Start EI services now or wait for tubes?

[gordo]

I am torn on what to do with DD#2. She is 16 months and really has no words. She is maybe saying "this" as she points to things, but that is about it. She "talks" all day long, follows commands, uses 4 or 5 signs, etc. She is also on her 8th ear infection in 10 months. We just went to the ENT and we are going to get tubes put in in the next few weeks. I did have her hearing screened and she is fine.

So do I call Early Intervention now about her speech or wait and see if she starts talking after the tubes are in? For reference, DD#1 didn't really talk at this age either. She might have had one or two words and then her language exploded at 18 months. But DD#1 didn't have this history of ear infections which could be impacting DD#2's speech.

I know the sooner an intervention is done is better, but with everything going on I am wondering if it makes more sense to fix the ear issue first and then see how things go.

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[brittone2]

I am torn on what to do with DD#2. She is 16 months and really has no words. She is maybe saying "this" as she points to things, but that is about it. She "talks" all day long, follows commands, uses 4 or 5 signs, etc. She is also on her 8th ear infection in 10 months. We just went to the ENT and we are going to get tubes put in in the next few weeks. I did have her hearing screened and she is fine.

So do I call Early Intervention now about her speech or wait and see if she starts talking after the tubes are in? For reference, DD#1 didn't really talk at this age either. She might have had one or two words and then her language exploded at 18 months. But DD#1 didn't have this history of ear infections which could be impacting DD#2's speech.

I know the sooner an intervention is done is better, but with everything going on I am wondering if it makes more sense to fix the ear issue first and then see how things go.

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Personally I'd start now. From what you wrote it doesn't sound like she had an EI eval yet? It can take weeks to get in for that, then sometimes a few weeks until they have therapists available to start services. It also takes time to build a good relationship between therapist and child sometimes (it varies, but once they are more familiar with the therapist things tend to go better IME).

I'm not an SLP, but I'm guessing that even if the tubes are effective, it may take time for her to catch up a bit.

I personally would lay the groundwork now. You can always stop once she shows signs of catching up. The beginning of the process (scheduling and getting an eval, especially as the holidays approach and evaluating and treating therapists are taking vacation time, etc) can take a while.

eta: if you do the eval, you can talk with them about the tubes and get the SLP's take on the tubes, ear infections, hearing screen, etc. They may tell you that you can wait to start services (eta: or wait to see if they are even needed), or they may suggest starting right away (assuming she qualifies). If you get the eval, you can get some additional input and use it to make a better decision about how to proceed.

[MaiseyDog]

I would go ahead and get the ball rolling on the eval. It took us 3 months to get in when we had DD2 evaluated.

Just to give you hope though, DD2 was behind on her speech also. We had her evalueated at 15 months. As part of the eval they did a hearing test and found that she had fluid. after 3 months of still having fluid, we saw an ENT who suggested tubes. She got the tubes, and within 2 weeks of the surgery she had 5 new words (she didn't have 5 words in her whole vocabulary before getting the tubes). When we had her follow up appt with the SLP when she turned 2 she was perfectly on schedule with her language skills.

Anyway, all that to say.. I would start the process now for an eval and if you find the tubes do the trick, you can always cancel the appt.

[vludmilla]

Anyway, all that to say.. I would start the process now for an eval and if you find the tubes do the trick, you can always cancel the appt.

I completely agree. Just get started on scheduling the eval...if you don't need it, great, but if you do need it, then it will be in place and you won't lose more time.

[ThreeofUs]

IME, it's best to start soonest. She'll probably still need the help after the tubes are put in - not because she wouldn't get to age-normal on her own, but to help her get there quicker and easier.

[hillview]

Start now. DS had tubes and he is still getting caught up. It isn't magic once you get the tubes -- still takes some time.
/hillary

[Veronica's Mommy]

Another vote for "now". Good luck!