Speech therapist? Post Reply

[lamj1974]

Hi all

my son is coming up to 2 and is not saying a word. I wish I was exaggerating when I say this but he is really not saying 1 word. All his peers are nattering away and I'm starting to get a bit worried.

He doesn't seem to understand masses either & I would like to talk to somebody, eg a speech therapist.

I was wondering whether any of you have any experience with this & if so if you wouldn't mind passing on any words of wisdom & information on who you have seen.

Thanks so much!

[Macboo]

Hi,

My son is now almost 2.5 years and I was worried regarding his speech so requested a 2 year check with the health visitor. She also thought he was slightly delayed so arranged for a referral to the speech therapy unit and we have now been seeing the speech therapist for the last couple of months. My son's speech has come along greatly but not sure if it is due to the speech therapy that he has been receiving. Starting nursery has definitely helped but some kids are just a bit later in speaking than others but you can't help comparing, can you?

If you are worried, then I would request a 2 year health check and take it from there.

Macboo.

[soozeeruds]

Our son wasn't really talking at 2. I was concerned but knew that he understood what I said. We did use Makaton signing and talked to him all the time and lots of stories at bedtime. It was difficult but we did try to encourage him by not always second-guessing what he wanted and really making him communicate. He started at a morning nursery at 2 years old and I was reassured by his teacher that he would speak - how right she was! He is now 3 and a bit doesn't stop and has an amazing vocabulary!

[iamjules]

Hi- I am a mum and a Speech and Language Therapist. I would definitely recommend getting some advice. You can see your GP or health visitor who can refer your son to your local service. I dont know which your local service would be or what age they accept children- its 2.5 in some areas but any age in others. If you want to go private, you can look at http://www.helpwithtalking.com which lists registered SLTs in your area and you can search by age etc. Your Speech and Language Therapist will be able to talk to you about whether there is a problem and how to help him. They will take a history which will include whether he has had a hearing test and the results as this is so important to learning to talk. When you are thinking about getting advice, I'd say the earlier the better as there are so many ways to help children's communication. Makaton, as previously mentioned by other posters, is really useful as it's always used alongside spoken language and another tool to help children communicate. It's just as important for you as for your son to get some advice as you are obviously worried and you don't want it to get in the way of having fun with your 2 year old!