Worried again

[DoubleK]

what about seeing your MCHN? at Krystals 18 month check up, they asked all kinds of questions, and she had to do a number of things like turn pages of a book etc.
maybe she can give you an idea of where Lily should be at, and if she thinks you need to see a speech therapist.

[Antheia]

Oh, i havent seen a MCHN since Lily was about 6 months old! I don't like them very much. Well the ones here anyway. Maybe i should see if there is any new ones around though. Thanks for the tip.

[Matryoshka]

Just another thought here......

What is she like personality wise?? My DS is younger but also does not say much, he tends more so to communicate with his eyes and body language. He has always been a deep thinker, very sensitive and i feel in tune with things around him. In doing research i came accross some angel therapy and the generation of the Crystal Children. One characteristic is that they are delayed or late speakers and often have large mesmerising eyes (that was the first thing that clicked for me because i can't leave the house without strangers commenting on his eyes).

Anyway some info here if you are interested:

Crystal Children Article

I certainly would still pursue looking in to speech therapy etc, but i just thought i'd post this as it may be relevant and i found it quite interesting

[Antheia]

MummaB, thanks so much for sharing that with me. I have never heard of it before but it certainly explains DD to a T. Especially her eyes. When she was younger everyone commented on them. And yeah i can still communicate with her without speech. How very fasinating.

[MrsFabuloso]

antheia, as an early childhood teacher, I see quite a few children with speech and language problems. It sounds to me that Lily is probably in the 'normal' range, though she could use more encouragement to use her language appropriately. People should be able to understand her when she talks to them, she *should* be able to answer 'wh' questions (though this comes WITHIN thier third year), she should be able to follow two to three part directions (eg, get your shoes, put them on and then come to mummy). Here's some info I found for you:


Use pronouns I, you, me correctly
Is using some plurals and past tenses
Knows at least three prepositions, usually in, on, under
Knows chief parts of body and should be able to indicate these if not name
Handles three word sentences easily
Has in the neighborhood of 900-1000 words
About 90% of what child says should be intelligible
Verbs begin to predominate
Understands most simple questions dealing with his environment and activities
Relates his experiences so that they can be followed with reason
Able to reason out such questions as "what must you do when you are sleepy, hungry, cool, or thirsty?"
Should be able to give his sex, name, age
Should not be expected to answer all questions even though he understands what is expected
(Info from www dot childdevelopment dot com)

Another good site is called www dot comeunity dot com, under'speech and language, here's some info from there:

WHAT TO DO TO IMPROVE YOUR CHILD’S SPEECH AND LANGUAGE

1. Be honest when you do not understand what your child says. Don't pretend that you understand by saying "OK" or "Yes, that's right." Encourage, but don’t force, your child to try to tell you again. When you do understand what your child says letting her know will encourage good language use.

2. Model good speech. When your child makes errors repeat what she attempted to say correctly. Children learn correct speech by listening to you talk and read correctly.

3. Read to your child. Children acquire vocabulary and speech sound production gradually. Capitalizing on a child’s desire to repeatedly read the same book increases familiarity with language. The more she hears the words and sentences the more likely she is to retain and use the language.

4. Consult a professional if you have any concerns about your child’s speech or language. Your physician should be able to refer you to a speech therapist or speech pathologist if further evaluation is necessary. If there is a problem, early attention is important. If there is no problem, you will be relieved of worry. No child is too young to be helped and language is an important life tool, so if you are in doubt have your child’s language and speech evaluated.


Remember that these skills come in the third year, so she is only in the early stages of the year and still has lots of time to develop. But if you are concerned definately get a referral to a speech pathologist as someone else said, early intervention is very important and 3 is a great age to start if she needs it.

HTH

[Rouge]

I really really urge you to get yourself on that list for the free speech therapist. I have quite a few friends who's children have speech issues, and not only does it impact learning (I have one friend who's son is currently seeing a speech therapist and her child is in grade 1) but it also impacts on the siblings and even if siblings do not have issues, they can imitate and it is extremely common.

Its not worth the wait iykwim? Lily deserves to learn at the same pace as everyone else don't wait till she's in school and its too late and is impacting, do something now before it does impact. If alls well then it alleviates your mind, but IMO this is not something to sit on. Don't mean to be horrible, but out of all my friends with kids who have or are seeing a speech therapist they always say they wish they'd done something about it sooner.

[Astrolady]

Tegan, I 100% Agree with Cailin get your name on the waiting lists.

I have had Kameron go through intensive speech therapy. Like you I knew he was slow and behind, but didn't realise how much till he started Kindergarten. He had very severe delays in both expressive and receptive language. i.e could not communicate with how he was feeling etc, and could not follow simple 2 or 3 instruction sentences. for example "can you get the bucket and put it next to the chair"

He had intensive speech therapy through his kindy which for us was free as it came from DECS. This lasted for 18mths, and to this day he still has follow up appointments with the DECS speech therapist at school.

Our kindy director advised us to get Lachlan on the waiting list for the public system, and like you I was like "yeah whatever" knowing there could be at least a 6mth wait or more to be seen. She kept stressing it every time I saw her and kept telling me it is very common for a younger sibling to follow in the older siblings footsteps cause they learn from them alot.

Lachlan has been seeing the public speech therapist now since 3rd term last year (aged 3.5 when started), and as from the next school term he will go under the DECS speech therapist through the Kindy. Lachlan at the same age talks and responds to instructions a hell of a lot better than Kameron ever did at the same age, but he still needs therapy in some areas. He has made huge improvements since therapy and I am pretty certain it has been the therapy that has helped, not just cause he has developed that much more iykwim

I saw our kindy director the other week (she is currently on maternity leave) and she said to me "how about Ashton (17mths like Charlie), have you got him on the waiting list" I said but he is only 17mths, surely they don't take them now I spoke to Lachlan's speech therapist last monday, and they definitely do take them at such a young age. The younger the better. Also the younger they are the quicker they will get through the waiting list because they get to teach them the right way from word go.

The therapist said to me what is Ashton saying. I said "ah, mum (rarely), dad, bub (rarely) and nan (rarely). She said "yep when you leave today put his name down for the list"

So I would strongly recommend getting both Lily and Charlies name down on the list. When Lily starts Kindergarten then I would be mentioning it to them as well, and they may have a system in place with speech therapists as well that you can utilise.

I hope this helps somewhat. I know how you must be feeling about it, I went through those same emotions.

Love

[teachmum]

Definately have a chat to the CHN. They will have seen lots of 3yr olds and 6 mnths does make a big difference.

As a teacher my advice would be to read, read, read and talk. Play dumb to encourage her to explain more clearly. Repeat back to her what she said but using the correct words. Children learn by imitating us. Look at the pictures in books and talk about what they are.

You prob do all of this anyway but I hope it's of some help .