Should My Grandson Be Talking by Now?

I would go and get a second opinion about him not talking. My first thought is hearing everything? Let me know how things turn out. I live in Arlington so I don't know of any Mother's Day outs in your area. Sorry!

Hi,

My son is 3.5 years old and barely speaks in complete sentences. He didn't say one word until he was just shy of 3 years and it is still very hard to understand.

I have a daughter who is 5.5 yo. She basically does the talking for him.

I had him evaluated by a speech pathologist just to be sure. She said not to worry, that everything looked fine, and that he just wasn't interested in talking yet. She gave some suggestions for how to work with him.

It was really worth the time and money to have him evaluated. The therapist I used was from Therapy 2000. They are a great agency. I am pretty sure they work in Burleson. I highly recommend them. They come to your house and just talk to your child for a while.

http://www.t2000.com/

The therapist said it is very common for boys not to speak until very late (sometimes not until 4 years). That is just the way they develop. But when something is bothering you a lot and you can check into it for little time and money, I think it's worth the effort.

Good luck.

Peace,
M.

Talking comes at a different age for all children. Going to a Mother's Day Out program is not a good reason to learn to talk. Be patient, have fun and enjoy. My granddaughter is 24 months and says lots of one word, not always plainly, and signs about 30 different words. But she will at her own rate and we are not concerned at all. Her understanding is right on and advanced, so why worry? She hears everything, even a jet while in the house, so we just say words for her to repeat when she asks for something and she will get better with time.

Just remember that every child is different- you can never compare two children and say that one is "more normal" than another. My son didn't talk until he was 2 1/2, whereas my daughter was speaking in short sentences at 18 months. With my son, I was very worried that he would only point and grunt. I finally stopped giving him what he wanted when he did this. Instead I told him I didn't know what he meant, and he would have to use words so I could understand. One day, he was very frustrated that I wasn't getting his point and grunt demands, and he blurted out, "I want ice cream!" This was literally his first attempt at talking, other than the occasional ma-ma and da-da.

What that told me was that he knew what to do, he just needed the right motivation. He did, of course, get some ice cream (after he said please) and he has not stopped talking since.

Good luck and don't fret too much. Just enjoy the time you have with him and provide him as many opportunities as you can to speak and learn new words, whether he says them yet or not. :)

Contact ECI. A speech language therapist can evaluate him and tell you if he qualifies for services. They are free and are delivered in the home. Anyone can make a referral (even you): 888-754-0524
http://www.mhmrtc.org/ECI/faqText.aspx (frequently asked questions page)

K.,
It would be good to get a hearing eval. for your grandson, just to rule out a problem in that area. Sometimes pedi. are not receptive enough to this suggestion--I had a good friend whose 3rd child was not talking as much as expected, even though he had lots of modeling. After repeated questions to the family dr., they went ahead and had him tested, and he had a profound hearing loss. (He LOVED his hearing aids and began to catch up very quickly :-) If there is no hearing problem, then you can look for a Plan B. Is he hearing stories read aloud daily, esp. lots of rhyming words? Increase the verbal input, and you may see more output. Good luck!
C.