Speech Theraphy
By maximax8
@maximax8 (31046)
United Kingdom
February 11, 2010 12:08pm CST
My toddler son had the speech therapist come to see him today. He is disabled. He has got spina bifida and hydrocephalus. He is two years and eight months old at the moment. He can say single words and phrases like 'oh dear me'. The speech therapist thinks he has the same ability in talking as a two years and zero months child. I am so happy to think it is not all that far back at speaking. Once he goes to playgroup and mixes with talkative children I hope that will help his speech.
Do you have a child that has speech problems or do you know such a child?
Are your kids good at speaking?
2 people like this
12 responses
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
11 Feb 10
All three of my brothers had speech problems. Two had real problems:One was hearing impaired and the other had teeth that came in badly, a malformed mouth, plus developementally delayed. The one born inbetween them heard both of them speak and started to sound like them. All three of my brothers now speak very well. Even the one with the 60 IQ. Years of speech therapy did wonders for them. They were not understandable by most people and I had to translate for them as a kid. The hearing-impaired one still has trouble when a new word first enters into his vocabulary because he hears it wrong and the developmentally delaid one has trouble with a few words, if they're long. The one that was born inbetween has perfict speech, but he does like to fool around and pronounce words wrong or combine words like, "Stop argubating, you people." Because he would tell people to stop arguing and they would say they were just debating. So he made up the word. His speech is perfict. The other two are about 98 and 95% correct.
The important thing is to catch a child up with speech for reading and school work. They didn't start people with speech before school when my first brother was little, but they did for the rest. It's also important frustration wise. The more trouble people have with understanding someone, the more frustrated that person gets.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
12 Feb 10
I responded mostly so that people would realize that there are many ways to have speech delays or difficulty pronouncing words and to be encouraged by our results.
All three of my brothers have great personalities and are smart each in their own way.
My brother with a 60 IQ works at the Canadian Border cleaning and making more money per hour than most peoople. He has a job coach and is in an assisted work environment. One time, none of us could start a car and he went out and started it. We asked him how. He said that there is a short in some cars in the rod you shift and if you pull it toward you and turn the key (one hand for each from the way he was miming it so it can be done at the same time), you can make it start. He failed his try at mechanics class horribly with a 50%. But that 50% had one thing we all needed. Even though he failed that class, he learned things he needed in life. Also, one night we were watching Jeopardy (a show I believe is all over the world), the top heading was "Locomotion." He asked, "What's that?" I told him, "the way things move." So "a rabbit" My brother kept saying, "Hop, hop, come on, say hop somebody," Peep, time up. Alex Tribec says, "What is hop?" My brother says, "Why don't they know that rabbits hop?" What can you say to a 60 IQ person when he knows something people with 125 to 180 or higher don't know and it's common knowledge? "Maybe they're city people?"
My hearing impaired brother can fix things other people can't. He saved a snowmobile club thousands upon thousands of dollars, even though the repairs cost thousands to fix a trail maker. To repair it is cheaper than buy a new one and they don't make parts for it any more. Someone's boat bottom was ruined and he redid the bottom to stronger and way more beautiful than the original bottom was. The first thing I described was welding metal and the second was wood. He's great with objects and creativity. Right now he just chops wood and seasons it for burning in fire places and stoves. But he has another custom order coming soon.
The middle one can fix and jerry-rig (juri-rig?)anything with a motor. During the ice storm, he and his friends got a ceased-up generator that hadn't been run in years going again to power his home. It was a van generator, so he also had to change and adapt it to home use. He keeps cars going that nobody else can. He has the eye-to-hand co-ordination to do things that many people only wish they could do.
I think you wrote about spinal bifida (spelling?). There are many people who have done great things that have that. I know one person who is a writer for the Spinal Bifida Foundation, society, association or whatever the group name. Whatever it's called in the USA. She used to do my resumes for me and at one point she was doing painting from pictures for people for Christmas.
It's so exciting to see young people find what they're good at. Even more so in a family with disabilities. It's not the disabilities, it's the abilities and what they do with them. That's what's really cool. Raising your child will be quite an adventure. Just always set goals and then teach him to set goals for himself. The worst thing in the world is for a person with disabilities to believe he or she can do nothing, has no skills and will never become anything. I see that when I teach all the time. Sometimes nothing but overcoming deficiencies is drilled into them and what they like or love is either ignored or there is no time for it because everyone is busy with them being able to do what they can't. They must find what they're good at and set goals. If they do that, they can have a wonderful life.
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
14 Feb 10
dear maximax8,
he's going to be fine with your support and love. and your being very positive will make everything easy.
have a very nice day. and happy valentines day!
ann
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
12 Feb 10
My son has cerebral palsy, and does go to speech therapy every week. He has done this since he was about 2. He is nonverbal and they have hooked him up with a communication device. I am glad they think your son is where he should be, or at least close.
@cherryann (73)
• Philippines
12 Feb 10
Hello maximax8, My baby is 14 months old now and he is not good at all at speaking. Up to these days he still cant even say mama or papa or any word at all. All he does are sounds as if he is trying to tell me something or trying to talk but there is nothing in it that I can understand.
@anjohanna (156)
• Philippines
12 Feb 10
I do know such a child. She's our neighbors's daughter. She is 3 years old yet haven't spoken atleast one word. She's just like "aaah, ahhh, yahhh, ". That was weird, because most 3 years old could atleast say a phrase.
@brequiron (21)
• Philippines
12 Feb 10
Speech therapy can be administered to help different sort of disorders like hearing impairment stammering and autism. Before administering the speech therapy activity. the therapist will first inquire about the root cause of the problem. Unlike other therapist or treatment. the patient has to practice regularly in a speech therapy. The therapist will then decide the type of treatment to be implement after giving due consideration to the nature of the problem and by making use of speech therapy materials.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
11 Feb 10
My son has autism, so he does have problems with his speech. Mostly he has problems expressing certain thoughts. Some comprehension problems also.
@jakill (835)
•
11 Feb 10
Your poor lad has a lot to contend with. Must be really hard on you too. My granddaughter had no illness but had stammer for a while, which was a bit worrying. It seemed to come back when she saw her father ocassionally. She doesn't see him now and the s tammer seems to have gone completely.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
11 Feb 10
When I was a baby I was told I didn't start to talk till I was 3 years old. I pointed at everything that I wanted and only said "da da." I too had to have speech therapy. I over came it, Thank God. Now my granddaughter who is 3 years of age speaks as if she was at least 6 or 7 years old. She uses words that we can't believe and in the correct way, knowing what she is saying. I truly believe she developed such good speech and vocabulary due to my daughter reading to her when she was still in her stomach and my granddaughter being around growns up all the time. So children do copy what they hear so with your child playing with talkative children he will definitely learn because they do copy what they hear. Good luck to you and your son.
@marguicha (223874)
• Chile
11 Feb 10
Hi maxine,
I don´t know much what is to be expected as language goes from a boy with Leo´s problems. But keep in mind that not all of the children learn at the same time. My eldest daughter, a psychologist, says that children will be behind in some part of their learning abilities if they are centering their efforts at learning something else. So maybe Leo is a little behind (now) because he has had to work out many problems.
Claudia, my youngest, did not speak until she was 3 years old. She only said a word with different melodies.I took her to the doctor after a friend of mine (a student in medicine) had suggested many illness that could cause that. The doctor (old and wise) told Claudia to look away and whispered to me what he thought of my friend (he did NOT spare awfull words). He said to give her time. Now she is a lawyer and a judge which in my country, specially if it´s in the capital, means a lot.
Hug!
@sunyskies (126)
• United States
11 Feb 10
It sounds like he's not very behind at all! You should be very proud of him, and of course, yourself. I'm sure that you are the reason he's so close to his age level for speaking. I think you're right, his vocabulary will probably increase when he's around other children.
My daughter was a micro-preemie and spent the first six months of her life in the hospital. They told us that we should expect her development to be that of a newborn, not a six month old, when we brought her home. She did catch up very rapidly, though. She didn't start speaking until she was nearly two years old, but then there was no stopping her. Today, she's in the 4th grade and is at the top of her class. I'm sure your little guy will catch up quickly, too.
Best of luck to you!