Posted on 09/15/2014 10:32:00 AM PDT by jazusamo
Anyone who knows what anxiety, and sometimes anguish, parents go through when they have a child who is still not talking at age two, three or even four, can appreciate what a blessing it can be to have someone who can tell them what to do — and what not to do.
That someone is Professor Stephen Camarata of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, whose recently published book, "Late-Talking Children" gives parents information and advice that they are not likely to find anywhere else. And it does so in plain English.
Professor Camarata has been researching, diagnosing and treating children with speech problems for decades. Moreover, he knows from personal experience what it is like to be a parent of a late-talking child, and he himself was three and a half years old before he began to speak. So he has seen this problem from many angles.
A child can be years behind schedule in beginning to speak and yet go on to have a perfectly normal life. Some children with delayed speech may even be noticeably brighter than other children their age. But, for other late-talking children, the delay in beginning to speak can be a symptom of much deeper and long-lasting problems, including mental retardation or autism.
Most parents are in no position to know which of these very different conditions applies to their own child. Nor is it easy to find out, because there are so many people so ready to put labels on late-talking children that can follow these children for years, even when these labels have no solid foundation.
False diagnoses of late-talking children are by no means rare. Even Albert Einstein was thought to be retarded, when he failed to talk at an age when most other toddlers begin to speak...
(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...
Didn’t speak until after 3 y/o.
Now I’m a technical writer for power-line and fiber-optic telecommunications.
Although unemployed now, had a long 10 year gig before the Ø.
With Common Core the rule now it is safe to say that only child abusers or supremely dense people allow their children to go to public school.
I’m sure that the Age of Obama has disproportionately impacted the real productive people in this nation.
Of course, the unemployment rate of gov’t vs private sector would be very revealing.
My brother didn’t walk until almost 2. He never crawled. He turned out to be the intellectual star of his group of siblings and cousins.
Met a fellow in Speech class in college who didn’t speak until he was eleven years old. He became a cello player in USC’s Music School because he said the cello sounded to him most like the human voice.
My brother-in-law was a late talker and they discovered he was “tongue-tied”. So, they snipped the tissue which was tying his tongue down, and, after awhile, it wasn’t helping. Come to find out, the tissue had re-grown and tied him up again. They snipped again.
He has been a normal talker ever since.
Do you like cello music? If so, click here and prepare to be rhapsodized...
“It’s just a stage kids go through.”
Let’s be fair and accurate, as Sowell is trying to do.
“Late talking” is a stage SOME - NOT ALL - children go through.
Thanks! That was wonderful.
LOL
I’m thinking it’s the administration and staff that should bear the weight of that.
My oldest son was right at 2 years old before he even bothered to say his first words. Yes, we were worried, and we were getting ready to see a specialist. He was normal in every other way, he just wouldn’t talk. Whenever he wanted something, he simply pointed and grunted.
One day around Christmas time and near his second birthday, he finally spoke his first sentence. We were walking through the local mall and I had him on my shoulders, as he liked being up there so he could see what was happening around him. As my wife and I stood in Line at a register to pay for a purchase, he started patting me on top of my head.
I asked him what he wanted, expecting him to point down and grunt. Instead, he said “I want down.”
My wife and I looked at each other asking each other what he said. We couldn’t believe it! After the wife and I went back and forth asking what the other heard, a very nice older lady standing in line next to us said “he clearly said he wants down!”
We were so happy it was like we were celebrating right there in the store. From that moment on, he spoke in sentences and stopped pointing and grunting.
Same son is now going on 18 and we’re in process of visiting colleges as he’’ll be graduating high school this year. He’s maintained a solid 3.5 GPA up to now and got a 32 on his ACT. He’s looking to get into law enforcement and wants to work for the FBI. God help me, I have no idea why.
My oldest waited until he was about two years old before he started talking. His younger brother came out of the womb making happy baby noises and was arguing with me using full sentences by the time he was 15 months old.
Kid hasn’t shut up since, he even talks in his sleep!!
Ha! That’s funny and I can imagine how surprised and happy you both were, looks like he just wanted to speak proficiently before he started.
Sounds like hell do well no matter what field he chooses.
ahem...hell = he’ll
My older sister didn’t talk until she was nearly two. My worried parents asked to the pediatrician about it and he told them to leave her alone - she would talk when she was ready.
Then I was born.
Boy, did that unleash the floodgates. She discovered that the easiest way for her to get the attention back was to talk. So she talked. And talked. And talked.
By the time the fifth daughter was born, we all knew that words were the way to keep from getting lost in the crowd. The youngest learned to talk very early - said her first sentence before she was ten months old - it was, “Mommy, I have a headache. Where’s the Bufferin?” My mom almost died.
LOL! With five daughters the talking would be off the charts! :-)
It still is!
My brother in law didnt talk until my husband went to first grade. Stuck at home alone my b-i-l was forced to speak. Hes a mechanical engineer now and never shuts up.
You know, life is full of things to worry about. Luckily, patience is the free cure that works best in many instances.
If folks have concerns, they should have the kid checked out.
I would warn these folks though. Some physicians feel they must provide a solution. Be careful what you buy into.
Drastic isn’t the way to go until it’s to the point where it can’t be avoided any longer.
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