Tweet
I watch a little boy who is 18 months and he went to his well check and they referred him for speech therapy. Mom took him yesterday and he now has to go two days a week for the next six months. Is this normal to have an 18 month old in speech therapy or is it overkill? He "talks" a lot and is very smart and knows how to tell us what he wants, but he really only clearly says maybe one or two words (momma and yes). I never thought his development was unusual ad having worked with a lot of boys, I have found they seem to start speaking later than the girls I have cared for. It just seems weird to me, since he is so young, to do speech therapy at this point. I thought they didn't usually do that until the kid was older and a lot more verbal, just to work on pronunciation and such? Is this a newer thing or am I just out of the loop?
-
-
I work with ECI quite a bit. They prefer getting kids in earlier to rule out issues. Also it is cheaper to do ECI in small amounts than a wait and see approach. With ASD on the rise, and especially more common in boys, I see more and more kids going to ECI even for mild delays. Most often the kids who truly aren't special needs or delayed make great strides and they are evaluated out early. -
In my opinion the speech pathologist obviously saw something that you may not be seeing. He may have a speech disorder that requires early intervention. I took my daughter at 18 months because she wasn't saying hardly anything and wasn't even really babbling much. The SLP saw her twice and told us there was nothing really wrong she would just be a late talker and it was up to us if we wanted to continue seeing her...but that basically it was a waste of time. Sure enough at 20 months she had a word explosion and by 2 was talking in complete sentences!!
I think early intervention is key to helping children who need it. My neighbour has a 3 year old and you cannot understand a word this kid is saying. He needs intervention desperately but mom is in denial.Comment
-
Thank you both for your responses! Mom is okay with giving it a try, but she just thinks it is a waste of time, because neither her, nor I, feel like he is delayed. I definitely understand that there may be something going on that I am not seeing, but at the same time, I spend SO much time with him (had him since 4 weeks and 50+ hours a week, so he is like my own son
) and so it makes me skeptical that I'm not seeing something they saw in spending literally 45 minutes with him one time. I'm curious to see how it goes and if mom decides to stick it out for the full six months (I think whether her insurance covers it all will be a major factor), but I am glad to know that it is not that abnormal and if he needs the help and benfits from it, then I am on board with whatever they all feel is best. Just had never heard of an 18 month old going to speech therapy
Comment
-
But neither of you are trained professionals in language development. It makes a huge difference. Apraxia, dyspraxia and all these other childhood language delays are not recognizable to someone not trained. At this age there are very subtle signs. I think you may be doing this child and mom a disservice by even weighing in against a SLP's expert opinion on this subject in my opinion. Most parents need very little to keep up their denial. I think at this point just being supportive will help a lot!Comment
-
In my opinion, the earlier they can help the child, the better.Comment
-
Sorry, but I don't think I am doing him or his mother a disservice. Mom is not in denial and neither am I and I am not telling her not to go. She asked me if I had ever heard of an 18 month old going to speech therapy and I said no, because in 17 years of childcare, I have not had a child that age be referred for therapy, especially since he has been on track developmentally. I told her that if they feel it is a good resource, then she should try it out and see if there is any positive progress from it. She asked me if I think it is necessary, and I said that I didn't know, but he seemed to be doing just fine to me and I never saw his speech as an issue, but it doesn't hurt to try it out. (Of course, it does kind of hurt mom because she has to take 2 hours, twice a week, off of work to take him and she is unsure if her insurance will cover all of it).
The activities they are doing during therapy are the same things we do all day here (point to book, say "book", "read book", point to shoe, say "shoe", "shoe on", ect.) and I had actually noticed just how much more he has been "talking" in the past 3-4 months. He will point to what he wants and "say" words to back up his want. I have found that to be normal behavior. If the doc doesn't think it is or thinks he needs more intervention, then I am not advocating against that advice, just wondering if it is common for such a young age. IME, speech therapy never occured until 3+ and for anyone younger, hearing was always the first thing checked and they have not checked his hearing or ears at all, s I just thought it was odd.
As for doctors and experts, I always take what ANYONE says and research it and come to my own conclusion. I have seen many docs recommend some absurd stuff in my day and misdiagnose and considering that we tend to spend a whole 10-15 minutes with them, it is natural to question their diagnosis and to do your own research. I am my own children's biggest advocate and since I consider this little guy to be like family, I don't think it is a diservice to ask questions and try to research this issue.Comment
-
Its those parents that DON'T address the issues their child may have that are the problem. I can't tell you how many parents I've had that refuse to accept that their may be a problem with their child. I even had one mom, who was a KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, who's son, at age 3.4 could not speak. He made garbled sounds...... I talked to her soooooooooo many times......very compassionately too, offering suggestions......and what did she do? She covered her ears one day and said 'i can't listen to this.....not MY child'...... because obviously, she's had to tell parents of her students that there could be 'problems' and she didn't want it to be HER child now........ How sad was that??Comment
-
Well my DS started speech therapy in kindy when he started school and still has some issues. They told me if they caught him earlier they MAY have been able to help more. He was my first, I was young and didn't realize he had an issue I guess. He didn't really talk, he pointed to everything until my mom told me to start making him talk when he was three. I wish I had known then that I could get him tested and get him help then! Perhaps you aren't noticing so much because you are around him everyday? When my DS started talking we understood him fine but no one else could. When he was four that was what told us there was an issue. He had just gotten used to the way he talked. And yours may be talking more because of what you are doing with him! It is probably a hassle for mom to drive him and miss work twice a week though. Seems like there would be an easier way.
I know once we got DS in speech therapy, they gave us things to do at home. One of them was drinking from a straw often, because of the part of his mouth they were trying to strengthen. Not saying you should do that, because it could be a different issue, just saying that hopefully they will give you all some small things you can do.Comment
-
I've been a DCP for 30 years now....... for those of us who have done this job for a long time, is it just me, or does it seem that kids for the most part, are starting to talk later than they used to?Comment
-
I totally understand and just for clarification, this is so not that mom! She is not one of those "my kid is perfect" type parents and she was already planning to do the therapy, but was just asking my advice or opinion, since we have a close relationship. I think her issue was just that the activities they do at the therapy are things we do here and she does at home, so I think she was just wondering if it is a waste of time to take him to a separate location he is not used to and expect better results than just continuing what we already do. I think she is also skeptical of her doctor. He gave her a really hard time, saying dcb was too small (he is in the 15th percentile) at his 12 month well check and lectured her on feeding him, even though he eats like a grown man He is just a small guy and very active, but I am sure she took it personally. Everytime they go, the doc has 2-3 things he really gets on her about and, imo, I think she feels like he is kind of bullying her or picking on her. I know the doc, because he is the on call doc and I have seen him before and he is very harsh in his communication, yet never makes much eye contact, so I never really cared for him. I did recommend that maybe she find a new doc that she liked better, but we ave such a shortage of available peds that I don't think she had any luck
Anyway, as I said, I never told her it was not necessary or that she shouldn't go, just that it was odd for the age range ime. But regardless of me and my experience, she is a grown woman and can make her own decisions. If 45 minutes, twice a week is what he needs, then she can make the choice to provide that or not and I will support her either way.
Comment
-
I have seen this and think it is related to too much screen time and not enough face time with their parents, friends, siblings, ect. A lot of kids get propped in front of the ipad or tv and they don't HAVE to speak, so they don't. And I have also found that reading books for bedtime or anytime is becoming kind of rare. Now, they get one show before bed or they get tablet time, so they don't get to hear others speaking to them consistently. Not sure if that is the reason, but just seems to be pretty common anymore.Comment
-
Yes I totally agree! I also agree that docs can be quacks (my own DR for example!) BUT I consider an SLP an expert in language...I wouldn't consider a DR an expert in nutrition and growth. I completely get where you are coming from and from your first couple of posts I thought you were trying to convince mom that therapy wasn't needed. I'm sorry for jumping to that conclusion. I guess I see SOOOOO many parents in denial that won't get help it is really nice to see a parent actually getting the help they need. Even if it is a "waste" of time I think he should be much further ahead than where he is so what you are doing and what mom is doing will only be boosted by this extra one on one attention. At 18 months he should have more than 100 words and stringing two words together. If he only has 2 words and uses mostly gestures or nonsense words than he will benefit greatly from the extra help.Comment
-
I believe 18 months is too young. One of my daycare mothers is the director for ECSE in my school district and another one of my mothers is a speech and language pathologist for another school district. The second mother has a son who is turning two next week, and obviously has a speech delay (we all suspect apraxia), but both mothers agree that he shouldn't be tested until he is officially two (the first mother will be in charge of the testing for the second mother's son because they live in this school district and we all three have discussed the concern together). However, just this week he started making a few new sounds, and now we are all worried he won't qualify for services. :
: So, I understand that it varies by location, but in my experience I find it surprising that it is even an issue before the age of 2.
Comment
Comment