Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

[Guest guest]

<PRE>Have you talked to a speech therapist about the speech delays? A large

percent of children improve dramatically with speech therapy. Peace, Tracy

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

I'm betting his speech delays have nothing to do with his vegan diet. One of

my sons and several of my friends kids have simply been slow to speak.

Thanks to the Early Intervention Program he got the speech therapy he needed

to get on target. I'm in NY and here we can self refer our kids to the Early

Intervention Program for evaluation. I assume other states are similar.

Pediatricians are notorious for telling people to wait it out while valuable

time is lost. The earlier intervention is done the better and quicker the

progress.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Katie

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

HELP!!! My 24 month old healthy son who has been vegan from birth has a

problem in speech development. He is very bright in every area of his mental

development - knew is colors, could count objects before he turned 16 months

old. He could name just about any object by the time he was 18 months and

could understand and follow directions. However, he only uses one-word

" sentences " to communicate inspite of being read to all day long since birth

and inspite of appropriate stimulation, including intermingling with other

children his age.

Also, he doesn't enunciate his words appropriately for a child his age - he

often leaves off the ending of words and the beginning of words. When he

says " oatmeal, " or " soy milk, " for example, it sounds like he's saying

Momma. I'm the only one who understands what he's saying most of the time.

We try to overarticulate words and ask him to repeat after us but he doesn't

but this does not help. No one in our family has problems with speech. His

pediatrician has no idea why he is experiencing this obvious delay in

speech. His speech hasn't improved at all from the time he was 18 months

old until now.

 

Has any other mother had similar problems with their vegan-raised toddler

and/or has heard of any possible links between speech development delays and

vegan diet deficiencies? He doesn't take vitamins but drinks Soy Dream

fortified soy milk. Any leads would be helpful.

[Guest guest]

I understand why you'd be fearful, but I want to reassure you that I

sincerely doubt that his speech delay has anything at all to do with his

diet. I have two acquaintances/neighbors, both with sons, who went through

the same thing, and neither was vegan. Around 24 months, they had them

evaluated by a service provided by our county, and both were diagnosed as

being speech delayed. They started receiving twice weekly speech therapy

sessions (our county has a free program if your child is over 24 mos) and

now they are both doing great. They are both about 3 years old now, and have

caught up completely with where they should be. Their docs said that they

probably would have corrected on their own, but that would take longer than

with therapy, and it is very frustrating for parents and child to delay

verbal communication, so therapy is the way to go.

 

I understand that sometimes it's so easy to get insecure about the diet

thing, but kids vary A LOT in development and it has nothing to do with

diet. My daugher did not walk until 16 months, and my mother insisted it was

due to the lack of calcium or something else in her diet. However, I simply

reminded my mother, " Gee mom, when did you say that I walked when I was a

baby? " She had to admit that I also did not walk until 16 months, almost

exactly, and I was raised on all the dairy and meat I wanted. She still

tried to blame our vegan diet, even though it was clear that that was not

the case. From your email, it seems that your son is cognitively right on

schedule in most areas, or maybe even advanced (none of the 16 month olds I

know can count objects!) so please don't worry he has some dietary

deficiency. Do seek help for his speech delay though, as that is likely to

benefit him.

 

As long as he is eating a semi-varied diet (as good as you can do with a

toddler) and you are ensuring sources of B12, Vit D, calcium, then his diet

is fine.

 

Hope that helps, Leena

 

 

admartin [admartin]

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 10:56 AM

; vrg

Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

 

 

HELP!!! My 24 month old healthy son who has been vegan from birth has a

problem in speech development. He is very bright in every area of his mental

development - knew is colors, could count objects before he turned 16 months

old. He could name just about any object by the time he was 18 months and

could understand and follow directions. However, he only uses one-word

" sentences " to communicate inspite of being read to all day long since birth

and inspite of appropriate stimulation, including intermingling with other

children his age.

Also, he doesn't enunciate his words appropriately for a child his age - he

often leaves off the ending of words and the beginning of words. When he

says " oatmeal, " or " soy milk, " for example, it sounds like he's saying

Momma. I'm the only one who understands what he's saying most of the time.

We try to overarticulate words and ask him to repeat after us but he doesn't

but this does not help. No one in our family has problems with speech. His

pediatrician has no idea why he is experiencing this obvious delay in

speech. His speech hasn't improved at all from the time he was 18 months

old until now.

 

Has any other mother had similar problems with their vegan-raised toddler

and/or has heard of any possible links between speech development delays and

vegan diet deficiencies? He doesn't take vitamins but drinks Soy Dream

fortified soy milk. Any leads would be helpful.

 

 

 

For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at

http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

http://www.vrg.org/family.

 

 

[Guest guest]

When I first read this my first response was does your

child have a hearing problem you don't know about? If

your child is developing normally in all other ways, I

doubt that an iron deficiency would be to blame. But

have you looked into that?

 

The following is from babycenter.com. Look ahead to

the section on when to be concerned about talking. I

have a friend whose child had speech problems because

of tonsil and adnoid problems, once her tonsils were

removed she could not only speak more clearly, she

could hear things she hadn't noticed before.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/6573.html

 

Talking

Your baby will gradually learn to use words to

describe what she sees, hears, feels, and thinks as

she makes mental, emotional, and behavioral leaps.

Researchers now know that long before a baby utters

her first word, she's learning the rules of language

and how adults use it to communicate.

 

When it develops

Children learn to talk during their first two years of

life. Your baby will begin by using her tongue, lips,

palate, and any emerging teeth to make sounds (ooh and

ahhs in the first month or two; babbling starts

shortly thereafter). Soon those sounds become real

words ( " mama " and " dada " may slip out and bring tears

to your eyes as early as 4 to 5 months). From then on

your baby will pick up more words from you, your

partner, and everyone else around her. And between 1

and 2, she'll begin to form two- to three-word

sentences.

 

How it develops

Your child's wail at birth is her first foray into the

world of language. She's expressing the shock of being

out of the confines of the womb and in a new and

unfamiliar place. From then on, she's absorbing

sounds, tones, and words that later shape the way she

speaks. Talking is inextricably linked to hearing. By

listening to others speak, your baby learns what words

sound like and how sentences are structured. In fact,

many researchers believe the work of understanding

language begins while a baby is in utero. Just as your

unborn baby got used to the steady beat of your heart,

she tuned into the sound of your voice. Just days

after birth, she was able to discern your voice among

others.

 

1 to 3 months

Your child's first form of communication is crying. A

piercing scream may mean she's hungry, while a

whimpering, staccato cry may signal that she needs a

diaper change. As she gets older, she'll develop a

delightful repertoire of gurgles, sighs, and coos,

becoming a mini sound factory. As for her ability to

understand lanugage, linguists say babies as young as

4 weeks can distinguish between similar syllables,

such as " ma " and " na. "

 

4 to 6 months

At this stage, your child will start to babble,

combining consonants and vowels (such as " baba " or

" yaya " ). The first " mama " or " dada " may slip out now

and then, and though it's sure to melt your heart,

your baby doesn't quite yet equate those words with

you. That comes later, when she's almost a year old.

 

Her attempts at talking will sound like stream of

consciousness monologues in another language, endless

words strung together. Vocalization is a game to your

baby, who is experimenting with using her tongue,

teeth, palate, and vocal chords to make all sorts of

funny noises. At this stage, babbling sounds the same,

whether you speak English, French, or Japanese in your

home. You may notice your child favoring certain

sounds ( " ka " or " da, " for example), repeating them

over and over because she likes the way they sound and

how her mouth feels when she says them.

 

6 to 12 months

When she babbles and vocalizes, she'll sound as if

she's making sense now. That's because she's using

tones and patterns similar to the ones you use. Foster

your baby's babbling by reading to her.

 

12 to 17 months

She's using one or more words and knows what they

mean. She'll even practice inflection, raising her

tone when asking a question, saying " Up-py? " when she

wants to be carried, for example. She's realizing the

importance of talking, and how powerful it is to be

able to communicate her needs.

 

18 to 24 months

Her vocabulary may include as many as 200 words now,

many of which are nouns. Between 18 and 20 months,

children learn words at a rate of 10 or more a day.

Some learn new words every 90 minutes, so watch your

language. She'll even string two words together,

making basic sentences such as " Carry me. " By the time

she's 2, she'll use three-word sentences and sing

simple tunes. Her sense of self will mature, and

she'll start talking about herself — what she likes

and doesn't, what she thinks and feels. Pronouns may

confuse her, and you may catch her avoiding them,

saying " Baby throw " instead of " I throw. "

 

25 to 36 months

She'll struggle for a while to find the appropriate

volume to use when talking, but she'll learn soon

enough. She's also starting to get the hang of

pronouns, such as I, me, and you. Between ages 2 and

3, her vocabulary will increase to up to 300 words.

She'll string nouns and verbs together to form

complete though simple sentences such as " I go now. "

 

By the time she turns 3, your child will be a more

sophisticated talker. She'll be able to carry on a

sustained conversation, and adjust her tone, speech

patterns, and vocabulary to her conversation partner.

For instance, she'll use simpler words with a peer,

but be more verbal with you. By now she may be almost

completely intelligible. She'll even be a pro at

saying her name and her age, and will readily oblige

when asked.

 

As your child grows, she'll become more of a

chatterbox. You'll scarcely remember the time when she

hardly spoke at all, and you'll enjoy hearing about

what projects she did at preschool, what her friend

Cassie had for lunch, what she thinks about

Cinderella's wicked stepmom, and anything else that

occupies her mind. She'll also start to tackle the

more complicated skill of writing. Then, when school

starts, she'll begin to learn the rudiments of

language when she gets structured lessons on grammar,

punctuation, and usage.

 

Your role

It's simple: Talk to your child. Research shows that

children whose parents spoke to them extensively when

they were babies have significantly higher IQs than

other children. Their vocabularies are also richer

than those of kids who didn't receive much verbal

stimulation. You can start as early as when you're

pregnant, so your baby gets used to the sound of your

voice. Speak up as you do chores around the house, or

read a book aloud. You may feel a little like you're

talking to yourself, but your investment will mean a

lot to your baby's language development. When the

baby's born, keep up a constant stream of chatter for

long stretches as you diaper, feed, or bathe her. At

around 5 months, you may notice her watching your

mouth intently. Keep talking, and soon she'll start

trying to talk back.

 

Although some baby talk is okay, resist the temptation

to coo and babble. Your child will learn to speak well

only if you teach her to do so. You don't have to

avoid using complicated words. While you may need to

simplify the way you talk so your child will

understand what you mean, the best way for her to

expand her vocabulary is to hear you using new words.

The same goes for toddlers and preschoolers, whose

language skills will continue to grow as long as you

continue to stimulate them with conversation.

 

Reading is a great way to help develop your child's

language skills. Babies will delight in the sound of

your voice, toddlers will enjoy the stories, and

preschoolers may even jump in to tell you what's going

on in a book.

 

When to be concerned

Babies with hearing problems stop babbling at around 6

months. If yours isn't making any sounds (or even

attempting to) or eye contact with you, call your

pediatrician. While some kids start forming words at 9

months, many will wait until they are 13 or 14 months.

If your child isn't saying any words by 15 months, or

you still can't understand a word she's saying,

discuss the matter with your doctor at her 18-month

checkup.

 

If by age 3 your child continues to drop consonants

(saying " ca " for " cat, " for example) or substitute a

sound or syllable for another (saying " waining "

instead of " raining " ), she may need speech therapy or

have a hearing problem. Consult her doctor, who can

make the best evaluation.

 

Although toddlers sometimes stutter (they're so

excited to tell you what's on their mind that they

sometimes can't get the words out easily), this is a

normal developmental phase in most cases. Allow you

child to finish her sentences, and avoid jumping in to

help her along. That can feel like a put-down and

won't help her learning. For more information about

stuttering and to find out when to be concerned, see

what our expert has to say.

 

 

--- " admartin " <admartin

wrote:

> HELP!!! My 24 month old healthy son who has been

> vegan from birth has a

> problem in speech development. He is very bright in

> every area of his mental

> development - knew is colors, could count objects

> before he turned 16 months

> old. He could name just about any object by the

> time he was 18 months and

> could understand and follow directions. However, he

> only uses one-word

> " sentences " to communicate inspite of being read to

> all day long since birth

> and inspite of appropriate stimulation, including

> intermingling with other

> children his age.

> Also, he doesn't enunciate his words appropriately

> for a child his age - he

> often leaves off the ending of words and the

> beginning of words. When he

> says " oatmeal, " or " soy milk, " for example, it

> sounds like he's saying

> Momma. I'm the only one who understands what he's

> saying most of the time.

> We try to overarticulate words and ask him to repeat

> after us but he doesn't

> but this does not help. No one in our family has

> problems with speech. His

> pediatrician has no idea why he is experiencing this

> obvious delay in

> speech. His speech hasn't improved at all from the

> time he was 18 months

> old until now.

>

> Has any other mother had similar problems with their

> vegan-raised toddler

> and/or has heard of any possible links between

> speech development delays and

> vegan diet deficiencies? He doesn't take vitamins

> but drinks Soy Dream

> fortified soy milk. Any leads would be helpful.

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

I've never heard this from other vegan parents, but

I've seen this a lot in other kids or non-veg people

I've met online so I doubt this is a diet issue.

Although, it is always a good thing to look at. Is

your ped worried about it? Most of the kids I know

who were slow to speak in sentences end up being fine

as they get older. Everyone goes at their own pace

and I've seen kids who are 'ahead' in one area tend to

be 'behind' (I hate using these words because it

really isn't accurate since they are averages) in

other areas. It is almost as if there is only so much

children can do at one time.

 

I would suggest not talking for your child (I don't

know if you do this or not). I used to explain what

my child said when others didn't understand, but I

found he got better at communicating if I didn't

intervene. He basically had to communicate so others

could understand or not be understood. I also stopped

guessing. He had to communicate with his signs (we

did baby sign language) or speaking or something

instead of my going through a list of things me might

mean.

 

Also, my husband had a speech issue when he was about

3 or 4 so his parents sent him to a speech therapist.

Both his parents were teachers so the were big on

making sure he spoke 'correctly'. The therapist said

his parents were actually scaring him so much about

being 'wrong' that he developed a speech issue. He

still doesn't like to say words like 'water', but you

would never think he had a speech defect. This same

thing happened with a friend (a former kindergarten

teacher) of mine and her 3 year old daughter. When

the friend stopped correcting her daughter the

stuttering went away.

 

Good luck!

 

Linda

ds Parker 33 mo.

dh Rob

 

 

 

HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now

http://hotjobs./

[Guest guest]

Hi - I have a 17 month old with 5 words, so I'm pretty impressed with what your

son is doing. However, I understand your concern, especially if there has not

been development.

 

Here are my thoughts. First, all of the children I know who have had speech

development issues have not been vegan or even vegetarian, so I would think it

is unlikely that that has anything to do with it. Second, I recall with my

daughter, who is now 3.5, that there were plateau periods. It seemed that we

would go over the same words again and again and she wouldn't get them, then

suddenly the words just started coming. Could your son be developing in other

areas, so that the verbal is sort of on hold for now?

 

I'm afraid that I don't have an answer for you, but I really don't think it's

the diet.

 

Karen

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Have you had your son evaluated by a licensed speech pathologist? From your

description, it doesn't really sound like your son has much of a problem. My

son is now 3, and he was doing just about the same things a year ago. It

wasn't really until after he passed his second birthday that his speech

really took off. Now he talks like a 40-year-old man. Don't forget that boys

are not as verbal as girls. They usually talk later and their speech usually

takes longer to sound sophisticated. The fact that he does not enunciate all

of his words is perfectly normal for a 2 year old. In fact, many sounds in

the English language are quite difficult to master and take until a child is

over the age of 5 to come in perfectly. A speech pathologist would be able

to tell you which sounds are developmentally appropriate.

From your description, it sounds as if your pediatrician has you panicked,

and he shouldn't. Unfortunately, I don't think most doctors really know the

specifics of this because it is not really their area of expertise.

A good speech pathologist, who specializes in young children, will know how

to evaluate your son's speech to determine if it is developmentally

appropriate. I don't know where you live, but in New York we have early

intervention programs that are given through the county. They evaluate

children and if there is a delay, they work with them so that problems can

be cleared up before they start school.

Hope this helps,

Julie

-

" admartin " <admartin

; <vrg

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 10:55 AM

Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

 

 

> HELP!!! My 24 month old healthy son who has been vegan from birth has a

> problem in speech development. He is very bright in every area of his

mental

> development - knew is colors, could count objects before he turned 16

months

> old. He could name just about any object by the time he was 18 months and

> could understand and follow directions. However, he only uses one-word

> " sentences " to communicate inspite of being read to all day long since

birth

> and inspite of appropriate stimulation, including intermingling with other

> children his age.

> Also, he doesn't enunciate his words appropriately for a child his age -

he

> often leaves off the ending of words and the beginning of words. When he

> says " oatmeal, " or " soy milk, " for example, it sounds like he's saying

> Momma. I'm the only one who understands what he's saying most of the

time.

> We try to overarticulate words and ask him to repeat after us but he

doesn't

> but this does not help. No one in our family has problems with speech.

His

> pediatrician has no idea why he is experiencing this obvious delay in

> speech. His speech hasn't improved at all from the time he was 18 months

> old until now.

>

> Has any other mother had similar problems with their vegan-raised toddler

> and/or has heard of any possible links between speech development delays

and

> vegan diet deficiencies? He doesn't take vitamins but drinks Soy Dream

> fortified soy milk. Any leads would be helpful.

>

>

>

> For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at

http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

http://www.vrg.org/family.

>

>

[Guest guest]

My son is 29 months old. He's a vegan, also, and speaks less than your son.

If you want to know more about what the doctor/speech therapist has told us,

you can email me directly.

As far as the vegan issue - I don't know. I think I've tried hard to

always make sure we both get what we need. Yeah, I've encountered one doctor

who automatically ordered a blood count (which turned out fine, and I won't

take him back there) when I said " No animal products, " and my noisy

mother-in-law (who annoys me often with her opinions) mentioned my son's

speech delay in the same conversation about B-12 deficiencies causing

neurological problems.

What I do know is the speech therapist who has been seeing my son

(therapy, by the way only consists of her playing with him) told me she has

five other cases - all boys, all with the same characteristics of speech as

my son - and I would almost have to bet none of them are vegan.

 

I know what you are feeling, though, I'm sure - you can email me if you want

to talk - lay

[Guest guest]

Thanks to all for responding to my message. All comments were very

encouraging. I guess the biggest reason for " worrying " about his

development is what others will say about it - " it's because he's a vegan "

or " it's because I'm his sole careprovider for now. " (My mother just knew

my child would never walk because I breastfed him and never gave him

formula - he walked at 10 mos.!)

 

 

-

" Julie & Chris Boehning " <jcboehning

 

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 8:20 PM

Re: Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

 

 

> Hi,

> Have you had your son evaluated by a licensed speech pathologist? From

your

> description, it doesn't really sound like your son has much of a problem.

My

> son is now 3, and he was doing just about the same things a year ago. It

> wasn't really until after he passed his second birthday that his speech

> really took off. Now he talks like a 40-year-old man. Don't forget that

boys

> are not as verbal as girls. They usually talk later and their speech

usually

> takes longer to sound sophisticated. The fact that he does not enunciate

all

> of his words is perfectly normal for a 2 year old. In fact, many sounds in

> the English language are quite difficult to master and take until a child

is

> over the age of 5 to come in perfectly. A speech pathologist would be able

> to tell you which sounds are developmentally appropriate.

> From your description, it sounds as if your pediatrician has you panicked,

> and he shouldn't. Unfortunately, I don't think most doctors really know

the

> specifics of this because it is not really their area of expertise.

> A good speech pathologist, who specializes in young children, will know

how

> to evaluate your son's speech to determine if it is developmentally

> appropriate. I don't know where you live, but in New York we have early

> intervention programs that are given through the county. They evaluate

> children and if there is a delay, they work with them so that problems can

> be cleared up before they start school.

> Hope this helps,

> Julie

> -

> " admartin " <admartin

> ; <vrg

> Wednesday, November 06, 2002 10:55 AM

> Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

>

>

> > HELP!!! My 24 month old healthy son who has been vegan from birth has a

> > problem in speech development. He is very bright in every area of his

> mental

> > development - knew is colors, could count objects before he turned 16

> months

> > old. He could name just about any object by the time he was 18 months

and

> > could understand and follow directions. However, he only uses one-word

> > " sentences " to communicate inspite of being read to all day long since

> birth

> > and inspite of appropriate stimulation, including intermingling with

other

> > children his age.

> > Also, he doesn't enunciate his words appropriately for a child his age -

> he

> > often leaves off the ending of words and the beginning of words. When

he

> > says " oatmeal, " or " soy milk, " for example, it sounds like he's saying

> > Momma. I'm the only one who understands what he's saying most of the

> time.

> > We try to overarticulate words and ask him to repeat after us but he

> doesn't

> > but this does not help. No one in our family has problems with speech.

> His

> > pediatrician has no idea why he is experiencing this obvious delay in

> > speech. His speech hasn't improved at all from the time he was 18

months

> > old until now.

> >

> > Has any other mother had similar problems with their vegan-raised

toddler

> > and/or has heard of any possible links between speech development delays

> and

> > vegan diet deficiencies? He doesn't take vitamins but drinks Soy Dream

> > fortified soy milk. Any leads would be helpful.

> >

> >

> >

> > For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website

at

> http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

> http://www.vrg.org/family.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

I can't answer about the connection between diet and speech, and like

others, I would advise having your child checked by experts. However, I CAN

give you this anectdote. I have a cousin who older relative SWEAR didn't

start talking until he was almost 4. He ended up with a PhD in electrical

engineering from MIT, and is the founder and CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

(Probably worth more than all of us rs put together

 

David

Father of Drew, born 01/01/01 " mostly vegan "

 

_______________

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[Guest guest]

from admartin:

> We try to overarticulate words and ask him to repeat after us but he doesn't

> but this does not help. No one in our family has problems with speech. His

> pediatrician has no idea why he is experiencing this obvious delay in

> speech. His speech hasn't improved at all from the time he was 18 months

> old until now.

>

> Has any other mother had similar problems with their vegan-raised toddler

> and/or has heard of any possible links between speech development delays and

> vegan diet deficiencies?

 

Well, if I may make a recommendation, take you ds to a *specialist* such as

a pediatric ear/nose/throat doc or a pediatric audiologist.

 

Your basic pediatrician simply doesn't know enough to recognize all the

possibilities that can explain a speech delay.

 

If a specialist doesn't find anything, then my guess would be is that he'll

outgrow it. It could be his tongue hasn't gotten under his control yet. It

could be that his throat has not decended all the way yet, which will happen

soon on its own but medical professionals can't assist. I know a boy who

sounds like a 18-month old, although he's 3.5 yrs old. But his parents are

waiting it out (though by 2.5, the child probably would benefit from a

speech therapist) because every so often their ds makes a linguistic

developmental leap.

 

Is he breastfeeding? If he's not, you could consider a vegan kid's multi

and adding (if you haven't already) flaxseed oil. But that's not likely to

help his speech delay.

 

Good luck. At least you're not blind to the situation. I doubt diet has

enough of an impact - if it did, we'd have a nation of indecipherable

speakers ferom diets made up of McDs burgers, fries, and coke.

~Doh

[Guest guest]

people really suck sometimes. it's hard enough being a parent without petty

criticisms. after almost 20 years of being a parent, with 4 kids, i've come to

the conclusion that anything that is done from your love of your child is fine.

" admartin " <admartin wrote:Thanks to all for

responding to my message. All comments were very

encouraging. I guess the biggest reason for " worrying " about his

development is what others will say about it - " it's because he's a vegan "

or " it's because I'm his sole careprovider for now. " (My mother just knew

my child would never walk because I breastfed him and never gave him

formula - he walked at 10 mos.!)

 

 

-

" Julie & Chris Boehning " <jcboehning

 

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 8:20 PM

Re: Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

 

 

> Hi,

> Have you had your son evaluated by a licensed speech pathologist? From

your

> description, it doesn't really sound like your son has much of a problem.

My

> son is now 3, and he was doing just about the same things a year ago. It

> wasn't really until after he passed his second birthday that his speech

> really took off. Now he talks like a 40-year-old man. Don't forget that

boys

> are not as verbal as girls. They usually talk later and their speech

usually

> takes longer to sound sophisticated. The fact that he does not enunciate

all

> of his words is perfectly normal for a 2 year old. In fact, many sounds in

> the English language are quite difficult to master and take until a child

is

> over the age of 5 to come in perfectly. A speech pathologist would be able

> to tell you which sounds are developmentally appropriate.

> From your description, it sounds as if your pediatrician has you panicked,

> and he shouldn't. Unfortunately, I don't think most doctors really know

the

> specifics of this because it is not really their area of expertise.

> A good speech pathologist, who specializes in young children, will know

how

> to evaluate your son's speech to determine if it is developmentally

> appropriate. I don't know where you live, but in New York we have early

> intervention programs that are given through the county. They evaluate

> children and if there is a delay, they work with them so that problems can

> be cleared up before they start school.

> Hope this helps,

> Julie

> -

> " admartin " <admartin

> ; <vrg

> Wednesday, November 06, 2002 10:55 AM

> Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

>

>

> > HELP!!! My 24 month old healthy son who has been vegan from birth has a

> > problem in speech development. He is very bright in every area of his

> mental

> > development - knew is colors, could count objects before he turned 16

> months

> > old. He could name just about any object by the time he was 18 months

and

> > could understand and follow directions. However, he only uses one-word

> > " sentences " to communicate inspite of being read to all day long since

> birth

> > and inspite of appropriate stimulation, including intermingling with

other

> > children his age.

> > Also, he doesn't enunciate his words appropriately for a child his age -

> he

> > often leaves off the ending of words and the beginning of words. When

he

> > says " oatmeal, " or " soy milk, " for example, it sounds like he's saying

> > Momma. I'm the only one who understands what he's saying most of the

> time.

> > We try to overarticulate words and ask him to repeat after us but he

> doesn't

> > but this does not help. No one in our family has problems with speech.

> His

> > pediatrician has no idea why he is experiencing this obvious delay in

> > speech. His speech hasn't improved at all from the time he was 18

months

> > old until now.

> >

> > Has any other mother had similar problems with their vegan-raised

toddler

> > and/or has heard of any possible links between speech development delays

> and

> > vegan diet deficiencies? He doesn't take vitamins but drinks Soy Dream

> > fortified soy milk. Any leads would be helpful.

> >

> >

> >

> > For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website

at

> http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

> http://www.vrg.org/family.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

HI

 

 

All children develop at diferent rates and I am sure your son is just fine.

I ran into a couple of articals about how walking early can sometimes lead

to speach delays. I saw an artical in the New Scientist and I just read

something in the continum concept by Jean Liedloff that I thought you might

find interesting:

 

" ..., they found that people who had not been allowed to go about on all

fours at the appropriate time in babyhood, who had been hampered by playpens

or some other factor from fulfilling their requirement to crawl and

creep,failed to develop fully in their verbal abilities. Stammering resulted

in some cases and returning them to the babyhood activities of crawling and

creeping for an hour or so a day for seceral months cured them...Doman and

Delacato started out working with brain damaged children but subsequently

discovered that they cuold improve the verbal skills of " normal "

students...He divided in half a group of boys and had both groups take the

college board verbal-aptitude test. Then he put one group through an

intensive crawling, creeping and domanace training. The second group went to

school as usual. He then gave both groups the test again.The noncreepers had

gained 6.8 points. Bt the experemental group had make an astounding average

gain of 65.8 points. Creeping and dominance training became regular routines

for everyone at Hill Academy's junior school as well as the varsity football

team.

Filling in the boys' experiential requirement for crawling and creeping wtih

such results indicated that they were quite universally deprived of full

expression of the creeping phase. the fact that the experiece could be given

to them outside its natural chronological order and still be effective is

where hope lies. "

 

anyway I don't think you need to worry I just thought it was interesting.

All children walk and talk at their own pace I think it is just when we

pressure them to do so at OUR time rather than their time that it can lead

to problems.

 

Joanne

 

 

> " admartin " <admartin

>

>

>Re: Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

>Thu, 7 Nov 2002 09:40:39 -0500

>

>Thanks to all for responding to my message. All comments were very

>encouraging. I guess the biggest reason for " worrying " about his

>development is what others will say about it - " it's because he's a vegan "

>or " it's because I'm his sole careprovider for now. " (My mother just knew

>my child would never walk because I breastfed him and never gave him

>formula - he walked at 10 mos.!)

>

>

>-

> " Julie & Chris Boehning " <jcboehning

>

>Wednesday, November 06, 2002 8:20 PM

>Re: Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

>

>

> > Hi,

> > Have you had your son evaluated by a licensed speech pathologist? From

>your

> > description, it doesn't really sound like your son has much of a

>problem.

>My

> > son is now 3, and he was doing just about the same things a year ago. It

> > wasn't really until after he passed his second birthday that his speech

> > really took off. Now he talks like a 40-year-old man. Don't forget that

>boys

> > are not as verbal as girls. They usually talk later and their speech

>usually

> > takes longer to sound sophisticated. The fact that he does not enunciate

>all

> > of his words is perfectly normal for a 2 year old. In fact, many sounds

>in

> > the English language are quite difficult to master and take until a

>child

>is

> > over the age of 5 to come in perfectly. A speech pathologist would be

>able

> > to tell you which sounds are developmentally appropriate.

> > From your description, it sounds as if your pediatrician has you

>panicked,

> > and he shouldn't. Unfortunately, I don't think most doctors really know

>the

> > specifics of this because it is not really their area of expertise.

> > A good speech pathologist, who specializes in young children, will know

>how

> > to evaluate your son's speech to determine if it is developmentally

> > appropriate. I don't know where you live, but in New York we have early

> > intervention programs that are given through the county. They evaluate

> > children and if there is a delay, they work with them so that problems

>can

> > be cleared up before they start school.

> > Hope this helps,

> > Julie

> > -

> > " admartin " <admartin

> > ; <vrg

> > Wednesday, November 06, 2002 10:55 AM

> > Vegan Diet & Speech Delay

> >

> >

> > > HELP!!! My 24 month old healthy son who has been vegan from birth has

>a

> > > problem in speech development. He is very bright in every area of his

> > mental

> > > development - knew is colors, could count objects before he turned 16

> > months

> > > old. He could name just about any object by the time he was 18 months

>and

> > > could understand and follow directions. However, he only uses

>one-word

> > > " sentences " to communicate inspite of being read to all day long since

> > birth

> > > and inspite of appropriate stimulation, including intermingling with

>other

> > > children his age.

> > > Also, he doesn't enunciate his words appropriately for a child his age

>-

> > he

> > > often leaves off the ending of words and the beginning of words. When

>he

> > > says " oatmeal, " or " soy milk, " for example, it sounds like he's saying

> > > Momma. I'm the only one who understands what he's saying most of the

> > time.

> > > We try to overarticulate words and ask him to repeat after us but he

> > doesn't

> > > but this does not help. No one in our family has problems with

>speech.

> > His

> > > pediatrician has no idea why he is experiencing this obvious delay in

> > > speech. His speech hasn't improved at all from the time he was 18

>months

> > > old until now.

> > >

> > > Has any other mother had similar problems with their vegan-raised

>toddler

> > > and/or has heard of any possible links between speech development

>delays

> > and

> > > vegan diet deficiencies? He doesn't take vitamins but drinks Soy

>Dream

> > > fortified soy milk. Any leads would be helpful.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website

>at

> > http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go

>to

> > http://www.vrg.org/family.

> > >

> > >