[mcnay1]

I dont post much but do read several times a day to see what is going on with you all. But, I thought I would throw this out there to see if anyone had any advice...
JD will be 3 in early July. His speech has been slow to develop, but "blossoms" in spurts. He has done everything else in his own sweet, slow time, that we also thought that speech, too, would come when he was ready. He, just in the last month or so, will repeat words and will repeat almost everything. But, he has trouble forming some words. For example, my mother wants to be called Mindy. JD calls her Ninny. But, if you ask him to say Min he will say Min, then you ask him to say dee, he will say dee. We will do this several times and then ask him to say Mindy and he says Ninny...Its almost like he cant put the word together in his mind.
The biggest concern, though is that he hasnt started forming sentences yet. He, however, thinks he is talking in sentences. You can understand the first and last word of each sentence, but whatever is in the middle is jiberish. He isnt stuttering because I feel like if he was stuttering it would be with one word, not the middle part of a sentence. For example, if he says "JD goes to the park" you actually hear "JD gosdjwoeurnad park."
So, my questions are, does this sound like a speech disorder or issue or is this just a normal stage that he is, perhaps, going through later than others? He has a file with EI, but when he was evaluated, it didnt have anything to do with speech. What do you all think? Thanks in advance...

[shelbydog]

If he already has a file with EI I would have him evaluated. It sounds like he is perhaps late, not stuttering and doesn't sound like a disorder that I know of?

Does he comprehend instructions? Can you ask him a 2 or 3 part instruction? Like "Go get your sneakers and put them in the closet?"

I would rather have EI evaluate and perhaps start therapy now vs. continuing to wait. It is so much easier to address a possible delay earlier vs. later and he may only need a little jump start - few months of speech therapy.

[Theslaws]

Hi!
As a speech pathologist who works with kids I would recommend getting an evaluation. Its worth it to check where he is developmentally but I would guess (based on what you said) that he is behind.

Good luck!

[CEB]

Just to note that in my state, EI cuts off at 3 years old (and they would not begin the process with a child over 2.5) and after that you are in your local school district's program. So, I would call your EI program and find out if its them or someone else to have JD evaluated. Assuming he understands you, I suspect he is fine but I personally would want to have a professional opinion on that.

[Saya]

I think it makes sense to have an evaluation - no matter whether he qualifies for services, it will be a good learning experience about where he is in speech development, and hopefully they'll give you good advice about how to proceed.

The way you described it, I wonder if he might have low muscle tone or some other annunciation issue? Anabel (2 years) is low tone, and gets speech therapy that at this point is mostly focused on building mouth and jaw strength so she can pronounce things in such a way that people can understand her. The Mindy - Ninny thing made me think of that; I'm no expert, but I think with some kids the muscle work needed to pronounce single syllables (e.g. Min or Dee) is just easier then the complicated muscle work needed to put them together. For example, Anabel can say many of her friends' names perfectly "Hannah, Ella, Izzy." But she calls herself "A-bel." It's like she just can't get her tongue to do that complicated 3-part A-na-bel motion.

Good luck!

[mcnay1]

Thank you, y'all! Im curious about this muscel tone issue that Saya mentioned. Interesting... As I think about it, as well, Im wondering if he mind is just working too fast for his mouth. I wonder if I asked him to slow down, if he could do it. For example, when he repeats us if we say "JD is going to the park" it first comes out as JD iasdahisdfsd park. But, if we ask him to repeat each word after us, he says it perfectly... "JD" "JD" "is" "is" "going "going" .... He does follow directions and understands what we are saying to him, so Im not necessarily worried about that. But, I just want him to get the best "start" and I do suspect a delay of some sort. Thanks again.

keep the advice coming if you've had experience with this.

[Terry111]

My son is 5 1/2 and has similar speech issues. He had and continues to have trouble pronouncing certain sounds. When he was 2 and 3, no one outside his family could understand many of his words because he could not replicate some sounds. He has been receiving speech services since he was three through our local school system. He loves the classes and has improved a lot. He is very bright but just has trouble replicating some sounds. I think you should definitely have your son evaluated. I believe the assistance is required to be offered by federal law and is free.

[CurlysGirly]

My son has very similar speech patterns. The jibberish can be an entire conversation and he cannot make sounds within words that he can make alone. EI cuts off at 3 so I would have them evaluate him as soon as they can. After 3, you are transitioned to the school system under IDEA (the law). Depending, he may qualify for free preschool in your school district. I am not sure how you feel about your district, but we love ours and have nothing but cheers for the preschool team.

My best to you and your son