" and a half year old child speech therapy??

M_A_R_I_E

Hi.

Just after some opinions and advice please. My 2 and a half year old daughter went for her development check last week and I was told by the HV that she was going to refer her for speech therapy.

I know that my daughters speech is not as clear as my sons was at the same age however she have 100+ (too many to count really) words in her vocab, is able to string 6-7 words together in a sentence, beginning to use I, Me etc, she can count to 20, accurately count objects up to 10, recite nursery rhymes with actions, knows all colours etc, can draw people with eyes, ears, nose, legs etc. She has been fully potty trained day and night since April.

I came away from the check really down - my feeling is that she just needs time to perfect her speech. She didn't really start talking muh til she was about 2. So has only had 6 months practise really!!

Has anyone else been in a similiar situation and can offer me any reassurance? Other than the clarity i feel everything is there.

Thanks in advance.

mirrorimage0

there may be absolutley nothing wrong, each child develops at his or her own pace, but just incase why not let her go rather than wait and see, at least she is getting help sooner rather than too late ,

my friends child had speech therapy when she was at school around age 5, not because she wasnt intellegent or didnt know her words etc but just a few words she didnt pronounce in the correct way thats all but it really helped.

dont over worry too much, there will be lots more things to worry about in the future lol

milliebear00001

It can take months and months to get an appointment for speech therapy. Go on the list, then if, when the time comes, she no longer needs it, you haven't lost anything, and if she does, she gets the benefit.

Curlywurli

I would try to take it as a positive. Obviously we can't comment on your little girl because we can't hear her but they feel that she would benefit from some help. I think sometimes it can be difficult for parents as we get used to how our children speak but strangers don't always have the same understanding of them. My sister didn't realise that her child needed speech therapy.

At least you can take her for an appointment and then see what the speech therapist says. She may not see a problem but then again she may see the need for help. I think it's good that she'll be able to get an appointment at a young age. I see a lot of children in school who need speech therapy and don't get it until the age of six. It's far harder to correct what may be simple issues when they've been speaking like that for years.

RAS

Hi

This is about your DD's needs, not a judgement of her abilities or your caring for her; her potty training has nothing to do with her ability to make the correct sounds.

There could be a number of things about the way her mouth is structured that affect her ability to make sounds. The HV might just want that checking. Go along to the first appointment and if she finds there is no need for help, the ST will tell you.

LEJC

My son was in a similar position at a similar age...he had a problem with speech and we were monitored for a while then sent for various referrals...one being to a hearing specialist as they were unsure if his lack of clarity when speaking was due to hearing impediment....

I too felt totally inadequate as a parent and felt that his problems were my making...its very difficult as a parent because you seem to tune into how your child speaks and you dont necessarly hear a problem but others sometimes struggle to understand what they say which leaves you needing to interperate or the child really flustered.

Eventually we had a course of speech therapy which was quite heplful..it was structured around play and my son found it a good experience...there was a little bit of work to do at home but we always made a game of it so as to not make him feel overwhelmed by it.

He quickly caught up with others and by the time he went to school there was nothing evident that he was a bit of a late starter...so please dont worry...all children are different and some do things at different times

best of luck

whitewing

I would take it as a positive too. Doesn't mean you should have noticed anything; just that HV has concerns or is being over cautious. Either way, best to know.

pigpen

If you don't think there is an issue ring the HV and tell her not to place the referral.. it is their 'in' thing to refer for at the moment

Or you can cancel it when an appointment comes through saying you don't need it.

O you can take her to the appointmnt and be reassured she is perfectly fine then you can blow a raspberry at the hv

I refused a referral for DS3 and DD4 when neither talked until they were about 3.. they could they just chose not to! DS2 however still needs work on pronunciation of some letters but at 15 he won't be going... I had to fight to get him a referral at 4 when he didn't say a word clearly!

Just encourae her to talk..ask her questions which demand answers.. Do you want orange or blackcurrant juice/milk or water? Do you want the red top or the blue one?

If she points and grunts tell her you don't understand so she will have to use the words.. you can bet she understands every word you say to her! (within reason )

gadjah543

I had the same problem with my DS .At the referral the speech therapist was showing a picture of a face and pointing at the features.When it got to the nose he said bridge and was corrected.He was only three and said no that is the bridge.We weren't invited back.:rotfl:

picnmix

It can't do any harm to wait for an appointment, we as parents get used to our kiddies speech and word sounds, when my DD started school at the first parents evening they brought up about her pronounciation of the letter L, she was referred for speech and language therapy, as I work with a bunch of Speech and Language therapists I got some strategies off them and put it into practise. By the time the appointment came through there wasnt a problem anymore so the school cancelled the appointment, however I would take it if offered, best to get any problems sorted at a young age or they may still have them when they are older.

gillypkk

my son was referred to speech therapy just before he turned 2.

he has a speech delay. i dont notice it untill he was around other children his age and into nursery where the teachers and other kids couldnt understand him but i could.

he is now 5 and still receiveing therapy. there are certain sounds etc that some children need help with.

dont correct your child, dont rush her, allow her plenty time to answer. my SIL is a nightmare! my youngest son said more at 1 year old than hers did at over 2 coz she was spoken "at" and not spoken "to" iygwim. she would ask a question then answer it for her without giving her a chance and the fact she had a dummy delayed her speech and she was restricted certain foods for they fear of her choking didnt allow her muscles to develop properly. even now a year on she still cannot speak more than that of the level of a 1 year old and is in desperate need of therapy but SIL wont refer her.