When is speech delay a concern?

[Matryoshka]

does he make eye contact easily? does he listen to you? does he have certain fetishes?
Look honestly hon...if you are really concerned go to you MCHN and have a chat about it. She can point you in the right direction.

Maybe keep a written diary if it helps you to process things. hon...Im sorry if I made you worried but the earlier you get an autistic diagnoses the sooner you can get help and intervention.

IM only ever a PM away hon



I agree that every child display's some things on the spectrum but if a mother has a gutt feeling somethings not right then I am a firm believer that the mother should follow her nose. Quiet obviously we are not professionals and in my opinion M would be much better taking her concerns to a MCHN and getting a correct diagnoses. Better safe then sorry. Early detection with ANYTHING is better for mother and child and if that isnt the diagnoses in the end then thank goodness...but atleasat M would have eliminated one thing.

Autism is NOT fun and I wouldnt wish it on anyone! I would rather my child just have a speech delay then go down those 3 years of heart ache and tears road again.

Thanks Maz, I've been researching and calmed down a bit... i'm too easily panicked, i know that!

Yep he makes eye contact, always looks directly at us, there's definately a sense of understanding in his eyes, and emotions, love, happiness, he's very alive in his eyes if that makes sense.

He listens to us and follows instructions, anything we ask him "point to your nose" or "bring your bowl to the sink" (actually he does this after he finishes every meal now without asking!) and if you ask him a yes or no question he will shake or nod his head. Or if he's outside playing and i say "time to go inside" he'll run away

Um, he doesn't have anything i see as a fetish, the only thing is when he's tired he grabs his neck, kind of with 2 fingers. He used to do this to my boobs, when BF, and i think because he was weaned quickly in an emergency situation, its a comfort thing that stemmed from there, as he's done it as long as i can remember. He goes to sleep with his fingers at his neck (sounds weird, but doesn't look overly weird). He doesn't have a comfort/sleep toy like me DS did, even though i did try to introduce one.

Thanks for your advice Maz, and Sally for the info...

So in regards to where to go from here, i already have the GP appointment booked, should i just ask for a refferal to a pediatrician instead of a speech therapist???

Do i also go to the MCHN? i took him at 12 months, she said everything was fine, and to bring him back at 18 months, but i haven't had a chance. Not sure if theres any point if i'm going to a paed, wouldn't they be the main route for having him properly checked out all round?

[~Raven~]

Every child displays some things on the autism spectrum, it doesn't mean they are autistic

I agree with this too, which is why I said:

Late onset of speech on it's own isn't an issue but it can be if there are other things that he is doing now or he may develop as he gets older. I think if you're concerned it is wise to follow your instinct and get him checked out

Just to give you a bit more insight, at that age my DS was obsessed with his routine and would freak out if it wasn't followed to the T. He knew the order that we did things and if I tried to dress him before brushing his teeth = meltdown. He would do the same destruct-o-thon to his bedroom every afternoon in exactly the same order. He was also lining up his trains etc.

His major Aspie behaviours didn't come about till he was older, like about 3.

I would say to see a speech therapist first because if it is just a speech delay then they can help with that and if they think it's more then they can refer you on with their opinion.



It could be a good idea to join a playgroup or look into occasional care (short stay creche) so he mixes with other kids too.

[Early Kids]

I agree with Raven, Speech Pathologist first, because depending on where you are you are looking at quite a wait. In the meantime I would get the opinion of your GP and CHN, if you are still not satisfied then seek another GP's opinion or get a referral to a paediatrician. In my opinion I don't think you will need a paediatrician, I think that a speech pathologist will be all that is needed for now.

All the best!

[Mad Scientist]

From the extra info you have given, she sounds even more like my DD1 was at that age. Excellent motor skills but language had taken a back seat. Everyone kept telling me that some kids develop their motor skills before their language ones and vice versa. I waited a little bit, worked with flash cards, read books etc and eventually it all came together without me having to see anyone. I'm just speaking from my experience because I was the same as you, wondering if something could be wrong. But I do agree with maz, if your gut is telling you to get checked then go ahead and do it. There's no harm in it. Good luck xx

[Katie]

Hey everyone,

Hi everyone,
just thought I would let you know what the 'norms' for language development are.

*Babies generally should start to babble around 8 months of age
*first words start to come around 1 year of age
*by 2 children should have around 50 words and are starting to combine words
In saying this, there is a large range of what is normal
Public waiting lists can be extremely long (eg 18-24 months in some places) so I would take the 'better to be safe than sorry' approach as others have said you can always cancel the appt and waiting lists usually get longer the older the child is.

I think books are better than flash cards as communication is a two way street and flash cards don't really give children the opportunity to start communication.

Baby signs or makaton can sometimes be useful for children whose language is delayed. Research has shown that using signs can actually help to develop language just make sure that you ALWAYS say the word with the sign.

Good luck

[Matryoshka]

*UPDATE*

So we've been to the DR, and she did think it was worth referring us. Basically she referred me somewhere called "early child intervention" or something, which is the public system in my area that deals with these things. I asked her if i couldn't get a referral for a private speech pathologist, and she said yes if i didn't mind the cost. She explained to me that speech pathologists are NOT dr's, so i won't get a medicare rebate. I might get something back from private health insurance, but if not its all out of pocket. She said they aren't classifed as drs, they are under the banner of chiropractor, etc.

She gave me a few private ones to ring, and i will get some quotes because its been 2 weeks and haven't heard a peep from the public system.

He has had the odd random garble of sounds, but increasingly is pointing to things going "ah ah ah" and is starting to seem frustrated.

So if the fees for the private SP aren't ludicrous then i guess we'll go that route so we can get on to it, hopefully not too long a wait there either.

[maz]

Fantatic news hon!!! (well it is cause you know were your going now )

We do early intervention. The waiting list is long but its fantastic.
Early intervention do more then just swpeech too, they do physio, have an educational advisor and an OT.
Good luck finding a private speechy to. From memory you pay an initial outlay of approx $140 then a weekly fee of approx $60