Comments on: The Late Talker: What to Do If Your Child Isn’t Talking Yet

By: Yul

Yul — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:57:18 +0000

My child has developmental language disorders/apraxia/dysarthria/articulation disorders. Finally a book to help me understand my 32 month son! I especially found the part about insurance companies helpful since I have an HMO that only allows 20 speech therapy visits PER YEAR! I needed to know how to advocate for my son. The glossary in the back was helpful as were the resources. Not all late talking children will talk *when they are ready* or will grow out of it or are “Einstein-like”; some have problems and need intervention. My son only has a 3 word vocabulary. Otherwise he grunts and cries. He’s very smart and understands everything. I am glad to read this book!

By: Valonia

Valonia — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:23:29 +0000

This review is from: The Late Talker: What to Do If Your Child Isn't Talking Yet (Hardcover)

This is a good book, well written and very informative. However, the title is misleading, as 90% of it is information about/for apraxia. If your child is apraxic, this book is for you. If you're looking for a general book on parents at-home techniques for stimulating speech, there is only one short chapter in this book. This book also has no information about speech disorders other than apraxia. I got Patricia Hamaguchi's book, Childhood Speech, Language, and Listening Problems: What Every Parent Should Know, out from the library, and am reading it, and it has fantastic overview info about all kinds of speech delays and disorders. IT is an old book, 1995, so there may be new research since then.

By: Muunokhoi

Muunokhoi — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:07:02 +0000

The subtitle of "The Late Talker" is "What to Do if Your Child Isn't Talking Yet." This is misleading, since it is not what the book is about.

The focus of much of the book is apraxia, and there are descriptions of other conditions which cause late talking. It is well written and medically sound, and probably a great resource for parents seeking a diagnosis. It also does a good job of explaining the procedures followed by early intervention programs.

However, my son doesn't have apraxia or sensory integration dysfunction, and there was no advice or activities suggested for the child who simply has a developmental delay.

The foreword of this book (written by a Ph.D. from Rutgers, not the author) is vaguely threatening. Aimed at parents who adopt a "wait and see" or "he'll grow out of it" attitude, she states that the consequences of such inaction are "academic failure...juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, unemployment, depression, and even suicide."
Personally, I found this incredibly offensive.