Speech therapy for 2yr old

[JBaxter]

Does anyone else have or had a 2 yr old in speech therapy? Nathan has a small vocabulary and at his 2yr check up his ped recommened a speech eval. I set this up through our school systems early intervention program. He gets very frustrated and I am assuming it due to his lack of words. He says -- mommy, daddy, on,melmo ( elmo), shu-up ( shut up courtesy of his older brothers) gee-off ( get off also thanking his brothers) aapull ( apple) bye bye,night-night,mine , Naw Naw ( grandma) bubble and pee-pee or pemess ( guess what THAT is). Am I jumping the gun? Can anyone share their experience? TIA

[annasmom]

I cannot really share my experience because we haven't started yet. I finally made the call yesterday and I should get a call in a few days to set up my dd's evaluation. She was being evaluated generally because she was a preemie, and at her two-year evaluation the therapist recommended that we wait a month or two and if she didn't have a big increase in her vocabulary, we have her speech evaluated. I think that her speech has gotten better, but I think it is hard for me to be objective so we are going ahead with the evaluation.

One thing that has helped us is sign language. We don't do it extensively, but we watch the Signing Times DVDs. I found that by the time Anne learned a sign, she also learned the word. I think it helped her a lot with her frustration as well. We started when she was about 1, and really don't watch them that much anymore as she is pretty good now at being able to express her needs/wants.

Maybe others with more experience can give you better advice, but I figure, the therapy really cannot hurt, KWIM?? Good luck!

[brittone2]

Hi Jeana-

I'm not a speech therapist but when I worked in early intervention as a physical therapist part of my job description was working on the evaluation teams with speech therapists (in the state I was working in all areas of development were assessed even if the child was only referred because of speech concerns for example) so that helped me learn quite a bit. Also I had to routinely screen the kids I was seeing for speech, deciding whether to work on it a bit during PT sessions or if it was a more serious delay referring them for a speech eval.

It is hard to say if he will qualify or not without knowing him. Generally they have to demonstrate a 25% delay in skills in any one area to qualify for services in that area (so for a 24 month old, they'd have to have to be functioning at the level of an 18 month old or younger regarding speech skills in order to qualify for speech therapy). It sounds like he'd be on the borderline just by reading what you wrote, but without knowing him better it is hard to say. They will give you a level for both his expressive (spoken) speech and also for his receptive language (what he understands). If either of these is a 25% delay or greater he'll qualify.

If he doesn't qualify or they don't think there is enough of a concern, they certainly won't put him in speech therapy unnecessarily. Either they'll just give you some ideas of things to do at home, or recommend a re-eval in a few months and if he hasn't made significant progress at that time they might recommend therapy, or they'll just tell you not to worry and that will be that. Many times (when I worked in PA it was like this and it is often the case) the evaluating therapist will not be the treating therapist, so that eliminates the conflict of interest (they are often from totally different agencies that contract with early intervention). As therapists, we certainly don't recommend therapy if we don't believe it is necessary.

It doesn't sound like he's doing badly at all IMO....but it won't hurt to have a speech eval, and if they don't think services are necessary, they can give you some ideas on how to work on language with him in the meantime or suggest a timeline for a re-eval if he hasn't reached a certain number of words, etc. After talking with them and/or getting their report you'll be better equipped to decide whether to pursue therapy (you could obviously opt not to even if they recommend it).

HTH. If there are any general early intervention questions I can help you with, please let me know. You've been so helpful to me!!! The eval is stressful for the parents but most of the time the kids actually enjoy the attention, and the evaluation and therapy itself are all pretty much play-based. They just think of the therapist as an oversized playmate who gives them lots of attention and who brings tons of fun toys and games to play each week (in addition to things like bubbles, microphones, and bags of really cool toys they don't get to see everyday at home) :) It is much harder on the parents, particularly the eval itself.

[nov04]

I'm not sure about the specific requirements for EI and speech help but there isn't any harm in investigating. Also, if there are problems, the faster you can get therapy started, the faster the results.

We're on the waiting list again (we moved just as our name came up last time) for dd who had a stroke in utero. She's having coordination issues and has documented speech delays.

GL

[JBaxter]

Thanks I will keep you in mind if I have questions. I did have him eval'd 2 weeks ago privately and he has a 25% delay but our insurance wont cover develomental issues but our school system will do it for free and in our home. Until he reaches the age of 3 he is under early intervention after that it is under the pre-k program. I can say it was only 1 week from the time I called the school till they had a cooridinater at the house. They have to do their own eval which should be in about 2 weeks ish. But I am taking advatage of all the professional help I can get. My only fear is that they tell me he can talk if he wants to he just doesnt choose to LOL -- I have no idea where he gets his stubborness from <big eye roll> I keep thinking anyone who can take the bag out of my vacuum and take his own diaper to the pail should be able to say more words.

[aliceinwonderland]

Yes, on the "can talk if he wants to" front, my kid knows how to say words and then for a while "forgets" them :)

We're been practing "Please" and "Thank you" recently, only he knew how to say "thank you" months ago, just all of a sudden refused. And when I teach him, he gives me this little look that is so cute that says "I know, I just don't like to say it, hehe". And today he said both, appropriately, only because he felt like it. LOL.
I also do not know *at all* where the stubborness comes from ;)

[brittone2]

I'm sorry you are having trouble getting scheduled for an eval. I hope it is your DD's turn soon...

how frustrating.

[brittone2]

Oh yeah, that's the fabulous part of EI...they come into your home (so no need to travel somewhere and spend that extra time on the road) and it is almost always free regardless of income (other than a few states that have a sliding scale).

It sounds like he may qualify if the private practice found a 25% delay, but it doesn't sound like he's doing badly at all. If he understands a lot of what you are saying, and based off of what you've said he sounds like a bright boy, then therapy tends to go a bit more quickly and you may see progress faster, so that's a good thing.

I hope it goes well regardless of what you decide to do :)

[TraciG]

Sydney has been having speech therapy for about 2 months now, she turned 2 the end of October . I think if he qualifies go for it, it's fun & it's extra help plus it's free at least in NY it is . Sydney LOVES when Carrie comes over ( speech therapist ) we have her twice a week for a half hour each time. All of a sudden Sydney is saying a lot of new words, or attempting new words ( still cant understand everything she is saying ) i'm not sure it's because of the speech or she's just ready now but I would do it ! I wouldn't worry, when they're ready they'll talk !!

[TraciG]

I didn't think the evaluation was stressful at all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a great experience with EI also they said Sydney was borderline & they wrote it up that she was a litte worse so that she'd get qualified !

[Raidra]

We just had Colwyn evaluated for a speech delay through EI. The eval was fine, not really stressful at all (except for me having to clean the house top to bottom!). They said his expressive speech is at 19 months (he was 24 months at the eval), and receptive speech was normal. He does qualify for services, but they want to do some other test, which will happen on Monday.. I'm not sure exactly why, as the baby was screaming while I was on the phone with the woman. :) We haven't started therapy yet, so I'm not sure what that will be like.

Colwyn has about 50-60 signs and as many, if not more words. But he's very hard to understand (I'm usually the only one who knows what he's saying) and doesn't string words together very much. He also doesn't ask questions except when requesting food, toys, etc. The signing is a huge help, although it's becoming less and less important as he gets older. He really doesn't get frustrated much because between his verbal words, signs, and pointing, he can usually get his point across.

[brittone2]

I know tons of families run around stressing about cleaning for each visit, but honestly, it always made me feel badly that parents felt like they had to clean before I came to treat. I assured them that on any given day they'd be able to find dog hair on my own sofa and floors, popcorn under the cushions of my couch, dishes in the sink, stuff on the kitchen table...that's life ;) And that was *before* I had a kid ;) I think as families got to know me better as a therapist they didn't worry so much about those things...that's the one thing I didn't like about EI being home based vs. center based, as some families feel like they have to do extra cleanup or something before visits. I guarantee you that almost all EI therapists have plenty of messes in their own houses...they don't expect anything different at yours LOL. Okay, I've been in a few places in the past where it was abominable, but I'm talking rodents, roaches, rotting garbage and other lovelies that take it to a whole different level ;) If you end up doing therapy, please don't worry too much about it :) They understand. You don't need the extra stress.

I hope therapy goes really well and helps Colwyn make some big gains...it sounds like he's got a bunch of great skills already and it is awesome that he is able to communicate without getting overly frustrated. I'm sure a lot of that is that you are so in tune with him and his ways of expressing himself :) Let us know how things go :)

[lmintzer]

LOL. That was one of my first thoughts about having an EI eval for Joshua. What if I can't get breakfast cleaned up and the toys put away? : )

[searchdog]

Just thought I would chime in and say I have my 18 month old in Speech Therapy. We did her eval at 17 months and she qualified for therapy 2 times a month. We have seen the therapist 2 times and I am very happy already with the progress she is making with DD and she always gives us things to work on and it is helping already. I am very glad I decided to get her evaluated at the young age of 17 months.

[Raidra]

I know it wouldn't have been a big deal if the house was messy, but that's just something my mom indoctrinated in me-you MUST clean the house if anybody is coming over, even delivery people.

My husband teased me while I was scrubbing the floor, asking if I thought they'd call DSS if the floor was dirty. :)

[brittone2]

they won't blink an eye, I assure you :) Seriously. I'm the same way about most things, and drive myself nuts over it, but having been on the other side, people who work in EI know you have kids and know that they make huge messes and have tons of toys. They also know you are juggling caring for your child's needs and housework...they certainly don't expect for a second that you'll clean up extra for them ;)

If the child is really distractable sometimes it is helpful to have some of the toys put away so the therapist can better focus them on the toys she/he wants the child to work with that day, but if necessary they'll just move DC to another room or figure out a way to get things to work.

In terms of general housecleaning though, don't ever feel like you need to do anything special whatsoever ;) The therapist will be there weekly, kwim? No need to put yourself through that stress every week.

While working with families I would always laugh because you knew you had been treating their child a long time when they'd feel comfortable enough to answer the door in their pajamas or bathrobe, the DH and DW would argue in front of you, there were cheerios all over the floor, etc. etc. You kind of become part of the family LOL ;)

[nathansmom]

My 2 year old is in speech therapy through EI. I don't think your jumping the gun. My biggest regret is not doing it sooner. At 2 1/2 he scored as a 8 month old in speech and now after 6 months we are at 14 months. Its been slow going but I can see improvement. We went from no words to almost 30 in those 6 months. Nathan is about to move on to the preschool program since he still has a delay.

[tina-t]

Ds has been in speech therapy since he was 18 mos. and has been doing well. He had mild speech delay but qualified for therapy. It has helped him a lot and he has taken off the past few mos.

I try not to stress out and keep the house really spotless when the therapist comes in. I just try to pick up some of the stuff, dust around the family room and keep that room clear so she can use the toys that she brings. Ds really loves it. Whenever I tell him that Jessica (the therapist) is coming over, he gets really excited and starts saying "toys, toys, wow!"

[jmac588]

Too funny about cleaning the house:) That's what drove me crazy too when EI came!

DD was evaluated at 2yo. She had no words. She made one sound like mama but it wasn't to say mommy, it was just the only thing she could say.

First, they sent her for a hearing test. Once that was ok, they scheduled her for the EI eval. She also has sensory issues so she qualified for therapy.

The first speech therapy was probably May/June-ish and by Sept they kicked the girl out because she was talking up a storm! LOL She seriously went from that one mama sound to saying all kinds of things in about 4 months. When it came, it came quick. Then again, the therapist said from the beginning she believed there was no medical reason for her not talking (low muscle tone, etc) so she wasn't surprised when the words came so fast.

What they did tell me to do was of course no pacifier/bottle, but also to have her drink from a straw instead of a sippy cup so that the muscles got stronger. Also a whistle, harmonica, blowing up a balloon....all kinds of things that give that tongue a good workout!

The experience was wonderful for us. I wish I had started earlier since she was always so frustrated and had so much anger because of it, along with the sensory issues she was just an emotional mess. I think if her speech had come a bit quicker she wouldn't have spent her first 24 months screaming non-stop. Poor little thing! The occupational therapist helped her out alot too with the sensory stuff. Some people will always say I should have waited and I wonder if she wasn't delayed at all but just needed more time, but it was worth it to us just to have her happier. Her big brother spoke by 10 months and by 14-18 months was using pronouns in his full sentences, so I admit that I was concerned that she wasn't like him even though I understand that all kids develop at their own pace. Still, I'm very happy to have pursued EI for her. HTH!

Jill
ds 01-19-01
dd 03-18-03

[Ari]

My son goes to speech 2 days a week, it's helped him allot. He loves his speech theapist.