Should I have my sons speech evaluated?

Question

My son is 28 months old and seems to be at the speaking level of a 12 month old. His hearing is above average, he is never sick with ear aches, and he is up to par in all other developmental areas; basically he's your average 2 year old minus the speech.

Shortly after deciding to have him evaluated, I noticed he was finally repeating words after me. As I said above, he speaks like a one year old so it's not all clear, however, he is trying unlike before. So I put off getting him help. He seem to be moving along....slowly, like any beginner. Should I still have him seen? Will he be behind by the time it's time to start school? Am I just being a worried mom? Some people tell me he'll talk when he's ready.....others make me feel bad for not already getting him some help. Any advice?

Answer 1

You can do what a speech therapist does.  Speak slowly and enunciate every word.  Have him repeat your sentences.  If he points to a toy, ask him,  Do you want your truck and make him answer Yes I want my truck.  Help him along.  Too many parents do not talk with their child enough.  Look at picture books and discuss the pictures. Keep after him to repeat what he sees. Car rides, same thing, say I see a truck and ask him what do you see.  He needs verbal stimulation. Good luck

Answer 2

Hi Carrie , If I was you I would have his hearing checked by a FRCS ( orl ) consultant.

Answer 3

does he have any older siblings?  i've read that younger siblings are a little slower with their speech development.

i honestly don't think anyone here on yahoo answers is going to make you feel better.  the only thing that will put your mind at ease is to speak to a professional about it.  even if it's just mentioning it to his doctor at his next check-up.  if you're really concerned though, go ahead and get him evaluated by a speech therapist.  if there is a problem, there's no better time than right now to start fixing it!

i'm a "worried mom" too, it's OK.  it shows that you really care!  :)

Answer 4

have him evaluated by early intervention as soon as you can. He will qualify for free speech therapy and possibly for money for tools. My son was only saying 10-15 words at that age. the speech therapist has basically diagnosed him with developmental speech apraxia, and has been treating him for 7 months now. He just got like $400 worth of fun toys to help him with his therapy. He has whistles, bubbles, flash cards, and all kinds of other things. all paid for by early intervention. He also got $200 worth of sign language DVDs for free too.

don't listen to those who tell you to wait. you have waited and now it is time to get the professionals involved so your son can be caught up by the time school starts. If he still needs help next fall then he may qualify for special education preschool too. My son has made great progress, but will still be tested for preschool in the next few weeks.

if you are interested I have an excellent article on speech apraxia that I can e-mail you. you just need to send me your e-mail address (YA does not allow for attachments) and ask for the apraxia article.