Speech delay

CaraMay

Ds is 22 months and seems to be slow to talk. Has anyone else been through this? Phn has put him on the list for speech assessment and I don't know what to expect.

liliq

CaraMay wrote: »

Ds is 22 months and seems to be slow to talk. Has anyone else been through this? Phn has put him on the list for speech assessment and I don't know what to expect.

My son was put on the list at 21 months. I told the phn i would be declining any appointment anyway.
He's nearly 25 months now and there's been a huge jump in the number of words he has and he's starting to string then together.
It's no harm being on the waiting list, if an appointment comes up and you feel you don't need it you can defer or cancel, and if you do need it it will be better than having to wait months.

CaraMay

Ok I guess I'm a bit worried. He had a lot of ear infections plus he was quite ill for a year so is still on special milk in a baby bottle. He also had failure to thrive and is still fed by us as we are worried he will lose weight.

I just see other kids, especially those who go to a crèche as much more advanced - being able to feed themselves and drinking from cups etc

uck51js9zml2yt

you could try getting a hearing test done. my son wad getting a lot of infections and it showed up a problem which needed dealing with.
audiologist in mount Carmel does them for abiut 60 euro. just need a letter faxed from pub.

CaraMay

Salvador Unimportant Squirrel wrote: »

you could try getting a hearing test done. my son wad getting a lot of infections and it showed up a problem which needed dealing with.
audiologist in mount Carmel does them for abiut 60 euro. just need a letter faxed from pub.

Ok thanks. What does it involve? After all his time in hospital he freaks if a doctor / nurse/ uniform comes near him

wmpdd3

My son is 21 months and the only words he has are ta-ta and ah-ah.

I know my daughter had about 10 words at this stage but I just thought it was the difference between boys and girls, he has been way behind her in everything.

I think I will get onto the PHN, I have terrible hearing, I think I'm still on the SEHB waiting list for grommets 31 years later, so I suppose there could be a hearing issue.

Funny thing is he tries to sign when were watching Mr Tumble...

I remember the day my daughter was 2 she added about 5 words to her vocabulary and every day since she's added 1, so I was going to wait till age 2 to decide if there was a problem.

Madisson

I wouldn't be worrying. The phn put my niece on the list at that age. Shes now 3 and a half and her speech is far better than most of the kids in her montessori. All kids develop at different stages

NBO

I found the baby talk book by Dr Sally Ward to be really practical with lots of useful ideas.
This website is also useful http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talk_to_your_baby

Lucyfur

CaraMay wrote: »

Ok thanks. What does it involve? After all his time in hospital he freaks if a doctor / nurse/ uniform comes near him

It's a room with an audiology table, and a small table where your little fella will sit. He'll be given some toys to play with. Then the audiologist will use a machine to emit noises at different frequencies. S/he may also walk behind him and shake what looks like a rattle.

If you're worried about him having a bit of a melt down, just give them a quick buzz and explain his situation. In my experience, they're very accommodating.

If he's referred to hospital, it gets a bit more technical. Different probes are placed in the ear, in a sound proof room.

My lad hated his ears being touched and they were all (apart from one) very patient with him. He's 11 now and goes for tests with no problems.

He was very slow to talk. 5 before he spoke a sentence of 3 words. Now, I can't keep him quite. He was so far behind in creche but now he's top of his class! He still goes to regular speech and language which is a godsend. It's not all about forming words. My lad did a lot of work on strengthening the muscles needed to form letters and words. Nowadays, he does group work, which helps him learn the art of conversation (he's autistic), listening to others, asking appropriate questions etc. It's great!

I would say go along to the appointment when it comes through. They might even help get him over his fear of healthcare professionals

uck51js9zml2yt

CaraMay wrote: »

Ok thanks. What does it involve? After all his time in hospital he freaks if a doctor / nurse/ uniform comes near him

Its simple enough for young kids. she will have a box on each side of the child which plays a sound. when the child turns to the sound it lights up and depending on the clinic it could be winnie the pooh and piglet or whoever.
she'll also take a look into the ear to check nothing is amiss. she doesnt wear a white coat

My son was getting a lot of ear infections and wasnt developing his speach as he couldnt hear.
The test got us referrred to a consultant in the hermitage who tried a couple more things and then handed us over to another consultant who put a grommet in one ear, investigated the "bad" ear and then scheduled us for major surgery in tallaght 6 weeks later.

it turned out that his ear drum was growing into the ear. we were a few months from some serious problems. he did suffer a bit of hearing loss but at least he's alive.
The consultant is now seeing us personally in his public clinic in tallaght and my sons speak is improving dramatically.

Mink

CaraMay wrote: »

Ds is 22 months and seems to be slow to talk. Has anyone else been through this? Phn has put him on the list for speech assessment and I don't know what to expect.

My guy is 14 months and I have him on a waiting list for speech/language assessment. I'm not particularly worried about it, if he suddenly comes leaps and bounds I'll cancel him off the list but at least he's on it for now if he needs it.

He just recently started babbling (ma ma ma ma ga ga ga ga) but this is normally meant to occur around the 9 mth mark.

But I've really realised from all the stories I've heard and from PHN's that they often just do things when they're ready and it's different times for different babies.

icescreamqueen

CaraMay wrote: »

Ds is 22 months and seems to be slow to talk. Has anyone else been through this? Phn has put him on the list for speech assessment and I don't know what to expect.

Just out of curiosity, did your child use a soother when he was younger? Sorry I hope I'm not being too intrusive asking that.

peppapig24

Hi, I have been through most of the above with my son and am now finally on the other side. Like that he at 20 months only had two words and struggled majorly with ear infections. I did get his ears tested privately by an audiologist an like was said before its quite easy and very well done to keep there attention. Ours was a little room which had boxes that would light up and a toy make a noise or a little doggy walk in one etc. His ears were 100% and she found no problem with either which to be honest left me really baffled because I was so sure this was the problem. The phn then referred us to Enable Ireland where he started with a speech therapist and eventually he was diagnosed with severe speech delay 9months later. Its a very long road I wont say it isn't so it really is best to have him on the list like the others said if you feel by the time it comes around he doesn't need it you can always cancel.

uck51js9zml2yt

peppapig24 wrote: »

Hi, I have been through most of the above with my son and am now finally on the other side. Like that he at 20 months only had two words and struggled majorly with ear infections. I did get his ears tested privately by an audiologist an like was said before its quite easy and very well done to keep there attention. Ours was a little room which had boxes that would light up and a toy make a noise or a little doggy walk in one etc. His ears were 100% and she found no problem with either which to be honest left me really baffled because I was so sure this was the problem. The phn then referred us to Enable Ireland where he started with a speech therapist and eventually he was diagnosed with severe speech delay 9months later. Its a very long road I wont say it isn't so it really is best to have him on the list like the others said if you feel by the time it comes around he doesn't need it you can always cancel.

What did Enable Ireland do?

CaraMay

icescreamqueen wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, did your child use a soother when he was younger? Sorry I hope I'm not being too intrusive asking that.

Not really. He used it up to about 4 months old now and then. He has had a lot of war infections though.

peppapig24

Enable Ireland provided a range of services like an assessment speech therapy occupational therapy etc. They would also organize meetings with us as parents and let us know what the next steps where.

Theres more information on there website.
http://www.enableireland.ie/