October 7, 2002

Today has been a great day! My son, Casey, said a new word. He said the word, "ball." Casey is 29 months old, and his vocabulary is very limited. We took him to see a speech pathologist, and she says that she is not sure if he is a late-talker or if he has a developmental language disorder. She thinks that he is most likely a late-talker because he is developing normally in every other aspect. Also she says that his receptive skills are very high. Casey follows directions very well, and he does everything like a normal child does, but he does not express things very well. She wants to continue seeing him just in case he does have a disorder. She said that children who are not using as many words at age two as his or her peers, then they are at risk for a language impairment (Patterson). She is going to continue working with him until we know for sure.

Sometimes, I make excuses for him. I sometimes think that my husband and I don’t make him talk enough. If he points to something, we go ahead and get it for him. Or if he grunts a lot, then we usually assume he is hungry. We ask him if he wants something to eat, he smiles, and so we get him something. We don’t exactly encourage the talking as much as we should. We are good parents, and we love our children, but we do not promote language enough for Casey.

I also think that another problem is he uses his older sister, Katherine, as an example for his language. I have learned that children do not exactly provide the best example of language for other children. Casey usually runs around and does whatever Katherine does. She talks so much that he can hardly ever get a word in.

Casey’s vocabulary is very limited. He does not combine many words like I think he should be doing at his age. He likes to say sissy, mommy, daddy, doggy, drink, and his new word, ball.

I told the speech pathologist my concerns about my husband and I not promoting language. She gave me some suggestions to use around the house. She said that when Casey wants something, I should try to make him say what it is that he wants. She also told me that if he is doing something then I could say what it is that he is doing. For example, if he is eating a pizza, I can say, “Good job Casey! You are eating that pizza so good.” She told me not to make my statements too complex because we do not want him to be overwhelmed and not want to speak. She said that I need to be patient, and he will learn.

--Leigh Ann

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October 17, 2002
Well, we made another visit with the speech pathologist today. Casey had not improved much. He is still using the same vocabulary he was using the last time. I just do not know if he will ever talk. I am beginning to get impatient. She gave me some information that showed what Casey should be doing at his age and how he should be developing. She said that he is developing normally, but at a slower pace. She said that because of this she is not very worried. I guess that I should not be worried either then.

I looked at the information that she gave me. It said that children should have a 50-word vocabulary at about 18 months of age. They should have a 250- to 300-word vocabulary at 24 months (Collins, Cooper, Parenti, 2002). Casey is 29 months, and he has about a 60 word vocabulary, so he has the vocabulary of an 18-month old. That just worries me. I know that children develop differently, but I want my child to develop normally!

I guess that I just need to listen to the speech pathologist and not to myself. She knows more about language development than I do (she was trained for that kind of stuff). I just hope and pray that he will soon start talking. I will feel much better when that day comes

--Leigh Ann
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