17 month old son.

JemmaM91

Hi all

It's been about 5/6 months since I last posted.

There's still been no change and DS is now 2. He started preschool 2 weeks ago and they have asked me to get him a hearing referral as he doesn't respond to them. They also seem concerned that he only walks on his toes.

He seems to have have gone backwards a bit, he used to be able to say mama, dada etc .. Now it's fully gibberish.

I was just wondering once I get him a hearing referral what happens? I'm kind of scared that if there is a problem, of finding it out. Seems so strange. Has anyone else been through anything similar?

Thanks

marisco_2

It's not unusual for children to have delays in their speech. By your sons age they should be showing signs of understanding you though, and of trying to communicate their needs and wants by pointing towards things. It may just be worth speaking to your health visitor and asking for your son to have his hearing tested.

My youngest son had very delayed speech too. He made sounds but said nothing that really made any sense. I was advised to talk to him constantly when out and about, pointing out the red bus, look at the green trees etc. It was soul destroying to get little to no response week after week but this all paid off in the end. At 2 1/2 he joined a nursery and they spent a great deal of time singing nursery rhymes with the children and doing actions alongside. Initially he picked up the tunes and then gradually started adding in the words. His speech came on in leaps and bounds in no time and by 3 he was talking fluently.

Some children like to sit back quietly and take it all in then start speaking in full sentences. Whilst others use very broken speech and gradually increase their vocabulary and improve their grasp of grammar over time.

Laurajo_2

I suspect that they have raised concerns about 'walking on his toes' as it is one of the pointers that a child could be on the autistic spectrum together with delayed speech and understanding. Not saying your child is, just that the play group staff might be thinking along those lines.

That said, I didn't talk properly until I was in reception - no other issues, hearing problems etc and no other developmental delay, so some kids do just take longer - I went from very limited one word speech to full sentences very quickly.

It would definitely merit further investigation though - if only to set your mind at rest.

Northern78

Jemma - Your little man has the same DOB as mine!

I also have a late speaker, his vocabulary is very limited compared to other children his age, he mainly says mum, dad, all gone, no, bye and hiya. He does respond well to us though and seems to understand a lot more than I expected him to. I was worried but I think it's just the way he is. He didn't start walking till he was about 14 months but he got the hang of it very quickly, he was up and off.

A lot of people I've spoke to have said that boys are sometimes more delayed in their speech than girls.

Hope the hearing referral puts your mind at ease and I'm sure it won't be long until he's chattering away!

sooty&sweep

Hi
I understand you being scared but for me I'd rather know if there was a problem so that I could tackle it.
Has your health visitor done any kind of hearing test & development check ? With mine there were two of them, one in front of the child playing and one behind making sudden noises to see if the child reacted.
When my son had a more formal hearing test he was in a room with speakers and they could change the volume, pitch etc from both sides to check the hearing. The tester was out of the room to ensure he couldnt see them and react to their movement.
Cheers
Jen

Make-it-3

Get the hearing test please. Start with an appointment to see your GP and ask for an audiology referral.

The sooner you find that out if hearing is an issue you can either rule that out or start managing it.

Marmaduke123

JemmaM91 wrote: »

It's been about 5/6 months since I last posted.

There's still been no change and DS is now 2. He started preschool 2 weeks ago and they have asked me to get him a hearing referral as he doesn't respond to them. They also seem concerned that he only walks on his toes.

I don't know what the system is where you are, but for starters get the hearing referral and also ask to see your health visitor if you haven't already. As others have said, not talking isn't particularly a major concern, but not responding and not understanding is more of a worry.

I can understand you are scared, but the sooner any problem is properly
identified the sooner help can be put in place. Please don't leave it any longer.

meritaten

I would definitely get his hearing tested.
as others have said 'walking on the toes' used to be regarded as an indicator for Autism, but, it isn't RELIABLE! so don't be too worried about this - or the regression in speech. If his hearing is deteriorating then he isn't getting the language 'reinforcement' by hearing words spoken that other children get. therefore he may 'forget' words he knows.

Tigsteroonie

JemmaM91 wrote: »

There's still been no change and DS is now 2. He started preschool 2 weeks ago and they have asked me to get him a hearing referral as he doesn't respond to them. They also seem concerned that he only walks on his toes.

Has anyone else been through anything similar?

Yes. But what I'm going to say is a worst case scenario People will probably say that I am scaring you, but you did ask ...

Our son is 4.5 years old. He has a form of deafness called Auditory Neuropathy, which means that (1) his hearing is intermittent like a faulty speaker cable and (2) he doesn't understand what he hears. He absolutely loves noisy toys and musical instruments - which he can hear - and has recently started responding to his name. He has also been diagnosed as Autistic, hyposensitive but with some focussing & obsessive issues. He is non-verbal, not even "Mum", just vowel sounds.

Start with the hearing test. For more information about how they test children's hearing, check out the NDCS website: http://www.ndcs.org.uk/family_support/understanding_your_childs_hearing_tests/index.html

GwylimT

I wouldn't be concerned, especially as boys typically develop a little later. Our daughter didn't really start saying 'proper' words until after her second birthday, until her speech developed a little more she did generally ignore what we were saying, unless of course she heard the word chocolate or sweetie! She is still one to be in her little world, if he knows to hold your hand when you ask, then if he does have hearing problems I doubt they are significant, as otherwise he wouldn't be able to hear the command well enough to follow through.

Lots of children do the tip toe walking, most grow out of it, occasionally some children require casts to encourage them to walk flat footed, it is certainly interesting to see, especially when some still manage to walk on their tip toes.