SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

Okay, so my DD isn't really speaking at 18 months. She was evaluated at 15 months by E.I. who determined that she was "severely delayed" in her expressive speech, but because she was advanced in her receptive speech, she did not qualify for speech therapy services. So, basically, I was left on my own.

I really don't know what to look for or how else to encourage her to speak. I feel like I'm doing everything I possibly can already being that I'm not a professional therapist. I talk/sing to her all day. We read and name objects. She's excellent with objection recognition. In terms of actually talking, she loves saying "daddy" and variations of daddy all day, even when daddy isn't home. All day. So, does that count as her speaking a word? If that doesn't, she says "shuockks?" when we point to socks. It's pretty consistent. Is that safe to say that it's a real word then? Would I be a fool to expect a vocabulary explosion sooner than later? I guess I'm looking for reassurance because this has be a very sensitive issue for us. Thanks for reading this far...

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

Ella's 17 months, and doesn't have more than a few words. I'm not worried though (should I be?) - she understands everything, and babbles all day long. I keep waiting for the "explosion".

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

My nephew didn't qualify for services either. My sister took him to a speech therapist & put it through her insurance company. I'm not sure if this is an option for you but at least she would be getting some professional help. I'm sure they would give you exercises to try with her too.

I'm not sure what the timeline is on getting her reevaluated but I would look into it.

Trust your gut.

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

6 months is the next evaluation.

but i don't think she'll qualify anyway. to qualify you need to be at least 33% delayed in both receptive and expressive speech.

Posted by nrthshgrl

My nephew didn't qualify for services either. My sister took him to a speech therapist & put it through her insurance company. I'm not sure if this is an option for you but at least she would be getting some professional help. I'm sure they would give you exercises to try with her too.

I'm not sure what the timeline is on getting her reevaluated but I would look into it.

Trust your gut.

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

From my own experience, and from several other posts here, many 18mo don't have very many words. For some, the "explosion" comes close to 2 years, for others, it's closer to 15 months. DS didn't speak very much early on, and now he's several years ahead of his peers with reading, writing, and vocabulary. If DD has a few words, and she seems to be trying to talk, and is making progress, I would assume she's on the right track. In a few months you're going to wish she would STOP talking!

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

i'm a speech therapist.... i did an intership in EI. it sounds like you're doing the right things with her... anything you can get her to imitate is great ( even if your playing with cars, and you get her to imitate "beep beep", or any animal noises). being able to imitate sounds is the beginning of being able to imitate words... so i would start with that.
also, with the "socks"... it sounds like shes using that as a real word!! even if she doesn't pronounce it exactly right, if shes using it consistently to refer to socks, i would say shes got it. i agree that shes just about at the age where the "explosion" starts to happen, so i would keep doing what you're doing for a few more months and she should be on track.... good luck!!

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

My son is 22 months and not talking yet. I had him evaluated last month and he did not qualify either. He was delayed in expressive, but they said that he has a high level of understanding and everything else was on target. I have to call back when he turns 2 if there is no progress.

Some tips she gave me:
-she said to only speak in short sentences to DC. Like, "change diaper", not "lets go change your diaper". We talk to Ryan like he is an adult sometimes and this might be interfering with his speaking of words. She also had my teach Ryan the signing for the word "more". He might have had a hard time conveying that he needed more in her opinion, he picked up on it after a few times. She said for me to give him a choice with food or drinks, like saying "THIS or THAT?" and he would point to the one he wanted. I haven't really done that because I don't want Ryan to think he is in control of meal times, but I have been trying to do it with other things. She did say to also stimulate his tongue when I brush his teeth, like move the brush on his tongue.

I do see some progress with Ryan. He is making more sounds and a wider range than he ever has, and is now referring to DH as "dada."

I am not really worried about this yet. I feel that my DS understands everything I say to him, he can not just express his words yet. I see that he is trying, but it hasn't clicked yet. There are many many children who are late talkers, and in the grand scheme of things, they will all be talking when they are in kindergarten, so if they are a few months late, does it really matter?

There are some speech therapists on the boards that I have FM'd. They really put my mind at ease.

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

I would definitely call it a real word if she uses it consistently. At her age, speech is not going to be "clear." Its great that she's starting to talk more! Even babbling "daddy" all day is a good step in the right direction as well. Children need to babble in order to develop words.

As far as things you can do with your daughter, I'd definitely recommend to simplify your language around her and speak in 1-2 word phrases ("sock on," "drink juice," "wave bye-bye," etc). She will learn to imitate what she hears, so its better if for now, she is hearing only brief utterances. Also if you could learn a few basic signs to help her along the way, like eat, more, juice, give me, it might help her communicate with you while she's working on the verbal language. I would also just say, continue to play with her as much as you can and model the names of the things in her environment. The more she is exposed to, the more she will learn.

Good luck with DD

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

Message edited 9/12/2009 2:07:01 PM.

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)

Have her ask for things she wants - even if she has to point to things out of reach - that is still nonverbal communication and is language, even if its not expressive - put her juice, cookies, favorite toys in her view out of reach and have her point to them when you ask her "what do you want?"

Then, if she points to juice, for examlpe - say it, "Oh - you want juice!" Emphasize the word juice...

This will help her understand the power of communication!

Re: SPeech related: do you think we're making progress? (long)