Late talker or Speech delay/disability?
My Caleb a former 24 weeker is not quite 18 months corrected. He seems to be developing on track so far. But he only has a few words. He has been saying DaDa for his dad appropriatley for months. He still has not said mama for me, or up when he wants to be picked up, but his vocabulary has recently expanded to duck, side (for outside), and nana (for bannana). Our infant/toddler worker who has followed him since he came home, did an over the phone assesment with me and said that he does have some speech delays, but others are saying he is just a late talker. We are seeing a speech pathologist next month, doing some testing at follow up and trying to absorb conflicting advice from doctors. I know that he is at significant risk for developmental and speech delays, but then again everyone knows kids who did not talk at all until 2 or 3 years old. If he does have speech delays I want to help him as soon as possible, but if he does not I don't want to push him if he is just not 'there yet' any advice?
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We're just a bit past you
My daughter was a 28 weeker with IUGR (830 grams). She is currently 28 months (25 corrected). We started her in speech therapy and music therapy about 3 months ago.
We were also confused as to whether she was just a late talker, particularly since there are a few of those in my family. I think there are still people who think that she is just a late talker. However, what eventually sent us to speech therapy wasn't so much her limited vocabulary as much as us becoming aware of some irregularities in which she was getting the vocabulary she did have.
We started to notice that she almost never imitated us, aside from a few specific sounds that she would actually imitate. She would say a word out of the blue, in the proper context (sometimes something fairly difficult to say, like elephant) and then we'd never hear it again. And it became clear that her receptive language (understanding) was MILES ahead of her expressive (actual speech). She was getting more and more frustrated whenever she tried to communicate.
Of course, your little one may have entirely different idiosyncracies, but have you noticed anything unusual (in addition to the lack of vocab)?
I must say that my daughter has come a long way since starting her therapy. We are completely amazed, and more importantly, she's a much happier kid.
Re: Late talker or Speech delay/disability
Here's my advice for you. Anything you can do on a preventative measure is always a good thing. I understand where your coming from not wanting to push anything if your son isn't yet really ready.
What I've learned from the many years we have spent in speech therapy with our son is that you need to start slowly with the OWL it stands for Observe (observe what he is trying to communicate), Wait (wait to give him the chance to speak), Listen (listen for any attempts at new speech).
I would recommend that you purchase the book "It Takes Two to Talk". This is the first book you will be told to use from the Early Learning facilities. I found it a great resource to help encourage Verbal communication. However, you want to give your child every opportunity to communicate in whatever manner possible to prevent frustration. You might want to introduce some basic sign language. We found this very helpful. You can learn through many different websites such as www.asl.com or www.babysign.com.
Whichever way you choose, I'm sure will be the right one for you and your son. It is hard as a preemie parent not to worry about every little difference we see in them and wonder if there is some sort of delay or another. Try not to stress about it (easier said than done sometimes).
Good luck with everything.