observations re verbalization attempts in different settings

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone. I've begun to notice that my son (2.5 yrs) appears to have

different verbal abilities in different settings. At home he makes many

spontaneous attempts at words and is almost always willing to try to say a word

or phrase upon request. However, when we're out in public he only grunts and

points. Sometimes he'll say a few words, but not often. Yes, he does grunt and

point some at home, but in public it becomes his primary means of communication.

When we're out in the front yard or at someone's house that he's familiar with

he doesn't grunt and point as much, but to me there's still a noticeable

difference from when we're in the house together.

Has anyone else noticed this in their child(ren)?

-les

[Guest guest]

I spoke to Dr. Renai Jonas (who specializes in selective mutism and autism but

is also knowledgeable about apraxia) about this and it's her opinion based of

course on what you wrote that as your child feels more confident with his

ability to attempt sounds and words he will start to attempt them more in

public. It is possible to have a child with both a speech delay or impairment

and selective mutism -however there are other signs to look for. She asked me

if your child was an anxious child. Let me know!

=====

[Guest guest]

Hi . Thank you so much for doing that. I don't know much about selective

mutism. From the beginning, D was a " high needs " infant who reqired constant

bouncing and walking or else he would cry unconsolably. D was a very shy baby

who would only let about 5 specific people hold him. As he became a skilled

crawler, he became more tolerant of people who wanted to interact with him. When

he became a skilled walker/runner (at about 11 months old) his shyness improved

even more. He was very slow to warm up in new settings until he turned 2. He

would survey the room and the people for quite some time before detaching

himself from my leg, but then he was off and running with the occassional glance

to make sure I was still there. I would consider him to be very social now at

2.5 years. He still requires a warm-up period in new settings, but it is very

brief.

He will say a few words upon request in public. Mostly just bye-bye (buh-buh).

She's probably right that as he feels more confident with his ability to attempt

sounds and words he will start to attempt them more in public. I was just

wondering if anyone else had the same experience with their child. From the lack

of responses, I think the answer is that D is fairly unique in this aspect I

guess.

Thanks again for all your help!!

-les