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Questions & Answers - Speech & Language Concerns
My daughter is 31 months and doesn't say many words (about 15 at
the most). She babbles a lot and points or pulls you by the finger
and takes you to what she wants. She seems to have great
comprehension; you can tell her to go get her pink shoes, for
example, and she will do this. Could something be wrong? She is kept
at home by her grandmothers and doesn't get to have a great deal of
interaction with other children. I have bought some Baby Babble
tapes and this has helped a little.
By 31 months your daughter should have well over 50 words and be
combining words into at least 2 word sentences/phrases such as "me
want" or "my toy" or "Mommy go". By three she should have around
200+ words. She should be repeating new words and repeating phrases
as well and adding new words to her vocabulary on a weekly basis.
Perhaps if her grandmothers or other adults are anticipating all her
wants and needs, she realizes she doesn't "need" to talk to get what
she wants. Since she has 15 words, that is a good indication that
she had the ability to add more words to her expressive vocabulary.
You can check our link for
24-16 months and what is typical for speech development at this
age, and there are a few speech activities listed at the bottom of
the page as well.
I would definitely recommend that you contact your local early
intervention provider and ask for a speech evaluation for your
daughter. Expressive speech delays are very common in toddlers and
many of these children are understanding language at an age
appropriate level, but without therapy they begin to get frustrated
by not being able to express themselves and be understood by adults.
The earlier you seek speech therapy the quicker she can make
progress and be on the road to age appropriate expressive language
skills.
I would recommend to you and her grandmother's that you try to set up
situations within her daily routine where she has to use a word or make
an attempt at using a word. For example, instead of having her cup where
she can always reach it, place it out of reach and when she points to it
ask "what do you want?", "Do you want your cup/juice/milk?" "Tell me
cup/juice/milk". Or when getting dressed "Do you want to wear the red or
the pink dress?" Praise her for any attempt and don't withhold items if
she cannot say the word or becomes overly upset or frustrated, but do
give her ample to time to attempt a verbal response. Give her choices
whenever possible, such as "Do you want to read the book or play with
the baby?" If she points to the baby, re-phrase it for her and say "Oh,
you want to play with the baby!" "Use your words, tell me baby" and
again praise for any attempts even if she only makes a "b" or "ba"
sound. Be a good speech role model and put all her single words back
into sentences for her. If she says "ball" you say "Yes, you are playing
with the red ball".
Keep a word list on your frig and share it with her grandmothers, so
they can encourage her to use the words she currently has and do not
accept pointing if she can say "book" she needs to use the word book
before getting it. For words she already knows you can be a bit more
persistent in with-holding items until she uses the word. Sing songs and
leave words off, such as "Twinkle Twinkle" and sing "Twinkle, twinkle
little ___" and see if she will attempt to sing "star" to fill in the
missing word. Use books and name pictures for her and say "I see an
AP-PLE" exaggerate words and sounds for her and allow her to look at
your lips/mouth as you form words or use a mirror and have her look at
her own lips/mouth as she attempts to make sounds. You can play silly
word games such as only repeating sounds "la" "ma" "ba" "ta" or break
words apart and have her repeat each syllable and then try to put the
word together such as "Ca-at"= cat or "p- ig"=pig. Encourage her to
repeat fun sounds like animal and environmental sounds "woof woof"
"meow" or "beep beep" "whooo whoooo". To strengthen muscles needed for
speech you can encourage her to drink from a straw rather than a sipper
cup or use an open cup. Blowing bubbles or blowing a piece of paper
across a table using a straw is also good oral motor play. This is the
link for contacting
Early Intervention Services in your state.
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Questions & Answers - Speech & Language Concerns
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