A Difficult Week

Last week was a difficult week.
Now C has turned 2 there has been a flurry of activity into her health.
Before now it has been a waiting game.
Now they are ready to take action.

Turning Two with Speech Delay

As many of you who are regular readers of my blog will know, C is not really talking.  At 23 months old she can say Yes, No, There, That and Mama.  Dada has also come in the last month.

At 15 months the average child can say 5-6 proper words.  C could say none and the only sounds she was making were “throat sounds” (grunts and groans) and not “mouth sounds” like baba, gaga, mama, dada etc.  I was concerned that without these building blocks she didn’t have the tools to move onto proper words.  When I mentioned this on my blog, many commented that I was overreacting, that by 20 months everything would have caught up and she would be on a level with her peers.  Unfortinately it appears it was me that was right...

Follow Up Speech Assessment - 20 Months Old

When C was 16 months old we took her for a Speech and Language Assessment at our local Children's Centre.  It was not the fact she was not saying the five or so words you would expect from a child her age, but more that she was not doing the usual babbling.  No Mamama, Dadadas, Bababas etc.  The only sounds she would make were guttural throat sounds, nothing that required her to use her mouth and tongue.  I was worried that without these essential building blocks that most children develop at 9-12 months then she had nothing to build on.  The upshot of that appointment was that they agreed with my concerns and would reassess in 4 months time to see what, if any, improvement she had made in that time and decide on a course of action.  

....So here we are 4 months later....

Our 1st Busy Bag Activity

Ok, this activity didn't actually fit in a bag but follows the same principals: A simple, usually handmade, educational activity to occupy your child and promote lone play.

I took my idea from watching C at one of our baby groups.  One of her favourite activities to promote hand-eye coordination was posting straws to small holes.  I had an idea to take it one stage further:

18 months old

 

My beautiful daughter is 18 months old today!

Another milestone in her little life.

Speech and Language Assessment

On Tuesday I took Celeste to see the Health Visitor.  She was 16 months old exactly and it was to be our first trip for almost 6 months.  There were two main reasons for my visit, firstly I felt I ought to get her weighed and measured after all this time, and secondly I wanted to speak to her about Celeste’s speech.  I have tried to step back and not be a pushy parent but is does concern me that she is not making any of the sounds and babbling expected of a young toddler, let alone any words.

Is Preschool At 2 Too Early?

In this morning’s Daily Telegraph there was an article about delaying children’s education until they are 6 years old, instead of starting when they are 4.  It cites studies in the USA where educating a child too early can have a social and health implications later in life.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9266592/Bright-children-should-start-school-at-six-says-academic.html