4yo girl not speaking sentences!

[pinky1923]

Hi everyone!

I'm concerned about my 4yo neice, she is not able to speak sentences, is not familiar with any colours, shapes, counting or alphabet, she is very hyperactive, and only eat's junk food.

She is the eldest of three girls. Her younger sister will be 3 in June and does not speak at all. She is at times very scared/ nervous, she is fidgety at times with her hands together. Touches her lips with her pointing finger for long period's of time. Loud noises make her jump out of her skin.

My husband and I have spoken to there mother about it but she is in denial, I have a 4yo boy which is two weeks younger than his cousin and he is on a totally different level to her.

I'm not sure how to approach there mother about it again, through one ear and out the other!

Any advice would be much appreciated ☺

[Lorina]

As a parent, it's so hard to get the courage to say "yes, there is something wrong with my child and I need the extra help". So many times if we feel something is wrong we convince ourselves that "it a phase" or our child "will grow out of it". Each child of our own is perfect and we want it that way, getting the extra help makes us feel that we have failed or simply that there is something wrong with our child. However, at a certain point, we need to take a step back and look at the situation as a whole and really understand to support our child that we must give them the best chance and get support from specialist services...

First and foremost regarding your niece, she may have a language developmental delay because at this stage she should be able to talk in sentences.

Has she been reluctant to talk from the start?

Hearing is also essential for speech and language development, so it may be a good idea to get her hearing checked as this may be related to the language delay.

You should also recommend to the mother to take her to the paediatrician to discuss symptoms and the child's development and see what they say about it as well...

Talking to a parent about issues concerning their child, it's extremely sensitive! You have to be careful how you approach the conversation and what you should say...

,
Lorina

[Lorina]

Does your niece go to childcare? Playgroup?

How does your niece interact with your son when they play together?

You cold book your son to have a hearing test (these are quite harmless and often done in childcare as well) and take your niece along as well (with her parent's permission of course) to get tested, that way you could rule out if she has any hearing loss which may be causing the language delay...

,
Lorina

[Lorina]

Sorry just wanted to add that all children regardless of their age - developed very differently and there are so many factors involved in regards to the way a child develops. However, at this stage, your niece should be taken to a GP to rule out any concerning issues...

,
Lorina

[Nandy84]

Hello,

After reading about your niece what I understood that first of all, her parents need to accept that there is something not familiar with her and she needs some extra care! But it is really tough for any parents to admit at once the fact. It is our human tendency and it can be seen more frequently that we like to turn our back on the problems by just saying " It will be alright with time!" till it goes too further. Try to be calm when you are planning to talk about it with the mother because she can react in some odd ways. If possible insist on her and accompany her to a pediatrician. Be with her. Do not show her sympathy rather treat her with empathy. It will make her easy to admit the fact.

Now if we talk about the child, delay in speech is not that much unusual but while you are saying that she does not speak a word, i would like to request you to check her hearing ability once. You can There's no deadline for a child to start talking or using full sentences. But most kids reach speech and language milestones by a certain age. Let your child's doctor know the things and let the doctor decide the next step.

Thanks

Nandita