developmental delay

[lucyp]

Sorry if this sounds naive - but can anyone tell me who you go to see if you suspect your toddler has a developmental delay?.......
Is there a developmental delay doctor??? who does the paedictrician refer you to??

Oops should have been more specific - we are thinking speech delay at this point
Thanks

[FourAngelKisses]

Hi, my oldest son had developmental and speech delays. He saw a speech therapist for about 4yrs, who almost gave up on him in the end because he stopped making progress (he thrived after he started school.) He also went to early intervention for 5mths before he started school and really thrived there.

I do believe you can refer your child to a speech therapist yourself. Speech therapists and pediatritions can refer you to early intervention. best of luck!!

[FourAngelKisses]

I didn't notice the age of your baby before, sorry. Some kids are just slower to start speaking, mine were 22mths, 20mths and 16mths when they started talking. Their comprehension was excellent, but they just had better things to do than talk. :)

[uptheduff]

My oldest will be 2 in June, and is still not talking. From what i have heard it is still within the 'normal' range for a child to not be talking at this age. it seems that boys are especailly prone to a speech delay.

Speak to your doctor or CYH nurse if you like, but they will probably tell you that it's not a problem at this stage.

My doctor has told me that the playgroup association run special playgroups for children with speech delays, so you could try giving them a ring and seeing if you can get a space?

[MummyCharmzy]

My son was first assessed as developmentally delayed at 10 months, he was rolling one way and had just started to roll 'the other way' but couldnt really do it. He was just starting to sit and thats about all he could do.

At 2 years old he was 'formally' diagnosed as developmentally delayed. He was assessed at the level of a 16 month old when he was 24 months. He could say at most 5 words, he learnt to walk just before 18 months and was still 'waddling', he couldnt climb stairs up or down on his feet (he didnt master this until just after he turned 3), he didnt really have the pincher grip (think thats what its called where they pick things up with thumb and pointer finger) etc

He's had assessments every 3-6 months since birth as he was 9 weeks prem but at his 3 yr assessment aftera LOT of hard work he was assessed at the 'right' level for his age, meaning he could do all the basics they expected for a 3 yr old. Now he's 3.5 and 10 days off having his 3.5 yr old assessment and hes already had an informal assessment which put him ahead for his age!!

As for speech delay specifically I think the worries for as young as yours would be if they arent making certain sounds, I'm sure if you googled it you'd find some basics on what 'sounds' they should be making by now. If you're concerned about his speech his hearing is something worth getting checked out as well! Your maternal and child health nurse or GP would be your best 'first stop' and if they are concerned they'll refer you either to a specialist for speech and hearing or a paediatrician.

There are playgroups specifically for DD children and speech delayed ones which can be very beneficial if need be too.

All children are different though, your son mihgt be busy learning 'other things' at the moment and will concentrate on his speech in a couple of months :)

best of luck!

[PhAnToM]

If you are concerned, you can always book to see your Child Maternal Health Nurse. She will give you indicatios as to your little one's progress and if they think it's needed, they will direct you to the relevant professional.

Other than this, is it possible that everything is done for him and so he doesn't feel the need to speak? A friend's DD2 was like that. She had everything done for her and given to her by her parents, older sister grandmother... she didn't do much more than grunt to get their attention. When they stopped doing this, she started to say words and before they knew it, she was :ecomcity: :ecomcity:

They are now trying to shut her up! :laughing:

[3TinLids]

Hi,

Our son has a speech disorder called Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia. He was diagnosed at 2 and a half years. The first place I would recommend that you take your son to would be Child and Youth Health. They will do an assessment and refer you on to the appropriate speech therapy if needed. However, your son is only very young and you may get told that it is a bit early to worry. Follow you instincts and ask for another opinion if you are not happy with any assessments done. I have asked our speech therapist how much our youngest son should be saying (he is 17 months) and she has told me that at 18 months they should be able to say about 20 words. This does not mean that they use them every day but be able to say them. I personally think that this number is very high and our eldest son who spoke at a very young age was probably not even saying that many words at 18 months. My advice would be get an assessment done and this will either relieve your worries or if they feel that he does have a speech problem you will get onto it early.

Hope this helps!!

Rebecca:wave:

[iluvmeboyz]

my son has the same tihng he gets help with his talking and colours and things like that which is realy good i like it cause now that when he goes to school he would hopefully be able to talk better which is great each day is a challenge but you get there.

[Elfin]

I actually found the child health nurses quite good with developmental issues, it is probably where I would start.

[Kamaikia]

While at work I got talking to a speech therapist about my 2 1/2 year old nephew. She said that if by 2 a child isn't starting to put 2 and 3 words together, or their words aren't really clear then you should have some tests done. Leaving it any later than this may cause alot of problems when they hit school if there is a problem.

Lucyp - do you mind if I ask what the exact problem is. What is your childs speech like? Are there any words at all or are they not clear.


I think the first step would be to find a good gp - some won't refer you until the child is between 2 - 3 though.

[lucyp]

Hi - I am probably being paranoid - but at nearly 16 months - he has said muuum and daddda sounds for a week or so and then never again - and not aimed at us..

Now he makes squeals and lots of different noises - but I would not call it babble as such - more a range of squeals... does that make sense???

I know its not suppsed to be intelligible - but I hear most of the other little boys in my mothers group - saying "dog" "wow" or very discernable babble.... hmmmmmm

We have a very good paeditrician - so I suppose I will voice my concerns with him when I see him next.

[suemp]

my son was delayed (it was discovered at 3 months so we didint notice speech until later obviously)
i went to doc to doc (gps) and said my son has no head control and is floppy. they all put it down to he'd grow into it. finally a nurse that visits chemists to look at babies thought something was wrong so wrote a detailed letter for me to give to another gp. in turn that gp gave me a referral to a paed
the paed referred him to the development assessment team (in qld) who have physio, ocupational and speech therapist all free of charge

[LitVoiceSP]

Hi,

I am a Speech Pathologist and was just reading your questions. It is correct that between the ages of 12 months to 2 1/2 years the variability in what is normal for a child is huge. However there are some general guidelines, and if you do have concerns I would recommend having an assessment with a Speech Path just to be sure. Although this is an American site, it is one I really like for an idea of developmental milestoanes, and some tips for what to do to stimulate speech and langauge development.
http://www.speechdelay.com/testrosemilestones1.htm

Please feel free to message me if you have any further or more specific concerns.

[Ky]

It wasn't until just after his 2nd birthday that my son even said Mum and Dad! Fortunately, he hasn't stopped since and we have recently taken him to a speech pathologist and he has more sounds and clearer speech than expected for a child of 3years old!

Some kids just take their time ... I found that Daniel could always let me know what he wanted or what he needed to tell me ... he wasn't one for pointing and grunting as I discouraged this and his big sister was not allowed to speak for him - somehow he communicated with us! It is over a year ago now, so I can't tell you exactly how, it just seems like he has been talking forever now!

He never had any problems understanding me and I raraely had problems understanding him ... he is severely tongue-tied and we were told he may never speak without it being cut, but he seems to be fine!

My Bella started talking at 9 months (2-3 word sentences by 12mo), so I was a bit anxious about Dan at first, but soon decided that there was no cognitive problems and that he would talk when he needed to!

Maybe there is something about kids named Daniel ?????;)