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Hello Group.

I'm Ann, mom of two. My daughter will be six, and my son will be 4

at the end of October and still is not speaking. Our pediatrician

has been convinced up until recently that he did not speak because

he has an older sibling that does his speaking for him.

Obviously this is not true. His hearing checks out fine, though he

is unable to form words. According to evals he's had there is

nothing wrong with his mouth or jaw muscles. He is a typical boy,

though he shows exceptional prowess with athletics and puzzles. He

is very well physically coordinated and catches onto ideas and

concepts quickly. He plays well with other children.

He just does not speak! We received results back from a blood panel

today that showed negative for T1, T3, and TSH for thyroid

malfunction. Grave's runs in my family and a goiter was discovered

on his thyroid last week during a routine checkup, which would

explain the many symptoms he's had since birth and his mild

attention deficit (not diagnosed) and " antsy " issues. I found it

ironic that our ped has failed to address our concerns for his lack

of speech (and those who have done evals in the past as well) but

wanted to prescribe him Risperdal because she though he was

ADD/ADHD - without any referrals or diagnosis by someone with

appropriate training. Our school district will also not help him

until he is in kindergarten!

He's also below height and weight averages and has been since

shortly after birth. Both of my children had reflux, which we

attributed to some of his issues...He is potty trained and has been

for over a year now, thankfully. Dad's side had speech delays, but

only in minor areas - nothing like what we're currently dealing with.

At this point, I'm just very frustrated and doing what I can to help

him myself since it seems the system picks and chooses what to offer

and to whom. I will also be taking my son for a second opinion on

the speech and possibly another blood test. We are also planning to

pay out of pocket if necessary for a non-biased speech eval.

Anyhow, thanks for listening. It's been especially difficult not

comparing my son with his sister, as she literally spoke in

sentences and paragraphs with proper grammar by a year old. She

began stringing words together at 9 months. To have my little boy

going on four without speech and/or assistance with the lack

thereof, has been very difficult. Despite all of my efforts to

encourage communication and get the help for him he very clearly

needs, we've repeatedly hit brick walls.

When I have a quiet moment I plan on getting back onto the site and

exploring the archives for additional information. Thank you to

those who have created this group, and those who have contributed to

it as well. It serves as a hopeful resource for all parents facing

these types of challenges.

Ann