At what child age should we be considering speech therapy? My second son's speech is so garbled compared to my first son's speech at the same age.
Speech Therapy
how old?
How old is your second son?
My son started early intervention just before his 2nd birthday because he wasn't speaking much and had some motor planning issues. He never really got speech therapy per se, but more like social integration work and putting him into a group with similar kids (mostly boys, natch) twice a week to work on a host of things, speech included. He's in kindergarten now and still does some speech work, not because he's hard to understand but because he needs help in social situations sometimes, and mixing in with peers.
I would
Ask his pediatrician, because it mat not be development issues, it may be hearing issues.
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The earlier the better.
The earlier the better. Anytime their is a social, speech, motor skill issue, you should talk to your pediatrician.
At 2 1/2 my son lost the 20 words he knew and would only say D(disney). Their were also other "RedFlags" issues, and he was diagnosed as autistic. I am so glad we caught this at an early age because it would have been so much more difficult for him later.
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Toddler Speak
He does speak and has plenty of words. He has great hearing and his motor skills are right where they should be. He is a smart little guy too, it's just his speech is like a foreign language most of the time. He knows the right words, they just aren't coming out quite right. My wife and I can translate for most people, but even we have trouble understanding him a lot of the time. I suppose it will get better, but I was just curious when toddler speak should be ending and speech therapy should be considered. He will be three in early June.
...
It depends. Garbled is kind of a vague description. Language skills usually work themselves out on their own. I think you might be hung up on the comparison. Make sure that you don't respond to gibberish without correcting the mis-spoken word- when you hear "Chew chew" and he means "train", reply with the appropriate word ("Oh, you want to play with the train?).
To answer the question, my Mom is an early intervention specialist and she works with all ages of toddlers on communicating. Usually, they are already diagnosed with a problem like autism or hearing issues. If you don't suspect a developmental problem, I would wait until age 2.5 or 3 and reassess then.
ETA... I just saw your previous post. The language should be getting better at this point, but your description doesn't seem to indicate a developmental problem. It might be a good idea to schedule a visit with an early interventionist or speech therapist just to have a professional assessment. I don't think it's too early.
0-3
JPhilip,
Early Intervention will evaluate him for free and the service is also free. You need to call them soon as he is closing in on his 3d birthday. My adught was in Early Intervention to help her walk. I thought the program worked very well and they come to you. You can also arange for your son to move into the next group whose name I forget.
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JPhillip,
In some states, services STOP at age 3, so you should call your ped now and get a referral. Once he's in, it is easier to get services extended than started. I was told that at age 3, anyone should understand at least 75% of his speech.
Our second son qualified for, and received speech therapy. He's fine now, you'd never know. But I can still see some lingering effects from when he was "behind the curve", only because I'm the (only) guy who spends every day with him.
Unless your pediatrician discourages it, persue it.
Good luck. If you want to contact me directly, feel free. I'd also be happy to continue here, so all can see.
Jim
Boulder, CO
Dad to Cole, Luke & Trev
Jim Is Correct
I would add that friends of my wife and I had a ped that repeatedly told them their daughter was going to grow out of "it." She reached 3 and still wasn't talking. She had passed the age where they could recive 0-3 and now pay out $600 a month for thearapy. You do what your gut tells you to do.
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Your State Early Intervention Services is a federally mandated program. It has to be free, but at 3 years old the school districts take over with generally poorer services. We are dealing with Nevadas NEIS rightnow and they are actually betterthan the private paid service we are working with.
Greg
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