Speech delay

Hey ladies,

I haven't been here in a while - the kids have been keeping my busy. I was wondering if anyone else has had speech delays. The tests showed Ellie was 12 months behind and Allie was 8. We have speech therapist comming out but she is teaching them sign language. This almost feels like a step backwards. Now they don't have to talk - they just sign.

Any experiences or advice?

Angel

 

My boys are 20 months and have no words...they babble all the time but won't even try to form words (although Austin says "up" - to everything) Most of the time its just frustrated screams wails or grunts...

We have them on a waiting list for ST but its now up to 9 months long!! Sooo, I sign a little bit with all the words (just the basics, sleep, drink, more etc.) and I just try everyday to get them to speak! a Very frustrating and long wait!!

 

I would think the signs are a good thing for communication, but hope she is also working on speech skills. At 18 months- 24 mon the need to express themselves gets really important, so sign may help alleviate some frustration and enable them to learn speech a bit better...but I would ask that she do a lot of speech activities as well.

In our area, we also have Early On 'play goups' - they have one for speech and for sensory stuff....ask your EI people if that is available.

KC

 

QUOTE
We have speech therapist comming out but she is teaching them sign language. This almost feels like a step backwards. Now they don't have to talk - they just sign.


Actually, it's a huge step forward. Signing actually HELPS babies develop verbal skills, because it uses the brain the same way verbal language does. It's exactly the same kind of brain workout, and it's one they can do before their mouths are willing to cooperate. Think of it as laying the foundation for speech.

 

Exactly what our speech therapist told us. The signing helps them talk sooner - it's a great step!!!

 

another ditto that signing will help!!! check out the signing times DVDs- I'm not a huge fan of tv for the boys, but I will let them watch these. They really get fascinated watching the other kids on it, and they definitely pick up the signs AND spoken words since the word is repeated over and over!

 

Ditto for signing here as well. I have had 2 older boys with speech difficulties and signing does help. Always use the words with the signs...they should work together, but having the signs helps reduce the fustration and improve the communication! As my son learned to speak better he dropped the signs.

Cindy

 

We started speech therapy a little after 12 months old, and signing REALLY helped. It reduced frustration, tantrums, and gave us a way to communicate. I also used pictures for common things so Aiden could tell me what he needed. I'm so glad we did learn signing because we used it until over 30+ months of age.

We took "off" a year due to finances, and now our insurance is paying for ST at 100%. I don't know our % delay, but its helping a lot. Just a few months ago Aiden was completely missing G, C, and K sounds, and now he can say them 90% of the time. I'm confident that he'll be on target by the end of the year (although we'll continue as long as needed since its covered now).

 

QUOTE(Gabe Evie Allison & Elouise @ May 20 2008, 07:14 PM) [snapback]784176[/snapback]
Hey ladies,

I haven't been here in a while - the kids have been keeping my busy. I was wondering if anyone else has had speech delays. The tests showed Ellie was 12 months behind and Allie was 8. We have speech therapist comming out but she is teaching them sign language. This almost feels like a step backwards. Now they don't have to talk - they just sign.

Any experiences or advice?

Angel


Yes, my b/g twins have a speech delay. They wll be 2 next week and have been receiving Early Intervention therapy for a few months now. They say a few words each and make tons of different sounds. They also understand everything - they can identify things after being told its name only once or twice. But the words are a slow go - lots of babbling that I have no idea what it means.

We have learned a few signs as well. It does seem like a step backwards, but at least I can communicate a couple of things with them.

Keep your chin up. They will learn eventually. It's a big learning curve and they will learn at their own pace. Good luck!!

:hug99: