speech delay

I received the book “My Quotable Kid: A Parent’s Journal of Unforgettable Quotes” as a gift when my daughter was born, and it seemed like an eternity until I would be able to document her first words. Then, at 13.5 months old, while sitting in the highchair, Audrey threw her spoon over the side and exclaimed, “Oops!”

My husband and I giggled in delight and, of course, she went on to throw her spoon and say, “Oops” many more times. Hearing her little voice was the sweetest sound. Later that evening, I grabbed my book and documented her first word. Soon after this, she said, “Dada” while pointing to her daddy, which was even cuter!

At 15 months, we were continuously surprised by how much a tiny toddler could understand. Audrey comprehended just about everything we said. Get your shoes, clean up the books, lay down for a diaper change, give that to mommy — the list could go on and on. Daycare providers and My Gym teachers described her as a well-behaved, active little girl who loved to climb on everything. She was an early walker, and by 15 months old she was sprinting, climbing slides, and trying to walk across balance beams. Our social butterfly was loving, attentive, coordinated, and a complete joy to be around.

The only thing missing from our sweet girl’s giant personality was her little voice.

speech delayBesides “oops” and “dada,” she didn’t have any other expressive words. In fact, she wasn’t even babbling. We talked to our pediatrician and several friends, and no one was overly concerned. Audrey was developing on schedule or ahead of schedule in every other developmental area, and even though she didn’t have any expressive language, she knew and used several signs —”more,” “help,” “open,” “eat,” “read,” and “please.” The fact that Audrey didn’t have expressive language wasn’t my primary concern. Rather, it was the fact that she wasn’t babbling, trying to make sounds, or attempting to imitate the movements I made with my mouth when forming words. Although no one else was concerned, I felt I had to trust my gut and seek out support. Given my experience as a behavior analyst, I know the importance of early intervention, and I didn’t want to waste any time.

We took Audrey to a pediatric speech and language pathologist for an evaluation, and although the therapist didn’t have major concerns, she agreed that speech and language therapy could only help! She started the next week, and Audrey has been receiving speech therapy ever since. We also had Audrey evaluated by early intervention, and although we were very impressed with the process, Audrey did not qualify for their free services, as expressive speech was the only concern. My husband and I agreed to continue providing Audrey with private speech therapy, and we have seen significant improvements over the last four months.

speech delayA typical 19-month old may have as few as ten words to as many as 50 words, and many children this age are beginning to link words together. Some 19-month-olds are even starting to use action words and pronouns! Audrey has a long way to go to catch up to her peers, but she is getting closer every day, and if asked to do it all over again, we would take the same steps. My husband and I have always been open and honest about Audrey’s expressive speech delay. Whether she is a “late talker” or has more severe concerns is still unknown, but we know every child develops differently.

The fact that Audrey is benefiting from speech and language therapy is not, in our eyes, a negative. I’m hopeful that by sharing our story, we can help others who feel there is a stigma attached to having a child who would benefit from additional supports in one way or another. An individual might need any level of supports over the course of their lifetime, whether that is speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral therapy, physical therapy, tutoring, counseling, medication, or any number of other services. The one thing I have learned in sharing our story about Audrey’s expressive language delay is that the more people you tell, the more people reach out to you with their own stories and open up about something difficult they may be going through.

I feel extremely hopeful that Audrey will be talking our ears off in no time and that I just need to be patient. I am thankful for the early intervention with a trained speech and language pathologist, and I can’t wait to add some additional quotes from my sweet baby girl to “My Quotable Kid.” Until then, I’ll keep providing her with any and every support she may need — and I’ll love her with my entire heart.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you for this article , I have been agonising on what to do regards my little boy’s speech delay. Nursery keep pointing out the negative more than the positive and my mind has been all mixed up. Elijah can count some and say some letters of the alphabet and that’s all no other words like mama, dada etc and he’s almost 21/2 now . I now have a Speech and Language therapist for early next year . But your article made me realise I’m not on my own in this . Thanks

  2. We had a similar speech delay, and no one else seemed concerned. Not he pediatrician not the occupational therapist. In fact, it was suggested that she wasn’t talking because we spoiled her , and anticipated her needs which made it so that she had no need to talk. That’s when my Mamma intuition kicked in and scheduled an appointment with an Ear, nose and throat specialist. She has fluid behind her ear drum (again, the pediatrician knew but since there wasn’t an infection they weren’t concerned) a hearing test showed a 35-40% hearing deficit. The ENT recommended ear tubes. It was like magic! Within 24 hours after surgery she had “talked” more than she would in a typical week. Two weeks later she is more engaged, singing, dancing, and her vocabulary has doubled, maybe even tripled.

  3. Good for you!!! People second guessed with our daughter as well and the only support we had was from my SIL who is an actual pediatric speech therapist. Best decision ever.

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