EI speech evaluation completed

I posted a couple weeks ago about calling Early Intervention to have Aidan evaluated for a speech delay. The evaluations were done yesterday. He scored just about age appropriately in every area except those dealing with language. I have to wait until next week to go over the reports with my service coordinator, but the speech language pathologist (SLP) did say she was recommending Aidan for therapy once a week based on his delay. She also suggested a hearing test since he reacts very inconsistently to sounds and his name.

He ranked in the 6-9 month level for some areas of speech and the 9-12 and even the 12-15 in others. The SLP was most concerned with his lack of receptive speech since he doesn't show any signs of understanding what is said to him. Even with gestures, he only responded to one command during the entire hour and a half evaluation. She also was interested in his history with his mouth and feeding--that he was a preemie that had to learn to suck in the NICU, that he typically shoved as much food as he could in his mouth until a month ago (even leading to vomiting because he'd gag on all the food in his mouth), that he still mouths new toys/objects briefly before playing with them, etc. I don't exactly know what that means or if it points to a specific neurological or physical problem that caused his delay.

I'm still trying to process this even though it wasn't really unexpected. On the one hand, it's good to have validation from an expert that he does have a delay more serious than just being a late talker. But on the other hand, I'm so confused about why he is having these troubles with language and if therapy will help him. Even after the reports and starting therapy, I don't think we'll ever get a dianostic cause for the delay. EI focuses on treating recognized delays, not finding out the cause or diagnosing with a specific ailment.

I wanted to share in case anyone else is thinking about getting a speech evaluation done. I also wanted to share that the SLP mentioned she isn't overly concerned with kids at this age (18-24 months) who have fewer than the average words as long as they have good receptive language and demonstrate that they understand what is said to them. I hope that might reassure some moms who are worried about fewer than normal words.

If anyone has BTDT with spech therapy, I'd love to learn more about what's in store for us.

 

BTDT -- but gotta run right now, will be back later to share our experience!

 

I'm glad you got the evaluation. :hug: for the results.

 

Hi,
I have 2 year old twins and my daughter was evaluated at 18 months because she was only saying a few words. I am so glad I did because she is doing so much better! Even though at first the improvement was slow I asked my coordinator to have Olivia evaluated for OT!! We found out that she had mild sensory issues!!! Since getting OT twice a week her speech has improved (thank goodness). (She gets Speech twice a week also). I'm so thankful for the early intervention program!! The sooner you get your kids the help the better off they will be!!!

If you have any questions please IM me!!! I have to go but i'm here anytime you need to talk!!

Hugs,
Julie

 

i have no experience yet, though we might be on our way down the same path. i'm starting a class next week which is based on a book called it takes two to talk. it's supposed to be a great book. the class is state-sponsored and being paid for by the agency in cali that does ei. i spoke to my pt about the boys' speech and she referred us for this class. anyways, i can update you on the class after i've been in it for a while, but i recommend you check out the book. it's supposed to be really helpful and very parent-friendly!

gl, jl

 

Okay, I'm back -- I'm sorry the eval results were discouraging.

We're also dealing with a pretty significant speech delay with Kevan, but for a lot of reasons. First, he has some oral motor issues -- we noticed early on that he drooled way more than the average baby, and he didn't often close his lips, so his mouth would hang open. He also had a very chubby-cheeked look, and it was because the muscles in his face were weak (they essentially drooped).

He had surgery for laryngomalacia -- a larynx disorder that can cause noisy breathing, but also breathing/feeding problems -- at 11 weeks old. No clue whether it's related to his other stuff, but just throwing that out there, because a speech therapist told me that it's very common to see kids who have any type of early oral surgery have a speech delay.

Anyway. We had him evaluated right after he turned 1, and he did present with a delay of several months, because he didn't have any consonant sounds then (or maybe he had *just* started babbling).

So, we started speech therapy with a traditional speech therapist. At first, she only did the Debra Beckman oral motor stretches on his face, as we wanted to address the low tone issue foremost. As he got older, she started doing some play therapy with him. (As an aside, definitely check out the Baby Babble and Baby Babble 2 DVD's -- you can get them on Amazon -- they're great. They're done by speech language pathologists, and basically consist of speech "therapy" on video. We watch them every day.)

After a couple months, the speech therapist suggested we consult an oral motor specialist, because she thought his problems might be beyond her scope. We did that, and found out that he has a "reverse swallow" -- basically he's behind in oral motor development, he holds his tongue in the wrong spot in his mouth, doesn't have good lateral movement of his tongue or chew in the correct manner, etc.

So, now we see that specialist for weekly sessions as well...she does a lot of exercises trying to get him to stick out his tongue, blow bubbles, do lip smacks and pops, etc. The speech therapist also comes weekly, and does the play therapy with him...and also works on sign language with him. (Highly recommend the Signing Time DVD's as well.)

A couple of months ago, the oral motor specialist mentioned that she thinks Kevan has apraxia. It's basically a motor planning issue, meaning the brain wants to talk, but the proper signals don't get to the mouth, so he just can't do it. One big sign of this is that he can repeat a sound once -- saying aahhh, for instance -- but then can't do it again. At this age, it's hard to tell if he can't or won't, but the same thing happens with sticking out his tongue to lick a lollipop. If you hold his head back so that he has to use his tongue to lick it, he can't -- it's obvious he *wants* the lollipop, but he can't make it happen.

Anyhow. As another aside, Kevan has a duplication on his X chromosome -- it's not a known disorder, and we don't know if it means anything at all -- but it's there.

So, this is what we're working with -- preemie boy, early surgery for laryngomalacia, low tone in facial muscles, reverse swallow including tongue issues, and now possible apraxia.

All that said, his receptive language is pretty good. He doesn't always follow instructions like his sister does, but most of the time it's clear that he understands exactly what's going on. He signs a few things -- more, eat, cheese, read, baby, and several others. He shakes his head no, and points to what he wants (sometimes). And, he says "Nadia" and "yellow" and "hello" and "dada." That's about it.

I'm sorry if I've overwhelmed you. Speech issues can be so complicated! Kevan's problems are obviously complex, but a lot of kids are delayed with no further issues -- it's just a delay, and they eventually catch up and are totally fine with some therapy. Let me know if I can do anything to help!

 

Glad you got the eval.

As far as our story:
dd was seen by EI for her gross motor skills at 12 months. At the time they said her speech was fine but it's hard to tell at 12 months but her gross motor was delayed so she received thereapy 1x a week.

he basically came in and played with her (and her brother) for an hourusing special movements he wanted her to do. The PT was a father of twins so it was great.
As the time went on, I became increasigly concerned about her speech and he started doing some speech things with her too. The speech person would come with him sometimes but he had been seeing her for so long that she responded much better to him. At 24 months she then tested as delayed in speech too so he would do some speech with her as well as Pt. Her receptiv espeech was very good she just didnt have many sounds and woudl refuse to even try to speak. He gave me handouts and tools, techniques, charts, etc to use with her and just watching everythng he did with her helped me help her. At 3 y/o she tested only a little behind on speech and gross mtoor, not enough to qualify for further help.

I can say now that she has no problem talking. I found EI very helpful and gret to work with.

 

Glad you got the evaluation done. I am sure it is a lot to process. :hug: :hug:

Dianna

 

Thanks for sharing. I'm going to look into the Babble DVDs and the It Takes Two book. I've been trying to do signs with him since 12 months, but he doesn't seem to grasp that he can use the sign to communicate. He'll do them when the video is on, but he very rarely signs to us.

 

Glad you got the eval. We too had the eval at 2 years old and what a difference the therapy has had on their verbal communication.