15 month old needing speech therapy? Speech delayed?
Answer:
KEEP going to treatment! I am a Speech Pathologist, and it is very important for consistency to continue, even if just for a few months to see how he does. Remember that between 18 mos and two years you should see a huge language increase as well. If he isn't imitating you now, it is important to teach him this skill, with a trained professional.
Ask the therapist if one time per week would be okay, for you to learn some ideas. You can always increase to 2x/week if necessary (but only if her schedule allows). Or, stick with 2x/week for 3 months and see what changes he has made. Remember your SLP should have set some goals for him to achieve in a short period of time. If he is making good progress, she will let you know. Have faith in your therapist. So many times parents think I am "just playing with their kids", when in fact, I am playing...but doing so with a goal in mind, knowing when/how to cue to get what we want. Remember us therapists don't recommend therapy if it's not needed.
Other things to consider...how are his oral motor skills? Does he make eye contact? Does he try to imitate you? Lots of questions for your therapist.
Hope this helps you! Keep up the therapy, it will pay off in the end!!
:)
He seems a little young for speech therapy. I used to work at a day care center and a lot of 15 month olds do not talk yet. Does he at least say ma ma and da da?
I have never heard of a one year old getting speech and I've been in special education for over 10 years. Who is paying for the therapy? If children aren't talking by the time they are 3, the school district will pay for speech therapy. My oldest could say less than 20 words at his 2nd birthday. He now is the best reader in kindergarten and has as large as vocabulary as any other 6 year old. Keep reading to him and doing the exercises the therapist recommends. It won't hurt him although I'm not sure if it's necessary. If they're charging you lots of money, pull him out and buy a speech book for preschoolers. Sounds like you can do it at home. Best of luck to you!
I have never heard of speech therapy for a 15 month old. That sounds crazy. My oldest rarely said anything until he was about 2 1/2. He definitely wouldn't talk around strangers. My son is 3 1/2 now and he is a babble mouth. I really hate saying this but I think you may need to get a second opinion. (I really hate saying that because it seems like such a cop out answer but in this case I think your doctor and "therapist" may be taking advantage of you)
My 15 month old says ma-ma, da-da, tickle, touchdown. That's about it. I thought it was unusual for him to say anything at all at this age.
that seems kind of wierd since alot of kids do not even start talking until they are almost two. and sometimes it takes years before you can understand them properly. wait until your child is in school.
take him out of it having some stranger harping on him over and over again won't help him talk! He will talk when he wants to, if he is two and still not talking then i would look into it
My youngest didn't speak at all until he was two. When he points to something, don't just get it everytime, ask what he wants. I bet he understands what you're saying to him, so you may be able to encourage him to speak in this way. I doubt your son is delayed, I really do. I was very concerned about my son too, but his pediatrician told me to just be patient. Now he talks as much and as well as any other three year old. Hope this helps.
i would stop taking him, that is way to premature, wait till he's 2... and remember boys are usually slower at talking.
My 18 month old is speech delayed also. He sees a speech therapist 1x a week and I also think he doesn't need it because everything she does I do. So I'm also thinking about canceling the service. The only reason my son is delayed is because he was born at 23 weeks and of course I know he will have some problems but eventually he will come around. He is just moving at his own pace and I'm just happy when he reach any milestone.If you feel he don't need it then canceling it because I am soon.
You know hun...hes your son do what you think is best...but if you want my opinion then I think that therapy is good especially if he has speech problems because of autism(not to say thats what it is) but then it will help because early detection helps with that condition..as for a second opinion...it cant hurt get as many opinions untill you are totally comfortable with what the outcome is
I agree with the other answers, he is too young to be in speech therapy I would wait until he is 2 or maybe even 3 to start, And I hear you on not wanting him to be alone with the lady, Not that I think anything bad, it's just unconfortable.
my daughter has been in speech since she was 18 months. i know exactly how you feel, all i kept thinking is, all they do is play! and then at every evaluation i would get all emotional, thinking why does she have to be pushed when i and my entire family think she just needs time. well i decided to stick with it, one because its free, and two what can it hurt. Paige is 3 now, and because she was in the Early Intervention program, she gets to go to preschool for free, and they'll continue the speech there. she is talking a lot more now, and at one point we had to do sign language, for the simple things like milk, drink, please. but now she's talking to us and finally calls us mama and dada..which took so long because we were focused on all these other things. one thing was the therapist always came to our house and until i was comfortable i was always in the room. so if you want to be in there, you tell them that is what you want. i know its hard, but it does help and when you start to see that improvement you'll be glad you did. cause even the small words are a big step.
You don't say if there are any other indicators present, such as hyperactivity, known chromosome problem, other disability that could indicate that speech will be delayed. If there aren't any other indicators, then I think these people are being a bit pre-emptive. If there are older children around, this frequently seems to delay speech, but usually turns out they either can't get a word in, don't need to, or are too busy watching the entertainment and learning (and storing it up for future use against you!) to bother to speak. If a child gets a few words then stops speaking I'd be watchful, or if he is inclined to other behaviours that seem 'odd' compared to his peers, then that might set alarm bells ringing. Without further information, I'd advise you to go on your gut instinct. I think you'd be having qualms if your baby has a problem, or his grandparents would be mentioning it carefully to you. Carry on with your own method of teaching speech, play and say, tell him everything he's doing as he's doing it, tell him who and waht everything is all the time. If you have the time and the money for speech therapy, then go and make use of them. If not, wait until he's a bit older before really worrying. Speak to your older relatives and ask them to be honest. Look at friends' kids of the same age. After all is said and done, if you thought he really needed it, you wouldn't be on here asking the question. Having said that, speech therapy wouldn't hurt any child, it's not scary or invasive. It may jolt Baby into action!
No, don't let him go in alone. YOU have the final say, he's your baby, and that's all he is, a baby. If she won't respect that, then leave anyway. He'll be more comfortable with you than without you, and any health professional should not even suggest otherwise. Be strong girl - you're his first defence against the world of weirdos.
Language skills are acquired on a range-usually "talking" begins between 18-24 months! But it is normal for some kids to not talk until between 2-3 years too. Getting into the habit of taking your child to therapies everytime you think something could be wrong will just require that he will need more therapy in the future for his emotional health. But I think you did the right thing in taking him initially, because you know your baby more than anyone. If you think there is a problem, it's good that you sought help.
I would be suspect of any therapist who would take a 15 month old for "speech therapy" without strong indicators of a problem. Feeling like something is "wrong" with you from a very early age can cause very serious emotional problems in people. I nannied for a family whose son at 22 months said only 2 words-and now he is running his mouth off at 24 months. No one ever suspected there to be an issue(doctors,etc) because they checked his hearing and he gestured a lot to get what he wanted. You said your child gestures, nods, etc..So not talking should not be an issue at all at this age, unless there are other indicators.
If he follows your directions and understands what you are saying, there is really nothing to fret about at this time. Does he say even one word? Check this website for some good warning sign indicators
http://www.babycenter.com/general/toddle...
I would go with your motherly instinct. You have 2 other children that apparently are fine with talking. If you don't feel like there is a problem then I would take him out of speech and work with him myself. Of course that is just me. I have a problem with some doctors and other so called experts that send our children to things they don't need just to make a dollar. If his hearing test was ok and he does say a few words, I would just let him be. He will talk when he is ready to say something to you. He gets what he wants when he points to it so why does he need to tell you. Maybe you could ask him to say what he wants instead of pointing to it. You probably do just as good a job as the speech therapist does.
If he's not saying anything - more than babbling, he should be in speech therapy. The younger he starts, the better success he'll have in the long run. If you put it off, it could be harder to fix. I would take him to therapy now to prevent problems later.
Some kids do better without mom or dad there - because there will be no one to "interpret" for him - because you know what he wants, you react without him saying it properly. If the therapist works with him one on one at least for a while, she can get a better idea of his true need. (If you ever notice, kids that have several older siblings put off learning to talk, because they don't need to. Their siblings tell mom and dad what the baby wants.)
Good luck!! I know it can feel weird now, but trust me, he'll be better off down the road.
My son is also a bit delayed in his speech, he's 20 months but it is because he's learning spanish as well as english. His Dr. said it happens and that I shouldn't worry about anything, I just keep repeating a new word to him and pointing at an object and eventually he starts to say it. He wouldn't say "mama" for the longest time but he could say "agua" which is so much harder to say so try maybe to get him to say small words...it will happen it just takes time.
Any type of intervention- when a Dr. thinks there is a problem- is good. The earlier the better. If your child gets therapy now, by the time he gets into school it may not be needed. If you wait, yes it 'might' work itself out but it might not and then he will be in therapy during his school years and miss out on stuff the other kids are doing and this will also hurt his confidence.
At 15 months he thinks this nice lady comes over to play games with me and we have fun. Kids do better without parental distractions because they can play their parents like a deck of cards..teachers come up with different stratigies to bring out different abilities in children.
Well, they do need the child alone to be affective with them, when the mother is there the child has a harder time participating. My son did not say his first words until he was almost three, and he had a mild for of Autism. I think you need to stick with the theropy. If your son is pointing to objects that is a good sign, but you need to pay close attention to other details. Is your child spending hours alone meaning that is his choice not yours? Is your child doing unusual behavior repetative things like turning objects, opening and shuting doors, getting ficated on on one particular thing. This is hard to describe, but Autism is on the rise, and lanquage delay is one of the tell tale signs. My son was diagnosed at age two.
Now as for your anxiety about leaving him alone with the theropist, it is OK, they will take good care of him, and if you feel they are not, then find a place where you feel comfortable leaving your child to be worked with. Most of all, don't worry, everything is going to be ok, you have done a good thing by getting early intervention for your child.
I am a speech/language therapist with a master's in speech/language pathology. Babies usually start saying their first words around 12 months of age, so technically your son is a tad behind. If both your family Dr. and the speech therapist have concerns it probably wouldn't hurt to participate in therapy. While some aspects of therapy are better off without a parent in sight, you should be playing a major role in your child's therapy process. The therapist is only seeing him twice per week, and you are seeing him all the time. Imagine if you could implement the suggestions she can offer all the time! The speech therapist should get you involved in the process and teach you strategies that you can use at home. As you mentioned, she does seem to be doing things that you already do, so I'm sure you would be more than happy to try any new suggestions at home. If she is consistently asking that you leave the room I would discuss that concern with her because you, after all, are the most important language model in your child's life.
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