speech delay in 3 year old

I have a sister who has a 33 month old son. He seems to have a speech delay. Our
mom mentioned it to her once and she says she asked the pediatrician about it
but we are beginning to believe she just told us that to shut us up.

The child has a vocabulary of less than a dozen words. mama, baba, some
jabbering, and he will often scream and then make one sound over and over until
he seems to get tired of it. He appears to understand what is said to him. He is
able to point to what he wants.

Our mom is going to try to talk her into taking the child to a speech therapist
for an evaluation but my sister gets very defensive when anyone brings the
subject up as she thinks we are saying her child is dumb and that is not the
case at all. We are just concerned.

Any suggestions or comments?

On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 13:41:22 -0500, geena davis
wrote:

I have a sister who has a 33 month old son. He seems to have a speech delay. Our
mom mentioned it to her once and she says she asked the pediatrician about it
but we are beginning to believe she just told us that to shut us up.

The child has a vocabulary of less than a dozen words. mama, baba, some
jabbering, and he will often scream and then make one sound over and over until
he seems to get tired of it. He appears to understand what is said to him. He is
able to point to what he wants.

Our mom is going to try to talk her into taking the child to a speech therapist
for an evaluation but my sister gets very defensive when anyone brings the
subject up as she thinks we are saying her child is dumb and that is not the
case at all. We are just concerned.

Any suggestions or comments?

Make sure that he has his hearing checked if you can. Some hearing
problems can be quite subtle and an audiologist can check for all the
possibilities.



--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..
Outer Limits

toto wrote:
On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 13:41:22 -0500, geena davis

Our mom is going to try to talk her into taking the child to a
speech therapist for an evaluation but my sister gets very defensive
when anyone brings the subject up as she thinks we are saying her
child is dumb and that is not the case at all. We are just concerned.

Any suggestions or comments?

Make sure that he has his hearing checked if you can. Some hearing
problems can be quite subtle and an audiologist can check for all the
possibilities.

you could try to arrange some activities where she was around a group of
parents and children the same age. I'm guessing she knows deep down that
something is off but is having a hard time excepting that. Sometimes seeing
it right in front of your eyes is enough to confirm your concerns and prompt
evaluations.


--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (4) and Luke (2)

"geena davis" wrote in message
news
I have a sister who has a 33 month old son. He seems to have a speech
delay. Our
mom mentioned it to her once and she says she asked the pediatrician about
it
but we are beginning to believe she just told us that to shut us up.

The child has a vocabulary of less than a dozen words. mama, baba, some
jabbering, and he will often scream and then make one sound over and over
until
he seems to get tired of it. He appears to understand what is said to him.
He is
able to point to what he wants.

Our mom is going to try to talk her into taking the child to a speech
therapist
for an evaluation but my sister gets very defensive when anyone brings the
subject up as she thinks we are saying her child is dumb and that is not
the
case at all. We are just concerned.

Any suggestions or comments?

You know your sister best but it sounds to me that you might have to be
frank with her. My brother is deaf and he has benefited hugely from the help
that he received once he was diagnosed. He went from no speech at two to
being able to communicate normally with speech now as an adult. The sooner a
child with a disability gets help the sooner they can reach their potential.

Judy

Yep, hearing could be the key...
Even if hearing is fine now, he may have had ear infections that you may not
have even noticed that caused itermitent hearing loss, (not permanant)
So his speach can be delayed. You will notice this with (G's) and (K's) any
sound made with the back of the throat.
All the best

Fiona

"geena davis" wrote in message
news
I have a sister who has a 33 month old son. He seems to have a speech
delay. Our
mom mentioned it to her once and she says she asked the pediatrician about
it
but we are beginning to believe she just told us that to shut us up.

The child has a vocabulary of less than a dozen words. mama, baba, some
jabbering, and he will often scream and then make one sound over and over
until
he seems to get tired of it. He appears to understand what is said to him.
He is
able to point to what he wants.

Our mom is going to try to talk her into taking the child to a speech
therapist
for an evaluation but my sister gets very defensive when anyone brings the
subject up as she thinks we are saying her child is dumb and that is not
the
case at all. We are just concerned.

Any suggestions or comments?

"geena davis" wrote in message
news
I have a sister who has a 33 month old son. He seems to have a speech
delay. Our
mom mentioned it to her once and she says she asked the pediatrician about
it
but we are beginning to believe she just told us that to shut us up.

The child has a vocabulary of less than a dozen words. mama, baba, some
jabbering, and he will often scream and then make one sound over and over
until
he seems to get tired of it. He appears to understand what is said to him.
He is
able to point to what he wants.

Our mom is going to try to talk her into taking the child to a speech
therapist
for an evaluation but my sister gets very defensive when anyone brings the
subject up as she thinks we are saying her child is dumb and that is not
the
case at all. We are just concerned.

Any suggestions or comments?



My advice to YOU (since you are the one asking) is to accept her
statement that she's talked to her doctor about it, and not mention it
again for at least 6 months.

I've known kids who didn't speak much until after their 3rd birthday;
as long as his RECEPTIVE vocabulary seems normal (and it sounds to me
like it does) then let your sister and her doctor worry about it.

If I'd told relatives that my doctor said there was nothing wrong with
my child, and my relatives kept bringing up their concerns, I'd probably
get pretty defensive, too. You may not be saying her child is dumb --
but you DO seem to be saying she's an inadequate mother for not doing
what YOU think she needs to be doing.
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care