Seeking speech therapist 2yo
Hi there,
Our son is 2y1mo and experiencing a language/communication delay, as he didn't reach the expected 50ish words milestone as expected by our healthcare provider. He is exposed to 3 languages (french, english, and spanish), which probably doesn't help. So we would highly appreciate recommendations and available professionals to provide support, or at least help us setup a proper learning environment. If possible we'll prefer in-person visits with obviously proper safety measures regarding health crisis, because our son is not much receptive to video call, at least a the beginning.
Thank you
Andrei
Dec 7, 2020
Parent Replies
Hi!
We were in a similar situation with our son not too long ago--he didn't speak any words at 12+ months, exposed to German, English, and some Greek. After his pediatrician suspected a language delay, they referred us for a full developmental assessment, some of which we did in-person (pre-covid), and some through zoom. We've been doing speech therapy (first through Kaiser, now through the Regional Center of the East Bay) for the last ~10 months and it has really helped our son a lot! We were worried about the transition to video calls, too, so I'm happy to share our experience! In the end our son adjusted much more quickly than expected. A lot of our work with the therapists has been focused on teaching us (the parents) helpful techniques. That way, the kiddo doesn't have to directly interact with the therapist on screen much (though by now he's really excited for her to join us!). Our therapist observes our interactions with him, shows us how to set up situations in which he's more likely to learn and use language, and provides guidance and feedback throughout the sessions. And we then practice the techniques at home throughout the week.
If you aren't in touch with the regional center yet, I'd highly recommend that. They've been really helpful in getting our son fully assessed and connecting us with a speech therapist in the area (and all that at no or very low cost!).
Feel free to message me directly if you'd like more information or the contact details of our current speech therapist--she's based in Oakland and really wonderful!
You can get in contact with the Regional Center of the East Bay. They can evaluate your child. Or contact the First Five in your area. They have different programs to help the kids and then they will refer to the Regional Center