[DeeVee]

I posted several months back about this, but here I am again with a few more questions for any SLPs out there or anyone whose child has or had language delays.

Carolina was evaluated by EI several months ago and they found her to be 5% delayed in expressive language -- which is not anything significant.

However, one of the questions I have is what counts as a "word." For example, she will say "ba" for "ball" and "av" for "airplane." Also "nuh-na" for "Sundance" (our dog) and "ca-ca" for "Cassie" (our other dog), or it could also mean "cookie". The SLP counted those as words, though no one except DH and I would know what those "words" meant.

Anyway, now she is almost 22 months old, and she still has very few words. Mama, dada, and baby are about all anyone outside the immediate family would understand. Her receptive language skills are fine. She understands most things I ask her to do, even two-part tasks, so I'm not worried about that.

At what point do I ask for another evaluation? I know all children develop at different paces, but everything I'm reading says she should be able to put two words together to express a need, and she is nowhere near doing that yet.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[afl]

You could definitely ask for another evaluation.

I had my DD evaluated at 19 months. She only had two words. She scored something like 74% on expressive language and below 76% qualifies for EI. Now, at 21 1/2 months, she has 7 words(and I am counting partial words like you say). Still very behind. We've been doing speech therapy twice a week for 30 minutes for about 3-4 weeks, but so far it's not going so well because of her personality. She won't sit still(a whole different post!) and doesn't cooperate with the therapist. So, the extra words have come on their own. I'm hoping a change in tactics will help the therapy do some good.

I'm surprised she didn't qualify as it seemed like 20 words or so was the minimum for 18 months they expected.

[gnattylove]

My son is 21 almost 22 months old and has very few words also. He says mama, dada, hot, duck, juice, yes, shoes and thats about it. He sees a speech therapist once a week for an hour and has been for 5 months. The speech therapist says he will talk eventually and to keep working with him. His receptive language is great. He understands everything we say. It is so frustrating though b/c he gets so frustrated because he cant express himself. I have a 17 month old daughter as well and she doesnt say many words either. She babbles alot more than Macon and can say the same words as him. I am ready for them to start talking.

Good Luck,
Natalie

[Saya]

Hi Dee - I asked the same question a couple of months ago and here was the response:

OT - Questions about speech


Basically all the things you mentioned are words!

Anabel is getting speech therapy through EI. I don't know if it's working really well, or if she just made a leap on her own, but I would recommend it if you qualify. In the past couple of months her expressibe language has really improved.

Good luck!

[msrepo]

Sorry to hijack your post but at what age should a child be evaluated?? My son is 16 mos and says no words, he make sounds such as grunting or laughing.

[kristinc]

My son spoke very few words approaching 2 years old. I was quite concerned. His older brother was an extremely early talker. Using this as a gauge my mind started to wander. Then at about 23 months his vocabulary began to expand. Some words only we could understand. It was amazing, the light went on to language. Now he is 4 and will not stop talking
When we were struggling with language he was taking Spanish classes. His teacher had told me (don't know if this is true) that if a child is exposed to multiple languages at an early age they often are later talkers. I do not know if it is the fact they are trying to process in two languages.
Never did any research into this but in our case it was true.
Good Luck,
K

[Guatemomtobe]

Originally Posted by afl

You could definitely ask for another evaluation.
I'm surprised she didn't qualify as it seemed like 20 words or so was the minimum for 18 months they expected.

My pediatrician said 4-10 words is what is expected at 18 months. They definitely count words as you describe because the child is communicating with you and you understand what they are saying. It is not so important that other people outside of your family understand her at this point.

Good luck,
Susan

[jerseytoo]

I know exactly how you feel. I'm a Special Ed teacher and was concerned that my daughter only said sounds instead of words at 2 yo but our school Speech Therapist put my mind at ease. she actually didn't say "ma" until almost 20 months. They are words and they represent objects. Now at 3 my daughter doesnt stop talking and most of her sounds have turned into correct pronunciation. It seemed like it happend slowly but really it is amazing how much of a difference a year can make. Elmo and Nemo were exactly the same sound until she was about 30 mos. All of that said, early intervention is important if there truly is a language delay however it appears that she has about 15 words based on what you wrote and she is getting partial sounds which is very normal.

[DeeVee]

Thanks everyone for your input. And thanks, Saya for the link to your old post. I'm glad to know that all those partial words and initial syllables really do count as words.

Carolina has her 2-yr well-care appt in two months, so I will wait till I talk to the ped before I call EI services. I now realize that our son was an early talker, but since he's our only kiddo older than Carolina, he was my "barometer."

[teachergal]

I was in the exact same situation as many of you are. Developmentally and Expressively Mariela was doing fine. Despite this, Mariela didn't really verbalize anything until she was 33 months old. I contacted EI and she received services until she was 36 months old and then transitioned into a language based preschool program with and IEP for S/L services. She did NOT speak at school from Sept - Dec.

She did babble at home. She only used one syllable words for a long time. Any two or more syllable words she tried to say ended up being the last syllable being repeated 2 or 3 times. For example, mommy was me me.

In January she started talking at school just enough to get her needs met. At home, she babbled like crazy still with very few words that could be acknowledged to people outside of her immediate world. During the summer, I put her in swimming lessons and a preK morning camp for a few weeks, so she would have to use her language to get her needs met. Now, finally, at 4 she speaks very well, has a large vocabulary and verbalizes herself well. She still has some articulation problems, but they continue to work on that in Speech therapy at preschool.

Being a former spec ed teacher and current reg ed teacher, I was extremely concerned. I kept reading to her and exposing her to rhymes and song. I was concerned about her ability to acquire letter sound relationships etc. She is now starting to recognize letters. She thinks words "rhyme" when in fact they are the same. For example she thinks king and king rhyme but doesn't get that sing and king rhyme.

I understand your concerns and frustrations very well. I would suggest evaluations yearly to look for growth. In my state (IL) evaluations are free, so I take advantage of it. My other daughter (2) has a huge vocabulary, knows all of her letters and numbers and I still had her evaluated both developmentally and language. The EI people suggested I have her evaluated at 3 to look for growth patterns.

Good luck and keep working with your kids. They will talk in their own time.

Kris

[greytpaws]

Have you tried using any basic sign language with her? There are a ton of baby sign books out there and it is really great for kids who are having a hard time with expressive language. And by involving more than one of the senses (using hands and speech) it actually reinforces and enhances their speech. You always say the word as you sign it. Its like hearing someone tell you how to do something vs. walking you thru it as you do it yourself. Research has proven that it does not delay language and only helps! I work with people with autism who often have great receptive but virtually no expressive language--and it greatly reduces their frustration when they can at least communicate some basic needs/wants. And it doesn't have to be "official" sign language either--just a consistent gesture to represent an object or action. Whatever comes naturally. Hope it helps. I too have heard that children exposed to multiple languages may develope expressive language slower but will catch up and have no lasting delays. But if you do feel you want another evaluation, I wouldn't hesitate to get one. Early intervention is key to any developmental issue. Good luck!!!!

[DeeVee]

greytpaws, thanks for the suggestions. I have been using some basic signs with her since she came home, and she is great with those. Some additional signs have kind of evolved on their own too. (A funny one: She holds her finger in the air to ask for more of whatever she's eating, though she knows the sign for "more". Then when you acknowledge her she points down to the plate. It looks as though she's about to say "oh, garcon!")

[ej-momtobe]

Our DS had only a handful of partial words at 21 months, but he turned 2 today, and for the past 2-3 weeks we have seen remarkable progress in his ability to pronounce things better, and his vocabulary. We always knew he understood a lot of words, but up until recently he would not even try to say them. Hang in there and reward specil sounds. For example, when he sees a car, and points and says "gock", he gets praised for attempting the word, as I repeat it properly "that's right, CAR". Eventually he says it closer to the way i say it.

I also find that he likes to imitate better than be instructed. For example, if I point to a giraffe in a book, say giraffe, then ask him to repeat it, he wont. But if I go to the zoo, stand in front of the giraffe cage, point to it and say 'Giraffe' to my husband, DS will be much more likely to say the word.

[carlam]

NOt sure if this helps or not. My brother who was not adopted did not speak at all... infact everyone in the family said he was a very queit baby and rarely cried. Anyways, he started to speak at 4, and they say he was able to speak very well by the time kindergarden came around. He ended up being considered gifted in 2nd grade, graduated top of his high school class, graduated top of his class in engineering in one of the best engineering school in the US. So don't lose hope, he wasn't quick on the trigger to begin with, but ended up in high reguard!

Good Luck!!

[JillnChris]

You can also go ahead and sign her up for speech therapy through your private insurance or just pay for it out of pocket. I know it is expensive but if you are really concerned about it I'm sure it would help!