Ask the Pediatrician: Dr. Molly Forum

Jump to bottom

Speech Delay

Another great doc is Dr. DeMio. www.drdemio.com

Speech Delay

Speech Delay

My son turned 2 yrs.old in February and still does not talk in sentences, not even close to that. He will mostly repeat words we say to him but his vocabulary consists of a maximum of 7-8 words that he will say spontaneously and he won't say most of the consonants in some words.

He is exposed to 2 other languages other than English (mom speaks in Portuguese and grandparents in Italian)but most of his day-to-day activities revolve around the English language.

I have been worried so I scheduled a speech evaluation for him which will take place in 4 weeks but today talking to a friend, she told me that her nephew that turned 3 yrs. old the same day my son turned 2 already reads sentences!!!

Now I got really worried and would like to know if I should get him checked for anything else and would like your opinion on how behind you think he is.

I am really looking forward to your comments.

Thank you very much in advance.

Deb DiCicco, Macomb Twp, Michigan

Dear Deb ,

Please don't count on the MISD in Macomb County. I had the same problem with my son at that age. They tested him for hearing and his hearing was good. What they missed was the big one AUTISM. The school system is not equipped with helping all the kids with some sort of learning disability. You can have a kid with a very high IQ but still have Autism. I don't want to scare you, but the sooner you get a definite answer the better off your child will be. Go on this web site Autismspeaks.org. a great doctor is Dr. Maltz in St. Clair Shores, he specializes in Autism. 586-776-3366

Speech Delay

Dr. Molly

Thank you very much for your detailed response to my post. I would like to give you a follow-up and let you know that taking my son in for an evaluation was very important. He was diagnosed with "Severe Expressive Language Delay" and is now attending speech therapy twice a week. The therapist told us that taking him early will be key to help him overcome his condition sooner rather than later. I highly recommend parents to listen to their intuition when they feel something is not completely right with their child and not to wait. In my son's case, we know we have many months of therapy ahead but we are hopeful that one day we will have a little "chatter-box" running around the house.

Speech Delay

You should have his hearing evaluated to rule out a hearing loss. By 2 children should have a large 1-word vocabulary (upwards of 50 words) and should be starting to combine 2-words together.

Your on the right road to have his speech and language skills tested through your school district. Early intervention is key and kids make such great gains at that age.

Good luck!

JC, Speech Pathologist

Speech Delay

My son turned 2 yrs.old in February and still does not talk in sentences, not even close to that. He will mostly repeat words we say to him but his vocabulary consists of a maximum of 7-8 words that he will say spontaneously and he won't say most of the consonants in some words.

He is exposed to 2 other languages other than English (mom speaks in Portuguese and grandparents in Italian)but most of his day-to-day activities revolve around the English language.

I have been worried so I scheduled a speech evaluation for him which will take place in 4 weeks but today talking to a friend, she told me that her nephew that turned 3 yrs. old the same day my son turned 2 already reads sentences!!!

Now I got really worried and would like to know if I should get him checked for anything else and would like your opinion on how behind you think he is.

I am really looking forward to your comments.

Thank you very much in advance.

Jump to top