https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:20:25 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419962 Wed, 13 Jan 2016 09:58:58 +0000 MommySLP 2419962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Champagne: @T.H.O.U.: like I said there is a range, but those questions came directly off the tool I use. It's called the Rossetti Infant Toddler Language Scale, and is pretty widely used. As far as pediatricians doing an "assessment" at 18mo apt and looking for certain milestones, I've found it varies widely on their expectations. I've talked to my own kids pediatrician about this (she asked my thoughts!) and she said most pediatricians have never taken a speech/language class because it wasn't part of the curriculum and for the most part she sees them under estimating what young toddlers typically should be doing. That's not always the case, but I have frequently seen it in many parts of CA. We also always hear "oh he's just a boy and will talk late," which I've seen definitely be true but also not--its not something that would stop me from qualifying a kid for services! Probably 80% of my caseload are kids that are right around 2, and most of those could have started earlier, so really it's a parent choice. Maybe of those about 20% begin rapidly developing speech/language within a few months of starting therapy and the rest take a while longer. But if there are no other delays present besides speech/language, majority of kids I see are caught up or almost caught up by 3. So if you have any doubts I would say go through the eval and see what they say! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419785 Wed, 13 Jan 2016 08:49:20 +0000 artsyfartsy 2419785@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would try. The earlier the better!</p> <p>T was in EI at 12 months for a significant gross motor delay. Now at 2 he's almost caught up, but now they're wanting to swap our DI sessions for speech therapy sessions. He isn't using clear words a lot, but it seems like his receptive is on par. He'll ask "What's this?" (uss-ees lol) a lot but when we tell him what it is and prompt him to repeat it he just ignores us and keeps asking.</p> <p>We have his IFSP at the end of the month and we'll learn exactly what the plan is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419783 Wed, 13 Jan 2016 08:44:33 +0000 Mama Bird 2419783@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were told you can get an evaluation earlier, but we waited it out till two and hoped DS would get that word explosion that's supposed to happen at 18 months. Nope. And then a month after he gets evaluated, he starts talking in sentences. Maybe it was because he got moved to an older group in day care then, I have no idea. He still had catching up to do, so we went ahead with therapy, but I suspect things would have worked out even without it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419709 Wed, 13 Jan 2016 07:44:32 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 2419709@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MommySLP: wow good info! At my sons 18 month appointment they asked:</p> <p>Can he say 5 works<br /> Stack 3 blocks<br /> Name 3 body parts</p> <p>I wonder if they ask the bare minimum expected or something? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419696 Wed, 13 Jan 2016 07:07:49 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2419696@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MommySLP: thanks. Our local university posted this. He technically scores about 42/57 points but he definitely doesn't do those things on your list. </p> <p><a href="http://firstwords.fsu.edu/early.html" rel="nofollow">http://firstwords.fsu.edu/early.html</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419589 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 23:30:44 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2419589@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MommySLP: Thanks for all the info. I'll be watching my LO to see where she is at 18 months also, and its nice to have a guideline. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419566 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 22:51:04 +0000 Beth24 2419566@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MommySLP: Great info, thanks! My daughter is 16 months and doesn't say any words yet. My pediatrician is waiting to see how she is at 18 months but it's nice to see what I should be hearing around that age </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419559 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 22:45:06 +0000 MommySLP 2419559@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stargal: @T.H.O.U.: I am an early intervention speech therapist and I typically begin recommending speech at 18 months. It will depend on the guidelines of your state. I'm in CA &amp; this is how it works where I am: parent refers to regional center, with any concern of any development. Regional enter then contracts out with a vendor (in my case I work for a county office of education infant development team) and we do a full assessment, with typically the speech therapist and an infant teacher (OT &amp; PT may be involved if needed). In CA to qualify the child needs to be 33% delayed in one or more areas (cognition, speech, social/emotional, fine/gross motor). Services are free of charge unless you make over $94,000/year, then regional center charges a small yearly fee. This will vary greatly by state, some states charge insurance.<br /> On my assessment tool these are the milestones I'm looking for at 18 months:<br /> *says 15 meaningful words<br /> *talks rather than use gestures<br /> *imitates words heard in conversation<br /> *asks "what's that"<br /> *asks for more<br /> *names 5-7 objects consistently<br /> *identifies 6 body parts<br /> *completes simple requests</p> <p>Of course there is a range and some kids just really are late talkers, but of course I'm a bit biased and think early intervention is the way to go!</p> <p>Sorry for such a long post, hope it was a little helpful! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419558 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 22:44:27 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2419558@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 16 month old isn't really talking. Maybe has 2 words. Our doc said to wait until 18 months to get evaluated since they are still developing quite a bit . </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419500 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 21:53:58 +0000 jhd 2419500@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stargal: Sorry I somehow missed your reply the other day. We were working on signs since we anticipated a possible speech delay due to other medical stuff going on. It was play based and still is at 20 months. It shouldn't be hard for me to remember but I honestly don't remember what else we did! ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419490 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 21:49:10 +0000 MrsRcCar 2419490@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: I have found most insurance doesn't want to pay until after age 2. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419481 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 21:43:19 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2419481@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@rattles: I would love more information as well. DS is now 18 months and has maybe 2-3 words plus some sounds. I just don't see how therapy could hurt at this point. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419471 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 21:39:07 +0000 Finfan 2419471@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She started right around her second birthday but since it was summer visits were limited as EI gets most of us funding during the school year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419418 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 20:56:25 +0000 MrsRcCar 2419418@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>N started after his second birthday. E started just short of his second birthday. I love E's speech therapist! I want to switch N to same therapist. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2419411 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 20:51:33 +0000 stargal 2419411@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@rattles: ahh yes i'm gonna message you!! thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2415816 Sun, 10 Jan 2016 14:49:08 +0000 MoonMoon 2415816@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had him evaluated at 19 months, he started therapy at about 20 months, and it was a really positive experience for us. Never hurts to be evaluated, and they might take it now seriously because of your other LO! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2415813 Sun, 10 Jan 2016 14:45:30 +0000 rattles 2415813@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO was evaluated for EI at 15 months and started speech therapy at 16 months. We moved at 21 months, and she'd made enough progress that she no longer qualified in our new state. Tbh, I think she was just taking her time, but therapy couldn't have hurt. By age 2, people were complimenting her speech! Feel free to message me - I'm happy to talk to you about it more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2415756 Sun, 10 Jan 2016 13:43:11 +0000 stargal 2415756@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jhd: if you don't mind me asking, what type of speech stuff do they work on around 11-12 months? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2415740 Sun, 10 Jan 2016 13:30:58 +0000 looch 2415740@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had my son evaluated at around 18 months and we began therapy at age 3. Long story short, we moved in between and when I didn't notice a huge uptick in words, we began. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2415738 Sun, 10 Jan 2016 13:28:45 +0000 jhd 2415738@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stargal: If you are concerned I would pursue an eval. Even if they tell you it is too soon and they want to wait to evaluate him you will have the peace of mind and a plan in place!</p> <p>My LO has been receiving speech therapy since birth for feeding issues. Once his feeding issues resolved around ten or eleven months we started working on speech stuff. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2415727 Sun, 10 Jan 2016 13:15:50 +0000 stargal 2415727@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: At 2, P wouldn't use his words to express himself and didn't have many words. maybe around 20 around the time but he wouldn't use them regularly. He is now almost 3.5 and still in therapy but has thousands of words, uses sentences, etc, we are now just working on articulation. :) I love EI and it has been a godsend to us for P! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2415723 Sun, 10 Jan 2016 13:12:23 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2415723@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just curious, what were the indicators are at age 2? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-age-did-your-lo-start-speech-therapy#post-2415722 Sun, 10 Jan 2016 13:11:24 +0000 stargal 2415722@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 3 three year old started when he was two. Just wondering if anyone had a lo start it at a younger age? i have some concerns with my 16 month old but wondering if i should wait it out or call about him now.</p> <p>Basically D NEVER babbled or made noise as a infant. it was weird. We think that he was just a quiet baby, his pedi agreed but it always had me worried. Now at 16 months he babbles but only has 3 words. His receptive language is good (at least to me but not as far as his bro was at his age!) I have my concerns because he seems to be following in his brothers footsteps with speech (i originally wanted to get P evaluated at 18 months but his dr said he was fine!) So now that D is 16 months, i am wondering if i should call. Can they help him being this young? </p>