Advice on talking

[lilbunnygirl]

Okay, so Cash is now 2.5. He knows about 75 words. He won't make two word sentences aside from the occasional descriptive like "Shoe! Big!" or "Cat! Two!"

Thus far I haven't worried too much, his pediatrician has always said there's nothing to worry about, and because he's learned about 65 of those words just since his 2nd birthday, he can read 2/3 of the letters in the alphabet, he knows his numbers and can count...but pretty much everyone with their own late talkers was telling me that around 2.5 is when things really got better with communicating. And things here just aren't getting better.

Sean is resistant to speech therapy because he thinks it's spending money on something we could do at home. But the problem is, I don't know what to do. He thinks we should just not give Cash what he wants unless he asks for it, but we've been down that road and all it nets us is a child having a screaming tantrum and feeling more stressed out about talking, thus wanting to do it less.

Does anyone have any ideas about what I could do to help Cash's talking? The lack of communication is really causing a lot of frustration on all sides. Sean and I had a huge fight this morning & I just don't know what to do aside from going to a professional. Surely there has to be things I can do at home to encourage him to use more words and put them together.

[Goosey]

My only advice is letting him go at his own pace. I agree with speech therapy, I dont see it as worthwhile(but I know Im in the minority) talking is something you can do at home using pronounciation and everyday things.

My middle boy didnt say anything til he was 2(he's 3 now) and then it was mimicking and such and finally about 2 1/2 he started doing his own thing and now, at 3, he's doing sentences and all the talking you could want. It just took a while for him to do it and we gave him his own pace to do so but it was worrysome and he didnt do that til dang near and then over the age of 3.

I understand the frustration and worry cuz my oldest spoke full sentences by one so when Av wasnt doing it I fretted myself.

He doesnt have perfect pronounciation but I work with him on it anytime he says something "off". I have him resay it until its better.

Just keep talking to him and when he says something that sounds off have him repeat it slowly and you do it too so he hears it. Get some flashcards for various words and use those so he sees pictures with the words,etc.

Good Luck!

[Jojo]

James had speech therapy because he would just grunt. It helped him tremendously. He was so moody and would pinch and bite us. It was frustrating for us all.

My boss paid nothing for it. The state of NY has a program that funds it so maybe you should look into that or ask your pediatrician about it. Early intervention is very very important :support::support:

[Elaine]

Ben babbled a lot but didn't really start 'talking' until he was almost 2. He had a few words that he used but most of what he said was incoherent. Out of nowhere he had a huge burst of language and now he doesn't shut up. :hehe: I remember freaking out a little but only a little. I'd read a lot that said it was normal for boys starting to talk later than girls and not to worry about it. My doctor wasn't concerned at all (and she is fantastic) so we just let him go on his own. Now he's saying full sentences although he still goes with one or two words a lot too.

I think the standards are different here than in the US because even with kids that don't start speaking until much later (around and after 3) aren't sent for speech therapy. I've been shocked at how many people I've met online who's kids have been sent for therapy even though they said more than Ben at a younger age. look at like I could read when I started kindergarten and there were kids in my class who couldn't. Eventually they caught up and were no worse for it and I wasn't any smarter than they were. :twothumbs:

Lots of talking, pictures and interaction. I was going to suggest flashcards too. Word puzzles (they type with pics and words - he tells you what the picture is and you match it with a word for him) might help him out too. Talk to your doctor and see what they say. If they feel there's a need for therapy then it might be worth it.

Good luck!!! :support:

[Jojo]

Ben babbled a lot but didn't really start 'talking' until he was almost 2. He had a few words that he used but most of what he said was incoherent. Out of nowhere he had a huge burst of language and now he doesn't shut up. :hehe: I remember freaking out a little but only a little. I'd read a lot that said it was normal for boys starting to talk later than girls and not to worry about it. My doctor wasn't concerned at all (and she is fantastic) so we just let him go on his own. Now he's saying full sentences although he still goes with one or two words a lot too.

I think the standards are different here than in the US because even with kids that don't start speaking until much later (around and after 3) aren't sent for speech therapy. I've been shocked at how many people I've met online who's kids have been sent for therapy even though they said more than Ben at a younger age. look at like I could read when I started kindergarten and there were kids in my class who couldn't. Eventually they caught up and were no worse for it and I wasn't any smarter than they were. :twothumbs:

Lots of talking, pictures and interaction. I was going to suggest flashcards too. Word puzzles (they type with pics and words - he tells you what the picture is and you match it with a word for him) might help him out too. Talk to your doctor and see what they say. If they feel there's a need for therapy then it might be worth it.

Good luck!!! :support:

I agree with Elaine! The things the speech therapist did with James were something I would never be able to do. Good luck Lilly don't stress too much over it--I was 3 when I finally started talking and now I can't shut up! :hehe:

[lilbunnygirl]

He's doing well with learning new words all the time, and telling me what things in pictures are, but a lot of times when I ask him to say a word he hasn't said before, he just says no. But overall, I'm not as worried about his vocabulary as it's just that I can't figure out how to help him use his words together. Like I try to get him to say "More please" and he'll say "more" or "please" but not "more please".

I talked to the lady in charge of the TLC birth -3 program here, who has been getting my developmental surveys on Cash since he was 3 months old & she told me that Cash's communication scores have been normal or just below the baseline and since he is so strong in other areas, she didn't see anything to worry about. She did give me the number for the EI program, but warned me that because their cut off is 3 and it takes so long to get kids into the program, it might be a waste since he could be almost 3 before anything actually happens. I called them last week but haven't heard back yet. The school district's program starts at 3, so I can't get into that until then.

I do have to take Cash in for a Hep A shot on thursday, so I'll ask my pediatrician again then. But my feeling is that he's going to pooh-pooh my concerns as always and tell me Cash will talk when he's good and ready (not that he doesn't listen, he just has 5 kids and thinks I worry too much as a first time mom)

I just feel the need to do SOMETHING, especially as my husband is blaming me for Cash's lack of communication skills :/

[Goosey]

If he's telling you NO about saying certain things then he obviously understands what you are saying and meaning which is a GOOD thing.

Do you suppose he wont say words together(like more please)because he just doesnt feel like it since he will tell you NO on other things??

I know my kiddos can do that LOL.

[lilbunnygirl]

Oh he has understood pretty much every word out of our mouths for the last year! Which is what really makes Sean feel like he should be able to at least try to say things. He just won't even attempt it most of the time.

I feel like he is shy about talking, because he took to signing like nobody's business as soon as he was exposed to it & and still will make a sign for a word he knows, like "more" or "eat" at the same time as he says it. It seems like he is much more comfortable signing than talking out loud, like he's worried he can't do it just right. So I feel like putting more stress on him to talk (like not giving him something until he says what it is, when it's a word he's never said before) will just make him less willing to try.

All that said, the FSU "First Words" program which is a free early intervention, but one that is not as hard to get into as the other one here, just called me back & Cash has an appointment on the 9th to meet with a doctor and have a free screening. So I guess we'll go from there!

[Farah]

Do you talk a lot or stay quiet? I would ask him questions and see what he says. Sometimes Charlie will have a train and instead of saying "Oh, Charlie! The train keeps going 'choo choo' all around the house!" I'll ask him "What's the train doing??" and sometimes he'll tell me something or make a train sound. It may not be totally understandable, but he's trying!

I would just say encourage him and bust out the flash cards. Lots of "What's this?" or "What's that?"

[Ashley]

You know, I saw on fb someone mention the signing, and was thinking about how well he understands and can follow directions. You can tell he understands people, whether it's you, one of the other moms or kids like Tyler. I wonder if the signing does have something to do with it because he feels more comfortable with it maybe? I don't know.. I know we've talked about this before, and I'm still zero help, I'm sorry! Hopefully they can give you some insight on the 9th, even if it's peace of mind and a way to tell Sean to hush ;)

[Elaine]

He's doing well with learning new words all the time, and telling me what things in pictures are, but a lot of times when I ask him to say a word he hasn't said before, he just says no.
:hehe: Ok, that made me laugh. He's sooooo two... :p

[Jojo]

Oh the little stinker knows exactly what he's doing :hehe: He might just be stubborn and not want to do it but you can still press the pedi and call EI again and again and again.