[neuromri]

My little prince is 2 years old now. He is doing quite well, but I am concerned about his speech. At this time, his expressive vocabulary is limited to approximately 26 words, and the development of his vocabulary has seemed stagnate. At the age of two, his expressive vocabulary should be at 50. He has difficulty with two syllable words, and his two words utterances are essentially limited to "thank you." The only word he speaks that is clearly intelligible is "Dora." Should I refer him to early intervention services or have a speech therapy evaluation completed accordingly? Please keep in mind that he came home at 5 1/2 months. He was born a month prematurely, and we currently have a nanny. So, he is not exposed to a lot of other children. I really need some honest commentary here. I hears from so many people, "Don't worry about it. . . " What do you all honestly think? Thank you,

[DeeVee]

Definitely get the evaluation. Carolina qualified for services, and she has more single words than your son (though no two-word phrases other than "thank you" at the time of the evaluation).

It will help you learn how to work with your son. Even if he doesn't qualify for services, you will learn a lot from the evaluation.

Good luck!

[DPline]

If you are concerned, have it checked out. If he needs services, you will then be on your way to getting him the help he needs. If he doesn't, your mind will be put at ease.

My DS (home at 20 months) was tested through our school system at age 27-28 months and had about 25 words. He tested at the bottom end of 'normal' but didn't qualify for services because he was still in the 'normal' range. So your son may well not be as behind as you think. But to put your mind at ease, just get it checked out. It made me feel so much better to get a professional opinion.

Good luck!

[spidermanteache]

Call your local school district...they provide free services for this age. They can do a complete evaluation and get you the services if need be. Better to be safe.

[jeannecr]

If you are concerned, get an evaluation. I did it, and I'm glad I did, because my son's speech delay was worse than I thought.

[kellykamp2004]

It can't hurt to have him tested...and it CAN hurt to wait! Early intervention is sooo important! (I am a pediatric SLP and mom to 2 w/special needs who are doing BEAUTIFULLY thanks to lots of early intervention)

[xxsurroundedbyxy]

Talk to pediatrician. Ours referred son at his 2yr wellness visit after I told him all my concerns. He has been in speech for 2 months and we are seeing BIG improvements. It is amazing what he will do for Miss Tiffany that he won't even try for me and they have special tools to use once the child trusts them. It certainly won't hurt to go for an evaluation. My Sam understands more than usual for his age, but doesn't communicate his needs or wants and what he does say is not understood (even by me most of the time)

Kim

[cjrogers]

Ditto EI services. I was hypervigilant and had him evaluated two weeks after he was home (at 8 months). He is now 1 year, 1 week. He now has OT, PT and developmental services twice a month each. They have helped us in ALL areas and taught us a lot about how babies/kids learn. Look up your state department / dept of health web site and you should be able to find it or ask your physician for a referral.

[teachergal]

I agree with the previous posters. Mariela's situation was very similar to your son's. She received therapy through early intervention and then went into a languaged based preschool program and has done beautifully. Get the eval and go from there. Regardless of the results, it is worth it. You need to do what you need to do to be able to sleep at night!

Good Luck.

[dolphingirl]

Definitely get it checked out... my daughter just qualified for services at 17 months and her therapy starts in July. It is probably nothing to "worry" about necessarily, but a little bit of extra help couldn't hurt.

[JillnChris]

Just as all the others have said, it doens't hurt to get it checked out. Language is extremely important and you want your ds to have the best possible chance in life. Language is the number 1 predictor of success in school. Too me that means it is pretty important. If you can get him therapy early then he will be on the road to success!