Sunday, December 7, 2008

I didn't realize it was THAT bad...

J has been referred to a speech therapist.

At his 15-month well-child visit on December 3, J's doctor was concerned that J still wasn't using any words consistently. I mentioned that he had JUST started signing the previous two weeks, so I figured he was getting close. His doc insisted that it was best to have him checked out just in case.

After returning from the appt, I decided to do some research online about speech delays. I learned on one site (can't remember which):
"At 16 months most girls use around 50 words, while boys use closer to 30." (This was obviously meant to comfort parents of boys -- only J regularly uses exactly, um, ZERO words just two weeks shy of the 16-month mark.)

Then I felt better when I read this:

Famous late talkers (after age 2)
Gary Becker, Nobel Prize-winning economist
Albert Einstein
Julia Robinson, the first woman president of the American Mathematical Society
Arthur Rubinstein, piano virtuoso
Edward Teller, physicist and nuclear power pioneer

That's it! J is destined to be a genius!!!! (Okay, I may be overcompensating a little) :)

Seriously, I'm not overly concerned. He just started signing "more" "eat" "drink" and "book," and I'm fairly certain he'll start using words more consistently soon.

In the meantime I'm more concerned about the 105 degree fever he has ran the last two nights. (Side effect of the DTaP.) More about that later.