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Before I say anything else, let me relate this story to you.

My grandchild went through the same thing you are now going through. No one in the family could understand a word the child was saying. It was always a guessing game until we finally got it. It was truly frustrating for all of us and that would include my grandchild.

My grandchild was forever having ear aches. She was put on the usual antibiotics and the problem was solved until the meds. wore off. Mom went round and round with this for the longest time. Grandchild (we’ll call her C) also developed sleepapnea. Mom took her to doctor for the last check up, because this child needed to sleep and had to have the ear aches taken care of.

Doctor finally removed tonsils and adenoids. Things finally were coming together. No more sleepapnea and no more ear aches as tubes were put in her ears.

What was happening through all of this, especially with the ears, she was unable to hear properly. How can a child talk when she couldn’t hear well enough to take in all the sounds of the words she was trying to hear.

Since I wasn’t working I got picked to take her to speech therapy once or twice a week at the same public school her older sister attended for 1/2 hr. sessions. It became routine and C received a sticker on her way out the door.

Her speech improved very quickly and we all could better understand her. It amazes me to this day how quickly the therapy changed her speech. Of course now you can’t shut her up. She’s now 9 yrs. old.

If the ear aches lasted any longer then they did, she would have had worse problems. We all thank God things turned out the way they did.

Don’t know if the same thing is happening to your son, but if he’s having a lot of ear aches, I strongly suggest you have a talk with your doc.

If ear aches are a constant problem have them checked out. Every child seems to always have ear aches, but there is a difference when they don’t go away and keep recurring.

It seems your Doc. should have pointed you in the right direction regarding therapy, exercises and books on the subject.

Maybe a 2nd opinion is needed and a hear test scheduled. Grandchild had a couple of hearing test to make sure what the problem was.

Go for the 2nd opinion just to be sure. Your son needs more testing from the things you are saying. Therapy needs to come from a specials. Exercises I don’t have the answers for. Could work with flash cards with basic sounds.

Good luck with your son and hope you find the care that is needed.

Contact your local school district or an organization called ChildFind – it is federally mandated that all children with special needs be provided services from birth until the age of 22. It is extremely unusual for a child not to talk at the age of two and the “window” for learning speech is closed about the age of 5, so it is important to find out why your child is not speaking – it could be hearing difficulties or muscle control of the tongue, lips and cheeks, or something else, but you need to pursue the reason for the lack of speech. If you are looking for therapy or exercises you can do with your child, consult a speech therapist who will do an evaluation and be able to recommend specifics to you (if you do this through your local school district or ChildFind it will be free to you).

My child did not talk, or make noise until he was 20 months old, when I got him into early intervention services. Look up early intervention services in your state, and contact them. Meanwhile, get him to touch, explore, smell, move, and experience via sensory input as much as possible. Talk, sing, and communicate with him, name things, talk about what you are doing, and move his limbs around while singing. I have written an article posted on my website, which explores how the brain processes sensory input and how it stimulates speech production. Novel physical input also stimulates the speech areas of the brain, Wernicke’s and Brocca’s areas, which are located in different areas of the frontal lobe, which controls executive functions of the brain. When you do get services (which you should, because I believe that is a 20 percent lag in speech), ask for p/t, occupational therapy (with an emphasis in sensory integration), d/t, and slp, plus nutritional services. Meanwhile, engage, engage, engage your child as much as you can. When we got services, it took 2 months for my child to go from one word to 2 word sentences. Although he is diagnosed with extremely bad conditions, he is functioning average to above average. I attribute all this to early intervention and sensory integration. There are books, Carol Kranowitz has written, the Out of Sync Child, and there is SI Focus, where my article, Tapping Into the Senses” can be found. Good luck, and God Bless. Don’t make excuses for him, like “he’s a boy, they are slower”, etc. You are your child’s advocate. Fight hard for services. Get an MRI if you need to. The sooner he is diagnosed with any disorder he may have, the better. You may also consider a neuropsychological examination if the MRI is normal. Not to frighten you, but, again, the sooner a diagnosis is made, the better. 🙂

I agree with many of the comments above… definitely have hearing checked. By age 2, you’re child should have over 50 words and should be starting to combine words into short phrases. Many people tend to say “he’s only two.. he’ll catch up” but don’t listen to them. If the child doesn’t “catch up,” he may face many more issues when he enters school. I recommend getting your child evaluated by a speech-language pathologist. He may just be a late talker. Sometimes it just takes some one-on-one attention by a speech-language pathologist to help expand their vocabulary. At home, you can just label everything your child looks at, points to, or wants. If your child points for his bottle, just say “Ok, here’s your bottle.” Just use words for everything. Make sure you don’t try to correct his speech or get frustrated towards him.. he doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong. If he says “ap” instead of “apple” don’t say “no.. say apple, say apple,” just say “That’s right.. here’s an apple.” I hope that make sense. Good luck!

I guess we first need to understand by ‘can not talk’. Do you mean he tries to communicate but you can’t understand him? Do you mean he’s making no sounds, not even babbling? Are you having tantruming because he can’t express himself, or does he not care?

Also language isn’t just about speaking, but also understanding. Does he understand what you are saying to him? If you tell him to bring you something, can he do it? What about 2 directions?

If you say they don’t think he’s autistic, I have to assume you mean your doctor? I also suggest you go to your local children’s hospital for a language evaluation, just to be sure. Your child may benefit from speech therapy as they’ve discussed above, it depends. If your child still has difficulties expressing himself at 3, you will be eligible for free speech therapy from your local school system. These years are important- as delayed language may mean processing deficits down the road!

If you have taken your child to a physician and autism has been ruled out, I would recommend that you search out Early Intervention programs in your city. Most cities/states have programs in which developmental therapists will come to your home and work with your child until the child is 3 years old. After the child reaches age 3, services have to be obtained through the public school system.

I would also recommend talking to your child a lot–not baby talk, but normal, regular speech. Reading to your child also helps to facilitate language development.

If you e-mail me and let me know where you live, I would be happy to help you find Early Intervention programs in your area.

I hope this is helpful.

How does he communicate? point? gesture? make sounds? single words?

How does he respond to your voice? directions? finding a toy if you tell him to get it?

Has he had a lot of ear infections? Has his phasician tested his hearing?

I would read with him every night, sing songs, and sit with him to listen to children’s songs/educational programs which teach preschool stuff.

Do you mean that he doesn’t put together sentences, (which is normal), or is he just not saying anything? If he isn’t saying anything at all you may wish to have his hearing checked to make sure that he is hearing sounds.

Has his hearing been tested? Does he vocalize at all, like mamma or dadda? If he does then start reading to him, name everything like “here is your cup of water”. Do not baby talk or allow others to baby talk to him. Speak to him as you would an adult.

Are you sure his speech isn’t developmentally appropriate? Have you actually had him tested for autism, or are you just worried about it generally?

Check here:

http://www.blankees.com/baby/speech/lan06.htm

There are some milestones to check and some suggestions for how to increase speech development.

This one’s helpful too:

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/not_talk.html

Good luck!