Delayed speech
Discussion
I thought it might be appropriate to update this now mini S10 is 3.5 years old.
I can't recall the timeline but somewhere towards the end of 2015 he went for a hearing test which showed his hearing was perfect. Nothing much else happened until late Feb (the day I got the s
tty C5 actually, which is maybe why I hated it). His speech hadn't moved on at all in this time, and his behaviours were continuing in much the same way.
29th Feb the speech therapist went to his nursery and sat with him for a few hours trying to encourage him to talk (he was just over 3 by this point). She called me that afternoon and gave her verdict, she felt something wasn't right and wanted to refer him for further tests with a paediatrician. Her parting words which resonated with me were "he may never talk, all we can do is give him the tools". As you can imagine this was pretty gutting. Around the same time the A word was on TV. I made the mistake of watching a bit of it, and could see much of mini S10 in it. I didn't watch again.
That evening I had a pretty frank conversation with my mother. She didn't believe there was anything wrong with him but that we were too soft on him. She mentioned borrowing his cousin (6y.o) for a day at the weekend to spend some time with him so he could have more interaction with children (he only spent time with other kids at nursery 2 days a week, but preferred to be with the adults), so I started do this, each weekend. Sometimes for the whole day, sometimes for just a few hours. They got on like a house on fire. To start with they'd just mess around in the same room, then they'd start playing together, interacting. Something mini S10 had not really done before. We also got tougher on him. Giving him boundaries that maybe were not there before.
These two things were undoubtedly the key to unlocking him.
I watched back some videos from the last few months and at the end of March I have a video of the two of them laughing and playing. Oddly laughing wasn't something he did often and from then it started to improve. He gained confidence from his cousin, and with that the words started to come. In the space of 3 months he'd gone from almost silence to putting together sentences. His confidence grew all the time too. In May time we went to a inflatable party thing in a giant hall. I'd expected him to clam up, have a strop and not be interested. I couldn't have been more wrong. He followed his cousin round everything, even climbing up the biggest inflatable slide by himself. What a change.
He continued to have speech therapy every two weeks, but I don't think half an hour every now and then was making the difference. We were. In June we had the meeting with the paediatrician. He asked some questions, but things had changed so much in the last 6 months he was overwhelmed with our positivity. Mini S10 was a different child, just a normal little boy, albeit way behind with speech, but improving all the time. His confidence was growing daily. A few months ago he wouldn't ride a scooter, now he was scooting up and down the driveway like a pro. The doctor was expecting him to show significant autistic traits, he said he couldn't see any. He doesn't need to see him again. We also eventually had a visit from portage, 6 months after it was requested, they too don't wish to see him again.
So here we are at 3.5 years. He's just a normally little boy, with slightly delayed speech. He's been offered a place at an Early Learning Group which he starts in September. A year of school before school. It has classes of 12, and only 20 children a year are accepted. He will do 3 mornings a week and its run by trained speech therapists. I've only heard positive things about it, and a vast majority of the children go onto mainstream schools. We went to an assessment day and he was the most talkative of all the children there. We wondered what their selection criteria was and we wondered if he got a place as he's now 80% there. In theory he should be easy to push over the line with a year of dedicated support.
He's a cracking little boy now
I can't recall the timeline but somewhere towards the end of 2015 he went for a hearing test which showed his hearing was perfect. Nothing much else happened until late Feb (the day I got the s
tty C5 actually, which is maybe why I hated it). His speech hadn't moved on at all in this time, and his behaviours were continuing in much the same way.29th Feb the speech therapist went to his nursery and sat with him for a few hours trying to encourage him to talk (he was just over 3 by this point). She called me that afternoon and gave her verdict, she felt something wasn't right and wanted to refer him for further tests with a paediatrician. Her parting words which resonated with me were "he may never talk, all we can do is give him the tools". As you can imagine this was pretty gutting. Around the same time the A word was on TV. I made the mistake of watching a bit of it, and could see much of mini S10 in it. I didn't watch again.
That evening I had a pretty frank conversation with my mother. She didn't believe there was anything wrong with him but that we were too soft on him. She mentioned borrowing his cousin (6y.o) for a day at the weekend to spend some time with him so he could have more interaction with children (he only spent time with other kids at nursery 2 days a week, but preferred to be with the adults), so I started do this, each weekend. Sometimes for the whole day, sometimes for just a few hours. They got on like a house on fire. To start with they'd just mess around in the same room, then they'd start playing together, interacting. Something mini S10 had not really done before. We also got tougher on him. Giving him boundaries that maybe were not there before.
These two things were undoubtedly the key to unlocking him.
I watched back some videos from the last few months and at the end of March I have a video of the two of them laughing and playing. Oddly laughing wasn't something he did often and from then it started to improve. He gained confidence from his cousin, and with that the words started to come. In the space of 3 months he'd gone from almost silence to putting together sentences. His confidence grew all the time too. In May time we went to a inflatable party thing in a giant hall. I'd expected him to clam up, have a strop and not be interested. I couldn't have been more wrong. He followed his cousin round everything, even climbing up the biggest inflatable slide by himself. What a change.
He continued to have speech therapy every two weeks, but I don't think half an hour every now and then was making the difference. We were. In June we had the meeting with the paediatrician. He asked some questions, but things had changed so much in the last 6 months he was overwhelmed with our positivity. Mini S10 was a different child, just a normal little boy, albeit way behind with speech, but improving all the time. His confidence was growing daily. A few months ago he wouldn't ride a scooter, now he was scooting up and down the driveway like a pro. The doctor was expecting him to show significant autistic traits, he said he couldn't see any. He doesn't need to see him again. We also eventually had a visit from portage, 6 months after it was requested, they too don't wish to see him again.
So here we are at 3.5 years. He's just a normally little boy, with slightly delayed speech. He's been offered a place at an Early Learning Group which he starts in September. A year of school before school. It has classes of 12, and only 20 children a year are accepted. He will do 3 mornings a week and its run by trained speech therapists. I've only heard positive things about it, and a vast majority of the children go onto mainstream schools. We went to an assessment day and he was the most talkative of all the children there. We wondered what their selection criteria was and we wondered if he got a place as he's now 80% there. In theory he should be easy to push over the line with a year of dedicated support.
He's a cracking little boy now
Great to hear that there's been a positive outcome on this!
Our eldest was pretty much the same, started saying a variety of words quite early on, and then it all just stopped
We went through the same ordeal of S&L therapists, paediatricians, hearing tests, ASD worries etc..
It's all very disheartening, especially the glacial pace that everything in the NHS seems to happen at.
The key moment for us in all of this was to have his eyes tested. In hindsight (badoom tish) we should have done this much earlier as my wife and I both have terrible eyesight, but I didn't realise you could actually get a meaningful eye test done at that age, especially if they can't speak.
Turns out he was similarly cursed (heavily long sighted) and glasses were duly ordered. We can't be sure this was what actually triggered it, but shortly after that the words started coming. And it was like a flood gate opened.
In a similar timescale to the OP, we've seen a hesitant little boy that I was terrified would never be able to really communicate with us turn into an outgoing and articulate little gobste that I can barely shut up 
Good luck OP, hope he continues to keep making the same good progress.
Our eldest was pretty much the same, started saying a variety of words quite early on, and then it all just stopped
We went through the same ordeal of S&L therapists, paediatricians, hearing tests, ASD worries etc..
It's all very disheartening, especially the glacial pace that everything in the NHS seems to happen at.
The key moment for us in all of this was to have his eyes tested. In hindsight (badoom tish) we should have done this much earlier as my wife and I both have terrible eyesight, but I didn't realise you could actually get a meaningful eye test done at that age, especially if they can't speak.
Turns out he was similarly cursed (heavily long sighted) and glasses were duly ordered. We can't be sure this was what actually triggered it, but shortly after that the words started coming. And it was like a flood gate opened.
In a similar timescale to the OP, we've seen a hesitant little boy that I was terrified would never be able to really communicate with us turn into an outgoing and articulate little gobs
te that I can barely shut up Good luck OP, hope he continues to keep making the same good progress.
We had premature twin boys 18 years ago.
It took a while for them to speak and they actually developed their own language, which only their older sister could understand at first.
We worried and sought help from a speech therapist etc., but they very soon started talking normally without much real help from anyone else.
Of course you worry at the time but often the problem is not as big as you think it is.
When they need to talk to others more normally, they soon start doing just that.
It took a while for them to speak and they actually developed their own language, which only their older sister could understand at first.
We worried and sought help from a speech therapist etc., but they very soon started talking normally without much real help from anyone else.
Of course you worry at the time but often the problem is not as big as you think it is.
When they need to talk to others more normally, they soon start doing just that.
Thanks for the positive comments. Speech is improving all the time but struggling with some sounds. I'm sure they will come once he starts new school.
Last night was pretty funny. We were looking at teddies and discussing their names. We got to Sully from monsters inc.
Me: Sully
Him: Ully
Me: S-ully
Him: Ully
Me: Ssss-ully
Him: Ully
Me: Ssss-ully
Him: I can't say that word Daddy.
He might as well have told me to get lost. Very cute tho.
Last night was pretty funny. We were looking at teddies and discussing their names. We got to Sully from monsters inc.
Me: Sully
Him: Ully
Me: S-ully
Him: Ully
Me: Ssss-ully
Him: Ully
Me: Ssss-ully
Him: I can't say that word Daddy.
He might as well have told me to get lost. Very cute tho.
Edited by S10GTA on Thursday 11th August 14:48
My 4.5 year old boy is speech delayed. Don't get me wrong, he jabbers away all of the time and has no social problems, it's just his enunciation. His vocabulary is contemporary with his peers it's just that they don't always understand him!! It's not pleasant for a parent to see their child struggle but it can also be funny as in the previous post!!
Me: Say pick-up.
Wobble: Hiccup
Me: Pick-up
Wobble: Hiccup
Me: Say Peppa Pig.
Wobble: Peppa Pig
Me: Say Peppa pick-up.
Wobble: Peppa hiccup.
Then mum intervenes.............
Mum: Say pick-up
Wobble: pick-up.....then throws me a glance.
Me: Say pick-up
Wobble: Hiccup
and so ad infinitum!!
Me: Say pick-up.
Wobble: Hiccup
Me: Pick-up
Wobble: Hiccup
Me: Say Peppa Pig.
Wobble: Peppa Pig
Me: Say Peppa pick-up.
Wobble: Peppa hiccup.
Then mum intervenes.............
Mum: Say pick-up
Wobble: pick-up.....then throws me a glance.
Me: Say pick-up
Wobble: Hiccup
and so ad infinitum!!
Probably not a help but I saw a speech therapist when I was little due to pronunciation issues. I struggled to say the word so clammed up, once that was fixed I developed the same as everyone else.
One thing my wife did with our son was baby sign language, watching him communicate and how he enjoyed communicating was brilliant. By far the best class my boy did.
Check all you can to make sure there are no issues but when they get going, they are sponges and will do any catching up they need to do.
Dave!
One thing my wife did with our son was baby sign language, watching him communicate and how he enjoyed communicating was brilliant. By far the best class my boy did.
Check all you can to make sure there are no issues but when they get going, they are sponges and will do any catching up they need to do.
Dave!
Holy thread resurrection etc
My eldest is now 11, and due to start secondary school in September. Some of you may remember this thread and others regarding delayed speech, autistic traits etc. We've had difficulties over the years, but he's always loved school and is highly intelligent. 100% in mock sats, excelled at maths. That kind of thing but we've never chased the autistic diagnosis, we have tried to help him be as "normal" as possible.
Anyway, we looked at the options for local schools but had reservations he'd just get lost as hes so bright,he'd be left to get on with it and on an off chance looked at grammar schools, but they were just too far away to make it work. We then looked at the local private schools website because its good to dream isn't it (absolutely no way we could afford the fees of 20k per year) and found out they offer a means tested bursary.
Fast forward a few months, application form submitted, he got invited for an interview and then took the entrance exam, and we've just found out that he's been offered a place, and 100% bursary. We are absolutely blown away. Genuinely cant believe he's been accepted. This kind of stuff just doesn't happen to people like us. It feels like we've won the lottery.
Everytime I think about it or tell someone I feel my eyes trying to leak. Even sat here typing this its getting blurry. I think back to all the hard times we've had with him (and continue to have on a daily basis!), the woman mentioned a few posts ago who said he might never talk etc, and here we are him going to one of the top independent schools in the country. Our minds have been blown for the last 24hrs since we found out.
I know that him going here will have its own challenges, especially for us finding the money to do all the things he'll be given the opportunity to do (school trip to CERN for example), but will also mean he is directed and hopefully with like minded kids who want to learn, giving him the best opportunities going forward.
Genuinely cannot believe he's been chosen out of all these kids, despite the odds being stacked against him, so just wanted to share an update for those who posted on this thread originally and any other threads I might have shared similar on, and to those who might have their own challenges with their kids with similar difficulties. It's funny how things work out.
My eldest is now 11, and due to start secondary school in September. Some of you may remember this thread and others regarding delayed speech, autistic traits etc. We've had difficulties over the years, but he's always loved school and is highly intelligent. 100% in mock sats, excelled at maths. That kind of thing but we've never chased the autistic diagnosis, we have tried to help him be as "normal" as possible.
Anyway, we looked at the options for local schools but had reservations he'd just get lost as hes so bright,he'd be left to get on with it and on an off chance looked at grammar schools, but they were just too far away to make it work. We then looked at the local private schools website because its good to dream isn't it (absolutely no way we could afford the fees of 20k per year) and found out they offer a means tested bursary.
Fast forward a few months, application form submitted, he got invited for an interview and then took the entrance exam, and we've just found out that he's been offered a place, and 100% bursary. We are absolutely blown away. Genuinely cant believe he's been accepted. This kind of stuff just doesn't happen to people like us. It feels like we've won the lottery.
Everytime I think about it or tell someone I feel my eyes trying to leak. Even sat here typing this its getting blurry. I think back to all the hard times we've had with him (and continue to have on a daily basis!), the woman mentioned a few posts ago who said he might never talk etc, and here we are him going to one of the top independent schools in the country. Our minds have been blown for the last 24hrs since we found out.
I know that him going here will have its own challenges, especially for us finding the money to do all the things he'll be given the opportunity to do (school trip to CERN for example), but will also mean he is directed and hopefully with like minded kids who want to learn, giving him the best opportunities going forward.
Genuinely cannot believe he's been chosen out of all these kids, despite the odds being stacked against him, so just wanted to share an update for those who posted on this thread originally and any other threads I might have shared similar on, and to those who might have their own challenges with their kids with similar difficulties. It's funny how things work out.
S100HP said:
Holy thread resurrection etc
My eldest is now 11, and due to start secondary school in September. Some of you may remember this thread and others regarding delayed speech, autistic traits etc. We've had difficulties over the years, but he's always loved school and is highly intelligent. 100% in mock sats, excelled at maths. That kind of thing but we've never chased the autistic diagnosis, we have tried to help him be as "normal" as possible.
Anyway, we looked at the options for local schools but had reservations he'd just get lost as hes so bright,he'd be left to get on with it and on an off chance looked at grammar schools, but they were just too far away to make it work. We then looked at the local private schools website because its good to dream isn't it (absolutely no way we could afford the fees of 20k per year) and found out they offer a means tested bursary.
Fast forward a few months, application form submitted, he got invited for an interview and then took the entrance exam, and we've just found out that he's been offered a place, and 100% bursary. We are absolutely blown away. Genuinely cant believe he's been accepted. This kind of stuff just doesn't happen to people like us. It feels like we've won the lottery.
Everytime I think about it or tell someone I feel my eyes trying to leak. Even sat here typing this its getting blurry. I think back to all the hard times we've had with him (and continue to have on a daily basis!), the woman mentioned a few posts ago who said he might never talk etc, and here we are him going to one of the top independent schools in the country. Our minds have been blown for the last 24hrs since we found out.
I know that him going here will have its own challenges, especially for us finding the money to do all the things he'll be given the opportunity to do (school trip to CERN for example), but will also mean he is directed and hopefully with like minded kids who want to learn, giving him the best opportunities going forward.
Genuinely cannot believe he's been chosen out of all these kids, despite the odds being stacked against him, so just wanted to share an update for those who posted on this thread originally and any other threads I might have shared similar on, and to those who might have their own challenges with their kids with similar difficulties. It's funny how things work out.
Post of the year so far :-)My eldest is now 11, and due to start secondary school in September. Some of you may remember this thread and others regarding delayed speech, autistic traits etc. We've had difficulties over the years, but he's always loved school and is highly intelligent. 100% in mock sats, excelled at maths. That kind of thing but we've never chased the autistic diagnosis, we have tried to help him be as "normal" as possible.
Anyway, we looked at the options for local schools but had reservations he'd just get lost as hes so bright,he'd be left to get on with it and on an off chance looked at grammar schools, but they were just too far away to make it work. We then looked at the local private schools website because its good to dream isn't it (absolutely no way we could afford the fees of 20k per year) and found out they offer a means tested bursary.
Fast forward a few months, application form submitted, he got invited for an interview and then took the entrance exam, and we've just found out that he's been offered a place, and 100% bursary. We are absolutely blown away. Genuinely cant believe he's been accepted. This kind of stuff just doesn't happen to people like us. It feels like we've won the lottery.
Everytime I think about it or tell someone I feel my eyes trying to leak. Even sat here typing this its getting blurry. I think back to all the hard times we've had with him (and continue to have on a daily basis!), the woman mentioned a few posts ago who said he might never talk etc, and here we are him going to one of the top independent schools in the country. Our minds have been blown for the last 24hrs since we found out.
I know that him going here will have its own challenges, especially for us finding the money to do all the things he'll be given the opportunity to do (school trip to CERN for example), but will also mean he is directed and hopefully with like minded kids who want to learn, giving him the best opportunities going forward.
Genuinely cannot believe he's been chosen out of all these kids, despite the odds being stacked against him, so just wanted to share an update for those who posted on this thread originally and any other threads I might have shared similar on, and to those who might have their own challenges with their kids with similar difficulties. It's funny how things work out.
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