• fisch
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Topic: speech & binkys

Emerson will be 2 on June 10th this year. I am starting to get a little worried about her speech. We've had concerns over the last year, mainly related to ear infections, but have had her hearing tested and they are fine. Also, she clearly has a high comprehension level, can do 2-3 step directions, understands a lot and will repeat most anything you ask her too. Her actual speech though, is difficult to understand. Her articulation is slow coming. For example, she can say the word "happy" but says "haa ee" and for tummy she might say "tu ee" leaving out the middle consonant sound, and she does this with most words. She can say mommy correctly. When she says a sentence, she often leaves out the middle word or consonant sound as well "I see?" or "I "wa" see?" Sometimes I still have no idea what she is saying and she is starting to get frustrated by it.

Anyone out there have knowledge on the age range and normalcy of speech development? She is also dependent on her pacifier and we have been "blaming" the pacifier for a little while now saying that she will catch up or start talking clearer once it's gone. We took it away from Jack at 2.5 years and will likely do that for her too, if not sooner for this reason.

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  • K&H
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Re: speech & binkys

E was like this also, and is really just coming out of it now at 2.8.  She still doesn't say s f or one other one I'm forgetting right now. I'm not worried about it, it will come with time. Until then I find it so adorable when she talks about her "tuh-ee" for tushie!

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  • Zen
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Re: speech & binkys

Chiming in because I had Shiloh in speech therapy for a year.  I was originally worried about her not walking at 12-15 months.  Evaluations by physcial therapists, occupational therapists, an audiologist, pediatrician, and social worker showed she was fine.  But there was concern over her lack of pointing, gesturing, and use of speech/sounds to communicate. 

Fast forward to age 4 and she's way ahead of the game in speech and vocabulary.  I took the paci away at age 2 but I don't think there was any correspondence between its use and her talking.  Shiloh had a Spanish-speaking caregiver by day and English-speaking mommy by night.  In hindsight her speech was on track for a child in a bi-lingual environment.  As for gesturing and other forms of communication, they develop on a need basis.  All of her needs were met so she didn't have to point or gesture for bottles, snacks, or toys.  We just gave them to her.

I'm rambling a bit but getting back to EJ, I'd make her take the paci out of her mouth to talk so she not forming sounds around an object.  I'd treat the frustration in learning to enunciate as normal.  That's part of what leads into the terrible twos - the frustration in communicating increasingly complex wants and desires.  Necessity is the mother of invention.  As needs increase, she will develop better and stronger communication skills. 

If she seems to have trouble making sounds (without the paci) then I'd think about having her evaluated.  But for now?  Try to relax and enjoy the baby talk!

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  • yfnr
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Re: speech & binkys

M was a pacifier baby and had a significant speech delay. As soon as he started speech therapy our first goal was to ditch the pacifier. If a child keeps it in their mouth, their tongue and teeth are kept from a natural position and speech can be greatly affected. He started speech in March and the pacifier was gone by July. His speech did improve some when it was gone, and his teeth, which were starting to gap in front, have straightened.

Now, I will say that S, who never used a pacifier, was also speech delayed and received services, so I don't think the pacifier was the cause for the delay, but definitely a contributing factor.

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  • RW17
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Re: speech & binkys

My 21 month old has speech that isn't the most clear and I haven't been particularly worried because he is so young. He does love his pacifier though. Maybe we'll try to encourage him to use it less during the day...

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Re: speech & binkys

We take the pacifier away at age 2 but starting at 18 months they only have them for sleeping and some car rides.  We were worried about H's lack of speech when she was nearing 2 but she MORE than made up for it.  M is 19 months and hardly says anything.  He "talks" nonstop all day but it is still 90% gibberish.
I would limit pacifier time if you are not ready to give up it completely just yet.

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  • Shanny
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Re: speech & binkys

I agree with C&A - paci only in bed at this age.

Having said that - what you are experiencing in her pronunciation is completely normal for her age. L just turned 2 - some words like my name and Mommy sound perfect but she leaves out parts of words most of the time. There is actually a term used to describe it depending on which part of the word they leave off. My sister teaches 2.5 year olds and still sees it in many kids. So when L talks (which really just went through the roof a few months before she turned 2, same scenario with infections, tubes but hearing test was goo) it will sound something like "I a av it?" I can have it?

So yeah, typical for the age but I'd limit binky to bed. L is a thumb sucker so we have such option!

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  • mel
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Re: speech & binkys

Only one of mine liked a pacifier, and she has the best pronunciation of all of them now! I limited it to bed (and long car trips, if she was going to sleep) at 12 months though, and it was gone just before 2. In your situation, I'd limit it to bedtime only.

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  • Registered: 2010-04-28
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Re: speech & binkys

We say a lot of this sentence around here: "Pacis are for sleeping!"  He even repeats it in the morning when we have him return his pacis to the "paci cup".  When he sleeps, he has one in his mouth and one in his hand.  I'm not sure how the routine started, but we're both afraid to break it.  We're saving it for summer along with potty training. smile  His speech is great, though, so it's not a concern for us.  For you guys, I agree that limiting the paci to specific times will help.  Also, as a parent, I have been completely amazed at the wide range of language development among my friends'/family's kids.  They're all different, so I wouldn't worry too much if I were you.  I'm going to agree with many PPs that the paci and speech aren't necessarily related, anyway.

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