Speech Evaluation?

[Deleted]

Does anyone remember what they look for in speech right at their 2nd birthday?  

I'm thinking of having H evaluated because he seems behind to me and isn't showing fast progress, but I'm not sure what they will look for.  I keep seeing 2 word phrases and at least 50 words but I'm not sure if that is average, or the minimum they expect.   He doesn't do either of those, he uses maybe 15 words normally but has said almost 30 at some point or another.  He also doesn't say his name or me/mine and is hard to understand imo like bird is bee, car is caw. He is constantly talking nonsense so he isn't quiet or anything.

lauranicole91 I know L is just a bit older than him and in speech so maybe you remember.

[Deleted]

Oh and he doesn't mimic words. Like if I say Henry he will not even attempt to say it back to me.

[jg183]

Alex had one right at 2.
They did a lot for his receptive speech- looking at a picture and saying point to the dog, ball, apple, etc
then they did some that was more problem solving- the baby is thirsty what does she want (a pic of a bottle, a ball and a bear)

I don't remember the things they looked for with expressive speech. It can't hurt to get an evaluation, I felt much better after ours.

[ktstorm]

Both of my boys had maybe 10-15 words at 2 and that included specific animal noises. I decided to wait until 2.5, and by then things had really taken off. Oh and for some reason Benjamin didn't say his name until he was over 3, even though he was talking in sentences etc. at that point.

[lauranicole91]

I don't know what's normal, but Logan had zero words at his 18m well check when his pedi first mentioned a speech eval, but we chose to hold off. So she had us come back at 21m to check in. At that point he had 1 word and 3 signs. So we went and got evaluated. His receptive was fine but his expressive was that of a 9m old.
He's been doing twice a week therapy for 4 months now. He's doing pretty good with mimicking now, but still doesn't talk spontaneously. Still no two word sentences without lots of coaxing, so it's really just mimicking.
The biggest struggle right now is he only whispers. So the SLP are really trying to work on volume.

[blane12]

Hi! I've not been able to get on much, but saw this and didn't want to not respond.

My kids have been at both ends of the spectrum. Blake had 0 words at 2 (only 3 at age 3). We started ST at 2.5 years, but started EI at 20months. We started the evaluation process for ST around 2, but there was a waitlist which was super frustrating for me as I just wanted to get him going. The biggest adjustment for me was realizing it was a LONG process. They aren't going to start talking within a couple sessions - it took over 6 months before we saw large amounts of progress (he was diagnosed with apraxia at 3.5, so it was more than a delay though). It's also expensive if your insurance won't cover it, so make sure to have them fill you in on what your insurance covers. Depending on where we went, it was between $85-$150/session. Evals are usually a couple hundred, but my experience has been that our insurance would at least cover the evaluation even if they didn't cover therapy. Something to look into if you do go that route. ST has been an amazing thing for us, and I truly believe B would not be talking without it.

Colton has been in a hurry to do everything quick his whole life, and was speaking complete sentences before 2. Some words he doesn't say right (he used to call himself 'dolt' instead of colt. Now, he calls himself 'tolton' instead of Colton, but if I say it like that he gets mad until I say it right). He's 2yrs, 4 months now.

My best advice is to get him evaluated to see where he's at. If he's only slightly behind, maybe you just wait and see if he catches up before persuing therapy, or maybe it's within the normal range, but at least you would KNOW, and it would take the unknown worries out of it kwim?

Because my kids are on opposite sides of the spectrum, I don't really know what's 'normal', so I'm always asking my pedi with Colton. I think she had said 50 words and a few 2 word phrases too. Has he had his 2yr appointment yet? What did your pedi think? Also, don't be afraid to push for an evaluation referral if you think he needs one. My pedi said we could wait til 2.5 to see, but I could feel in my gut that something wasn't right, so pushed for it. It didn't end up mattering since we weren't able to start until 2.5 because of the waitlist. So keep in mind, you may have to wait a little bit even if you decide to go ahead with the eval.

[jaime183]

I've been trying to remember how she tested him and I think they just played with these toys she had and I did too- she just had Him naturally interact with not drill words

[jaime183]

And he had 0 words at 18m, said mama at 22m then just took off

[blane12]

Yes - it's all play based to keep them entertained. Blake loooooves going to therapy!

[Deleted]

blane12 We haven't had his pedi appointment yet, I think it's sometime in August. I was going to wait until then but then I started to think about long waits and maybe it'd be good to get it started sooner just to see? Idk

[blane12]

Jul 14, 2017 9:53:27 GMT -5 @lindy said:

blane12 We haven't had his pedi appointment yet, I think it's sometime in August. I was going to wait until then but then I started to think about long waits and maybe it'd be good to get it started sooner just to see? Idk

If you're concerned (which it sounds like you are), I'd start by getting him evaluated. Maybe you'll be able to get results before your appointment with the pedi and discuss with them then. The speech therapist will also give you a recommendation with the eval on if/how often he'll need therapy.