18 month check up and Speech Concerns

Well my worst fears are coming back to haunt me. They are healthy, thriving and doing great, but because of dd's possible Asperger's and the fact that they boys don't have 8 "clear" words, 8 that other peopole would understand, they need to be seen. I'm just sick. I know she's just being precautionary... but i just don't know what i will do if something is wrong. I'm not emotionally okay with my daugther's issues, and we are just now getting great progress with her, i can't do this again with 2 more kids... but the good parts...

A was 32 1/2 inches, 23 lbs
T was 32 1/4 inches, 22 lbs 14 oz

just a minimal difference, and both have a mouthful of teeth, at least 6 new teeth cutting through. Both are doing GREAT! and couldn't be healthier.

 

It sounds like they are doing well health-wise! Try not to worry about the speech (I know, it's hard). I am sure that everything is ok. Andrew only had a few words at 18 months, so we started speech therapy and now you can't keep him quiet! I don't have any experience with Asperger's, but I can imagine how concerned you are! I hope you can get the speech eval quickly and put your mind at ease Be sure to keep us posted!

 

We didn't have a lot of words at 18 mos. for our check up either, but at 2 they are jibber jabbering and have tons of words!! Just keep trying and talking to them!! Sounds like it's just for reassurance, please don't stress out too much (easy for me to say, right?!)

 

Great stats. Happy 18 months Tait and Axel!

Try not to stress about the speech. I also know many kids who did not start speaking until they were almost 2. Hang in there.

 

At 18 months Ryan didn't quite have 10 words, but at 2 yrs he had almost 50. I know it's hard not to worry, but I think speech milestones really have wide variances from child to child.

 

My neighbor was in the same position. Her older son still doesn't have a real diagnosis--he is 4, somewhere between high functioning autism and ADHD--just hard to tell with him. So when her second son wasn't talking at 18 months, they went through EI and he received speech therapy--they didn't think that anything was really wrong, he was just not talking, but with his brothers history, they qualified. 2 months ago, at almost 2 1/2, he was dismissed from EI because he is completely caught up.

Good luck!

 

I completely relate to your situation. My DS was just diagnosed with autism and I already see similar issues with one of my girls. I also feel nauseous when I think about it because it's very overwhelming. The SLP for my DS is awful and we are seeing very slow progress. I'm not going to tell you not to worry b/c it's impossible not to. I'm also not okay with my son's diagnosis. I don't know if you ever get to that point. I'm still dealing with crazy guilt and the thought that if I would have known we would be in this position I would never have had more children b/c he needs me so much and I have two infants to deal with. I didn't mean to hijack your post . Hang in there. I just try and take it day by day because otherwise I just want to cry thinking about it all. Feel free to pm me if you ever want to chat.

 

Hi! I used to post very regularily, but then I moved to Florida and got a job and life became even more crazy and exhausting. Anyway, I would encourage you to get your child evaluated by the Early Intervention people. My son really needed speech therapy, but he did not qualify while we lived in NJ. When we moved to FL, he did qualify. But there was a 3 month wait, and by the time there was an opening he was 3. So, we have been paying out of pocket. I did not know at the time that OT is a critical part of speech. We also had him evaluated by a child psychologist for something in the autism spectrum because he wasn't interacting with others and was delayed in some areas. She felt his primary problem was in speech. I'm still not convinced that's the real issue. Anyway, between 3 and now he has been receiving 1 hour of speech a week and going to "school" in a day care. Thankfully, it's now our church's daycare.

Andrew does have other issues. He doesn't play with other kids (other than his twin) and has a problem looking other people in the eye. He has a few other things he does which I have since learned are "issues" (wanting his shoes on all the time, crying when his hair and toenails are cut, etc....). We are now having him evaluated by the school system for Pre-K services (special services). The doctor mentioned to me today that he felt Andrew had Asperger's Syndrome. I dont' think he has that, he probably has something in that spectrum, but he has made remarkable progress in 1 year.

He went from saying about 20 words sporadically to speaking at the 3 yr old level and understanding at 4 yr, 8 months. I call that remarkable progress. The doctor said he was "unable to communicate his joys and wants" - baloney! We left there to meet Daddy for lunch and he told me "go home". He did not want to eat in a sit down restaurant and very clearly told me no!

Try to overcome your fear. Believe me, I know it's hard. But if you qualify, get that help for your child now, especially while it's paid for! We are blessed that I have a good job and an understanding employer that lets me leave early 1 day a week. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am. It's like I tell my patients, "Knowledge is power." Get knowledge about your child's issues. Go the library, read the books, and figure out what is best. You are his Mom (or hers) and you know them best.

Linda

 

Linda, I love your son's middle name

We are in the same boat with speech. My pedi said at this age, they should be saying 6-10 words, able to follow simple commands, and be able to point to their body parts when you ask them. They can do the last 2 things, but aren't really talking. The pedi was not too worried because their comprehension is really good, but we asked for EI anyway.

I know it must be hard considering your daughter's history, but lots of kids don't start really talking until age 2. Better to have them evaluated early, just to be safe, but there's a very good probability that everything is fine

Michelle

 

quote:
The pedi was not too worried because their comprehension is really good, but we asked for EI anyway.


You are right to ask for EI. I can't stress enough to go with your gut and not your pediatrician. Your dr. sees your child every 3 or 6 months so they are hardly a good judge of your child's strengths and areas of concern. There are many out there who are wonderful but unless you specifically see a developmental pediatrician most are not well versed on delays. As far as comprehension developing way above expressive speech that should be a RED FLAG for the pediatrician not reassuring. My son has autism and has always scored well above his age level for receptive language but he is right about the 18 month level for expressive speech. Most speech disorders involve expressive speech and could be a number of different things. Please also know that you do not need your pediatricians 'blessing' to contact EI and receive services. I have gone through many pediatricians in my efforts to get someone to pay attention to my concerns. So please, please always seek out EI if you are in doubt! Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now !

 

Try not to worry too much. My niece was one of those slow talkers...she only had like 10 words by age two..very hard to understand. And then between 2.5-3 she just took off...and now she speaks even more clearly than my dd who had 100 words by age 19 months (I'm not exaggerating I actually counted them.)...so it just shows that some kids have a different curve than others, but in the end wind up at the same place anyway. Reading books is a good thing for language development..simple books that keep their attention, nothing too long... picture books. Encouraging them more by saying things like "Can you say milk? MMMIILLKK" and just keep doing that again and again with everyday things and objects. Your older dd might start doing it with them too after awhile.

I wanted to chime in too that I did work with some students with Aspergers and there is such a huge range within that syndrome... many can be very, very high functioning and just need a little modification which they can learn to give themselves..organization tricks, triggers to help them remember to stay on task and not get distracted...there's also a bit of a craze out there right now about it....lots of training going on in the schools over it, so it could be that the people assessing her are jumping the gun a bit with it. Sometimes it takes awhile to recognize when it's really there b/c the symptoms can be so subtle. My older brother actually has a lot of the symptoms...and when he was growing up they didn't know it existed. He was a constant pain for my mom throughout school, but he graduated top of his class and is now a Phd student in a very complicated field of engineering...he's really borderline genius... I'm not bragging...I'm just saying that asperger's doesn't have to be as devastating as you think...it's in a spectrum with autism, but it's not like "rain man" autism. Don't take on too much... sounds like the diagnosis isn't final..and even if they do slap that label on her, don't let that hinder you or her from pursuing whatever you want in life. Labels like that in school are designed to help a student, not hold them back...but unfortunately many times parents and teachers alike allow labels to warn them that a child just can't do it...and that's just not true. okay off my soap box. I hope your fears are put to rest soon...and those babies start jabbering away...and then you'll be wishing that they would all just shut their mouths!!