My cousin's son is 32 months old (almost 3!!) and can not speak. He appears to comprehend speech quite well and will respond to and follow verbal directions. However, he does not talk or even babble. He communicates only through grunting and pointing. I have noticed that he has begun to make up his own sign language in an attempt to communicate. The problem is my cousin refuses to have him evaluated and completely ignores that he may have a speech problem. I am desperate to get him some help (because I believe early intervention is extremely important) but I don't know what I can do because he is not my child. Does anyone out there have ANY suggestions???

Thanks,
Concerned Cousin.

It probably matters how well you and your cousin communicate and how much you appreciate getting advice from one another. It really puts one in a bind when another person's child seems to need help which the parent is not providing. You might explore through asking your cousin some questions about how she is feeling about her son's speech difficulties. If you can reflect that it can seem scary to a parent, maybe she will open up. You can reassure her that there are many public and private programs that can provide help. She can learn techniques to use with him herself, and he can benefit from working directly with an SLP.

You are right that early intervention can be very important to a child's development. Parents aren't expected to know how to provide very specific developmental help to children who have some special needs. That's why there are trained professionals!

I would be interested if any other members of the forum have approached someone else with their observations/encouragement or if anyone on the forum was approached by someone else who wanted to be helpful. What worked and what didn't?

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Mary Lou B. Johnson, M.S.,CCC-SLP
http://www.helpyourchildspeak.com