[LyndaSLP]

For those of you that don't know, I am a pediatric speech therapist. Currently part time, but still working in the field.

I realized today that I offer my brain up for the picking on a parenting board but have never made the same offer here. (Actually, I don't know if I offered it on the parenting board or it has just evolved into that. They have a Speech Dev't and Delays board that I moderate.) And here is definitely one of my online homes (I'd have to say AFC and the parenting board that I frequent are my 2 online homes). I know this is a couponing board -- but thought I would still make this offer.

So..... this offer is for newbies and old timers; parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends and whoever just has a question: please feel free to PM me (or post here in parenting) with questions about the following:

Language and speech development/milestones
Concerns that your child has speech/language delays
How to tell if your child has speech/language delays
How to get free evaluation for your child to find out if s/he truly has delays?
Who to call for evals or therapy?
Concerns that your child talks too much! : (honest -- had this question recently)
Anything about sign language -- from learning to using it with babies
Anything else dealing with speech, language, hearing development, delays, or concerns.

I hope this post doesn't come across as cocky or out of bounds with what Barb wants for this community. I have just found that there are many parents/grandparents out there who don't know where to find answers to the above questions. If picking my brain can help a child get the help s/he needs, then pick away.

Lynda

[Barb]

Originally Posted by LyndaSLP

I hope this post doesn't come across as cocky or out of bounds with what Barb wants for this community. I have just found that there are many parents/grandparents out there who don't know where to find answers to the above questions. If picking my brain can help a child get the help s/he needs, then pick away.

Lynda

I want a board that helps people. Thanks for the offer and I hope that people take you up on it.

[ladywine]

I'll second the offer - I'm currently not teaching, but I taught Special Education for 9 years. I have my degrees in (BA) developmental/educational psychology and my Master's in teaching special ed. I had ages 4 - 12 at one point or another. I've taught Developmentally Delayed (DD), Other Health Impaired (OHI - includes Attention Deficit disorders), Learning Disabled (LD), Emotionally Disturbed/Handicapped (ED or EH), Mentally Handicapped (all levels, MH, SPH, labels can vary by state), Autistic (AUT) - just about everything at one point or another...I can't promise to be able to answer all questions, but I'll certainly do my darndest to help you out if I can!

[LyndaSLP]

for newbies

[nannyv]

as a mother of a child with special needs your offer of help is a very nice thing to do. I know there are times when I have a question for my daughters therapist but she is not always available. Do you have experience in feeding? I ask because my daughter is 3 1/2 and has many feeding issues.

[LyndaSLP]

Originally Posted by nannyv

as a mother of a child with special needs your offer of help is a very nice thing to do. I know there are times when I have a question for my daughters therapist but she is not always available. Do you have experience in feeding? I ask because my daughter is 3 1/2 and has many feeding issues.

a tad.... haven't done any feeding stuff in about 5 years.... but will gladly try to answer any question...

let me edit to say: most of the feeding stuff I did involved more oral motor/musculature strengthening/coordination than feeding..... thus, I take back the statement about doing feeding. It was more oral motor exercises.

[2pocketpaks]

Originally Posted by LyndaSLP

For those of you that don't know, I am a pediatric speech therapist. Currently part time, but still working in the field.

I realized today that I offer my brain up for the picking on a parenting board but have never made the same offer here. (Actually, I don't know if I offered it on the parenting board or it has just evolved into that. They have a Speech Dev't and Delays board that I moderate.) And here is definitely one of my online homes (I'd have to say AFC and the parenting board that I frequent are my 2 online homes). I know this is a couponing board -- but thought I would still make this offer.

So..... this offer is for newbies and old timers; parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends and whoever just has a question: please feel free to PM me (or post here in parenting) with questions about the following:

Language and speech development/milestones
Concerns that your child has speech/language delays
How to tell if your child has speech/language delays
How to get free evaluation for your child to find out if s/he truly has delays?
Who to call for evals or therapy?
Concerns that your child talks too much! : (honest -- had this question recently)
Anything about sign language -- from learning to using it with babies
Anything else dealing with speech, language, hearing development, delays, or concerns.

I hope this post doesn't come across as cocky or out of bounds with what Barb wants for this community. I have just found that there are many parents/grandparents out there who don't know where to find answers to the above questions. If picking my brain can help a child get the help s/he needs, then pick away.

Lynda

your services could be more valuable than you realize.

Some homeschoolers have to have a certified teacher do a portfolio review of their child's work throughout the year, then the letter of review is submitted to their home district and/or state for verification of homeschooling.

(Fortunately Michigan is not one of these states). Ohio homeschoolers (and many others) could use your services as a teacher for reviews. (usually teacher reviews are paid for their time and it usually nets between $50 and $150).

Just thought I would point that out.

[dianescraps]

Could I ask what is probably a real basic question


What age should a child be able to say "Ask" instead of "Axe" (assuming no other speech related issues)?

My 6 yr old still does this, and it drives the hubby insane

[LyndaSLP]

Originally Posted by 2pocketpaks

your services could be more valuable than you realize.

Some homeschoolers have to have a certified teacher do a portfolio review of their child's work throughout the year, then the letter of review is submitted to their home district and/or state for verification of homeschooling.

(Fortunately Michigan is not one of these states). Ohio homeschoolers (and many others) could use your services as a teacher for reviews. (usually teacher reviews are paid for their time and it usually nets between $50 and $150).

Just thought I would point that out.

Interesting information. Unfort, I am not certified as a teacher. I am certified as a speech-language therapist.

[LyndaSLP]

Originally Posted by dianescraps

Could I ask what is probably a real basic question


What age should a child be able to say "Ask" instead of "Axe" (assuming no other speech related issues)?

My 6 yr old still does this, and it drives the hubby insane

Your 6 yr old should be able to say ASK correctly. Maybe he just doesn't know HOW it is suppose to be said. I know that sounds silly; but sometimes that is the simple truth. He is old enough to sit down and say: You know, the word ASK is said AAAAASSSSSK; not AAAAAKSSS. Also, you can print both words (ASK and AXE) and show him as you exaggerate the pronunciation. You could also try pictures (b/c the silliness will hit home with the 6 yr old): One picture has 2 people; one person with a speech bubble and question marks in it. Under that picture write I ASK YOU. Next picture: 2 people with first person swinging an axe at 2nd person. Under that picture write I AXE YOU. (Yes... tad gruesome... but visually shows the difference b/t "I ASK you" and "I AXE you." I'd prefer no one AXE me) I am chalking his pronunciation to a mix of not knowing better & habit.

My 5 year old walked around saying "I amn't doing that" for about a month -- I finally said, "There is no such word as AMN'T. What you need to say is I AM NOT or I'M NOT. But AMN'T.... don't know what that is."

He completely understood what I said..... but occasionally says that word "AMN'T" just to see me roll my eyes.

[wendy1214]

I am signed up to take a baby sign lang class soon. My little guy is 4 mos. I have 2 others, but never did this with them. When should I start using signs with him, will it hurt his lang development at all. Will people look at us strange, as if he IS deaf? I am a SAHM this time around, and want to do all the mom stuff this time that I didn't get a chance to do with my older two.
What are your thoughts on infant SL, does tit work, help etc.?
Thanks for your input and expertise~
Wendy

[Trish]

My sister has done that with my niece. She knows more sign language then words. But she is speaking more and more real words (she's only 16 mos). I've always wondered why, no one is deaf in our family......I don't even know where my sister learned sign language. One difference I've noticed is she communicates better even though she doesn't know a whole lot of words. She asks for water and toys, etc with sign language. Now is she is starting to use both the word and the sign at the same time.

[LyndaSLP]

Originally Posted by wendy1214

I am signed up to take a baby sign lang class soon. My little guy is 4 mos. I have 2 others, but never did this with them. When should I start using signs with him, will it hurt his lang development at all. Will people look at us strange, as if he IS deaf? I am a SAHM this time around, and want to do all the mom stuff this time that I didn't get a chance to do with my older two.
What are your thoughts on infant SL, does it work, help etc.?
Thanks for your input and expertise~
Wendy

Will it hurt his language dev't? No.

Wll ppl look at you strange? Probably not. So much talk in the news/parenting articles these days about using signs with all babies/kids that it is more commonplace than you'd think. Or at least more talked about.

My thoughts? I did this with my son. He signed his first word at 9 months, said his first word at 10 months. Knowing signs did not hurt his language dev't at all. In fact, I truly believe that by giving him a way to communicate actually helped him -- he rarely tantrumed b/c his needs were not met or misunderstood. He had a way to get "his point" across. So, YES it does work and I truly believe it does help.

When should you start? Good question... I will get back to you on that one.

I have more information on this subject... which I will share, but need to go dig it up. (And some of it may be at home... so you might have to wait 24 hrs)

[LyndaSLP]

b/c it's been awhile....

[shereen329]

My son who is turned one on Jan 2nd tends to mock you but does not open his mouth...sounds kind of like he is humming but you can clearly hear the syllables...not sure if you understand because it is hard to describe. He says the basic "dada", "mama", "nana", etc but I rarely hear babies doing that syllable thing? Is this normal?

[targetaddict]

Speech development question--

My son is 23 mths. His vocabulary has recently exploded, thankfully; however, his enunciation is quite poor. At 10-12 mths of age he had persistant ear infections, so we had tubes put in his ears. He has continued to have upper and lower respitory issues. I am concerned that perhaps his hearing is still blocked (adnoids? I don't know) since he has enunciation problems. To me, his pronunciation seems as though he is hearing things under water!

Here's an example: his older sister's name is Reagan (like the president). He says "RAY-uhn"--omits the 'g' and with a slightly aspirate "r". The entire word is very gutteral, and so is most of his speaking for that matter.

Other things I notice:
he sings, "BAH-ahb!!!" for "Bob, the Builder"--possibly not hearing the rest?
"AH-kher" for Oscar the Grouch--probably typical omission of the "s"?

I just so happen to be a Lit major and an English teacher, so these things are a little hard on my ears. But, of course, his "Love you's" are held close to my heart!

Ok, so, am I just an overly concerned momma? or, is there something to it? Do you need more info?

Thank you so much for offering your experience. Much appreciated!

[wendy1214]

Lynda
Dominic is doing great with his signing- I figured out he knows about 20 signs already- he is 16 mos. The one thing I am a little concerned with though, is that he really hasn't said any words yet- not even mama or dada. Yesterday at dinner he did say mama- but it was the first time, and more random than anything. Should I be worried yet? He understands and can follow simple commands, so i know his hearing is ok. He does use his signs, so i know his understanding/processing seems ok. He just hasn't decided to say anything. He does babble a lot, and screeches (uggg) SI this normal, should I be concerned?
Wendy

[LyndaSLP]

Originally Posted by shereen329

My son who is turned one on Jan 2nd tends to mock you but does not open his mouth...sounds kind of like he is humming but you can clearly hear the syllables...not sure if you understand because it is hard to describe. He says the basic "dada", "mama", "nana", etc but I rarely hear babies doing that syllable thing? Is this normal?

Sounds like he is playing with sounds... at this point I'd say it is normal.
If you have concerns, ask your pediatrician at his next check-up. (I suggest that mainly b/c the ped can hear him and I can't.)

[LyndaSLP]

Wendy and Targetaddict -- not ignoring your posts, just need to run out and check a carseat for a mom. I will reply later today -- maybe closer to this evening.

[wendy1214]

BTW, I went to the ped. for a sick visit back in Nov., and asked her if signing counted as "vocabulary", she said yes- he is communicating. The next time I went for his 15 mos app. We saw another Dr. He asked if he was saying any words yet, and I was truthful and said no, but that he knew a lot of signs and used them appropriately. Dr said that it wasn't speech, and that Dominic wasn't "responsive" I think was the term he used, and seemed to imply he was delayed. Believe me when I say Dominic is VERY responsive, just not speaking yet.
I did get mama again this am- so maybe I just jumped the gun with worry, but still wanted another opinion!
Thanks Lynda

[luv2sav]

Lynda and Ladywine, thanks for the offer of help with questions. I have a son who has been in st for 4 years, and has some issues due to a stroke. I will probably be calling on the expertise of you both at some point in time. Thank you so much!!!

[LyndaSLP]

Originally Posted by wendy1214

BTW, I went to the ped. for a sick visit back in Nov., and asked her if signing counted as "vocabulary", she said yes- he is communicating. The next time I went for his 15 mos app. We saw another Dr. He asked if he was saying any words yet, and I was truthful and said no, but that he knew a lot of signs and used them appropriately. Dr said that it wasn't speech, and that Dominic wasn't "responsive" I think was the term he used, and seemed to imply he was delayed. Believe me when I say Dominic is VERY responsive, just not speaking yet.
I did get mama again this am- so maybe I just jumped the gun with worry, but still wanted another opinion!
Thanks Lynda

I count signs as words. His signed words count as vocabulary. I want 10 vocab words by 15 months. He is 16 months and has 20 signs. He is fine.

That said, if he wasn't speaking at all at 2, I'd recommend a speech evaluation even if you told me he was signing 1000+ words. I'd want the speech eval to guarantee there was no hearing issues or any other issues.

[LyndaSLP]

Originally Posted by targetaddict

Speech development question--

My son is 23 mths. His vocabulary has recently exploded, thankfully; however, his enunciation is quite poor. At 10-12 mths of age he had persistant ear infections, so we had tubes put in his ears. He has continued to have upper and lower respitory issues. I am concerned that perhaps his hearing is still blocked (adnoids? I don't know) since he has enunciation problems. To me, his pronunciation seems as though he is hearing things under water!

Here's an example: his older sister's name is Reagan (like the president). He says "RAY-uhn"--omits the 'g' and with a slightly aspirate "r". The entire word is very gutteral, and so is most of his speaking for that matter.

Other things I notice:
he sings, "BAH-ahb!!!" for "Bob, the Builder"--possibly not hearing the rest?
"AH-kher" for Oscar the Grouch--probably typical omission of the "s"?

I just so happen to be a Lit major and an English teacher, so these things are a little hard on my ears. But, of course, his "Love you's" are held close to my heart!

Ok, so, am I just an overly concerned momma? or, is there something to it? Do you need more info?

Thank you so much for offering your experience. Much appreciated!

How much of his speech is understood by stranger's? Strangers is a broad term in regards to this question. By "stranger", I mean an unfamiliar listener. If grandma only sees your son 1x month, she is technically a 'stranger to his speech'. (Note: Please do not call grandma a stranger; it will make her cry.)

By the age of 2, an unfamiliar listener should be able to understand 50% of a child's speech.

Next question: Is he consistent with his pronunciations? Personal example: when my son was young (15? 18? months), he said "gi--aaa" for "giraffe". He only said "gi--aaa" when referring to a giraffe.... he didn't use it when pointing to a cow or a dog or anthing else. ONLY with giraffes. And he never called a giraffe anything but a "gi---aaa". Thus, he was consistent in naming and enunciation.

[targetaddict]

Originally Posted by LyndaSLP

How much of his speech is understood by stranger's? Strangers is a broad term in regards to this question. By "stranger", I mean an unfamiliar listener. If grandma only sees your son 1x month, she is technically a 'stranger to his speech'. (Note: Please do not call grandma a stranger; it will make her cry.)

By the age of 2, an unfamiliar listener should be able to understand 50% of a child's speech.

Next question: Is he consistent with his pronunciations? Personal example: when my son was young (15? 18? months), he said "gi--aaa" for "giraffe". He only said "gi--aaa" when referring to a giraffe.... he didn't use it when pointing to a cow or a dog or anthing else. ONLY with giraffes. And he never called a giraffe anything but a "gi---aaa". Thus, he was consistent in naming and enunciation.

First, thank you so much for taking your time to answer my questions. You are so appreciated!

Second, the stranger part is tricky to answer because he is rarely around strangers and when he is he typically doesn't speak. He will talk on the phone to my mom, and I usually prompt him to show off his new words and translate for him. But, I don't feel that's a fair assessment since it's over the phone. To guess, I would say that over 50% is understood by "strangers".

Last, he is definitely consistent in his pronunciations with the only changes being improvement.

I am guessing these responses are all positive. =) Let me know what you think!

Thanks, again!

[LyndaSLP]

Originally Posted by targetaddict

First, thank you so much for taking your time to answer my questions. You are so appreciated!

Second, the stranger part is tricky to answer because he is rarely around strangers and when he is he typically doesn't speak. He will talk on the phone to my mom, and I usually prompt him to show off his new words and translate for him. But, I don't feel that's a fair assessment since it's over the phone. To guess, I would say that over 50% is understood by "strangers".

Last, he is definitely consistent in his pronunciations with the only changes being improvement.

I am guessing these responses are all positive. =) Let me know what you think!

Thanks, again!

Remember -- my definition of 'strangers' is 'unfamiliar listeners'. That could be a friend who only comes over 1x/month.

If you feel he is understoof 50% of the time and you state he is consistent (with only changes being improvement -- which is a good thing!), then he is completley normal.

My advice: repeat what he says - repeat it correctly! He says, "re-an" for his sister, you say, "REGAN is over there" (stressing the REGAN). As long as YOU keep talking correctly, he should pick it up.

His intelligibility will increase -- by 3, it should be 75%; by 4, 90%.