Is or was your child speech delayed? Please answer!?

Question

My daughter will be four soon. She has been in speech therapy for 2 years. She has tested negative to disorders like autism. She has come a long way but still only says 2 or 3 word simple sentences. We can't have a real conversation with her. It breaks our hearts to think of why our little girl is so behind other kids. I'm sick of hearing "Oh, she'll grow out of it." Can anyone else give me some hope here? Did your kid have a hard time with speech and then catch up by 6 or 7? Her speech therapists have no idea why she has a delay. She can memorize books, counts to 30, knows alphabet by heart, etc.

Answer 1

My litle brother is 6 yrs old and he is bearly catching up with the other kids in school since he was aslo delayed in his speech.He is still getting speech therapy an he doesn't have autisim he is just a slow learner,you could say that.But just give her time if she doesn't have autisim then you have nothing to worry about.She will get better as time goes by.

Answer 2

Well...it's just communication matter...my brother didn't speak till 4! it's when he started, and my mom says was because she was always all over him giving what he needed, and never developed him the need to express what he wanted. For what u say, ur kid is brilliant, so no worries. Don't push it, she is just staring at all of you guys trying make her talk lol i'd love to know what's going on her mind...would she think: wtf is all this about? i no need to be yapping all the time like all they do!??? lol

Good luck! all u need is love and patience.

Answer 3

i did...i wasn't really able to speak properly till i was past the 1st grade...i also went through therapy and i know you dont want to hear this ....but i grew out of it...thts the truth!!! she'll eventually learn..oh...and is she hard of hearing?!? if she is then that would deff be a contributer to her slowed speech growth. success! i hope the best for your daughter!!!  

Answer 4

Oh yes, she will. My brother made up his own words and didn't really talk in sentences until he was 6--- broken sentences or jumbled words sometimes. We all had a hard time deciphering what he was saying. (s**+-s**+-ba for slippers, mamam for drink, me-me-pen for game-over in video games...) Living in a third-world country then, we had no access to speech therapists. The pedia told us to talk to him more so he could pick up and follow on. He's okay, he's 20 now and he doesn't remember anything from that point in his childhood.

Answer 5

i didn't start talking till I was 3. I am shy now, and I don't talk a lot.

Answer 6

I'm sure you have heard it from your speech pathologist but it is impossible to say whether she will "catch up" or not. Some kids do and some kids don't. Some you are sure won't catch up then they surprise everyone and start talking in full sentences all of a sudden!

I am a speech pathologist and if I was seeing your child here is what I would look at.... I know your speechie has probably done everything but I'll list it all in the off chance that she may have missed something

Get hearing tested

Do a full oro-motor exam (can your daughter control her muscles and move them at an appropriate rate)... is there any sign of tongue tie.

Can she generally get her message across using other methods such as gesture

Does she have a good understanding of what you are saying.

Have you tried using sign language to augment her language (or the picture program board maker)

If you answer these questions I'll check back later and see if there is anything else that stands out.

Oh... and just to clarify you ask about speech delayed children but it sounds like your daughter has a language delay. When you say she only uses 2-3 word phrases is that all she tries or is that all that is clear?

Answer 7

Can't tell has a good answer.  Agree that it is a language disorder.  The slow progress is indicative of something more than just speech delay.  I have 3 speech delayed sons, 2 are autistic spectrum.  Suggest going to a SLP rather than a speech therapist.  My oldest is turning 8, he has not caught up.  He has oral-motor dyspraxia, and is hypotonic, and PDD.NOS same as my 3 yr old.  He speaks in 6-8 word sentences, can get his point across, has difficulty following multi-step directions, has difficulty with conversation skills (he interrupts, changes topic, doesn't get jokes etc), has difficulty getting the words out.  He has gotten speech therapy for his language disorder since age 25 months.  

Answer 8

my cousin (3 years old) is like that... he had weak mouth muscles so he is in speech theropy

is she shy? thats my cousins main issue he is shy and because of that and his speech issues his parents tend to talk for him in public if he pauses for too long.

so thats all the advice i have hope it helped a little

Answer 9

My eldest daughter was talking well by two.My best friends son was exactly the same age yet he hardley uttered a word until he was four. Im no doctor but have you ever thought that giving the child speach therapy at aged two was a bit over the top? If there is nothing else wrong then forget about making a bidg deal about it and cut the therapy as it is not working. The child will speak when ready not when you all want . Try it.

Answer 10

My little brother had speech problems, he could barely communicate with anybody. He was hard to understand, he couldn't pronounce ect. He is now 6 and I can speak with him much much much better now!! She will get better, wait until she has gone to school, the difference will be amazing!