Austin was never a babbler as a baby....he never made all the cooing noises and all that jazz that babies normally do. He cried.....alot.....due to his projectile puking/ milk intolerance or whatever it really was. Anyway, he is still behind in his speech. He mumbles alot and in my opinion "talks" like an 18 month old. The pediatrician didn't seem too concerned at his well child visit last week. But I am concerned. He doesn't even TRY to talk. He'd rather mumble or babble and have you guess what he is saying. Its awful and so hard to keep my cool when I am constantly having to guess what he is trying to say. Anyway, I guess what my question is after all this rambling is how does your 3 year old talk? Can you understand him/her? Can strangers understand what your child is saying? I feel like such a failure.....I mean why isn't he talking?!?!??
but if it would give you peace of mind, i would just ask your ped for a referral for early intervention or a speech evaluation at the children's hospital.
i think there's a pretty wide range of what is normal, but jake is speaking in complete sentences, is having full-on conversations with both adults and peers and is very easy to understand. he still uses the "w" sound in place of many "L"s when he's speaking. he also will substitute the "w" for some "r"s on occasion.
try not to let it stress you out, but i wouldn't hesitate to ask for an eval if it would make you feel better.
-- Edited by apies on Wednesday 21st of July 2010 02:54:23 PM
but if it would give you peace of mind, i would just ask your ped for a referral for early intervention or a speech evaluation at the children's hospital.
i think there's a pretty wide range of what is normal, but jake is speaking in complete sentences, is having full-on conversations with both adults and peers and is very easy to understand. he still uses the "w" sound in place of many "L"s when he's speaking. he also will substitute the "w" for some "r"s on occasion.
try not to let it stress you out, but i wouldn't hesitate to ask for an eval if it would make you feel better.
-- Edited by apies on Wednesday 21st of July 2010 02:54:23 PM
this sounds about where C is too. april is right though, the range of normal is very wide, and i know a lot of boys (my nephew included) who didnt do much talking till around 3. he was very reliant on his older sister to do the talking for him, and got what he wanted by whining it out, or grunting for things. this became sort of a positively reinforced behavior so it persisted.
i would ask for an eval too just for your own peace of mind - i know i tend to stress out over this kind of developmental stuff and always just feel better when i go ask an expert, kwim?
Count me in on the wide range of what's normal group. That being said, I don't really think it hurts to go and have him evaluated. I think as a mom, it's better to be safe than sorry. I know I would rather feel kind of silly for taking my kid for testing than for not listening to that little voice in my head and finding out later that there was a problem. With speech, it's especially important to know sooner than later.
I agree with April. Gavin didn't really talk until he was about 3. He didn't mumble and talk nonsense -- he just barely talked.
But once he was three he started talking and just basically caught up. Thanks goodness Owen was our second because I would have been much more worried about Gavin otherwise. Owen has been talking since 10 months and is the complete opposite of Gavin. He is very similar to how April described Jake.
I wouldn't stress but I know you are and will because I did with Gavin. I would also suggest going the route of early intervention to get an actual speech assessment.
Austin was never a babbler as a baby....he never made all the cooing noises and all that jazz that babies normally do. He cried.....alot.....due to his projectile puking/ milk intolerance or whatever it really was. Anyway, he is still behind in his speech. He mumbles alot and in my opinion "talks" like an 18 month old. The pediatrician didn't seem too concerned at his well child visit last week. But I am concerned. He doesn't even TRY to talk. He'd rather mumble or babble and have you guess what he is saying. Its awful and so hard to keep my cool when I am constantly having to guess what he is trying to say. Anyway, I guess what my question is after all this rambling is how does your 3 year old talk? Can you understand him/her? Can strangers understand what your child is saying? I feel like such a failure.....I mean why isn't he talking?!?!??
oh nicole ((hugs)) you are not a failure!! Ivy had problems talking, ie. she talked but it was hard to understand her. Once she started pre-school at 3 she made HUGE strides and at the beginning i remember being afraid the teacher wouldn't be able to understand her. Now, she is fine. but, if it makes you feel better, I would definitely talk to your doctor. How is his hearing?
I would ask for a referral. I know there is a wide range of normal but since getting therapy (not traditional speech, but they really work with him) raym has gotten so much better with articulation.
Another vote to just ask for a referral or I know here in this area they have first steps and head start early intervention that you can just call and email and set up an speech evaluation for free.
I had Owen evaluated last year because of him not saying some of his s with a consonant next to it, i.e. slide, street, etc. He would just said lide, treet. Then he always throws a r in his double oo words, boork, goord, it is weird. Anyway, I learned so much during that evaluation and it was a very neat experience.
You might remember all of the stress I went through wondering if Lance could even hear properly for a while because he was a delayed talker and didn't really seem all that interested in communicating.
He still isn't as articulate as it sounds like Jake, Cara, Owen, etc. are. He drops articles a *lot* and is hard for even me to understand sometimes, although Holly can usually make out what he meant faster than I can.
Typical Lance:
"Mommy, you help me open dis?"
"I not tired!" (lol)
"Holly take my toy" (meaning took...and Holly is Hah-wee when he says it)
I feel like Lance is on track -- for *his* normal. But the bottom line is that it never hurts to ask for a referral and get him evaluated if you're feeling uncertain. Follow your mommy instincts (but *not* your mommy guilt, if possible -- you are a GREAT mom, Nicole, and normal is mostly just a setting on the washer anyway, kwim?).
Definitely get a referrel for an evaluation. Like everyone said there is a HUGE range when it comes to speech but if there is a problem now is the time to get it dealt with.
Thanks girls. I called his pedi this morning and they are setting up a referral for Austin to see a specialist, where they will test his hearing and "score" him on his speech to see where he stands. I've been in contact with the school district and we are scheduling an eval through there too. There is also a few openings at a preschool in the area where my neighbor (who has a son only 6 weeks younger than Austin) will be teaching, so I hope that between the two evaluations and the preschool that he will be back on track soon. I know "normal" is such a vague term and everyones definition of normal is different. I'm sure that since Aubrey was speaking at 12 months is why I am so concerned for him. I don't want him to be behind when he gets to school. I really appreciate all the advice and words of wisdom. I have faith that he will catch up eventually (and maybe Aubrey going to school and not talking FOR him all the time will help as well). Thanks for easing my mind and helping me figure out what I need to do to help my little guy soar!
