Does My Child Have a Speech Delay

I am getting ready to have my youngest son, who is now 2 years and 3 months old, tested to see if he is on track or if his speech or language is delayed.

A common question among parents is, "Is my child developing as he/she should?". Of course, the range for normal development is broad and kids do develop at different times. However, we know there is a benchmark and, of course, most of us want to know if our child is developing within the range so we can get him or her help if needed.

When my son was 21 or 22 months I began to record the few words he was saying and copied questions I found online about speech and language delays. I brought up my concern about my son's limited speech at his 2 year well visit but the doctor said he sounded fine, based on how I answered the developmental questionnaire (it was questions that were more relevant to Autism Spectrum than for Speech or Language Delay by itself). I told him he did say more words then, than during the Summer, but I still felt he may be behind. He said to let him know if I was still concerned in a few months.

3 months have passed and I have called for an appointment and I have set up an Early Intervention examination by our local Public School System, which will examine any child younger than 3 to see if they need help that they can provide.

Both the examination and recommendation should be done within a month and I will then know if my son has any speech or language delays (or other delays) or if he is just on the slower side of language development.

You probably want to know what it is about his speech or language that concerns me. Well, the primary factor was that this has nagged me since August and it is now January 3. So, first and foremost, it is mother's intuition, that I should get him checked.

He is smart and seems to understand 100% of spoke language and he can follow several step directions, but his use of words seems very limited for his level of receptive language.

He has only added 10, maybe 15 single words or sounds in 3 months.
He prefers to nod or point to get something, but we make him say the word for what he wants and although he is adding more words they are limited. For food items he only uses more, eat or cheese- he does not use other words to ask for a specific food or items and that has stayed the same for several months.

He probably has a vocabulary of 40-60 words, but he uses them very sparingly. For some parents that may seem like a large number, for others it may seem like a few. Both are probably true observations. It has less to do with the total number of words for me, than it does with the words he uses and his lack of combining words or words with more than 1 syllable.

My husband and my mom also feel he may have a delay, so this is not only my opinion but others he has been around feel something seems off to them as well.

He does not combine words for the most part. I think on a few occasions I have heard him use 2 words, for peek boo and maybe in 2 other combinations.
He does not use plurals or say much if he is not prompted, he does say some things (only partial words, never 2 syllable, or almost never).
I could go on but the point is, he is communicating but he has not had a language or word explosion, and he uses only 1 syllable words or word sounds for the most part.
So we will see what they say. Some would probably advise it will come to him soon, and others might feel he does sound behind.
We will see what the experts have to say. My advice, is if you feel your child has any sort of delay or you are concerned, you should push for an evaluation or testing immediately. Do not let a doctor who saw your child for 1-5 minutes make a 1 minute judgement for your son or daughter. Go with your gut and demand you get a referral or evaluation done. Then go online and do research prior to any testing or evaluations. Record your child's actions or notes so you have information to share with an expert.

I will keep you posted to see what the speech therapist says.

To find out more about speech delays and milestones check out:

http://teachmetotalk.com/

http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/

http://www.asha.org/default.htm

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/