United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi everyone,
I have a 3 1/2 yr. old grandson that has a LOBPI. He had surgery at 7 months old and is facing another one later this year. He goes to PT 3 times a week and is showing some progress but I'm very concerned about his delayed speech. I've mentioned this to me daughter but she doesn't seem to think he has a problem and I think it's because, since she's with him everyday, she's gotten used to the way he talks. He doesn't talk in full sentences and I,and other members of our family, sometimes cannot understand what he's saying unless we ask her. I'm sure he should be speaking more clearly by now. Has anyone with a BPI child experienced this? Is this somehow related to his injury? Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

Maia had delayed speech and (stil has) a speech deficit. She has a lateral lisp (left and right sides of the mouth are different -- even teeth growing in are different). She couldn't say L's or S's. (wook mommy, wook! <---- I miss that one terribly!! )

She started speech therapy early on and graduated last year (age 10). Her speech problem didn't go away -- they just taught her how to work with it. When she's with people she articulates well, when she's with mom or dad she doesn't take the time to articulate well and it's hard to hear her and understand. I have to remind her to articulate ("turn on your method").

it's just best to get an evaluation by a speech therapist -- that way it's a professional giving you a professional opinion
no grandma silly fears or worries --- it's black and white

Best of luck,
francine

I agree, you should have her checked out by a speech therapist. My daughter, who is 10, was severely speech delayed. It wasn't so much that she had a speech impediment, as much as she didn't utter a word. A therapist helped us with an icon method which led to speech. She is still shy around people she doesn't know. It took until 3rd grade for her to really speak in class. She is now in 5th grade and there are words that are oddly said, but most people don't notice it. (mom's notice everything, even if they don't want to admit it!).

It is important for kids to speak properly. It makes it so much easier for them to get their ideas across. I think it is annoying for kids to have other kids and adults constantly ask them to repeat themselves.

Since he is 3 1/2, you should be able to get the evaluation via whatever transitioning services your daughter is covered under. If not, speech evals are not the most expensive of the evals...

good luck,
let us know how it goes,
claudia

Thomas is now 8 he did not start talking till he was 3 he learned to sign before he could talk. I was always worried had his hearing tested. He is doing well even scored 160 on his IQ test. He has alot of sensory issues. I think the way thomas was is he learns one thing at a time he was 16 months before he walk. Just keep your head up and yes he was in speech tooo.

I'd really recommend a speech and language eval. By 3 1/2 we (SLPs) expect children to be putting at least 3-4 word phrases together and be at least 75% intelligible to unfamiliar listeners.

Many clinics will do a free screening and then let you know whether a full eval is needed. I agree that transitional services through a school district or an other government programs in your area would be beneficial to look into as they can be less expensive then private treatment in a clinic unless your insurance covers it.

Great point about hearing testing...the SLP will ask when his last hearing test was and most likely recommend one if she/he suspects his delay is influenced by outside issues.

Good luck!
Emily
Speech-Language Pathologist
Mom of Alaina, 19 months ROBPI

yes - we had Maia's hearing tested often -- they told us that her hearing on the left side was as if she was underwater

she got frequent ear infections but once we started doing "crunch therapy" (daily carrots or apple eating) -- she hasn't had an infection since -- it clears the water out of the tube

Hello, our daughter is 9 yrs old with a LOBPI and has an IEP for speech at her school and has for 2years. she has the same problem as Maia it sounds like. Her lisp was straight across the board, her last testing showed she had the speech of a 5 year old so we have alot of work to do. We say she sounds like she is baby talking which we don't say to her. Good luck to you and I would diffently keep an eye on it. Have a blessed day.

Sandy