3 yr old nephew not talking?

Question

my 3 yr old nephew and his 2 brothers and sister have come into my care due to a very hard situation at home(DOCS had to forcefully remove the boys but girl was already in my care),the boys have only been with my for 2 days but i have noticed that Julien does not say anything at all and just points to things,his sister tells me that he used to talk alot so I think it is just from the trauma of being taken from his parents,I am talking all 4 children to the doctors today for check ups and will bring this up with the doctor

is there anything i could do in the mean time to encourage him to talk?

I am also not sure if their dad did anything to the boys like he did to Elena(see previous question http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind... but from their behaviour it seems that he did

Answer 1

There's a birth to 5 developmental checklist here...

www.the-preschool-pages.com/links

It is a Word document, so click open when it prompts you. Then print it and complete it and take it to the doctor with you.

When he points for something, be sure and say it in a sentence for him, "You would like more juice? OK, I'll pour you more juice."

Also, read to him as much as possible.

Answer 2

Ask for a hearing check also as I have a child that was like that untill I found she had middle ear deafness.

Answer 3

I would try to find ways to have him express himself besides talking.  Try having him play with stuffed animals or draw pictures of how he feels.  The animals can "talk" to each other.

Answer 4

Don't let the other children speak for him. If he points at something he wants, tell him to use his words.

Please, make sure these kids are getting REALLY good counseling.

Answer 5

they all need a visit to the pediatrician.  the doctor will rule out a medical cause and offer suggestions.  get counseling for the entire family.  have someone go with you to help at the appointments, so that you can speak to the doctor about each child independently.

Answer 6

It could very well be due to  him being taken away from his parents or whatever happened between him and his dad(if anything did). Trauma makes children do strange things and this is one of the main things it can do to a child. I would just keep talkin to him like you normally would if he were to talk and tell him its ok if he doesn't want to say anything but when he does you will be listening. I would just do what you are goin to do and ask the doctor about it

Answer 7

well first of all, bless your heart and theirs too. you are a good person to embrace them. I would just wait. some three year olds don't talk all that much anyway. you don't know what has happened to him. and often small children don't talk much away from home. I suggest you just focus on gaining his trust by letting him communicate in what ever way he chooses for the moment. I would worry more at the three month mark and the six month mark.

good luck to you

Answer 8

This comes from my experience as a Family Support Worker through my years with Head Start.  Children each deal with situations differently, but one thing I remember little guys and girls often like at your nephews age is puppets.  

Introducing a puppet, he may talk to you through the puppet, and feel safe.  I would not pressure him because of possibly the sensitive nature of what they are or have gone through., nor would I encourage other children to speak for him as he will continue to look to them to be his voice.

Take the support of agencies in your area to assist you with the children, child counselor, social worker, psychologist, physician, etc.  They are blessed to have you in their lives and I wish you all the very best.

Answer 9

A 3-yr-old should be able to have at least 100-200 words, combine two-word phrases with ease and imitate three-word phrases. The trauma he has suffered has mostly likely negatively impacted his language skills, and in fact, might have caused that regression..

Here are some strategies that you can use at home to encourage him to talk:

1) do not anticipate your child's needs or wants. In other words, don't just 'give' the child things without him/her attempting to engage with you.

2) delay your responses to his/her gestures. If the child points to something, allow him to attempt to verbalize the word. After 10 seconds, if he is having trouble retrieving the word, you can model it for him.

3) Modify your language if necessary. Use clear and short phrases, if needed. And always give the child the correct word if s/he is still using 'baby talk' words.

4) Read to him/her!!! Show them pictures, point to the pictures, have the child identify them, have the child name them....

5) Describe what you are doing. For example, if your child is next to you while you are washing dishes, you can say out loud what you are doing, even in a song! (e.g., "soap soap the dishes, now we rinse rinse rinse the dishes, aaand we put them to dry! Dry dry dry!)

6) Use parallel talk. This is pretty much the same as above, except you are describing what THE CHILD is doing.

7) Be very encouraging when the child actually does use real words to communicate.

8) Expand the child's verbalizations. For example, if s/he says 'ball' you can say 'yes, green ball.' If s/he says 'green ball' you can respond 'yes, big green ball,' etc. This will allow the child to also understand expanded sentences.

9) Be patient.

:)

If you have any questions or want more specific examples, feel free to contact me. Also, if you are really concerned about his language, you should seek speech therapy for the child. It will help him in the long run, not only language-wise, but academically as well.