NEW HERE - 21m old wih speech delay and bubble blowing question??

[Guest guest]

My son is 21 months old and has a speech delay. I haven't gotten an " official "

diagnosis, but his pediatrician said it seems that he does have a delay, and we

have been referred to EI services.

I didn't really notice much that he had a delay until the last few months when

his peers started passing him in the vocabulary spectrum. I mentioned it to his

pediatrician at his 18 month appt, and we were told as long as he was saying a

couple of words he was fine. A few months roll by and he still hasn't really

started saying real words. He has a few words, but most everything else is a

" duh " or a " guh " .He babbles and gibbers on constantly as if he's talking with

intonations and everything. He is very receptive though, and can name (by

pointing) to body parts, clothing items, and objects when prompted and also

follows commands (when he feels like it LOL). He refers to all his animals by

the sound they make rather than their name. A cow is moo (or a long grunt, he

doesn't close his lips for the mmm sound) a monkey is " ah ah " , etc.

I've been working with him the best I know how to get him to articulate his

sounds. I feel that repeating the words over and over is to no avail, since he

knows what they are. So far he can say cah (car) doe (dog) uh-oh, aw doo (all

done) duh doo (love you or thank you - depending on the situation) and no -

which happens to be his best vocalized word.... ahem.

I've started with some oral motor activites. I don't think it's so much that as

he eats well and can pucker, stick out his tounge, etc., but it can't hurt,

right? So we've been drinking yogurts and puddings through straws, practicing

the pucker and tongue sticking out. But when I attempted to do a bubble blowing

exercise with him I discovered that he doesn't know how to blow. He puts the

wand up to his lips and makes sound. So I give him a straw and a cotton ball and

show him that I blow through the straw to move the cotton ball. He LOVES it and

decides to give it a try. He puts the straw into his mouth and only makes a

ehhhhhhh sound rather than blowing. I bought him a whistle and showed him how to

use it. Same thing.

Does this sound similar to what your child(ren) have and/or are going through?

Is he still considered a " late talker " if he attempts speech? How can I teach

him to blow as that is an essential part of speech?