2Yr Olds Speach

[Chasingcars]

My little girl is saying only a small handfull of words and not stringing any words together yet. She has a very good understanding of words and we read and do flashcards every day but just not saying much. Other babies in her group are generally saying a larger range of words and even short sentences like 'shoes off' or 'dirty car' etc.
I took her to our local speach and language drop in and they did say her speach is a little behind where it should be and have given me some info to help whilst she is referred. My question is once we are referred what can be done to help her with her speach and anyone else been in a similar situation?
I feel like I have let her down, but we are always reading etc!
Thankyou x

[grasscarp]

My grandson said almost nothing till 3 years old and then straight away in sentences.

[DSJ]

My son, now 47, didn't speak properly until he was nearly 3. We haven't been able to shut him up since! Don't worry unduly just yet.

[bhg481]

Like the previous 2 posters, both our daughter and her first son would hold a conversation with you at age 1 but her second son was 3 before he could be bothered to speak. Don't worry about it - all children are different Children haven't read the books which say at what age they're supposed to do things (talk, walk, cut teeth etc), so they just do them in their own time.

[Chasingcars]

Thankyou for your comments and reassurance. If she didnt speak though later on what could this be a sign of...if anything? As i say her understanding is very good, and she makes good eye contact, and can show you what she wants, its just not coming out her mouth!

[DSJ]

Pretend that you don't understand when she wants something. Sometimes it is pure laziness. If you can read her mind, she won't bother to ask for what she wants. It was exactly the same with my son, as l said earlier.

[sherrardk]

My youngest son started intensive speech therapy when he was two. He is now six and has just been discharged from speech therapy after four and a half years. He had a 'severe speech impairment' with no underlying cause (he baffled all of the speech therapists because they could not label what his problem was). The speech therapist will point you in the right direction as there are loads of reasons why children speak poorly or not at all. Try not to worry.

[bhg481]

DSJ has hit the nail on the head. Our first grandson used to translate the second grandson's grunts for him, so he just didn't bother to talk properly.

[roopower]

Please don't worry about your daughter. Children can't read the books that tell them when they should be doing things. All children are different and do things in their own time. I would have thought 2 years of age was a little young to be referred for speech 'problems'. She obviously understands and can be understood which, I think,are the major things at her age. She will speak when she is ready. Do you think maybe you are pushing her a little, doing flashcards at 2? Give her another year, I' m sure you will find your worries are groundless.

[Sycamore3House]

My daughter did not make sentences until she went to school. Her birthday is September so she was always one of them oldest but as a second child we were not overly concerned. The day she started school was the day she started to speak using sentences. Over the years she has talked sense most of the time she just talks rubbish but she does not shut up. She has not shut up since. She's 22 now

[Mosaic]

It's natural to worry but as others have said, try not to get wound up. If there was 'a problem' as such, this would manifest itself by eg not understanding at all what's said, combined perhaps with delays in other areas of developmnet like walking / running, grasping pencils or crayons / other small items.
As I tell my DD, the first rule of baby club is, do not compare babies. The second rule of baby club is, DO NOT compare babies.

[slimseeker]

I presume you have had her hearing checked?

[bednobs]

hello chasing cars. As you probably remember, my daughter is 2 and a half, and she has been seeing a speech therapist for a few months - she was referred by the paediatrican whom she saw because she was so premature.
She would babble away, but not have any particular sounds for particular things, and wouldn't repeat words. Our Paed was saying you need three things to be able to speak. you need hearing, understanding and the ability to make sounds, and if she has all three, speaking will come in time
SALT can't "make" your child speak, but ours gave us some really really good tips - the best one being to make our daughter a scrap book with 10 (to begin with) pictures in that is "her book". The book goes everywhere with her, and we read it every day at least once. That way she was hearing the same 10 words associated with the same 10 things regularly. It really wasn't long before she had all those words, and we increased and increased. It's currently at 40 words, and she can say them all. It needs to be pictures of things that motivate her, or that she likes. doing this has made her start repeating new words she hears and has increased her vocab.She still doesn't speak in whole sentences, and doesn't always initiate things, but has shown a marked improvement. I swear that bloody ages and stages questionnaire thing is just made to frighten people

[anjlegs]

You have'nt let her down all children develop at a different rate . My daughter was like you worried because her son did' nt have 50 words in his vocabulary when he was two . He is now three and does'nt stop talking . Love him .

[ummmm]

How old is she in months?

My youngest had terrible speech simply because his siblings and I could understand him without him having to say much.