There is nothing that feel bad for a new parent when they realize that their children are not talking when every other child is conversing and hitting the language milestones.
One thing that every parent longs for when they get a new born baby is that one day when they are going to have a conversation with the little one.
But here you are; denied off that joy.
You wonder what your kid could be going through. Could it be a genetic problem? Did you drop them when they were young or is there something that you did wrong? Could it be that you do not talk enough to them so as to help them develop verbally.
Or could it be the dreaded autism spectrum disorder?
It gets so bad especially when close relatives meet the child and are shocked that the child can still not talk. And the worst thing is that they tend to blame you for the lack of speech in the child. They want to trace all the problems befalling the child on you.
“It is you who do not talk to him”, they will say.
Or
“You need to take them out more so that they can interact with other kids and people,” they will say and it makes you feel bad because you are doing all these things but the child will just not talk back to you.
To try and address the problem, you are going to mull over every book that you could get about late talking. So you go through the Einstein syndrome, ABA therapy and even the Nemechek protocol.
But nothing just seems to get you in the right direction that you wish to go.
While one needs to take early measures, you should not beat yourself down because of the child’s speech delay. Also do not listen to those relatives and friends who say mean things to you because if you do listen to them, you are only going to feel worse and worse.
Instead do the following:
- Take them for medical tests as well as to a speech pathologist
The very first thing you need to do is take the child to a speech pathologist or pediatrician who will diagnose and recommend the best way to have the child talk. It could be that they need to have their ears checked for hearing problems by an audiologist, have receptive language disorder, expressive language disorder or have autism spectrum disorder that is affecting the child’s speech.
- Have them with other kids–Kids learn to talk when they listen. And since you have already tried to talk to them, get them playing with other kids. As they talk, the young one is going to listen and probably follow what the others are saying. Slowly, they will develop their own language.
- Get them toys that stimulate speech
You will need to invest in toys that promote speech. These are toys that sing or mimic animal sounds which will not only make the child enjoy playing but also try to imitate the sounds made.
- Take care of yourself
When you are taking care of such a child, take care of yourself so that you do not get influenced by mean words said by people or have negative thoughts about your inadequacies.
- Know that you are the only person who understands the child best
No matter how qualified a speech therapist you meet could be, you are the only one who understands your kid best and know what really stimulates them. So, work with these to get them mastering more words.
- Have patience if you have done everything
You will need to be patient with the toddler and have faith that everything is going to pan out well. It could be that the child is taking their time and developing in other spheres but not speech just like other famous kids have done.
- Join other parents facing the same
You are going to find a legion of parents who have toddlers who are late talking just like you. With these parents, you are going to be well off since you will be talking about your daily struggles as well as encourage each other from a point of understanding and empathy.