" and a half year old child speech therapy??

emg

Speech therapists get lots of referrals for children at this age. I think the HVs do tend to be over-cautious as the consequences of missing something are more significant than the consequences of making an unnecessary referral. They also tend to refer early as there are long waiting lists in most areas. Can you contact your HV to find out how long the waiting list is for an appointment? Chances are that your daughter will sort herself out but if there is a long wait then you may wish to stay on the list and make a decision about whether you need the appointment nearer the time.

DON79

my ds2 who is 4 in two months, has only started speaking properly after he started nursery in January this year. I wasn't worried particularly as I knew he could speak, he just chose not to - I know as he spoke when it suited him (when he really really wanted something)....

He never saw our health visitor, never even got called for his two year check or they would have maybe picked up on it but I just let him sort it at his own pace.

He talks a lot now and sometimes it is still hard to understand what he says but you now can't stop him talking and singing

M_A_R_I_E

purplepardalis wrote: »

OP - may I ask, how old is your son?

2 and a half daughter

M_A_R_I_E

RAS wrote: »

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.

I was trying to give an indication of her general development - not just her speech and language.

Thank you for all the positive replies. Some of them have helped me a lot. I feel that I will wait to hear what happens from the referral - the appt could take months anyway. By then she might not need it and if she still needs help with some pronounciation then great we'll use the help offered.

Thanks again for the support and advice.

Lunar_Eclipse

Marie,

In your situation, I think I'd feel the same as you, because I did when it was suggested to me, by nursery staff, for my daughter.

She needed help with a couple of key sounds. It was classified as a mild case, but it was definitely noticeable. She ended up having some speech therapy, just before she turned 5. She had a handful of sessions (4 I think), it worked a miracle and I really wish we could have done it sooner. Do it! They make it fun and playful, not a negative experience in the slightest.

It's lovely listening to clear and articulate speech.

dibuzz

My eldest had glue ear and didn't speak till he was 3 but was never offered speech therapy. His younger brother was referred for speech therapy at nursery (we had moved by then and I think they were just more on the ball).
They quickly realised that DS2 was just copying DS1 who missed the beginning of his words off but DS1 was never referred however many times we asked.
I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, if she makes progress on her own that's brilliant but speech therapy is no big deal, she will probably enjoy it if she needs it as it's mainly play led.

mumps

M_A_R_I_E wrote: »

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.

This happened to me when DD was 3. I was upset and anxious waiting for the appointment. When we finally got the appointment I took her and axiously watched her being assessed. The speech therapist turned to me and said, "Why are you here?" Well that's what I wanted to know. Good luck.

[Deleted User]

We are waiting for an appt with ST, my daughter has had a speech delay problem for the last 18m or so, we've seen a drop in specialist who said to coe back when she was 3, but then they withdrew the service, so now on the long waiting list.

DD problem is consonant deletion (she doesn't say the endings of words), has to concentrate to form sentances and think hard about what she's saying to recall words she doesnt often use.

Only yesterday she was trying to tell me something about a satsuma, i couldn't for the life of me working out what she was saying despite her various attempts of repeating the same uncomprehensible word. I felt so sorry for her as normally she can show me if i dont understand, but this time she just kept point to the orange skin saying this word. (btw it wasn't to eat it or peel it).

In the end she said "Mummy i dont know the words" - i felt so sorry for her. Also she struggles with clarity rather than say can i have, she'll say can i ha, but in a sentance you can get the jist. I try to reply back, yes you can HAVE it, emphaising what she isn't saying, but it doesnt seem to improve.

Oh well.......hopefully she'll get there before primary school.