23 month old doesn't pronounce any end consonants-- speech therapy?

[Anonymous]

My 17-month-old says over 100 words, and many or most are identifiable to people other than my husband and me (although that is often because of pointing and context, probably). She also says "baw" for "ball" and "daw" for "dog" and leaves off or mispronounces end consonants. She also cannot pronounce any f's; she says them as s's. ("Phone" is "so" and "elephant" is "el-a-sa"). I assumed it was just because she was so young. She definitely responds to all kinds of sounds immediately and I have never suspected a hearing problem until this thread. I guess I will bring it up to her ped. at her 18-month-check-up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 17-month-old says over 100 words, and many or most are identifiable to people other than my husband and me (although that is often because of pointing and context, probably). She also says "baw" for "ball" and "daw" for "dog" and leaves off or mispronounces end consonants. She also cannot pronounce any f's; she says them as s's. ("Phone" is "so" and "elephant" is "el-a-sa"). I assumed it was just because she was so young. She definitely responds to all kinds of sounds immediately and I have never suspected a hearing problem until this thread. I guess I will bring it up to her ped. at her 18-month-check-up.

This issue in a 17 month old is much different than for a 24 month old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Can I get my son's hearing evaluated at the pediatrician's office? or do I need to see a specialist? Thanks! Now I'm concerned, and eager to get the ball rolling.

Most peds probably don't have the right equipment. The equipment they have in the office is pretty basic and you usally need a sound booth in order to deteremine how well a child can localize sound (among other things).

[Anonymous]

I don't know where you live but Fairfax County does hearing screenings. My DD has some speech delays and we had her tested there to make sure it wasn't her hearing. You can go here to get more information: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/hd/speech/speechservices.htm

Either way, it's good to rule it out if you can. My daughter actually liked it because they used a robotic monkey and lights and called out her name. She smiled!

[Anonymous]

This issue in a 17 month old is much different than for a 24 month old.

Thanks. That's what I was hoping but the thread made me worry a little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd still have his hearing checked. He may have some hearing loss which is the reason he is dropping the ends of words. I used to nanny for a girl who did this and finally at age 3, they had her hearing tested. She had tubes put in her ears but by then, her speech was permanently ruined. She had years of speech therapy.

Permanent ruination of speech is discernable at three or even six years of age? Come on. My niece didn't start speech therapy until about age seven for a really bizarre problem that made her totally unintelligible to anyone but her brother, and now she sounds completely normal.

She is a teenager now and while she sounds a whole hell of a lot better than when she was little, she still sounds like a deaf person who has been taught to speak.

[Anonymous]

My 2.5 year old does not speak intelligibly yet. I had him evaluated this past fall by Child and Family Early Intervention, and found it to be a very good experience, and it set my mind at ease.

I wouldn't worry too much, but would contact your county intervention service and have your child evaluated before age three.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd still have his hearing checked. He may have some hearing loss which is the reason he is dropping the ends of words. I used to nanny for a girl who did this and finally at age 3, they had her hearing tested. She had tubes put in her ears but by then, her speech was permanently ruined. She had years of speech therapy.

Permanent ruination of speech is discernable at three or even six years of age? Come on. My niece didn't start speech therapy until about age seven for a really bizarre problem that made her totally unintelligible to anyone but her brother, and now she sounds completely normal.

She is a teenager now and while she sounds a whole hell of a lot better than when she was little, she still sounds like a deaf person who has been taught to speak.

This is not a common outcome at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Can I get my son's hearing evaluated at the pediatrician's office? or do I need to see a specialist? Thanks! Now I'm concerned, and eager to get the ball rolling.

Your child's hearing should be tested by an audiologist. If you are already investigating early intervention services such as speech therapy, the county can likely point you to the right person. Or the pediatrician may have a recommendation of a good pediatric audiologist in your area.

Hearing loss is not an all-or-nothing thing. People can have various configurations of hearing loss, including having hearing that is better or even normal for some pitches and worse for other pitches. So a child can be perfectly aware that he is being spoken to and can even understanding some speech, but just not getting everything. What a child can or cannot hear is of great importance for speech-language development, so getting the hearing checked if there are concerns about speech or language is usually one of the first steps.

And if it's normal, what a relief for you and you can check that off the list.

[Anonymous]

I'm amazed to see how misunderstood the newborn hearing check is. Didn't the staff in the hospital explain what it is all about? it doesn't warrant that your child's hearing is perfect!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm amazed to see how misunderstood the newborn hearing check is. Didn't the staff in the hospital explain what it is all about? it doesn't warrant that your child's hearing is perfect!!!

Absolutely! A newborn hearing screening is just that: a screening. It is designed to find those most at risk for having a hearing loss, so that they can go on for further evaluation. On one hand, it is a great thing that has resulted in much earlier diagnosis and intervention for many, many kids with hearing loss. On the other hand, we know that newborn hearing screening will often miss kids with mild hearing loss or with hearing loss that is restricted to a narrow frequency (pitch) range. Depending on the type of test that was done, some screenings can miss kids with hearing loss that is due to a problem with the auditory nervous system (you may hear the term auditory neuropathy or auditory dys-synchrony) rather than with the structures of the ear itself. It (obviously) will miss cases of delayed-onset hearing loss, which means hearing may have been normal at birth, but deteriorates later on. Certain genetic causes, illnesses, etc., are known to cause delayed-onset hearing loss. And, of course, kids who develop problems with chronic fluid in the middle ear (which many PPs have described on this thread) don't necessarily have fluid at birth, so they would not be picked up by a newborn hearing screening.

For those who are interested, more information on hearing screening and on risk factors for delayed onset hearing loss can look here:
http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/testing/

[Anonymous]

My son is 29 month old, has the same problem up to 26 month old of dropping end sounds. Speech therapy with emphasizing end-sound really helps. Now his speech is normal.
I would also want to rule out any sign of autism. Google DSM IV for autism.
Good luck

[Anonymous]

My son had a similar type of speech at a young age, and went on to be diagnosed later with a mild auditory processing disorder. He also has inattentive ADHD, and executive function problems. He is a teen now. Looking back, I really wish I had followed up with an audiologist at a young age. Perhaps, though we'll never know, the other problems wouldn't have become as big a problem as they are now.