My 2.5 year old son is a late talker. Is Montessori a good option?

Question

My 2.5 year old son is a late talker. Is Montessori a good option?

Answer 1

Do you read to your son?  Do you play phonetic and nursery rhyme music while he sleeps, and softly, as back ground music during the day?  There are all kinds of creative learning things on the market, have you purchased any and worked with your child?

Are you sure that you child's hearing is OK? A hearing issue will definitely effect speaking!

Answer 2

I think the most important thing is to expose your son to a variety of environments where he would be exposed to speech and that would have modeling and motivation for him to respond with words.  Playgroups that included more talkative kids would be great.  Of course his primary caregivers talking to him as much as possible, about everything going on around him, but also encouraging him to interact by asking him questions and waiting a bit for answers.  

My son is now 27.5 months and started Montessori toddler class at 26 months (2 mornings a week).  He was a late talker but started to increase his rate of talking just before starting school.  I did notice that his teacher encouraged him to speak by making her actions dependent on his responding with a word to her question --  like "Do you want to play with this truck?" He nods yes.  "Say truck" and she only gives the truck after he says it.  (I can't remember the example I witnessed, so forgive me if I am misrepresenting a method!).

I agree that the ratio of caregivers to children might be better in Montessori, and also that it is more likely the caregivers will be better trained, more experienced.

So I think Montessori is good, but if I had time/energy/money, I would go for a variety of activities he can see other toddlers talk, including maybe a group singing class (no experience with classes, but my son tends to say some words from songs he hears often, especially the ones he also gets read books about - like the Raffi books - Wheels on the bus is his favorite), and talk to him a lot and don't worry.

Answer 3

Have his ears checked.  He may have a hearing deficiency

  and will not talk because a person must copy what they hear

  before they can verbalize.

Answer 4

He will talk soon enough, dont stress it, let him be around children his own age or a bit older. Turn off the TV, and talk.

Answer 5

wow dont worry about it if your son is only 2.5, my younger sister didn't even begin talking untill she was 4 years old and she turned out just fine.

Answer 6

Yes, the Montessori environment allows a low student to teacher ratio there are typically 6-10 students per teacher. Montessori schools often accept children as young as your son and may have special needs classes. Simply being around other children may help him learn to talk better (if the other kids can do it so can I) also the teacher attention will help ensure that he is not teased. They will probably not have special speech therapy in the normal Montessori environment. Montessori does teach "the whole child" so they won't just focus on teaching reading, etc. they also work on teaching them how to clean up after themselves, take care of themselves and be a quality member of a society. As an example my daughters' school has a work where the children scoop rice from one container and pour it thru a funnel into a glass bottle. This can get messy so they also provide a small broom and dust pan so they can clean up after themselves. The most amazing part is that the kids do it, all of them. A Montessori teacher will talk about your child's social development with you, how they make friends, what they do together. I feel that it is a good way for children to learn leadership and get a feel for the entrepreneurial spirit early on. The children are in age groups typically 18 mos to 3 years (if a toddler program is offered), 2.5-3 years to 6 years (includes kindergarten), 6-9, 9-12 and so on so your son would probably be exposed to older children in a controlled environment which I have found to be a good thing for my girls. If no program is offered at the Montessori School near you, you may have to engage a private speech therapist.

Answer 7

Your best bet is a preschool setting that is language-based, or with a speech therapist (depending on severity of need).  Children who are slow to talk do well in preschool because they have models their own age (as well as the teachers) who use a lot of language all day long.  A preschool that is language-based will really help your child boost their language skills, and one that contracts with a speech/language pathologist would really be awesome.  I am lucky in the center where I work, because we serve about 60% children with disabilities, so we are contracted with a speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, and behavior specialist that are on site daily to work with our children.  

From what I have experienced and seen, I would not recommend a Montessori program for a child who needs to be working on language/speech issues.  At least the Montessori's in my area have a very low speech ratio, and encourage quiet reflection as opposed to verbal noise.  A speech/language based center will encourage the children to talk, sing, yell (outside) and will otherwise be quite noisy and talkative.  When you are researching preschools, observe the children in the classrooms... are they encouraged to ask questions?  Do the teachers talk a lot and describe what they are doing?  Do the teachers ask questions that need more than a yes or no answer?  Is there time for book reading, singing and a small circle time?  Do the teachers seem interested in what the kids are saying, or just going through the motions?  Do the children appear to be talkative and excited?  These are all things you'll want to mentally jot down when you are looking at preschools.

You can also ask for a formal assessment of your child's speech and language from your local school district- for FREE.  If your child qualifies for speech therapy help, you can also receive that for FREE.

Answer 8

he might have autism. this happened with my neighbor' kids, and they thought sh had hearing problems because she stopped answering, so she got surgery on her ear, but that didn't help. she's bn sing a therapist for two years now, and has improvd alot.

sing a lot of songs with him, and go to a psychiatrit as soon as possible

Answer 9

I don't know if your child is growing up in bilingual family, but I read that kids who are exposed to two or more languages  take longer to start speaking but they catch up by the age of five.

Answer 10

yes it is a very good place for your children they really do learn there

Answer 11

My son is 3.5 and he is a very latre talker and he has some delays.  I would say look at the public school in your area and see if he qualifies for services.  Most public schools have services that are free if children qualify.   My son did and now he is ahead of the class.  It can't hurt to look into it.

Answer 12

this same thing occured wit me but i didnt start talking till i was 4 years of age!!...lol any boy did i catch up..  what all the doctors told my parents that i had to interact with kids of my own age since at the time my baby brother was just a newborn so she entered me in preschool.. i believe or day care... try setting a play date with your son.... or try to get him to interact with kids of his own age.. well i hope it works out.

Answer 13

in my opinion, no.  speech therapists i hear help quite a bit and, you could just send your son to a public school.