you say to them and are fun loving too. It breaks my heart into a million pieces when I see kids my son's age talking to their parents. It would be priceless to me to hear my son talk.

Your responses would be very much appreciated. Thanks for reading

[Verdandih]

Don't know of a child but I was late, my mum thinks now that I may not have heard properly for the first 2 years of my life. Got grommets when I was 3 & had to go to a speech specialist till I was about 6. I couldn't say T, R & S. But I also had problem to understand some words & concepts like "lights on" & "lights off".
I loved playing with my sister & cousins & they seamed to understand me & I them.

Give him time to get used to hear & tune in to the finer tunes of the language. I took me for ever to learn English & the spelling but now I'm fluently. Just keep reading & talking to him, hopefully it will come.

[ambwrose]

My mother reckons that my younger brother never spoke until he started school after he got his tonsils and adenoids out.
DS1 was very slow to talk, I concentrated on getting him to say one word correctly then progressed form there. So drink rather than grunt at the tap, to drink please, to can I have a drink please.
He was a very happy toddler, loved being around other kids, he just wasn't interested in talking or tiolet training.
Lots of boys are slower to talk than girls, but if you are worried get recommendations for another speechie and get it checked out,

Margaret

[lsolaBella]

I have had 2 late talkers.... less then 10 words at 2 and

DS1 - 'mummy I think perhaps a train may be coming soon' by 33m of age

DS2 - by 2.5yrs I had identified a hearing issue but took until 3yrs to get grommets in. He had variable hearing during that stage mostly on the mild-moderate hearing loss. At 4.5yrs we are about to start major speech intervention as he has not progressed 'normally' for his speech but is advanced in some areas and behind in others... he has 'gaps' from when his hearing was bad (which continued until 4yrs of age even though he had had grommets in for a year).

So a 3yo with grommets who is not talking I would be taking straight to the Speechie too.

ETA: I identified DS2's hearing loss due to the fact that when he started talking in sentances at 2.5yrs I realised it sounded like he was hearing underwater (as that is what his speech sounded like).

[Zeldagirl]

My oldest sister (now 50) didn't talk until she was 4. No hearing problems. It was decided that the reason she didn't verbally communicate was because everyone knew what she wanted through her grunts / other sounds and gestures. So Mum was told to remove her from her comfort zone, eg. new kindergarten - where the other kids wouldn't know what she wanted. Apparently this worked.

This post has been edited by Zeldagirl: 22/02/2012, 02:33 PM

[minimee2b]

would you consider taking them to a ASD speech pathologist? and seeing what they think. That's what we did for our son.
Turns out he has ASD.
Melvin clinic in melb are great
feel free to PM me if you like

[mayahlb]

You sound very similar to me with my eldest when he was 2-2.5 except he has no problems with his ears. He now goes to speech therapy, but I have to say you need to find a speechie that fits your son. Our therapy sessions are more like play session and information and strategies for me to use at home but there are still days like last monday where we went and he refused to say anything but go and actually took the toys and played in the corner ignoring the therapist (he made sure his back was to her the entire time) until we left. I still stress about it even though he is getting better and improving, he at least attempts to communicate now even if other people don't understand him most of the time. It actually makes me sad some days when my youngest says things that my eldest won't say (they are roughly at the same stage now and DS1 is 38 months and the youngest 19 months).

If you don't want to see a therapist again I recommend getting a hold of the book "It takes two to talk" It is by the Hanen organisation and it give some fantastic examples of how to encourage talking through play and day to day routines and activities (more then just repeating words etc).

[LambChop]

My son didn't speak till he was 4,5, but understood reasonably 'normally'. We all learned sign language which was a life saver for frustration, and used PECS (little cards with pictures of things, so he could like, grab a picture of a banana and bring it to me if he wanted me to get him one etc).

There is a post about communicating with non-verbal children in the special needs section you might find of interest.

Austin was diagnosed with severe dyspraxia, its a motor planning disorder that effects speech chronically. He's a very happy, well adjusted 10 year old now, who still has speech delay, but he improves everyday, so he'll get there one day

[tinkster23]

My 3 yo doesn't talk either. His hearing is fine, he's been seeing a speechie for about 12 months now and has gotten better at different sounds and stuff but it is heartbreaking. Jack manages to get his point across with a few grunts, signs and gestures.

I agree with pp about finding another speechie, jack loves his.

[jayray]

I can relate to your story - my son (who turns 5 in April) didnt say his first words til he was 2.5 and at 3.5 was still not putting sentences together. We started with speech therapy where he was assessed as having a receptive and language delay. The speech therapist was actually surprised that he had a wide vocabulary but was just finding it hard to put the words together. He has improved greatly. He now puts whole sentences together and everyday his language is expanding. He is still a fair way behind other kids (speech wise) but he is developing normally in other areas. I suggest (like others have) finding a speech therapist that he responds to. I was lucky in that my son actually enjoys his sessions and has always found them to be fun and interactive. Reading is also a great way to increase language - even if your son is not saying anything - just hearing and listening to words will help him.