To Parents of Children with Expressive Speech Delays-

[Anonymous]

I just started speech therapy with my 20 month old DS last week. He's not using any words yet. He does though seem to understand a fair amount of what I say. The first session seemed to go well but given that I have very little experience with this kind of therapy, I was wondering what others' experiences have been. We're not sure yet if insurance is going to cover any of the visits so we're trying to determine how many we can afford each month. If you have a DC with an expressive speech delay, I'd really appreciate knowing how well the therapy has gone, how long it took for your child to start using words, if the speech delay was any indication of other developmental delays/learning difficulties down the road. I'm feeling a bit anxious and guilty still in these early days after DS' diagnosis. Any anecdotal info from other parents who have been there would be much appreciated.

[Anonymous]

My DS was diagnosed at 20 months with a significant expressive delay and a mild receptive delay. My oldest was also diagnosed 6 months after that (at age 5) with an almost 2 year expressive/receptive delay. The delays seem to be for different reasons. With my oldest, it seems to be more related to his ADHD - poor working memory and executive functioning. We actually stopped ST when the therapist moved (we also do OT) because we thought he would do better with a tutor. He needs repetition, repetition, repetition and practice, practice practice. We know he'll catch up, he's just delayed.

Our youngest is a totally different story. He likely has ADHD as well (inattentive and impulsive but not hyperactive) but there is clearly a motor planning problem with his expressive speech. He can make the whole range of sounds, he just has problems doing it on command unless he's really had a lot of practice with the word. He also didn't put together two word sentences until about age 3 and three word sentences until he was 3.5. Because language acquisition is so crucial at about age 2, the ST recommended we also teach him sign language. To our surprise, he's picked it up quickly when motivated. Signing counts as language when your asked by a professional how many words your child knows. We've not had such rapid success with speaking. How quickly your DC progresses depends not just on how much therapy you incorporate in your daily routines but also why your DC is delayed to begin with. You also need to learn how your DC best learns. We have a fantastic ST that can keep his attention for a good 35 minutes (DS is now 3.5) but he loses attention after that and we have to do some physical stuff before we can get him to refocus. It's important to keep therapy/practice fun and encouraging. When DS mispronounces something, we always repeat it the correct way but we don't always make him repeat it and we definitely don't make him repeat it until he gets it right. The idea is to communicate verbally, not perfectly. And, as DS's speech improves, he signs less.

I totally understand how costly this is. Have you thought about using the early intervention services of your local jurisdiction? We're in Fairfax County and although we were waitlisted for services, the providers took our insurance and we were only responsible for the co-pay. Our oldest was already school aged so it was private therapy for us - out of network of course. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

what county are you in?

[Anonymous]

I'm in DC. I was actually really interested in sign language but our ST said not to do it because DS will instead start only using sign language rather than talking because it's easier to pick up. I was really surprised by this. Thanks for sharing your experience. It is helpful.

[Anonymous]

I'm 16:02. I've NEVER heard of child not talking because they'd learned sign language - just the opposite. All the research I've done and in my own experience, the sign language has really helped. My youngest was last tested in October when he was 42 months (3.5 yo), at that time he had the intelligibility of an 18-24 month old. He was also evaluated by Dr. Conlon about the same time - Dr. Conlon could only understand about 25% of what he said. I only understand about 60%. DS has no cognitive impairment and if we didn't have sign, we'd have a lot more frustration and negative behaviors.

Have you googled "does sign language delay speech"? I may have overlooked something but everythign that came up supports using sign langauge a tool for kids especially those with speech/language problems. Between our two kids, we've worked with 4 SLPs and they've all supported signing. Are you happy with this therapist otherwise?

[Anonymous]

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/86775.page

Try reading through this post ... parents often confuse expressive and receptive speech delays, so you will find good info and support on this post as well as others.

[Anonymous]

I'm a speech therapist, and signing absolutely does not delay speech. In fact, most studies find that it encourages it because the children aren't frustrated that they can't get their point across. I also disagree that signing is easier than speech since very few people understand sign.

[Anonymous]

I was really surprised by the therapist's recommendation to not do sign language class. I may try it anyways especially given the positive feedback here. Thanks for posting the other thread as well. It's helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was really surprised by the therapist's recommendation to not do sign language class. I may try it anyways especially given the positive feedback here. Thanks for posting the other thread as well. It's helpful.

My friend's therapist also suggested dropping sign language. Her son is now 3 and has made improvements.

[Anonymous]

My son started speech therapy for an expressive speech delay at around 26 months. He did have some words, just not a whole lot. His vocabulary increased during the first two months, but we were unsure whether it was just the natural acquisition of words or whether the speech therapy was making a difference. Then suddenly, his speech absolutely took off and his enunciation improved dramatically. Now, at about 30 months, he is probably still a little behind his peers but certainly closing the gap.

We have also had him evaluated by an OT and he has low muscle tone and some motor planning issues, both of which may be affecting speech.

[Anonymous]

Check out the Hanen Centre http://www.hanen.org/web/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx.

You can look for a certified Hanen therapist in DC - they focus a lot on promoting language development at home. Also, check with the DC Infants and Toddlers program, I believe they are partnering with Hanen to provided training to parents and I don't think your child has to be in the ITDD program to participate.

[Anonymous]

OP you may want to try a few different speech therapists to get an idea of the range out there. We found a great private SLP but the first private SLP we saw at another place was terrible (very obvious anyone would pick up on how bad she was) and mediocre at best services from the county. In our experience not all SLPs are equal and may vary slightly to widely with different approaches and actual skill.

For an expressive delay your child may have oral motor issues, sequencing issues, articulation, or simply be a late talker. Its difficult to nail down until he starts saying some words. We did do sign language but stopped once DS began articulating more words. I agree sign language does not delay speech but gives your child more specific ways to communicate. I do not think though that Hanen is the best approach on its own.

Your SLP should be able to connect with your child and not just throw out ideas from her book or pamphlet. If the therapy or the therapist seems ineffective to you do not let her convince you to stick around, look elsewhere for another SLP.

DS had the same experience as a PP. He was fine on receptive but delayed on expressive. At around 2.5 he started using lots of vocabulary, and two/three word sentences but he still struggles with articulation so we are continuing speech therapy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was really surprised by the therapist's recommendation to not do sign language class. I may try it anyways especially given the positive feedback here. Thanks for posting the other thread as well. It's helpful.

My friend's therapist also suggested dropping sign language. Her son is now 3 and has made improvements.

Special educator here.
When a child has demonstrated the ability to use verbal language, many teachers/parents/slps will begin to ignore the sign language, thus encouraging the child to use the verbal equivalent. Children can use signs for some things and speak in other cases. Sign language absolutely "gets things going", decreases frustration and can act as a bridge to verbally expressive.

[Anonymous]

My son was diagnosed at 2 and was about 6 months delayed (expressive). Speech therapy has gone extremely well! About 2 or 3 months into it (he has been in it for 8 months now), he really started to pick it all up. He is still behind but doing much better.

[Anonymous]

to the 15:49 poster, can you recommend your speeh therapist