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Isa in Michigan
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| Posted: Jan 25 2010 at 8:36pm | IP Logged
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My sixth child is 3 1/2 years old and isn't talking yet. Over his lifetime, I've heard him say a total of 15 words or short phrases. He seems normal in everything else except his speech. When he was two he displayed what would have been labeled as certain autistic behaviors, but he's largely outgrown them. I'm inclined to think that he falls under "The Einstein Syndrome" group since he is very musical (has quite a repertoire of music he hums) and has a father who is very logical.
Have any of you had late-talking children? At what age did they regularly start putting two words together? How about regularly using sentences? Did you seek out Speech Therapy help and did you find it useful?
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Bookswithtea
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My 3rd and 5th were both very late talkers. My 5th is the one that displayed a lot of the Einstein Syndrome traits (*great* book!). I think ds had about 40 words total at age 3, and some of these were only 'words' in the sense that we knew what he was saying.
I think both of them started talking around 3 1/2. I read online a ton. I did end up supplementing with fish oil for about 6 months. I guess you could argue that it didn't make a difference and he was just ready to talk, but the timing was rather uncanny, and I believe it helped. I was also both encouraged and impressed by this doctor's thoughts.
My own family doctor said that as long as he was normal developmentally in all other ways, well attached to his family, etc, that she would wait on speech therapy. She was of the opinion that its common to diagnose children and start them in therapy very eary (some as early as 2) when they might have been fine if left to develop naturally. Hers is not the mainstream opinion, but I was grateful for it because that was what my heart was telling me.
 to you. This isn't easy.
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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SusanJ
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My kids are late talkers. Not as late as you are describing but we were on the brink of speech therapy with my first so I did a lot of research then and I just wanted to second the fish oil idea. I heard a lot of anecdeotal (though most parents were acting on advice from doctors) about the amazing results of fish oil supplements. They were getting a pretty good quality oil and using rather large doses, as I recall. You might want to check a source you trust about dosage.
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 9:18am | IP Logged
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SusanJ wrote:
| They were getting a pretty good quality oil and using rather large doses, as I recall. You might want to check a source you trust about dosage. |
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Yes. I poked around a lot before deciding on a fish oil. I eventually went with this. I chose it because it was one of a few brands I saw recommended on several homeschooling special needs boards, and it had the most good stuff in the smallest dosage. It was a hard decision to make, picking a brand and dosage. In the end, I just kind of made the best decision I could from the information in front of me. I did give more than the daily recommended amount, but I didn't go with the super mega doses. We used a syringe like those that come with infant's tylenol and then had him chase it with orange juice.
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Lara Sauer
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| Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 9:27am | IP Logged
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Sounds like my oldest son, whom at the age of 13 was discovered by me to have perfect pitch!
He is a charming...and talkative 17 year old now!
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 11:23am | IP Logged
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My son was a late talker and while I had him evaluated at 2 1/2 (they said he was basically normal), for the most part I was not worried about him. Now, at age almost 6, he has serious articulation issues, has seen a speech therapist for 2 months this past spring (which yielded results, but to get him services this year, we'd have to use the public schools and their schedules just don't match mine!), and is considered by some people to be "loud" (his hearing is perfect, so it's not a deafness issue).
So I don't have any answers for you. I might be looking into the fish oil though - not sure if it will do any good at this point, but it's worth checking out.
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melanie
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My son, now 5, was a late talker. He is very likely on the autism spectrum and we have an appointment to have him evaluated in February. I'm saying this because we were all in a bit of denial about his issues when he was younger, and I heard a lot of "boys are just late talkers", "my son was a late talker and now he's fine", etc. which is all very true for many boys I'm sure! He had other behaviors too...we just didn't realize it at the time, or were too much in denial to want to see it, one or both. I'm *not* saying this is the case with your son at all! I really hesitated to write this because I don't want to offend. If your son is developing normally in all other areas then he very well may be just fine. I'm just saying...we are very late getting help for our son, and I regret that. *My* gut feeling with him was that there was something wrong and I let myself be talked out of it because I really wanted him to just be ok, and because he didn't have severe symptoms compared to autistic kids we knew. So, there's our story. You are free to ignore it.  If *your* gut is telling you that he's just a late talker, then you are likely correct.
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Melanie
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melanie
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I've just looked up Einstein Syndrome, btw, I've not heard that term before. To me, it sounds just like what I've read about Asperger's syndrome, which is what we've been told our son probably has. What is the difference between them? Our son is very bright in many areas. He reads on at least a 3rd grade level. It's hard to assess, actually, because he can't read aloud nearly as well as he reads silently, but he loves the DK books and has taught himself all kinds of things from them, including the names of all the planets and such. He is musical and rather obsessed with musical instruments in fact,,,,he can name every instrument in the orchestra. He can do basic math on a kinder/first grade level though we've done no school with him. He is very intuitive about machines and such...in fact, we've had to be very careful with our computer because he's managed to change settings, delete documents, download viruses, and do all kinds of crazy things.   His vocabulary is now excellent, but he can't carry on a conversation at all. And his fine motor skills are very poor. He can't do much more than scribble with a crayon, can't use scissors, won't work with playdough or anything like that. Anyway...it'll be an interesting evaluation I guess. Sorry to hijack this thread. I'm just rambling after reading the Einstein thing.
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Melanie
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JodieLyn
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There's a difference in a child who chooses not to talk and one that can't talk. I have late talkers.. some did just fine.. and I could tell that they were progressing. But one stopped progressing.. she attempted to talk but she was missing so many sounds that it was a real trick to figure out what she was saying. But even that child we didn't start in therapy until she was 6 I believe. Because that was the point when it became obvious that her speech development had become arrested. She has made marvelous progress. We do go through the public schools.. the speech teachers there are excellent. I also find that they have a better grasp of the whys of homeschooling just because they can see the problems when a child is made to function at a level just because "everyone else is"
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Bookswithtea
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melanie wrote:
| I've just looked up Einstein Syndrome, btw, I've not heard that term before. To me, it sounds just like what I've read about Asperger's syndrome, which is what we've been told our son probably has. What is the difference between them? |
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I used to be a member of a late talkers loop with parents who believed they had children with the Einstein syndrom traits (and those families chose a variety of ways to help their children, including early speech therapy). I don't know a lot about Aspergers, but the general consensus in that community is that late talking is not a trait of Asperger's. I do know someone whose son has Asperger's. He is *brilliant*, which I do believe is common with Asperger's, whereas Einstein syndrome children are not necessarily genius. I got the Einstein Syndrome book at my library. It was very interesting and has a lot more information than what I could find on the web.
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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4 lads mom
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Isa, I am assuming you have had his hearing tested?
I have never been sorry that I had my kids evaluated....speech therapy has helpful...talk to your doctor!
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Isa in Michigan
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I am currently in the process of having him evaluated. The last meeting in a few weeks is to fill out paperwork, then the actual speech therapy will begin.
Thank you for the replies. I'll look into the fish oil, it certainly can't hurt!
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SimplyMom
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I am glad to see you are having him evaluated. I am sure the results will either be helpful in working with your son or will put your mind at ease. Evaluation is really a now lose situation. No matter what the end result you are better off than you were before.
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mayappleridge
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At 3.5 my ds barely spoke at all. We went in for an evaluation and the person said to come back in a month to meet with a specialist. In that month, my parents started calling specifically to talk to my son. My dad had a list of Thomas the Tank Engine trains and their colors to talk to my son about. By the time we went in for that second evaluation, he was at age level for talking.
Now he is 8 and some things come very late for him, but when they do come, they tend to come all at once. It has only been in the past year that he could count to 20. Now he not only counts to 20 but adds and subtracts multiple digits, tells time on an analog clock (even with roman numerals) and has a rudimentary understanding of multiplication and division.
Obviously I think it's great to get him evaluated and see what's going on. We've done lots of therapies for my ds all of them have been helpful. But I just wanted to share my story with you.
Jo
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Karen T
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I agree with the person who mentioned that there is a big difference in those who choose not to talk, or don't have large vocabularies by certain ages, and those who cannot talk. My oldest son said a few words like mama, dada, etc but nothing else until he was almost 2, and then began speaking in complete sentences almost overnight! I wasn't worried b/c he could communicate, wasn't frustrated and used his voice in other ways (humming, truck noises, etc) when playing.
My second son was different. At age 2 he had not even said mama. Nothing. No sounds at all other than whining, frustration and a "heh" sound that he used for everything, with pointing. He could notspeak. It turns out he was severely tongue-tied, although the doctors would never admit that was the problem (b/c I'd tried to get it treated when he had severe nursing difficulties and no one would do it). he still, to this day (age 10) cannot extend his tongue far enough out of his mouth to touch his cheek or upper lip. He had 3-4 years of speech therapy just to learn how to form the sounds. And now, years later, we are also dealing with another issue common to delayed speech kids - dyslexia.
So I would definitely encourage you to have his hearing checked and a speech evaluation done. I think most communities now have something like what we used Babies Can't Wait, which will do this on a sliding-scale fee system, depending on your income (generally, if you have more than 1-2 kids you end up qualifying for reduced costs). Our pediatrician referred us to them.
Karen T
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4Real Forums : Special Blessings
Topic: Late-talking children
