Emily Said:

Does my son need speech therapy?

We Answered:

I am a speech therapist who works with kids that are your son's age. I would definitely recommend an evaluation by a speech and language pathologist. 2 year olds typically have a couple hundred words in their expressive vocabulary so a handful of words is significantly delayed.

The pattern of dropping initial consonants from words is concerning to me because it is a very atypical pattern. Many young kids drop the final sounds of words and it is normal, but it is quite a bit more unusual to drop the beginning sounds.

When you ask him to say words and he says 'no', I would not assume that he is resisting trying. He probably can't say what you are asking him to. If he could say more words, he would. Kids have the desire to talk and it makes their life much easier when they can communicate. The fact that he is so behind means there is a problem.

The evaluation and speech therapy (should he need it) will be free or very low cost through your state's early start program. Ask your pediatrician's office for a contact number.

In the meantime, it is best not to ask him to say words- it is only setting him up for failure and frustrating him. Just talk with him all throughout your day and model words for him. Use lots of repetition and label what he is seeing and doing using simple language. With the lowered pressure, he will begin trying words on his own.

Best of luck!

Melvin Said:

I think my son may need some speech therapy?

We Answered:

if he's at the early end of 3 years old, then no. If he's at the later end of 3 years old, then yes. My son was the same - he would call me 'muh-ee' (still does) and he still says simple things like "go toilet" and "want a drink". He is slowly learning to use full sentences, but he had an assessment done and has been referred to speech therapy and a special learning center. If you read to him alot that will help him. Cut out pictures of cars, trees, birds, etc and stick them to the wall with the words underneath... so you would have a picture of a tree, with the word 'tree' under it, so he can learn to recognize words. Put number charts and posters of fun things up around the house and things like that, which should be colorful and hold his attention for at least a minute or two so he can observe what is on them.

When you correct him when he talks (the specialist said this is very important), do not say,"no, you say it like this-", you would say something along the lines of,"okay, do you want -this-?" For example, imagine he tries to say 'i want a drink of milk' but just says,"milk please," you would say,"okay, do you want a drink of milk?" correcting him in a positive manner helps him learn faster and saying things like that also help him learn how to form the sentence to get what it is he wants.

Juan Said:

What is an average age for infants to begin speaking clearly?

We Answered:

Wait til she's 2. All children (regardless of where you plan on sending her to school) are eligible for free speech therapy services through the public school system. Call your local elementary school (which ever one you're in the district for) and set up an evaluation for shortly after her second birthday.