My 3 Yrs Old Son

Some children speak "their own language" until this age,and then start speaking normally on their own. but it would be wise to get a speech and language evaluation, as his speech is delayed.
The school district in which you live should do an evaluation even though he is not yet school age. If they can't arrange it soon - and with summer coming, I don't know what is possible, you may need to go the private route. I wouldn't wait; if there is a problem detected, the sooner he gets into speech therapy the better. Good luck.

A little about me: Child psychiatrist in practice 16 years; married 21 years with two kids ages 19 and 13.

You haven't really given us any information to go by. If your son is an only child and spends a great deal of time with adults that tend to do for him without requiring speech, he may just be delayed due to circumstance. If he's in a family with multiple children, goes to daycare, then he's definitely behind and should be evaluated. Many health departments offer a speech program. If you have made a habit of mirroring his words back to him and baby talking to him, it could be that he needs a lot more real talking to get him going. Some are just slow to start.

If he is not talking at all, or not speaking at least in short sentences, I would definitely have him evaluated by your local school system. This testing should be free to you. I would also check with your pediatrician about this. The school systems have some great intervention programs and the early you get your son help the better. Good luck

A couple of thoughts.

Has a pediatrician expressed any concern about him?

Do you baby talk to him at all? I know that sounds silly, but my sister in law baby talked to her daughter all the time which didn't help the situation at all. My niece was finally put into a pre-school situation and was up to speed with the rest of the kids in a matter of months.

Do you speak another language at home in addition to English? This will sometimes delay expressive language.

Get on line and look up speech services in your area. Most school districts or health departments will do free evaluations and if your son qualifies, will provide you with speech therapy.

Has his hearing been tested? This might also explain delayed language.

I had two friends use early speech therapy and their kiddos were speaking "normally" for their age within a matter of months as well.

Good luck.

If you have an older child than your son, is he/she doing the talking for him.
I know my middle son talked alot of baby talk at this age and the Physician asked me the same question. I had to think about it, and yes my daughter was. He said to ask her to let him talk and to be quiet, she was good about it and it didn't take long and he was talking up a storm. I don't know if this is your position but hopefully this helps. Good luck!!

It looks like you live in Guam? I'm not sure how the school systems work there. I would start with your son's doctor. My youngest daughter had delayed speech and it turned out she had fluid in her ears that was impairing her hearing. Once we were able to fix that, she caught up very quickly and has not had any problems since. Your doctor will be able to tell with simple tests if hearing is the issue. If his hearing is fine, ask the doc what he/she would recommend as a next step. Children's doctors are usually very helpful and are fairly familiar with the local schools and what assistance they can provide.
In the meantime, try to motivate him to use simple words combined with simple signs to communicate. Sometimes kids learn words better if they are linked to a hand movement. If you have a library nearby they will probably have a book that teaches you basic signing for babies (rubbing chest in a small circle for 'please'), or maybe an internet search. Use the sign and say the word. While touching fingertips of both hands together, say 'more? would you like more?' He will catch on quickly and be happy with his new ability to communicate!

I agree with what others have mentioned, but want to stress a couple of more things I think are also important. Do you read to him? Having several times a day that you just sit down and read simple books with him will be helpful. Also as you go about your day, talk with him about various things. If you're riding in a car, point out things along the way, giving him the name for what he's seeing along the way. Or do the same while taking a walk in the neighborhood. Talk to him just as you would to an adult, and do give him time to respond.
If you use a lot of TV to entertain him, consider cutting that back. Limit TV to an hour a day and only good children's educational shows. Avoid cartoons. Sesame Street is one good show for children. An animated show that I find children enjoy and seems to help rather than harm their language development is the Caillou series.

I would make an appointment to see his Pediatrician as soon as you can. The Dr can do a full evaluation to see what might be causing the delay. Have you had the child's hearing tested recently? If not I would ask the Dr if this can be done too. Hope this helps.

Definitely contact your school district right away and they will do an evaluation and see if he is eligible for speech therapy or any other services. Because it is summer time you may have trouble getting the district to act quickly so it would be good to pursue an evaluation from your pediatrician or speech pathologist. Many times they will suggest that he be seen by an audiologist to rule out any hearing issues.

Another good place to contact here in the Bay Area is Parents Helping Parents, www.php.com ###-###-#### They have lots of support and information and and can help to guide you along this process.

Ask your school or pediatrician for a speech therapy evaluation ASAP. Don't let up until you find a way to get one!

You haven't provided a lot of information for us to make an evaluation on. DO you talk "baby talk" to him or do you speak to him as you would speak to an adult? If all he hears is "baby talk" then he is simply mirroring what he hears. Does he spend a lot of time playing with other children his age? I would think that would encourage him to use his language skills and also enable you to be able to see how he interacts and behaves around others. If he truly is not speaking in full sentences and able to carry on a fairly simple conversation with you by this time I would definitely be talking with his pediatrician and checking to see what sort of early intervention progran there might be in your area that you could take advantage of.