Speech Feedback on 13-16 month olds needed

December 15, 2005

Hi Carol:

I'm fine -- thanks. My life hasn't been half as busy as yours has been, I

think. I hope things are better now.

I think it's interesting that Dominick uses " Mom " for anything that he needs --

it's as if he knows mom=needs met -- and though it may seem weird -- it seems,

well, aappropriate for his age group (to this layperson who had an interest in

language acquisition many years ago).

4 legged animals are " kitties " -- people who meet his needs are " mom " -- and

within time, both of these will go to the next level developmentally in speech.

(for example, a child might call all things with 4 wheels a truck until he/she

is developmentally able to distinguish between a truck, a car, a trailer, a

bulldozer, an amublance, etc. Language occurs in stages. I'd worry a little

about a 4 year old who called all vehicals trucks, but would expect this from

1-3.)

Quinn had a lot of frustration as a toddler. A LOT. So yes, I understand about

screaming. I even asked the pediatrician about it because I didn't think 1 year

olds were supposed to be that " angry " when they didn't get their way, or

couldn't communicate. She told me it was usually like this when children

cognitively knew what they wanted but weren't able to communicate it yet. He bit

when frustrated for a short while when he was about 18 months. It took about a

week to get him to stop with pointed times outs. The really weird thing is when

he wasn't escalated, he was so gentle, empathetic, happy (and is now, too). It

was like jeckle/hyde -- though luckily hyde didn't come out as his main

personality! But we still see hyde from time to time...

I know you've had a lot of vision issues, and that might be one reason why he

doesn't attend to the tv. But it could be that it is too much information to

process at one time so he is attending to the auditory, but not the visual at

the same time. How is he when you track him (move an object from left to right

in his line of vision)? Do his eyes only follow it? Does his whole head move?

Does he take a minute to respond? What if you put his favorite toy on his

periphery vision -- will he go after it right away? Or would you have to bring

his attention to it? What about just a record/tape with a story and turning the

pages to a book (just thought about this -- and just realized that I don't think

Quinn does both -- he'll listen to the tape OR he'll look at the book - even now

-- another puzzle piece?). On a different note, how does he act when you enter

a room full of people (either stragers or family members)? Does it take him

awhile before he wants to interact with people?

I've noticed with Quinn that he tunes out other stimuli when he is watching tv

(though he does play trains and watch sometimes -- usually he is passive (he

doesn't watch too much of it)). But if I ask him to do something, or try to

talk to him I almost have to get into his line of vision and ask him to attend

to me. This used to drive me crazy - I'd consider it " ignoring " me if he didn't

respond right away --and usually I would turn the tv off quickly as a

consequence for not listening, and have an iritated tone/voice, etc.. which

escalated the situation. Now I understand that *I* have to change the way that

I do things sometimes -- while in time he may be able to take in information

from visual/auditory and another auditory source (me) all at the same time and

follow through -- that right now, I have to give him a transition (timer) -- and

then turn off/down the tv and then do/say whatever I need to.

It certainly is a process, and even after 6 years, I'm still learning.... (I

suspect that this never ends *grin*)

Take Care.

aka " Kali "

Mom to Quinn, born 11/19/99 -- DOC band graduate 10/00 for scaphocephalic head

shape.

Speech Feedback on 13-16 month olds needed

> >

> > > Where are your 13-16 month olds at as far as speech goes. I need

> some

> > > feedback to help judge where Dominick is. Can you all post about

> what

> > > words and sounds and styles of talk or bable you are hearing from

> your

> > > little ones. I realize this can be difficult to spell,LOL, but

> it's

> > > really needed. Let me know the age and if there is a documented

> delay

> > > or not if possible. Thanks for all the help.

> > > ALSO: Just out of curiosity, do they watch TV and if so how much

> > > attention is actually paid to it? Do they really watch or just

> glance

> > > at it, that sort of thing.

> > > CAROLG

> > >

> > > For more plagio info

December 16, 2005

Hi Carol.

My daughter, Liliana, will be 15 months next week. My husband is

Puerto Rican and speaks only Spanish to her but as I'm the primary

caretaker, she hears mostly English all day. She's a great imitator of

sounds but doesn't have too many words yet: mama, gato (Spanish for

cat), cuckoo, tick-tick, hi, mmm (for moo), bye-bye, thank you (sounds

like dan-do). She doesn't say words that we repeat often like papi

(for dad), which is frustrating for both of us but we know that she

can differentiate between us, or bottle. She doesn't use mama to call

me yet. For us, cuckoo, tick-tick, and gato are the only words she

initiates. She constantly babbles. She likes videos and music, will

stop to watch when there are commercials with music. She especially

likes the Ellen DeGeneres show, even when she's not dancing! We're

noticing that she's actually watching more so we're a little more

careful about what's on. Sit-coms and cartoons okay, less crime drama.

Some days I think she's on target for her age, others when I think

she's lagging behind. EI visited for a check-up and the nurse made it

sound like she was behind in this area too even though we're only

doing PT for Liliana's gross motor delays. But I know she's further

ahead than what my nieces & nephews were doing at her age and they've

had no developmental problems. I really like her PT, I'm not crazy

about the nurse.

Any suspected delay could be because of the two languages but mostly I

think we're okay on this front.

My issue is getting her to hold her own bottle or drink from a cup!!!

Best of luck with your continued investigation & analysis. Dominick's

in great hands.

~

>

> Where are your 13-16 month olds at as far as speech goes. I need some

> feedback to help judge where Dominick is. Can you all post about what

> words and sounds and styles of talk or bable you are hearing from your

> little ones. I realize this can be difficult to spell,LOL, but it's

> really needed. Let me know the age and if there is a documented delay

> or not if possible. Thanks for all the help.

> ALSO: Just out of curiosity, do they watch TV and if so how much

> attention is actually paid to it? Do they really watch or just glance

> at it, that sort of thing.

> CAROLG

>

December 16, 2005