SPD cause speech delays?

My 22 month old daughter is not talking. she has been in speech therapy with ECI since 18 months old and she can now say about 6 words (ball, book, uh-oh, cat, dog and no) and these words have only come about in the last month or so.




she only says them sometimes, if i pick up a ball and ask her what it is, she will only look at it and me. but then ill just be sitting there, she will look outside, see her ball and point and say "ball". her therapist said based on some things she had noticed that she thinks she has spd and we are waiting on an occupational therapist to evaluate her.

Can spd cause this speech delay and will her speech ever get better?

we have friends with kids younger than her by a few months and the difference is very noticeable. one 20 month old was actually communicating with 2-3 word sentences and i felt she understood everything i said. (sometimes i feel my daughter doesn't grasp what im saying, either that or shes purposely ignoring me)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.



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Sep 06, 2019
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starstarstarstarstar 		SPD or..
by: Essie

My Daughter is 4yrs old and still doesn't speak except, she is trying to talk.

We are a trilingual family, speaking three languages at home. Thus, she had glue ear, which was operated three months ago. She also wears glasses with a high number.

We did genetic test, everything was normal. I was suspecting her to be autistic but I have been told that : She is shy but social, likes to cuddle etc it is actually SPD which can be similar to Autism.

I know she had some many needs that caused her all these delays but it breaks my heart deeply while my friend's children are having conversation and my daughter is watching them and trying to get involve quietly...
Jan 13, 2018
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starstarstarstarstar 		SPD Daughter
by: Malia

So I initially took in baby girl for screening because of her speech delay. I didn't know she had SPD and at the evaluation, they told me that she did. A lot of the things they pointed out were things that I did as a child, was diagnosed as ADHD and that can get confused for or diagnosed alongside SPD. It was shocking but the more I delved into the disorder the more I learned about me as a kid and the things I did that I now recognize as different.

My daughter has a massive speech delay but for the most part, she babbles constantly. She's very interactive but doesn't have enough words in her repertoire and she also has problems understanding words. She repeats her needs in question form, ie "You thirsty?" Because she knows she'll get water from it but there's a disconnect.

SPD can be genetic and I wonder at the similarities and the differences between my daughter's and my own. I was a quiet child and stopped talking for a long time but as far as I've been told I could talk. I was mostly withdrawn and avoided touch from everyone. That hasn't changed too much as a prolonged touch from anyone other then my daughter freaks me out still.

I guess I'm just rambling cuz I'm scared that my daughter is going to be in therapy working through this forever like I did as a kid. She's come a long way since we started therapy but when I see other kids try to interact with her its painful to see the gap and how hard she tries to make herself understood but they can't understand her persistent baby babble
Nov 26, 2017
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starstarstarstarstar 		Effect of Never Leaving Your Home
by: Anonymous

I would like to know if spd is more common in children who were guarded from the outside world. I've seen some parents that never leave the house with their child until after they walk.

Shouldn't children be exposed to living from the moment they are healthy enough to go out?
Jun 28, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		spd
by: heather

my sons two he has not yet been diagnosed but will be soon. he shows all signs of spd not so much with autism but the spd has caused a speech delay.

he also has alot of repetitive behaviors he has early intervention and has shown alot of progress with his speech. he was one when he started and couldnt say anything. he used to yell and scream alot.

i found out by narrating your whole day to your child got him to start imitating me now. hes two and can say alot of words although his words are not as clear but with working with your child everyday and using the resources available to you, there will be progress.
Jun 03, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		Spd or Autism
by: Anonymous

Hello! My daughter is turning 4 in two weeks. I have struggled with her diagnosis because she shows signs of both autism and spd!

She is a very picky eater, doesn't have any interest in eating( i have to feed her most of the time) has very high sense of smell all the time! Also somethings trigger her ears and she covers them( it has gotten better in the past 4 months)

However, I'm so confused on what to do to help her get interested in conversation. She clearly understands everything and is very alert to her surroundings. When we ask her questions its like she ignores or just really doesn't understand a word your saying.

She responds to closed ended questions very well, thats how i know she understands and is very aware, she just doesn't respond to "what did you do at school today" or what do you want to do after we eat lunch".

We have Her in therapy and also placed her in a Montesorri school. I had the school district evaluate her to see if they have a program to help her but for now we will continue the therapy and montesorri.

We have seen her vocabulary increase so much in the past 4 months. Even her teacher has said she is more interested, however she doesn't show interest in conversation although she does eye contact unless its one of those questions she doesn't like.

I have dedicated my time at home to her and do flash cards and coloring. She enjoys tracing letters and saying shapes, abc and numbers. She loves anything with electronics and enjoys watching the something on tv over and over!

I dont know how to help her understand the concept of give and take of conversation. I wish i could just spark up that part. I hope someone can give me some ideas or suggestions.
Mar 10, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		SPD and speech delay
by: Anonymous

My daughter will be three in a month. She has been diagnosed with SPD and moderately severe speech delay. She can say "Mama" and "no", she can say those a LOT!

We have noticed that by using sign language she is less frustrated and some of the repetitive motions and noises have decreased. She makes up her own signs for what she needs (open, sit, etc..) if we don't teach her new ones.

She has finally started babbling, so we are hoping that more words will emerge soon. Just know that all children grow at their own pace. She wasn't walking until a year and a half, but she is hard to catch now.

She was incredibly shy (wouldn't even go to family) and is now starting to go to others.
Feb 10, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Sensory processing disorder
by: Samantha

My son will be 2 years old and isnt really talking. he was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder and I was told by the speech and OT therapist that this is the reason he has a speech delay.. He has been in speech for about 6 months now and not a lot of progress..

On the ball topic.. if he were to see a ball he wouldn't know what it is(He does know to play with it ).When he first started speech and was put on a 11 month old level .. they haven't evaluated him anymore since then ..He seems to start picking up words but with in a week or so some of the words he doesn't say them anymore..

He doesn't call anyone by there name.. He use to say mom-ma but I don't really hear that anymore and when he did say it, it wasn't to call me by name it was just something he said.. but I'm hoping one day he will just start talking!!
Feb 06, 2011
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		language delays
by: Anonymous

My son had speech delay-- he did not talk until after age three. He was in speech therapy. He is now 6 and talks pretty good, so there is hope. Don't give up.
Aug 12, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		thanks!!
by: Beth

thanks so much.I really feel better knowing there are others like her. I just feel at a loss sometimes because sometimes i feel like im talking to a brick wall. I know she understands me, so i guess she is ignoring me.

Her hearing test is next month. We have been on the waiting list for 4 months now to get that taken care of. Im really hoping that is it so at least I will know how to fix it. Her speech therapist said her progress has been really slow.

Maybe we are just looking at a speech delay...
Aug 01, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		spd
by: Anonymous

hi again so i took my son for evaluation he wasnt diagnosed with autism or spd,. even though he does a lot of repetitive movements. they do suspect seizures they hes going to go for an eeg this month.

he was diagnosed with mild language delay both receptive and expressive. they said that a lot of toddlers with language delay like him and that have a bit of sensory issues but note severe ones, a lot of them end up being diagnosed with adhd, which makes a lot of sense cause adhd does run in the family.

oh and one more thing they said that toddler dont like being asked questions. for example instead of grabbing the ball and asking what it is. grab the ball or point to the ball and say oohh look ball, and then they will be more interested . he said that if you ask them they feel like they are being tested and they wont be interested and just ignore you. ever since i have been doing this my son is getting more interested and is pointing at everything he is interested in to show me
Jul 23, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		speech delay
by: Anonymous

I have a 6 year old with SPD, fine and gross motor delays...and you guessed it speech problems as well. We have never been told that SPD and his speech problems are related so I am not sure.

Just hang in there, at 3 my son was not speaking at all. In 6 months he went from not speaking to full sentences, and we now struggle to keep him quiet. He has a comment for everything!

The speech will come, but I too was in the trap of comparing him to all the other kids in his daycare class. Come to find out part of the problem was that the noise level in the room was so loud, it was making it extremely hard for him to function...let alone think about speaking.

Hang on to the fact that every child, ones with SPD and ones without, all develop at different rates. Just keep working with you child, and do not lose hope.
Jul 19, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		SPD
by: Anonymous

i am going through the same thing with my 20 month old son. when i have a ball in my hand and ask him what it is he just ignores me, but when he just sees it laying there he will point and say ball. and on the understanding parts some days he will understand soo much and other days he wont understand nothing, and then again a few days after he will understand again.

so ya my son fits most of the things but then again the signs of autism are very similar too, but im really hoping its spd and not autism. my son has an evaluation next week and they will tell me then and ill write back and tell you since your daughter and my son are both showing similar symptoms.
Jul 19, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		I totally understand
by: Bonnie

I totally understand what you are going through. When my son turned 2 he had about 10 words in his bank and even they weren't said correctly. I did feel like he understood everything we were saying though.

I didn't have him evaluated for speech until about 27 months and he didn't get to start therapy until about 29 or so. For the first several months I didn't notice anything but then around 31 months he just took off.

He definitely is still behind his peers in some aspects of sentence structure and in articulation (how the sounds of a word are said) but he talks as much as any other child his age (he is 4 now). I am assuming you have had her hearing checked and everything is fine.

So my advice is that it will get better! I know it is hard to not compare our children with their peers but I have found it only holds me and my son back when I do that.

To my knowledge spd and my son's speech delay are not related. Just two separate things he struggles with. Your daughter is still very young for most diagnosis so just go with your gut on therapy and on when something just doesn't seem right. Give her time. She may just get it one day.

If there is something going on then you will see other signs or the current ones will become even more prominent. Good luck and it is definitely a journey!

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