[sonni]

We are considering a boy to adopt who is almost 4. We have been told he is non-verbal. He does not have autism, mental retardation, or any cleft. So, why would he not be talking? Could he have a speech disorder caused by emotional or behavior problems? Anyone know about this or have any ideas? Thanks, Sonni

[Mom2J]

Hello Sonni,

Has anyone given the boy a hearing test? Sometimes the child's hearing is the problem for speech delay. Our daughter constantly had ear infections and her speech was atrocious. She never ran a fever and only gave very subtle signs of anything wrong. After her first set of tubes, her speech was remarkable. She ended up with many sets of tubes after, but has since grown out of the need for them.

Our son is hearing impaired and has had speech for 5+ year. He didn't say any recognizable words until he was 3 and that was after receiving a special hearing aid. So, I would suggest someone at least rule this out as a possibility.

K.

[Darci]

Keep in mind, there are a lot of kids that are just late talkers. Albert Einstein didn't talk until he was 4.

[BrandyHagz]

My son didn’t start talking until six weeks before he started Kindergarten, he was five.

I had all the test run, and everything was fine! The Dr. said, “He just doesn’t have anything to say.”

When he started talking, it was like he had been talking for a while…and he is doing very well now

[StevieM]

My friend's son didn't talk until he was well into 4-years old. He is now 14 and a brilliant, gifted student. Once he started, he seemed to be making up for lost time...

Stevie

[sonni]

Thanks for everyones input. I will ask if he has had a hearing test and if he has had a speech evaluation.

[StevieGirl]

My 4-year-old twin nieces just turned 4 and have about as many words in their vocabulary as my 21 month old son. And didn't start talking at all until about 3 1/2. It is more common in twins.

If he understands well, and just doesn't talk, then I wouldn't worry too much. Speech therepy would be a good idea.

Best of luck!

[Mom2J]

StevieGirl, I know my son understood very well, but still had moderate to severe hearing loss. He reads lips better than anyone realized. (Especially the occasional "bad word" said under the breath. LOL If we want to say something, we must first cover our mouths.)

I think it's just a good idea to rule the hearing out, because of the optimal timing of learning speech is between 3-6 years old (I don't have my documents in front of me, so please forgive my being off a year or so) and you don't want to miss that window of opportunity.

I do agree though, that many times, children just don't talk, because they really don't have anything to say. Gee, once my daughter started talking, the house hasn't been quiet since. LOL.

K.

[tgbeck]

Two other ideas to consider:
There is a physiological disorder which interferes with the brain's ability to send the proper signals to the muscles in the mouth. I can't remember what it's called, but a speech therapist would know. My step-sister's 3 year-old was diagnosed at 2 1/2, and after 6 months of therapy has started spouting words, although not very intelligable yet.

The other idea is called selective mutism. It usually results from psychological issues. I read about it in some books by Torey Hayden. They are very interesting reading in any case. But be aware they are very graphic in describing the horrific abuse these children had been subjected to. In every case, however, she got the children talking.

Best of luck!

[nursie]

Sonni,
As an RN and a Foster Parent, I will tell you what we have experienced. We have a Foster child who was 26 mos. when he came to us and spoke only 3 words. He was already receiving Speech Therapy through the school district due to the Pediatricians recommendations. His mother is addicted to drugs and the home environment was such that he had behaviors similar to autism spectrum disorder but indeed that was ruled out and it was diagnosed that his speech/language delays were related to social deprivation in the birth home.
After being with us only 1 week he was shown to improve dramatically in his speech and added no less than one word a day to his vocabulary. He has been with us now most of the last 7 months and now has over 150 words, talks in 2-3 word sentences, and is quite the talker. I did take him in within the first couple of months for numerous times for ear infections and then to a Specialist who recommended tube placement.They do several tests including an eardrum check visually, an eardrum pressure check and a hearing test. So, 1 month ago he had surgery and hasn't had any ear complications since. He was exposed prenatally to alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, & meth, but appears to be cognitively making great strides catching up in all areas of development and doesn't have any notable ill effects re: pre-natal exposure.
There is also something that is called auditory processing disorder that they may want to rule out.This has to do with the brain not being able to process what is being heard.
Hope this helps out. We are going to be adopting our little guy and feel truly blessed at how well he has been able to "catch up" in his development in such a short time with a loving, nurturing, safe environment.
It does go to show that environment plays a HUGE role in normal development.
Good luck and God Bless

[semay7]

I work w/ children w/ special needs and I just wanted to echo everyone's comments:

1. Don't worry too much! It is very possible, he is just a late talker and all will be well.

2. Do follow every avenue (hearing test, speech eval, etc) to ensure that it isn't more serious. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Let us know how it turns out.

[MnGrandma]

When I became guardian of my then 8 yr old it was clear to me that his vocabulary of maybe 10 intelligable words was not OK. He has received speech services and had all of the normal testing done since age 2 when this delay was noticed. We visited a Developmental Neurologist who suggested a try on an "Autism Protocol" after all testing and a year of trying this and that did not improve his ability/desire to speak.

After two days on the protocol he spoke to teachers at his school he'd never spoken to in the three years he'd been there. He continues to receive speech therapy in school. He can be difficult to understand but now trys hard to get his thoughts across.

His teachers insist he is not autistic but.......we're happy with the speach.

I hope you find an answer.

Joyce

[tesi]

Dear Sonni,

whoops -- I tried to send this answer a moment ago, but I don't think it came through...

No speech at all at almost 4 is unusual, and while there are always stories of kids who didn't talk until late and then were fine, they are not really the most likely outcome, and can provide false reassurance.

I would strongly support getting a formal hearing test and a full speech/language eval. You don't say whether this child is near you or in another country, so I don't know how practical this is for you.

Our daughter has the disorder another person mentioned -- the one where there's difficulty with motor control of the mouth. It's called apraxia or dyspraxia, and there's a wonderful website about it called apraxia-kids.

HOWEVER, I would recommend that you find out a lot more about why they say it isn't autism or MR... and whether this child has other forms of communication, such as home-made sign language or pointing or grunting.

If I can help further, let me know!

Tesi

[sonni]

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

Nursie, this little guy has all the same risk factors as your child. I am sure he has some developmental delays as well as emotional and behavior difficulties. All of these "issues" no doubt could contribute to his speech delay. I will ask for a hearing test and a speech evauluation. Thank you so much for your input. Sonni

[redmocha]

I'm a speech-language pathologist (who is looking to adopt . I work with children on a daily basis in that age range. I would find out about getting an evaluation for him, as you hinted you might do.
Did you do so, yet (I know it's been months since you posted this... interested in the outcome.)
-JC